Talent Management Process
Talent Management Process
While often cyclical rather than a generic linear progression of events, the
process of talent management could be considered, to begin with acknowledging
the need for talent and leads to filling that gap and ultimately growing and
optimizing the skills, traits, and expertise of employees, new and old.
The following image depicts the key points of the talent management process:
Source: Business Jargons
Let’s get into these key steps in the process of managing talent effectively:
1. Planning: Like in any process with a set outcome, planning is the first step in
the process of talent management. It involves the following identifying where the
gaps lie – the human capital requirement, formulating job descriptions for the
necessary key roles to help guide sourcing and selection and developing a
workforce plan for recruitment initiatives.
2. Attracting: Based on the plan, the natural next step is to decide whether the
talent requirements should be filled in from within the organization or from
external sources. Either way, the process would involve attracting a healthy flow
of applicants. The usual external sources include job portals, social network, and
referrals. The talent pools that need to be tapped into must be identified in
advance to keep the process as smooth and efficient as possible.
3. Selecting: This involves using a string of tests and checks to find the right
match for the job – the ideal person-organization fit. Written tests, interviews,
group discussions and psychometric testing along with an in-depth analysis of all
available information on the candidate on public access platforms help in gauging
an all-rounded picture of the person.
4. Developing: Quite a few organizations today operate on the idea of hiring for
attitude and training for skills. This makes sense because while you would want a
predisposition to certain skill-sets, it is the person that you are hiring and not the
CV. Developing employees to help them grow with the organization and training
them for the expertise needed to contribute to business success also builds
loyalty and improves employee engagement.
5. Retaining: For any organization to be truly successful, sustainably, talent
needs to be retained effectively. Most organizations try to retain their best talent
through promotions and increments, offering opportunities for growth,
encouraging involvement in special projects and decision-making, training for
more evolved roles and rewards and recognition programs.
6. Transitioning: Effective talent management focuses on a collective
transformation and evolution of the organization through the growth of individual
employees. This involves making each employee feel that they are a part of a
bigger whole. Providing retirement benefits, conducting exit interviews and
effective succession planning might seem like unrelated career points but they
are all transition tools that enable the shared journey.