Talent management

Talent management is an overarching term used to describe an organisation's commitment to fostering and maximising the performance and potential of their workforce. Talent management strategies are designed to develop a workplace that discovers, retains and supports the best possible talent available.

Talent Management

Talent management serves to enable organisations by providing a framework to apply to the attraction, identification, development and retention of the workforce required by an organisation. Done well, talent management offers organisations a strategic toolkit for nurturing and deploying talented individuals to help achieve strategic outcomes. 

A robust talent management strategy, customised to meet the needs of an organisation, can offer competitive advantage in the form of the following: 

  • Providing a focus for investment in human capital 
  • Building a high performance workplace 
  • Encouraging a learning organisation 
  • Adding weight to the ’employee value proposition’ and company brand 
  • Contributing towards diversity management 

Strategic Alignment

Talent management is a business strategy. For this strategy to be fully functional it must be integrated with business planning and all employee management related processes. 

Ensuring that the talent strategy is closely aligned with the corporate strategy is a priority. Strategic business objectives should be translated into an HR context and used to shape the organisation’s approach to talent management. 

Employee Lifecycle Focus

Many HR processes and systems are at play within a talent management environment, including workforce planning, succession planning, performance management, learning and development and reward and recognition. 

Along with workforce planning, it is pertinent to consider the employee lifecycle – attraction, performance and development, and retention – within a talent management context. The result of making committed investments at every stage of the relationship with the employees will help companies remain competitive. 

Organisations can adopt different employee lifecycle models to match their industry practice, reflect corporate culture, or align with business operations. Most frameworks have 5 to 8 stages of progression, which range from employee attraction and recruitment to exit and succession. 

Talent Attraction

The ability to attract external talent depends upon the following: 

  • The types of positions on offer within the marketplace and how these are perceived by potential applicants 
  • How potential applicants view the organisation, the industry, sector and/or environment in which it operates 
  • Whether potential applicants share the same or similar values as the organisation. 

The creation of an attractive employer brand and value proposition is therefore an important factor in recruiting external talent.

Talent Identification

There are many ways to formally and informally identify talented employees within the organisation. The key is to assess both the actual performance and the future potential of employees using a tool like the talent management assessment matrix.  

This tool, also known as the nine-box grid, is widely recognised for talent management and succession planning in both HR and strategic management. 

Talent Development

Keeping employees’ skills up to date helps organisations remain relevant and competitive. In many advanced organisations, an active learning and development program encourages innovation, maintains staff competencies, and improves overall productivity. 

For this reason, talent development should be directly aligned to formal learning and development programs and initiatives as well as informal learning activities (both on or off the job). These may include attending training courses, seminars or business functions, coaching, mentoring, networking and meeting senior people or specialists within the organisation or beyond. 

Talent Retention

Workplace culture and job satisfaction are key contributors to an individual’s decision to stay or go. Employers should create an appealing culture and show a strong commitment to employee satisfaction, motivation, and morale. Building an organisational culture that shows a commitment to employee growth and encourages recognition and reward of positive behaviours is paramount. 

Investment in leadership development will also have a positive impact on talent retention. Developing people management skills within operational and strategic management levels is critical. The process of succession planning helps many organisations to identify and prepare individuals to potentially fill key leadership and other critical positions in the future.  

Strategic Application

There are a few ways in which a talent management strategy may be adopted with respect to its scope. 

At one end of the spectrum, some organisations choose to include the workforce in its entirety – an approach that may benefit employee engagement and overall talent development. Other companies may develop a more targeted method or segment talent according to need. In scenarios such as this, the talent management process will specifically relate to high-potential individuals or those occupying key and/or critical roles. 

In practice, it is relatively common for organisations to opt for a blended approach, with all employees included as a complete talent group, however with more focus paid to a particular core group or groups of employees. 

Above all, irrespective of which approach an organisation adopts, consistency, equity and fairness must be applied in all talent management processes, with a clear and visible consideration for diversity and inclusion practices. 

Implementing Selective Talent Management Programs

Below are some key best practice tips when developing and implementing talent programs for targeted pools of talent: 

  • Research has shown that the existence of structured selection processes increases the perceived value of talent programs and increases the motivation of participants to perform 
  • For people not selected, the provision of sensitive and constructive feedback minimises the likelihood of them developing negative feelings toward the program or organisation 
  • Dialogue with participants should be maintained after the program has been completed to manage expectations about career development opportunities linked to completion of the program 
  • Line managers are a key source of information and insight to help identify participants from their area. They also need to be encouraged to see talent management wholistically from an organisation wide perspective 
  • Visible support and involvement from senior leadership is essential. Having senior management sit in on program events, engage with participants, chair sessions or sponsor projects are excellent ways to demonstrate commitment to talent development. 
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Updated February 2022