Talent

Management
What is Talent Management?
Talent is a set of unique abilities possessed bay
individuals.
There are two Types of talent found in an organization.
They are Unidimensional and Multidimensional.
Both Types of talent have the same objective, however,
with different perspectives
Build Sustainable Processes
Managers should coach and develop their people. Every employee
knows what areas they need to improve, and for those with particularly
high potential, career tracks should be developed that give them a
sense of a sustainable relationship with the organization.

Strengthen Shared Values

Every employee should be able to connect their daily work productivity
and responsibilities to the values of the organization. They need to
understand the job and the reason for completing the job successfully.

Leverage Problems as Opportunities

Problems in the workplace should be seen by employees as
opportunities to develop their skills and hone their talent for future
performance. Learning the causes and stresses inherent in the
problems can be helpful for both the organization and the employees.
Unidimensional Talent
In an organization, we observe that some employees are best in a
particular skill and ability. For instance, some employee may be best
in administration, some of them best in sales, while some employees
may be best in their respective functions. When individuals possess a
singular talent in any particular field, it is called unidimensional
talent.
Multidimensional Talent
On the other hand, in an organization we also observe that employees
are adept at multiple skills and abilities. For example, one employee is
best in administration sales, accounting and production at a stretch.
Such an employee is said to possess multi-dimensional talent.
Multi-dimensional talent is much sort after by organizations. Every
organization seeks to retain employees with multidimensional talent
as they prove highly beneficial in bridging the gap between
organizational objectives and goals.
Skill and Knowledge as Defined in
Talent Management
 Skill and knowledge both are the abilities of individuals.
Knowledge is information-based and skill is the ability to perform a
particular task in the required time frame.
 Knowledge: It is the theoretical and practical understanding of
any subject. It provides the foundation to gain skills on any subject
or action. For example, an employee having good knowledge of
English language and grammar may not be able to speak in good
English, because communicating in English is a distinct skill.
 Skill: One can develop skills through experience, training, and
continuous effort. For example, an employee can develop
communication skills while continuously practicing and
communicating with colleagues or subordinates.
What is Talent Gap?
Talent Gap:
 Talent gap simply refers to a lack of skilled personnel in an
organization. Every organization occasionally faces the tough issue
of talent gap. The HR Department makes an all-out effort to fill this
gap through various methods, most of which are discussed in
subsequent chapters of this tutorial.
 Persistent talent gap is likely to hamper the growth and
development of an organization. It also has a negative impact on
the employees’ motivation as they feel demotivated due to lack of
talented people to look up to for necessary instructions and advice
to work effectively.
 When an organization is fraught with talent gap, it performs rather
poorly in every respect. This is when HR managers step in to fill the
gap by recruiting talented people to work in the organization.
How to Fill the Talent Gap?
To fill the talent gap in an organization, the HR
Department needs to follow certain basic steps. It helps in
working out solutions to deal with talent gap. Following
are the steps to address talent gap.
 Know the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) required for the
positions or vacancies.
 Identify the areas where proficiency needed.
 Look for persons with required KSAs within the industry or market.
 Select the right or deserving candidates with required proficiency.
 Identify the skill gap of the candidate to the position.
 Devise plans to mitigate the skill gap.
 Roll out professional development plans to help employees succeed
in their role.
 Periodical assessment of individual performance and identify the
areas where extra training or specialized attention is required.
Build Sustainable Processes
Managers should coach and develop their people. Every employee
knows what areas they need to improve, and for those with particularly
high potential, career tracks should be developed that give them a
sense of a sustainable relationship with the organization.

Strengthen Shared Values

Every employee should be able to connect their daily work productivity
and responsibilities to the values of the organization. They need to
understand the job and the reason for completing the job successfully.

Leverage Problems as Opportunities

Problems in the workplace should be seen by employees as
opportunities to develop their skills and hone their talent for future
performance. Learning the causes and stresses inherent in the
problems can be helpful for both the organization and the employees.
Talent Management Process / Stages
The various stages of Talent Management are as
follows:
 Identifying the goals: This is the cardinal stage and pivotal to the success
of the entire talent management process. The first step is to identify what the
organization aims to achieve and what characteristic qualifications and skills the
recruits should possess to realize the goals.

 Attracting the talent: The main aim of talent management process is to

hire the best talent for an organization. Organizations at this stage make effort to
attract the best talented people from the job market.

 Sourcing the talent: In this stage, the talent management personnel looks
for appropriate sources in the job market or industries where the targeted people
can be hired or recruited.

