Talent management is the integrated process of
ensuring that an organization has a continuous supply of highly productive
individuals in the right job, at the right time. Rather than a one-time event,
talent management is a continuous process that plans talent needs, builds an
image to attract the very best, ensures that new hires are immediately
productive, helps to retain the very best, and facilitates the continuous
movement of talent to where it can have the most impact within the
organization. "The war for talent has shifted, now it's the war for the
right talent," said David Ulrich, leading Human Resources guru. "It
is not enough to say that people are our most important asset; but to believe
that people are the customer's most important asset." So where does the
traditional HRM system survive with the onslaught of outsourcing &
automation of most HR operations???
TALENT MANAGEMENT : A STRATEGIC & INTEGRATIVE
APPROACH
The talent management strategy is superior not just
because it focuses on productivity, but also because it is forward looking and
proactive, which means that the organization is continuously seeking out talent
and opportunities to better utilize that talent. It produces excellent results
because it overcomes the major problem of traditional recruiting, which is
isolation. It instead integrates the previously independent functions of
recruiting, retention, workforce planning, employment branding, metrics,
orientation and redeployment into a seamless process.
TALENT MANAGEMENT & HRM : THE DIFFERENTIATORS
There are some other factors that help define how
talent management differs from traditional HRM. They include:
- A focus on high impact positions. A
talent management strategy requires managers and HR to determine which
jobs, when filled with top talent, have the largest impact on a firm’s
success.
- Cross Functional Approach. Talent
management builds cooperation and integration between previously
independent efforts of line/functional managers, through its heavy use of
common goals, metrics and rewards. As a result, no independent function
like marketing, production or IT can be considered successful unless
the overall talent management effort is also successful.
- Accountability. Talent
management gets managers’ attention by instituting a system of measures
and rewards that ensures every manager is recognized and rewarded for
excellence in people management (high workforce productivity). It
simultaneously measures employee engagement to ensure that managers reach
their productivity goals while using the appropriate management behaviors
(two-way communications, empowerment, meritocracy, etc.).
¨ Recognition of
the business conditions. The talent management approach involves
recognizing that different types of talent are required depending on changing
business situations & the business cycle. As a result, talent management
requires the continuous internal movement of talent in and out of jobs and
business units based on current business needs and where the company is in its
business cycle. Our experience with client companies, suggests that too
many firms rely on recruiting new talent rather than systematic development of
“home grown” talent. This generally leaves them unprepared to respond quickly to
business opportunities. It is a constant struggle to have the right people in
the right jobs at the right time in order to deliver improved business results.
- Focus on Internal Customer Service. Seamless
service is the expectation of talent management. Customer satisfaction,
process speed, quality, and responsiveness are continually measured. In
our HRD EFFECTIVENESS AUDIT newsletter we have described how this arm of
the talent management should be evaluated
¨ Anticipation. While
traditional HRM tends to be reactive, talent management is forward looking. It
forecasts and alerts managers about upcoming problems and opportunities. It
encourages managers to act before the need arises in talent management issues
PRIMARY PRINCIPLES OF TALENT MANAGMENT
The four primary factors that make the talent
management approach unique include:
1. An integrated approach
within HR. Talent management formally integrates ALL people management
programs and functions so that they work as a continuous & complementing
process.
2. Integrating people
processes into standard business processes. Talent management goes the
next step and further repositions people management programs and processes into
the company’s standard business processes, such as the corporate strategic planning
process, budgeting, mergers, and new product development.
3. Shifting
responsibility to managers. Talent management pushes the
accountability and the responsibility for executing people management down to
the line management levels.
4. Measuring success with
productivity. Talent management shifts the success measures from the
more traditional HR and recruiting functional metrics towards measuring the
overall productivity of the
The Key Success Factor of Talent Management
Before going into any detail about talent
management, it’s important to take a step back and look at where it fits into
the business map. Start with the operation of the HR department. Most HR
departments operate using a functional model where every HR unit operates on a
relatively independent basis. Other than HR generalists, every HR unit has
independent goals, measures, and budgets. For example, there is little or no
integration in the traditional recruiting function between its recruiting
programs and the activities of other HR functions like development,
compensation, and retention. Although this traditional separation provides the
recruiting function with the opportunity to focus on its own specialty area, it
can limit the impact of recruiting efforts by not meeting the expectation or
needs of other people management and business processes and programs.
"Alignment" is therefore the key element
of a successful Talent Strategy. When selecting or developing people,
most organizations focus on the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours
required for the role. However, some organizations are beginning to look
at the behaviours required to operate effectively in a particular team or
culture. Our experience at Synergy Management Associates, in serving our
clients, is to have an approach that looks at all of the factors that drive
team performance, the relationship between people's motivations and the sorts
of organizational cultures in which they will thrive.
Talent Management should be about delivering
business success through understanding what we actually mean by talent, and how
it will achieve the specific goals of the organization. It is about
ensuring that we value the natural talents and aspirations of our people.
It is about ensuring that we understand what blockages can spoil all our hard
work. It is about operating people processes that join together not only
with each other, but with the business's goals. And finally, it is also
about understanding how to manage people for alignment as well as ability.
If we adopt these approaches, not only will business success follow, but we
should also have fulfilled and effective people.
CONCLUSION
It comes down to whether a company has the talent
needed to execute its business strategy. And the signs of a faltering system
are readily apparent: failing to meet business targets or objectives; shortages
of key talent; talent management a low corporate priority; employee morale and
satisfaction on the wane; problems recruiting employees; problems retaining
employees; a tarnished employment brand. The end result of the talent
management process is to increase overall workforce productivity through the
improved attraction, retention, and utilization of talent.
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