When
I was a little boy I never heard of the word talent associated with anything
other than special abilities - daninge, singing, painting etc. And since many of us were not exceedingly good at these things we often referred to as "the talentless". It is heartwarming therefore
that companies these days see the potential of employees as “talent”. It connotes
a creative component - a will to offer freely and with a sense creativity and engagement.
I remember receiving an offer letter
once in which the last line said, “Should you choose to decline this offer
kindly let us know at the earliest so we can continue our search for suitable talent”. Wow! As a prospective employee
to me it implied that I was not being seen (anymore) as a person from whom work would be
extracted but rather as a free man who was being offered the opportunity to contribute
my knowledge, experience and creative abilities. It made a world of difference!
Managing
the sum and total of all such abilities/potential within an organization through
the employment cycle Acquisition, engagement, development, leadership,
retention has come to be known as Talent Management.
The Talent
Management Challenge
Talent
Management (TM) discussions a few years ago centered around issues of impending
talent shortages, grooming suitable replacements (succession planning) etc., However
presently it is about enhancing productivity and competitiveness here and now. This
is because today’s organizations have smaller workforces as a result of which
there it the need to develop new hires at an accelerated pace and to cross train
experienced staff so they can handle multiple tasks/responsibilities. In
addition the scarcity of critical skills (such as IT) in the job market and fierce
competition in sourcing talent from abroad also presents a formidable challenge
to talent management.
You
need Learning
While
TM software can help in streamlining processes and automating time intensive components
(viz performance reviews), automation itself cannot improve performance. You need
learning. Human capital needs to be systematically aligned with the organizational
needs to ensure sustainability. A brilliant business plan business without the
workforce to support it is not going to achieve the intended results.
“In organizations with an integrated talent
management strategy, the learning function serves as a partner or facilitator
to every talent management function but one — compensation and rewards”
1 Learning’s Critical Role in Integrated
Talent Management, ASTD Research, 2011.
Knowing
that alignment of learning initiatives with your organizations TM strategy is
of paramount importance, what would you do differently?
