2014 [TALENT MANAGEMENT]

Transcription

1 2014 [TALENT MANAGEMENT]

2 INTRODUCTION Competition between companies has become more hard fought these days with the development of technology minimizing the differences between them to marginal levels. This indeed has presented a new challenge for the HR in the organizations; to get the right set of talent to do the job and most importantly to retain them. People connected to one another by means of a plethora of social networking options has in fact made it more difficult for the companies to retain the talent as the top performers are easily picked up and the employees on an eternal job hunt mode searching for their next perfect job. Over the period of time talent management has become one of those areas which impacts the company bottom lines as most of the companies these days have specialists taking up important roles. Delay in filling up these positions may lead to over stretching the existing team set up, delay in deliverables and some lost clients in the process. These specialists in the organization has made the whole business person specific and this has made it essential for the human resources department to retain them and enhance the skill sets of this set of employees to meet the evolving needs of the role and the organization (Russell, 2001). The tactics that recruiters adopt towards talent management is varied based on the socio cultural frame work and the competitive landscape that they are in. In a recent study conducted amongst 90 HR managers it has been found that better sourcing techniques tops the list, followed by effective use of social media platforms and improvements in systems and processes to be the most important things that the HR managers has to focus in order to get the best talent on board. Surprisingly in the study only 7% claim that attractive compensation and benefits has worked for them in getting the right talent. This might possibly because of the fact that it is no longer a differentiator and most of the companies are relying on the corporate brand image and other job related factors like the diversity, design and flexibility to create the differentiation to attract and retain talent. WHY ORGANISATIONS SHOULD ADOPT TALENT MANAGEMENT Having a workforce that is aligned to the business goals and objectives is one thing that most of the HR managers are trying to achieve. A well thought out talent management will always have consistent leadership framework across the board and at the same time the HR managers would try to look at specific competencies that are important for them, be it experience in a

3 particular domain, technical, analytical, leadership qualities that can help them in carrying out the specific tasks entrusted on them. The case sites many examples where the top management is involved in the talent management activities just because they understand that the right pool of talent is the only way in which they can implement the plans that would take them towards their business goals. Now talent management has become more of a pro active exercise for the managers than before, where they have to anticipate the new trends and train their work force to deal with them rather than just planning and preparing your team to deal with the long term trends. Talent Management also has evolved into understanding the training needs of the employees and filling out the gaps in competencies that would enable them to carry out varied roles that would be beneficial for the companies and at the same time encouraging the employees to stay with the organization for a long term. Good talent management strategies in the organization also has reduced the costs incurred by organizations in finding out the right talent for them by scanning and screening the right set of candidates that are fit to fulfill the role. As mentioned above, the penetration of the social media amongst the young generation also has made it possible for the recruiters to reach them easily and in turn reducing the cost of recruitment process (Kesler, 2003). It is imperative that the organizations define the right metrics to define the talent management strategy that they wish to follow. Talent management in an organization should be looked at as more from a strategy perspective that the organization wishes to follow rather than applying the softer HR metrics that they wish to apply (Birdi et al, 2008). One school of thought is that the HR managers should be concentrating more on what they are supposed to do like the cost per recruitment, the package offered and the skill sets that they get in return and leave the more strategic decisions to the operations where they would have to train and fit the employees based on the skill sets that they possess to the roles in the organization. But of late this thought has a few takers, now most of the top management looks at HR department as a part of their strategic decision making process. They want HR to look at talent management from the operational point of view where they can justify the position of an employee in quantifiable terms of return on investment. The impact that the right talent management system can have for the business is tremendous as the employees would be more engaged and the performance levels of the employees would improve and their performance can be quantified which may help the HR to chart out their

