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Current Research in Talent Management
Beth Kniss, Insala Consultant
With the well publicized war for talent in full force, many
global companies are engaging proactive strategies to
protect themselves. This article will review the current
trends regarding the all-encompassing phrase “talent
management” (TM), and what companies are doing about it.
Talent Management – A Definition
“Developing, redeploying and retaining top employees” serves
as a general definition of talent management. Synonymous
with Human Capital Management, talent management is an
umbrella phrase which includes employee recruitment,
retention, performance management, skills and competency
management, succession planning, redeployment, learning
management, training, on-boarding, career development
processes, internal career centers and internal career
pathing.
Effective talent management enables organizations to
successfully compete in an increasingly global economy by
effectively identifying and harnessing the human power
within. Additionally, talent management helps companies with
employer of choice initiatives, regulatory compliance
issues, M&A activities, downsizings, career transitions,
organizational change, as well as human resources measures
and metrics.
Talent Management – Current Trends
»
The War for Talent – The Most Critical People Management
Issue is Attracting and Retaining Top Employees
A plethora of research has accumulated showing that
companies worldwide are experiencing shortages of talented
employees. The recent Talent Pulse Survey 2005
of over 1,400 HR practitioners worldwide by Deloitte
consultancy, reports that the most critical people
management issues are attracting and retaining high-caliber
workers. These issues are further heightened by the fact
that 54% of the respondents believe that talent issues have
an impact on overall productivity and that there is a clear
link between talent management and business performance.
HRVote,
Human Resources magazine’s online voting forum, also reports
that attraction and retention is the top business issue for
HR professionals. Consider the following statistics
calculated from the HR professionals visiting the site:
72% nominated attraction and retention as a key issue
44% indicated talent management and succession planning
was a
significant challenge
» Increasing Use of Talent Management Technology
Online employee portals, the majority originating out of the
need to offer easy employee access to benefits, are being
expanded into comprehensive online experiences. Employees
increasingly are managing their careers through such talent
management technology portals, and companies are
increasingly learning about, and more effectively managing
their employee populations.
A recent Human Resources Magazine article
Just do it! Are you a serious HR professional?
highlights the importance of the human link with technology by offering, “When it comes to the psychology
underpinning effective group cooperation, HR professionals
need to be able to help line managers see that essentially
all businesses are social and technical systems that require
the effective cooperation of people, and some form of
technology to deliver products, services or experiences of
value to customers to make a profit. At this level all
businesses are the same.”
» Fostering Internal Talent – The Skills and Abilities of
Employees Within
the Organization
Being able to identify talent within an organization is an
initial step, however developing and retaining that talent
are critical follow up steps being undertaken in
forward-thinking companies. In a recent Vancouver Sun
article Targeting Talent:
Boomer retirement wave is rapidly
approaching. Where will you get your talent from?
(September 17, 2005), Stephen Diotte, a partner with Deloitte, states fostering
talent from within is going to be the most important thing
going forward for most organizations. Knowing what skills
exist within the employee population, and how they can be
developed will be critical. Many organizations are utilizing
talent management technology to amass skills inventories
easily enabling internal redeployment and succession
planning.
» Growth in Employer of Choice Initiatives
Originally targeting specific groups, i.e., women, working
mothers, and women of color, employer of choice initiatives
are broadening. Being recognized, both formally and
informally, as an “employer of choice,” “best company to
work for” or a “best places to work” is becoming a
mainstream concept for companies worldwide. And, this
message is targeting all potential employees, not just
members of minority groups as mentioned above. As the war
for talent and skills shortages increase, employer of choice
initiatives likely will increase in order for companies to
attract and retain top talent.
» Talent Management – the Next Core Competency for HR;
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) on the Rise
Talent management is projected to be the next core
competency in HR domain expertise, according to a newly
released IDC study U.S. HR BPO 2005 Vendor Analysis: The
Evolving Landscape.
Second to benefits expertise, talent management is
increasingly becoming a hot commodity, especially in the HR
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) space. According to IDC:
• 37% of U.S. HR outsourcing spending in 2004 was on HR and
talent management services
• The U.S. HR BPO services are projected to grow at a
compound annual growth rate of over 16%, to almost $16.5
billion by 2009
Internally, specialists in talent management are
increasingly in demand. According to a recent article in
Human Resources Magazine Making the most of a hot HR job
market
“there’s a shortage of good people in these areas,
particularly at the more senior levels.”
» HR Measures and Metrics – Going Beyond Budgets and
Headcounts
Increasing pressure on HR to justify its value, is
propelling the HR function in many companies to determine
exactly what is important for it to measure. According to a
recent Human Resources Magazine article How effective is
your HR function?
original HR evaluation, which focused on maintaining budgets
and employee headcounts, is being expanded to include
scorecards and more effectively designed employee surveys.
Such tools, often delivered through talent management
technology, provide powerful data regarding efficiency and
effectiveness within an organization.
» Population Trends
Consider the following:
• By 2050, 40% of Europe’s total population and 60% of its
working population will be people over 60. – Eurostats, 2000
• By 2008, the United States will be lacking 10 million
workers due to demographic changes in the country. – U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
These worldwide demographic statistics speak clearly for
themselves. Their daunting messages are fueling many
companies to solidify their talent management philosophies,
so they can not only survive, but thrive in the years ahead.
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