A fresh outlook
While it is commonly accepted that talent management approaches need to change, many employers have been slow to embrace new ideas and concepts; risking their ability to manage the talent that they do possess and by extension endangering the future success of the organisation.
There are four key areas that can underpin future talent management approaches. Whilst specific aspects of content may differ, ensuring that attention is paid to these four ‘realms’ can help organisations identify, analyse, implement and monitor an effective talent management strategy.
Generational sentience
It is vital that organisations acknowledge that different generations within the workplace will have a variety of ‘wants and needs’ and must accommodate this diversity within the overall scope of the organisation’s mission.
This is more than simply articulating a different approach based upon the generational demographics, it is ensuring that each individual is given the opportunity to express their personality, work style or preferences within the organisational context.
Macro to micro learning trends
As work becomes increasingly knowledge-based, and the length of an employee’s tenure within each role decreases, it is vital that the development of skills links employees’ broader career development aspirations with the specific, and immediate needs of the employer. Learning must move away from ‘just in case’ to ‘just in time.’
Wellbeing
Surveys are increasingly linking organisational success to employee wellbeing with anecdotal evidence showing that there is a clear correlation between how well an organisation implements these initiatives (both from physical and mental wellbeing perspectives) and the improvement in a range of metrics including attraction, retention, absence and employee engagement.
Talent management to talent facilitation
With talent scarcity showing little sign of improvement, many employees currently have a choice of how, where and when to utilise their skills. HR teams must acknowledge this fact and create a data system that:
- Identifies a suitable talent pipeline across the workforce (both internally and externally)
- Enables talent to be deployed successfully across the organisation
- Encourages flexibility across divisions and departments and fosters an environment of fluidic collaboration
- Examines ‘reward’ and provides increasingly bespoke packages dependent upon employee preferences
- Supports career development amongst the workforce
New technology will advance these aspects of talent management and it is crucial that HR embrace this technology to link these often disparate practices in support of the broader objectives.
A platform for improvement
By addressing these key areas, you will put in place a robust infrastructure for talent management within your organisation, but it is clear that this is just the beginning. Talent management strategy is changing, but still too slowly to keep up with the advances elsewhere in the workplace and in broader society. HR must keep up or risk being seen as ‘behind the curve’ and as merely an implementer of policy as opposed to a creator.
