Talent Management
Talent Management by Successful Companies
The previous articles discussed how successful companies develop and
nurture leaders and groom them for higher roles as their career
progresses. The role of the HRM function is critical, as there needs to
be excellence all around and not just in one area. In other words, it is
not enough if a company has a brand image in the market that attracts
top quality talent but is not doing well once this talent starts working
in the company. Take for instance, the Indian IT behemoth, Infosys.
Though working there is a dream come true for many graduates, in recent
months, the company has been hit with astounding attrition, as the
company is not doing well in terms of retaining and nurturing talent. On
the other hand, companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple not only
attract the best talent in the market but also manage them well leading
to their practices becoming a model for other companies to follow.
This
article analyzes the best talent management practices of successful
companies and the role of the HRM function in nurturing and grooming
talent.
Some Aspects in Talent Management
The first aspect for global companies is to not be parochial in their
hiring practices and instead, welcome diversity by recruiting
international talent, employees from different backgrounds, and in
general diversify the employee base. Next, is the identification and
grooming of high potentials that would give the organization a pool of
leaders from which they can draw upon when faced with a situation where
leaders are needed. Though this is a practice that is followed in many
companies, the successful companies also identify emerging leaders and
not only those who have established themselves. The point here is that
successful talent management needs the HRM staff and the senior
management to draw up a list of potential leaders at both ends of the
talent development chain. In other words, these companies start from the
lower levels and go on till the middle and senior management levels.
The third aspect of successful talent management is the provision of
both vertical and horizontal job opportunities for the existing
employees. This means that the employees are provided with a menu of
career options that would enable them to shift role and find fulfillment
in the role of their choice. The reason why this aspect is very
important is that often many companies stifle their employees by not
providing change of job functions or roles leading to widespread
dissatisfaction among the employees.
Creating a Fulfilling Work Culture
The fourth aspect of successful talent management is that these
companies provide their employees with a change of work location where
the reason for such a move is not to simply move talent to locations
where there are shortfalls but also the need for the employee’s personal
development is taken into consideration. The point here is that
successful talent management requires that employees feel privileged
working for the company and their needs for self-actualization and
fulfillment be taken care of by the company. Indeed, successful
companies often have people first policies where the focus is on
creating a stimulated and fast-paced environment that encourages and
fosters individual growth and the work environment is much more engaging
than a workplace that is solely concerned with profits.
Closing Thoughts
Finally, successful companies often have lower attrition rates even
if their compensation practices match the industry standard but are not
higher than other companies. In other words, as mentioned in the
introductory paragraph, successful talent management requires all around
excellence in the realms of leadership development, talent management,
and performance management. While the first two topics have been
covered, the performance management in successful companies would be
covered in the next article.
