An Employer’s Guide to Talent Management

26 Sep An Employer’s Guide to Talent Management

Most business owners, employers and people in management have some idea about “talent” – the notion that key people, who show either a high level of performance or potential (or a combination thereof), are considered to be an asset and are often included in the business’ strategic HR planning and succession planning.

Most business owners, employers and people in management are, however, unaware of, or express uncertainty towards the concept of “talent management”.

Talent management isn’t just a fancy new “HR name” for managing employees, it’s an entire HR function with the sole purpose of ensuring the

– right people are in the right positions at the right time with the right resources.

So why should you, as a business owner, employer or person in management, pay attention to the notion of talent management?  The main reason… if done correctly, talent management will offer the greatest potential for the attainment of any company’s strategic objectives (be it growth, sales or any other measure).

So here is our guide to talent management and how its methods can be applied to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Let us first address the elephant in the room; of course, the idea of “talent” is subjective.

What may be considered talent to a law firm most likely won’t be considered talent to a dental practice.  Talent, in this instance, is relative to the business, department and position.

Traditionally, talent management was a tool only employed by large, often multi-national, enterprises as they had the talent pools, financial backing and need.

It involved a combination of recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and succession planning, and would seek to:

• identify a company’s core competencies (essentially what a company offers as value to their customers – i.e. customer service, product quality);

• discern a company’s positions into three categories: A (directly adds to core competencies), B (adds to core competencies) and C (supports core competencies).

• divide a company’s workforce into three specific “players”: A (over-performing), B (performing) and C (under-performing);

• distinguish employees within these players of whom show high potential;

• facilitate A players to be in A positions, B players to be in B positions and C players to be in C positions; and

• support all employee types to move to/maintain a point of high performance or potential.

The talent management process can offer numerous benefits such as:

• facilitating the attainment of strategic company objectives by:

–  identifying a company’s core competencies and how each position directly adds, adds or supports these core competencies; and

–  ensuring that the positions or roles within the core competences are filled by the most competent and proficient employees for the task.

• promoting employee engagement by:

–  acknowledging high performing employees;

–  recognising those employees who may not be performing highly but show potential/desire for another role; and

–  identifying those employees who may not be performing highly or showcasing potential and providing the opportunity for them to develop.

• increasing the possibility of a company’s personnel becoming a source of competitive advantage (that is, what separates that company from its competitors).

TAKE AWAY POINTS FOR SMEs:

While all this talk sounds nice, most companies don’t have the size or resources to facilitate a talent management division, so we have made some take away points that everyday owners, employers and managers of SMEs can use to promote talent management within their own company.

Point 1

• Determine what your company’s core competencies are.

Point 2

• Identify what talent is to your company (hint: talent should reflect the core competencies).

Point 3

• Categorise your company’s positions: A (directly adds to core competencies – i.e. sales team member), B (adds to core competencies – i.e. sales manager) and C (supports core competencies – i.e. human resources advisor).

Point 4

• Constantly analyse your company, core competencies and workforce.

(What are our offerings?  What are the key positions?  Are they still relevant?  Who is in them?  Who are our various A, B and C players?  What positions are they in?  Who is performing?  Who is showing potential?  Who needs extra help?)

Point 5

• Consider your staff as an important asset to the company and focus on supporting their development, performance and potential.

Want to implement some talent management practices in your business but don’t know where to start?  Don’t fear, HR Business Assist is here!  For more information or to have a chat with one of our HR Advisors, contact us on 1300 138 551.