Talent Management by Successful Companies: Insights from Recent Research

[Monirul Islam]

Talent Management by Successful Companies
The previous articles discussed how successful companies develop and nurture leaders and groom them for higher roles as their career progresses. The role of the HRM function is critical, as there needs to be excellence all around and not just in one area. In other words, it is not enough if a company has a brand image in the market that attracts top quality talent but is not doing well once this talent starts working in the company.

Take for instance, the Indian IT behemoth, Infosys. Though working there is a dream come true for many graduates, in recent months, the company has been hit with astounding attrition, as the company is not doing well in terms of retaining and nurturing talent. On the other hand, companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple not only attract the best talent in the market but also manage them well leading to their practices becoming a model for other companies to follow.

This article analyzes the best talent management practices of successful companies and the role of the HRM function in nurturing and grooming talent.

Some Aspects in Talent Management
The first aspect for global companies is to not be parochial in their hiring practices and instead, welcome diversity by recruiting international talent, employees from different backgrounds, and in general diversify the employee base. Next, is the identification and grooming of high potentials that would give the organization a pool of leaders from which they can draw upon when faced with a situation where leaders are needed. Though this is a practice that is followed in many companies, the successful companies also identify emerging leaders and not only those who have established themselves. The point here is that successful talent management needs the HRM staff and the senior management to draw up a list of potential leaders at both ends of the talent development chain.

In other words, these companies start from the lower levels and go on till the middle and senior management levels. The third aspect of successful talent management is the provision of both vertical and horizontal job opportunities for the existing employees. This means that the employees are provided with a menu of career options that would enable them to shift role and find fulfillment in the role of their choice. The reason why this aspect is very important is that often many companies stifle their employees by not providing change of job functions or roles leading to widespread dissatisfaction among the employees.

Creating a Fulfilling Work Culture
The fourth aspect of successful talent management is that these companies provide their employees with a change of work location where the reason for such a move is not to simply move talent to locations where there are shortfalls but also the need for the employee's personal development is taken into consideration. The point here is that successful talent management requires that employees feel privileged working for the company and their needs for self-actualization and fulfillment be taken care of by the company.

Indeed, successful companies often have people first policies where the focus is on creating a stimulated and fast-paced environment that encourages and fosters individual growth and the work environment is much more engaging than a workplace that is solely concerned with profits.

Closing Thoughts
Finally, successful companies often have lower attrition rates even if their compensation practices match the industry standard but are not higher than other companies. In other words, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, successful talent management requires all around excellence in the realms of leadership development, talent management, and performance management. While the first two topics have been covered, the performance management in successful companies would be covered in the next article.

Source: Managment Study Guide Website