4 development plan. Another benefit that one can draw out of it is that this can help the organization in finding the leaders for tomorrow. No organization is static and they always require fresh thinking process to continuously adapt to changing environment. A good talent management system would identify the leaders for the organization amongst the existing base of employees and would help them in gaining both the functional and strategic experience to handle the top posts. As the case suggests top HR managers understand that creating leaders is a long term process and according to the Mckinsey study conducted in 2001, high performing managers helped the bottom line growth by % where as ordinary ones came with no growth at all (Lewis & Heckman, 2006). It also leaves the scope for the employees to evolve into better performers by identifying areas of improvement and getting them trained on the same. Employee strengths may be mapped and the organization may make use of this by letting them do something more than what the job description actually suggests. The flexibility, the length and breadth of the job design in turn motivates the employees to stay longer with the organization as they would realize that the organization does more to them rather than just getting the stipulated set of work defined in the job description done. But before all these could occur there should be a synergy between the HR managers and the top management and they should be willing to understand language of business and align themselves to the core business objective (Howard & Wellins, 2008). TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES Organizations that are strategically advance would always plan well in advance to develop a talent pool that they would require in achieving the business goals. As the case suggests, talent management strategies should be viewed with the business goal and commercials in mind and hence rather than just applying some standard set of practices within the organization, the HR managers should adopt a pragmatic approach while formulating the talent management strategies for the organization. Most of the organization are contingency proof when it comes to their raw materials and operations but few really plan out to make the organization contingency proof when it comes to the employees (Collins & Holton, 2004). Companies should identify the important functions where they are most vulnerable. This should include all the employees and top leadership who carry out the most important functions of the organization and ensure that

5 there is back up in case someone decides to leave. Hiring just doesn t mean that the HR managers should look at the current setup and being completely blind to the future growth plans of the company. HR managers should be involved in the strategic decision making of the company thus ensuring that they can have the right talent pool ready for the long term growth of the organization (Scott & Revis, 2008) Interaction with the existing set of employees to understand their expectations from the organization can help in understanding the gaps. Work life balance questions are best understood when the HR managers interact with the employees and understand where they lack in terms of providing the right environment to the employees. Performance levels of the existing set can be employed by a set of tactics like flexible work culture, scope for the employees to grow within the organization by learning new skills. In a survey that was conducted by KPMG in 2005, it is seen that most of the employees prefer to have a wider job role handling multiple tasks that can help them in moving up the ladder. HR managers thus should focus more in ensuring that the employees are given the option to learn and try out new things that can help them grow in the organization. Diverse working culture can also be a morale booster for the employees as they tend to learn a lot from people coming from different backgrounds but on the flip side the HR managers will have to ensure that there is synergy between various teams due to people from different backgrounds working together (Jackson & Schuler, 1990). Passing on the learning key to the employees can work wonders as they would have complete control on their development within the organization and at the same time the organizations can have an internal market place set up for the employees that would enable them to get the best out of the employees. Developing the metrics that would suit the flexible and diverse work force is a key as this would help the companies to analyze the workforce based on the changing working environment. These days blind loyalty towards the organization might not be a motivation for the employees to stay back with the organization. They are more interested in understanding how best their personal growth would be taken care of. HR managers should look at understanding how best they could help the employees in being the master of their trade thus motivating them to stay longer with the organization and contribute to the larger business goals by means of these improved skills (Rothwell, 1994).

