Talent Management and the Key to Success

How does your company handle talent management?  As the field of strategic HR has grown, so has the recognition that managing talent effectively is a key to success.  What some people fail to realize is what it takes, as a talent manager, to stay ahead of the competition.

Effective talent management is a proactive type of engagement.  In order to stay ahead of the competition, you need a proactive, integrated approach in your entire talent management lifecycle.  Talent management implies that companies are strategic and deliberate in how they source, attract, select, train, develop, retain, promote, and move employees through the organization. 

When we were faced with the downturn in the economy a few years ago, companies that were downsizing had no choice but to figure out how to effectively manage the talent as a way of maximizing the performance of each employee and the organization. This gave a nice kick start to those companies that never really paid attention, and others are just now beginning to grasp the concept of human capital management. Regardless of where a company falls on the spectrum of their understanding and utilization of a talent management strategy, one of the big keys to success in today’s growing global marketplace is to at least have something in place.

Employees are often attracted to an employer because of the branding that is associated with working for that specific company.  People want to work for the best, and the best companies want to attract the best talent.  Having a consistent organizationally backed talent management strategy that effectively recruits talent, and once in the door works to develop and retain that talent is a key for any company to make employees want to stay. The lessons learned from the recession are lessons that any company can utilize. Maximize employee potential by having a consistent and proactive talent management approach, give employees opportunities to succeed within the company, and they will continue to be valued employees for years to come.