Talent Management System

Perhaps for the same reason that we let go of our exercise regime once we are in a relationship, so too do we neglect employment development tools once that new hire has signed their requisite I-9 and W-4 documentation. To what ongoing engagement and effort is to a relationship however, a talent management system is to a company’s talent acquisition and retention efforts. In short, leveraging a talent management system is closely akin to the bricks that form a solid personal relationship, and is guaranteed to provide talent management solutions for an array of employee-based problem situations.

Normally associated with the company’s human resources department, a performance management system, which is integrated into each department from the sales team to the customer service squad, will dramatically curtail employee attrition while reducing hiring costs. Using a talent management system provides knowledge management solutions equally across each department, and managers can use it as a benchmark on which to establish a performance management system that is fair to both employer and employee alike. As such, the talent management industry has taken off in recent years to help meet this rising demand for comprehensive onboarding programs for industries that traditionally experience a high rate of turnovers.

Talent Management Strategy

As the old adage notes, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” The same certainly holds true when putting together a performance management strategy for your company. What does this have to do with your strategic management talent plans? As any talent management consultant will tell you, it is critically important to develop a well thought-out talent management strategy that identifies obtainable goals, and outlines achievable paths on which to arrive at those goals when it comes to measuring employee performance.

Such considerations might include:

• What are your annual talent management goals?
• Which Key Performance Indicators should you monitor?
• What available technology is there to facilitate talent development?
• What is the most efficient way to track talent management?

Keeping your goals obtainable, and measureable, allows for fostering employee skills across the board. Ideally, this will result in your employee’s measured advancement within their department and upward in the company. As they say, “In for a penny, in for a pound,” so it makes sense to spend money on training that will retain the employee that was expensively hired.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

As mentioned, the strategic talent management industry is booming, and you need not reinvent the wheel when your time could be spent more valuably elsewhere. That is because there is a myriad of available talent management strategy examples that can be folded into your own talent management strategy template.

Talent Management Definition

Any number of talent management articles have probably alerted you to the importance of developing a strategic talent management system for your employee hiring, onboarding, and retention efforts. That being said, the Internet’s standby for quick information, Wikipedia, defines talent management as “an integrated software suite that addresses the “four pillars” of talent management: recruitment, performance management, learning and development, and compensation management. Talent management defined however means nothing unless you can use it within your organization to increase productivity and enable employee retention. As such, when parsing about for an integrated talent management definition, it is critically important to develop an understanding of the term, and how it applies to your vision for your company. In short, there is no one definition that works for everyone.

Talent Management 101

When it comes to fully understanding what is meant by talent management, human resource managers, supervisors, and line level leads must first develop a strategy that is designed to meet specific professional goals. For instance, if employee retention is problematic, more efforts are turned to onboarding efforts that integrate a sense of community within the work environment. Similarly, if falling sales numbers were an issue, perhaps you would define talent management as the ability to get your entire sales force to read from the same script.

Talent Management Process

Savvy entrepreneurs know that hiring a new employee is a process rather than an event. Within a talent management framework therefore, each individual components of talent management must work together throughout the hiring and training process. Successfully integrating the talent management processes means that you will achieve a seamless hiring and retention program that will work across every division of your company.

What is Talent Management Process?

From the moment you place an ad in the help wanted section of your local newspaper until the time that that prospective employee finally retires, you are ceaselessly working to help develop that talent to meet the mission goals of the company in the most efficient manner possible. Proper talent management techniques will help shepherd each employee along the route to success.

Talent management processes include:

• Recruiting
• Onboarding
• Training
• Retention

Leveraging a strategic talent management system is the best way to ensure that your program is not delivered in a piecemeal fashion that ignores critical aspects of employee development. Indeed, the hallmark of a successful talent management processes recognizes that working towards employee success means exiting the human resources department, and continuing the training throughout the employee’s working career with your company.

Importance of Talent Management

According to Forbes Magazine, too many small to medium sized firms fail to recognize the purpose of talent management programs. A number of factors including the lack of making talent management a priority cause this failure. Additionally, many newly minted business owners have no background in organizational performance issues, and lacking a knowledge of the history of talent management, simply don’t know what they don’t know regarding the most effective ways to hire and retain qualified employees.

Objectives of Talent Management Program

The objectives of your talent management program should be detailed and precise, while still addressing a large swath of corporate territory. From the human resource director at the time of hiring to the line supervisor during training to the departmental boss who signs off on annual reviews, each aspect of the employee’s development can be managed efficiency through a comprehensive strategic talent management program.

With a myriad of tools available, you can set identifiable goals that your staff will meet on each stage of their professional development. They won’t atrophy inside their cubicle, and you won’t risk losing outstanding workers through the rough calculus of attrition and boredom.

The most effective arrow in your business quiver is a well-trained employee, and putting a strategic talent management system into place means that that arrow will always be on target when you are shooting to hit a business goal.