It’s no secret that we’ve entered a new world of work, especially after two years of enduring the pandemic and COVID-19. Remote work is now the norm, people are looking for more work-life balance, and there’s an overall shift to a more employee-centric workplace. With all of these changes, recruitment and retention are top-of-mind for many HR professionals, and talent management strategies are more necessary than ever.
But what is talent management? What tasks, processes, and responsibilities fall under it? Does it require a separate team? These are probably just a few of the questions that people unfamiliar with HR may ask themselves. The term and what it entails are fairly new, and still evolving, so it can be tough to decipher what talent management will look like in your company.
Regardless of the specifics, talent management is a crucial part of any business. A business is only as strong as the people behind it, and with a solid talent management system, you can ensure the people behind your company are top-tier. In this guide, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of talent management to help you understand its benefits and how to build an effective strategy for your own organization.
A quick definition
Now, time to tackle a key question: what exactly is talent management? Put plainly, it’s the full scope of strategies and processes used in recruiting, onboarding, developing, retaining, and improving high-performing workers in an organization.
Every company has different needs – talent management begins with identifying the gaps in your specific workforce that need to be filled. The next step is recruitment: the talent war has led to competition amongst companies as they search for top workers with in-demand skills, and a talent management system is necessary to attract, recruit, and onboard employees successfully. Beyond recruiting and training, talent management deals with the development, motivation, and engagement of your high-performing employees, ensuring that they continue to contribute to your organization for years to come.
Why is it important?
The people make a company. In order to be successful, companies need strong workforces built with highly-skilled and motivated people. The best way to ensure your company has such a workforce is through talent management strategies. Companies unwilling to adjust with the changing world of work are sure to fall behind when it comes to attracting, recruiting, and retaining high-performing workers, whereas those that strive to keep pace will remain competitive.
Talent management is simply another way for companies to invest in their employees. An engaged, motivated workforce is an effective, productive workforce. Putting time, effort, and money into your employees through talent management will ultimately bring a profitable outcome to your company.
What are the benefits?
The benefits of talent management are endless, and they apply for both employers and employees. Below are just a few of the most impactful benefits that talent management offers a business.
1. Greater employee engagement
This ties back to our “Why is it important?” section. A talent management strategy is one of the best ways to develop employee engagement within your organization. Studies have shown that highly engaged workforces are more profitable and productive than those that are poorly engaged, so investing in a system and/or team that is constantly working on employee engagement is truly beneficial for your company. Whether it be through a quick employee survey or a deeper initiative, keeping your employees involved and connected improves your bottom line.
2. Improved retention
Turnover is an inevitable part of any company. Talent management strategies aim to improve retention and reduce turnover, especially amongst your high-performing employees. Regular turnover can prove to have a costly impact on your company; a lot of time, effort, and money goes into recruiting to fill the role of every individual employee that leaves. With talent management, you can gather data and analyze the patterns of turnover in your organization in order to carve out an approach that will retain your employees for longer.
3. Better professional development
This benefit applies to both the employer and employee: talent management strategies open up better professional development opportunities for employees, which means more high-performing, skilled workers for the employer. Talent management includes creating a system that tracks performance effectively and clearly for both the employee and employer, which opens the door to career advancement. This also improves feedback between employees and their supervisors or managers – open feedback leads to highly engaged employees, which means a healthy work culture and longer retention.
4. Enhanced understanding of employees
With talent management strategies will come a better understanding of the team for employers, and an enhanced experience for employees. Regular employee assessments will provide employers with insight into things such as management satisfaction, culture, development, and more. This knowledge will allow employers to determine the right way to motivate and improve the workplace for their employees.
Creating an effective strategy
Now that we have a better understanding of what talent management is and the benefits it provides for businesses, we can take a look at how an effective talent management strategy is built. There are several aspects to consider when looking to create your talent management strategy.
Attraction and recruitment
Things to consider in regards to recruitment: what are your current company attraction and recruitment strategies? Is your company spending enough time and effort in the recruitment process? Oftentimes, companies overlook the significance of recruitment. But in fact, attracting and recruiting are important steps in building a strong workforce. Crafting your talent management strategy will mean finding the right people for the right roles in your organization.
Communication
What are your current standards for communication and feedback in the workplace? Are there strategies and processes in place? Two-way communication is crucial to build trust amongst your team. Effective communication is necessary for good employee engagement and healthy work culture.
Development
Professional development is something most candidates look for when joining a company. Does your current company provide the resources and space for employees to develop in their careers? Are there clear expectations in place that allow your team to move in the company? Talent management strategies provide employees with a clear path to achieve career goals, which gives them a reason to stay with the company for longer.
Retention
Employee retention is one of the key aspects of talent management. Questions to ask yourself: what benefits and perks does your company offer to your employees to improve retention? Are there methods in place to track turnover data for better understanding of patterns in your team? Building your talent management strategy will include looking at current retention rates and figuring out what you need to improve them.
Develop a model
If you’ve made it this far, you might feel slightly overwhelmed by the scope of talent management and what carving out an effective strategy requires. We’ll admit, it sounds like a lot – which is why we’ve devised the following list of steps to help you in building your talent management strategy.
1. Establish key objectives for the company
The first step is to look at a high-level overview of your company, its aspirations, and objectives as a whole. Consider both long-term and short-term goals. It can be beneficial to create a list of all the company intentions, then add priority levels to each one. This will help you tackle goals in order. Review your company’s overall business strategy, looking at how you’d like to grow and expand in the years to come.
2. Determine gaps and challenges with your current workforce
Take a look at your workforce and evaluate the skills it currently has versus the gaps that appear. Where will recruiting need to be done to achieve the highest priority items on your objectives list, and what benefits will you offer to ensure you attract top candidates? Also consider the challenges that may arise in regards to equipment, technology, competition, etc. Figure out strategies and talent you may need to overcome these challenges.
3. Recruit and onboard top talent
Now, it’s time to get to action. Build up your company reputation in order to attract and recruit top talent in your industry. Ensure that your recruiting and onboarding processes are established to allow for easy transition for new employees. A successful onboarding process will leave a good impression on them.
4. Organize your workforce
Assess your current workforce; look at your organizational structure and consider what tasks are to be delegated to which teams. The tasks should pertain to your company objectives. Ensure that each individual understands their role and responsibilities, and that new employees are oriented properly and see how they fit into the organization.
5. Carry out routine performance reviews
Performance management is crucial for good employee engagement. But performance reviews shouldn’t include surprises – ensure that open feedback is encouraged amongst employees and their managers/supervisors to build trust. Performance management also evaluates current goals and responsibilities of employees, which may help you in arranging where tasks are assigned. This will ultimately save you from spending unnecessary time and effort on recruiting, as you could satisfy needs with someone already in your organization.
6. Strategize to retain talent
Ensure your employees are motivated and satisfied with their roles and the company by offering promotions, benefits, and perks as well as constantly improving company culture. Provide them with the resources and opportunities to develop themselves and their skills.
Stay competitive with Humi’s Talent Management Platform
One way to stay on top of talent management is to use an all-in-one platform, like Humi, to enhance the employee experience overall. A good employee experience will motivate your employees to be productive and stay with your company longer.
With Humi, you can:
- Provide clear communication and feedback through our performance management module
- Ensure pay is always on-time and accurate for your team with our payroll platform
- Track data and gain insights with reports via our reporting software
- Make tracking time off an easy task for employees with our time off tracker
- And more!
Book a demo with us to learn about all of the ways our platform can help you with talent management.
