As the adage goes, you cannot build a great organisation without great people; the collective noun for which is now popularly known as talent! This most valuable resource is more accurately described as the people who have developed their skills and are having the greatest positive effect on your organisation. The selection and retention of this talent is therefore essential to all successful businesses. 

Steven Murdoch

If you have picked up any HR-related magazine lately it is hard to avoid the current buzz around talent management.

Knowing how you can facilitate the development of talented people to maximise the impact they have on your business and the keys to keeping hold of them are important issues for any organisation.

 

But what does talent management actually mean, how does it affect your business and, most importantly, how can it help retain those key employees who are critical to the business's success?
 
 

What does talent management mean?

Although it is the current "in" phrase, it is difficult to define talent management as there is a lack of consistency in its use.  Essentially though it encapsulates the process of career planning for individuals or groups identified within an organisation as having the potential or "talent" to positively impact upon the business. It should consist of a plan which outlines the action to be taken for these employees to develop their skills to have the most influence, whether it is a progression route to CEO or simply an enhancement of their current role.

Clearly this process is going to be unique to each organisation and should be tailored to the individuals within it.  The process is complicated by the changing demographics of the labour market where skills-shortages and employee demands for work-life balance mean that 90s-style succession planning does not always fit the model.
Talent management is a more flexible approach to getting the most out of the people within your business and done right should benefit the employee as much as the organisation.  
  

What processes are involved?

Business Gateway, an organisation providing information and advice to businesses in Scotland, suggest an effective talent management process should ensure:

 

• The talent required for business success is understood and seized
• Individual talent is understood and utilized
• Roles are filled when they become available (internally where possible)
• People with diverse qualities are invested in
• A measurable return on investment

  

What does this all mean in real terms?

 

A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and careerjournal.com, the executive careers division of the Wall Street Journal, found that 35% of employees cited dissatisfaction with potential career development as the main reason they would start looking for a new job. 

 

Successful implementation of a talent management programme should ensure that employees feel invested in and that they are aware of their own progression potential within the organisation.

 

CIPD cite maximising opportunities for individual employees to develop their skills and move on in their careers as a key element to employee retention. Giving these opportunities to the people who have been identified as "talent" may just ensure that they choose to develop their career within your organisation rather than within your competitors'.  

 

What are the effects of losing talent?

There are several effects to consider when talent is lost from your business; the effect of their absence from the running of your organisation; the positive impact they will have within your competitor's organisation and the cost of replacing the individual.

It is clear that limiting employee turnover, particularly within high-ranking positions, is important.  It is also apparent that one of the ways of reducing staff turnover is by implementing an effective talent management programme.  By providing employees with clear training and career development paths you increase their feeling of value, cement their loyalty to your company and ultimately retain their talent within your organisation.

 

For more information on talent management and how it can help you and your business, please feel free to contact us.