6 Having a well thought of succession plan can help save the organization a lot of time and effort. As the case suggests the leaders of tomorrow cannot be build in a day. HR managers should identify the star performers in the organization to ensure that they invest wisely on these employees. Giving them additional responsibilities and mentoring them to take up the mantle will not only help to retain these star performers but also would motivate others to take their performance to the next level to enter into the fray. Integration of various tools that the organizations can help the employees in getting a holistic view of the whole set up. This would also help the organizations to ensure that the people who drive the business have the data ready to deal with the situations rather than wasting their time and effort in getting the bits and pieces together before they could start the work. Above all, every organization should try and design the talent management strategy based on their culture, goals and strategy rather than trying to fit in a strategy that worked elsewhere. ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN MANAGING TALENT The case suggests that the difference between a good talent management strategy and a great one is the leadership team that drives the same. It is imperative that the HR managers are made a part of the strategic decision making and they should be briefed about where the organization would like to see them in the long run. Also future leaders should be nurtured under the mentorship of the current set of leaders and this would ensure that candidates are prepared to face the challenges that they would be dealing with when they take on the mantle. Internal talent in the organization is very critical and hence the CEOs of the organization who decides the future growth path of the organization should be actively involved in searching for the right set of talent that would enable him to take the company to the growth path that he intends to do (Gandz, 2006). This would also send out a strong message to the set of employees that the organization is seriously involved in ensuring the growth of the employees and they would be more than happy to put in their best foot forward to ensure that they also contribute to the growth of the organization. It is seen that companies that has the lowest attrition rates generally have a strong focus in making their employees happy and have a clear development path that is decided for the employees. It is up to the leadership to decide on the skill sets that they would like to have in the team and hence they should work closely with the HR managers in designing the internal skill development programs and career development plans so that they can have their armor ready in dealing with the future challenges that they are going to face. The most important thing here is that the top

7 management should lend the long term development plan to the HR division that would enable them in making an informed choice by looking at recruiting in a more pragmatic manner. CONCLUSION In order to ensure that the business stay ahead of the rest, the role of Strategic talent management is of prime importance. With the changing business environment and technological advancements, a workforce that is suited to take up the challenges thrown at them and anticipate the in the market is essential. As the case rightly suggests, Hr managers should start looking at talent management in a more pragmatic manner and they should link it to the commercial success of the organization in order to achieve this. Supporting the employees with continuous training and bridging the gaps in terms of competencies are some of the things that can help the organization cope with the changes. Top leadership commitment and involvement should be there while designing the ideal talent management strategy for the organization. HR managers should try and measure the performance of the employees using flexible metrics that is much more holistic than the existing framework that exists in many organizations that only looks at the current scenario. As mentioned earlier, a valuable talent pool requires some time and effort to be built and the most important thing is to ensure that the management realizes this and include HR function while making strategic decisions for the organization. For a start every organization should start with those departments that are critical and expand the same to all departments. Once this is taken care of, the talent management system will optimize itself over a period of time. REFERENCES Birdi, K., Clegg, C., Patterson, M., Robinson, A., Stride, C. B., Wall, T. D., & Wood, S. J. (2008). The impact of human resource and operational management practices on company productivity: A longitudinal study. Personnel Psychology, 61, Collins, D. B., & Holton, E. F. (2004). The effectiveness of managerial leadership development programs: A meta analysis of studies from 1982 to Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(2), Howard, A. & Wellins, R. (2008) Global Leadership Forecast Pittsburgh, PA: Development Dimensions International

8 Russell, C. J. (2001). A longitudinal study of top level executive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), Kesler, Gregory C, 2003, Why the Leadership Bench Never Gets Deeper: Ten Insights About Executive Talent Development. Competitive Human Resources Strategies, LLC; Human Resources Planning Society Journal, Volume 25, Issue 1, PP Lewis, R.E. and Heckman, R.J. (2006), Talent management: a critical review, Human Resources Management Review, Vol. 16, pp Cappelli, P. (2008) Talent Management for the Twenty First Century, Harvard Business Review Scott, B. and Revis, S. (2008), Talent management in hospitality: graduate career success and strategies, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20, pp Lewis, R.E. and Heckman, R.J. (2006), Talent management: a critical review, Human Resources Management Review, Vol. 16, pp Scott, B. and Revis, S. (2008), Talent management in hospitality: graduate career success and strategies, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20, pp Jackson, S. E., & Schuler, R. S. (1990). Human resource planning: Challenges for industrial/organizational psychologists, American Psychologist, Vol. 45, pp Rothwell, W. J. (1994). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within, New York: Amacom Gandz, J. (2006). Talent development: the architecture of a talent pipeline that works, Ivey Business Journal, Vol.70, pp. 1-4.