Leadership Viewpoint

It used to be that you identified a job opening and hired somebody to fill it; simple, clean and efficient. Now we keep hearing about ‘talent management’, and executives want to know what it is and why they can’t just hire somebody if and when a need arises.

In fact, talent management starts with strategy and planning; it becomes a virtuous circle when done well. Start by assessing your current staff against your long term business growth needs. Identify where you anticipate each person will be in a few years. Then look for the gaps. Next, recruit today to fill any critical near term gaps, and develop your key people extensively. Finally, ensure that you have a serious plan in place to retain your people.

There are some excellent software solutions available to support this work. Since it is a highly collaborative and ongoing process, it is critical to systematically connect HR, line managers and senior management. Successful implementation demands a well trained, strategically oriented HR professional. Many organizations are finding that this is one of the key positions that needs to be filled!

Talent management has become critically important for a few key reasons. First, many businesses have become more knowledge based than production oriented. Ensuring that bright, talented people are in key positions is fundamental to success. Second, baby boomers are starting to retire, so there will literally be more openings than people to fill them. If businesses continue to wait for openings before developing their replacements, the situation will likely become untenable.

Remember that retention planning is fundamental to a true talent management strategy. If a business forgets this piece of the puzzle, it may find that its best people are picked off by competitors, just as they were about to produce a return on investment.

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