Learning & Talent Management

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?