 Recruitment: This is the first stage of hiring the best talented people for the
organization. Skilled and qualified people are invited to join the organization.
•Selection: This is the stage where the objective of talent
management becomes a reality. It is when truly talented people are
recruited or hired in various roles.
•Training and development: At this stage, the selected recruits
are provided with necessary training to make them productive and
efficient to work towards the goals of the organization.

•Retention: The notable objective of talent management is not only

hiring talent but also ensuring their retention in the organization.
Factors upon which the retention rate depends are attractive pay
package, job specification, safety and security of the employees,
personal development of an employee, recognition and culture of the
organization, and the fit between the job and talent.
•Assessment: Periodical assessment of employees’ skills, abilities,
improvements and competencies enable the organization to know if
they are fit for continuation and promotion.

•Performance appraisal: It is a measurement of the actual

performance of the employees in the job. It enables the organization to
ascertain if the person can be loaded with extra responsibilities.

•Promotion: It refers to job enrichment. It keeps the energy level high

of the employees and they are inspired to continue to work for the
organization.
•Career planning: If an employee is found befitting to handle work
pressure and extra responsibilities well, the management needs to
plan his/her career so that he or she feels elevated and rewarded.
Such recognition and rewards inspire the employees to remain with
the organization for a long time.

•Succession planning: This deals with the replacement of people

within the organization. Employees who have given their best to the
organization and have been serving for long deserve to hold higher
positions.
•Exit stage: This is the final stage of talent management process
that ends in the retirement of the employees and they are no more a
part of the organization.
Talent Management ─ Methodology
Every organization has a different methodology for
talent management.
The following diagram shows the complete cycle of
talent management which involves Planning,
Acquiring, Developing, and Retaining of able and
skilled personnel for the organization.
The steps are as follows:
•Planning ─ It involves identifying, defining, and setting criteria for
required capabilities as well as examining the current talent levels.

•Acquiring ─ It utilizes a varied range of strategies to attract talent.

•Developing ─ It involves providing opportunities for career

development and training, managing employee performance, coaching
and mentoring.

•Retaining ─ It involves providing long-term incentive, a flexible and

positive work environment, and opportunities for advancement of good
remuneration.
Let us now discuss each of the steps in detail.
Planning Talent
In this methodology, the organization
establishes defined competencies and sets
criteria to measure the talent skills:
 Focus on Talent: Once you know what your organization needs, you can start
thinking about what type of talent potential to focus on.

 Define Competence: Competencies are lasting individual attributes that cause

high levels of performance. In this stage, the organization clearly defines the specific
and usable skills and talents its employees need, so as to realize organizational goals
and objectives.

 Measure Criteria: There should be a set of criteria to evaluate, measure, and develop
specific competency. You need objective criteria to measure competencies effectively.

 Talent Audit: An audit may include different types of activities designed to evaluate
the level of competence. Methods include psychometric tests and questionnaires, in-
depth interviews, case studies, and analysis of the most recent performance reviews.
Acquiring Talent
In this stage of methodology, the organization promotes its
values to attract talented people to apply and join the
organization. It includes interviewing, selecting, and on-
boarding employees.

 Attracting: Organizations promote their culture and values to attract talented and
skilled people from the industries to work with.

 Recruiting: A recruiting brand reflects the core values of the organization and
communicates the advantages of working for the organization.
 Selecting: This process involves multiple steps such as interviews, tests, and
background checks.

 Employing: It is the final stage of hiring the skilled and talented people in the
organization.
Developing Talent
It includes talent management readiness, career development
and training, performance management, and coaching and
mentoring. These are the core objectives of this phase.

 Talent Readiness Training: These competencies help the organization

attract, identify and develop talent.

 Career Development & Training: Training program is useful for upgrading
talent and skills of the employees and prepare them for future challenges.
 Performance Management: Performance management incorporates setting
goals, giving performance reviews, and providing feedback.

 Coaching & Mentoring: Coaching and mentoring develops talent by
encouraging people to excel at their work and to learn on the job. These
techniques engage people on a more emotional level.
Retaining Talent
The longer you retain talented people in your organization, the
greater the return on your investment. Retaining, the fourth
phase of methodology, is to define several strategies that can
help retain talent.
 Long-term Incentives: Long-term incentives such as stock options or paid
vacation or other benefits increasing over time can encourage employees to
couple their careers and personal goals with a long-term commitment or
association with the organization.

 Career Planning: This involves providing genuine opportunity for advancement

to the employees to retain talent in the organization.

 Flexible Working Arrangements: When working arrangements are inflexible

and fixed, the options available to employees are limited – forcing them to choose
between staying with or leaving an organization.

 Talent Culture: Positive work environment is a key factor to retain talent.

Management needs to monitor these levels of satisfaction so they can forestall
problems before people leave an organization.