A Talent Management Strategy: 6 Steps

Step 1:

The first step in the talent management process is to ensure that an organisation becomes aware of the type of talent they require to reach their organisational goals. Thus, strategic planning, both from a broad organisational and strategic HR perspective is important to ensure that the talent management strategy of the organisation is in line with its long term business strategy. Further, any effective talent management strategy will need to take forces internal to the organisation (such as the organisation’s culture, history, capabilities and business goals) and from the external environment (such as economic factors, demographic factors and political factors) into account.

Step 2:

Once the organisation is aware of its strategic direction, the next step is to understand which skills are required to achieve specific tasks, so that the overall goal is achieved. This is achieved by designing the appropriate organisational structure including the ideal levels for the organisation, as well as ensuring that clear and coherent job profiles are implemented.

Step 3:

At this point in the Talent Management process, the organisation will be aware of what its unique structure is comprised of and what talent and human capital gaps exist. At this point, it is critical to source the correct type of human talent to fill these gaps, through several channels including associating with various recruitment agencies. Furthermore, the organisation can become more marketable to the target talent pool through developing and refining its unique Employee Value Proposition.

The organisation must ensure that it selects the most appropriate individuals and places them correctly within the organisation, team and job role. This is achieved through:

• Selection (i.e. Assessment; competency-based interviewing; assessment centres);
• Person-job fit

Step 4:

Once suitable candidates have been placed within organisational positions, the in-depth Performance Management process begins, whereby the organisation monitors the performance of its staff, reinforcing and rewarding satisfactory and exceptional performance, and correcting performance which will not allow the organisation to meet its goals. This can be achieved through the design of a comprehensive yet simple performance management system, that links each employee’s job performance to the broad goals and strategies of the organisation through a balanced score card.

Step 5:

The next step of the talent management process is to ensure that the organisation retains key talented individuals, their skills and their collective institutional knowledge, as this provides the organisation with the sustainable competitive advantage. However, in order for this process to be effective, the organisation will need to ensure that these individuals are provided with developmental opportunities and career paths to keep them motivated.

This can be achieved through:

• Coaching
• Personal development plans (PDP’s)
• Designing a comprehensive succession management process that provides unique opportunities for different categories of employees.

Step 6:

Finally, since modern organisations are faced with current global work trends, the nature of work is constantly changing. Some of the main changes that have occurred in the modern workplace is that work today is more often than not completed by interdependent teams (rather than individuals); globalisation and technology has increased the pace and complexity of work; and demands on organisations and individuals change constantly. This means that flexibility and adaptability to turbulent circumstances have become crucial to an organisation’s ability to compete and to sustain its competitive advantage in the economy.

Some interventions at this stage include:

1. Outcomes-based Team Building
2. Team Development
3. Conflict Resolution
4. Change Management
5. Culture Change