Two thirds of CEOs said talent management was one of their top five challenges yet less than half had a formal talent management programme in place, while under five percent had a system for collecting, storing and managing talent data.
With so much burgeoning talent available across your organisation, but staff too often immersed in their own workload, it can be easy to miss out on the progress of the next big company superstar.
After all, you’re not the X Factor; you’re a busy, fully functioning business with attentions being drawn in numerous directions at any one time.
However, make no mistake; talent management is now an essential organisational practice that must be prioritised. What was once solely the preserve of recruitment is now a major company-wide concern, with development, management and retention of staff as part of a planned strategy being recognised as critical to the fortunes of every organisation.
It’s concerning then that a recent report from PA Consulting which focused on talent management found that the development of staff was still being largely mishandled.
It surveyed over 70 CEOs of large international businesses, two thirds of whom said talent management was one of their top five challenges. Yet, less than half had a formal talent management programme in place, while under five per cent had a system for collecting, storing and managing talent data.
Highest levels of potential
Talent management represents the ability to single out individuals who can make a difference to organisational performance either through their immediate contribution or through demonstration of the highest levels of potential in the long-term.
That’s where another pair of eyes can come in handy – a pair of digital eyes that is, that can identify and then hone that burgeoning talent to its true potential.
Talent management software is essentially an integrated set of applications that HR professionals can use to cultivate and maintain a company’s human capital, easing and joining up processes, realising significant efficiencies and allowing staff to focus on everyday business growth.
Future company leaders
With talent management software tracking an employee’s career path, HR managers can compile valuable data about the workforce at various points in the employee lifecycle. Implemented correctly, this data can help an organisation to recruit more efficiently and identify future company leaders. It also allows organisations to measure the return on investment in their staff.
Recruitment modules are the backbone of the operation, helping to identify high quality applicants and organising their applications through a tracking system that streamlines the process.
Performance management modules then allow managers to define and keep track of employee goals and progress.
Monitor personal objectives
Aiding that process, a self service function allows employees to maintain their own information, including the ability to monitor personal objectives. This highlights their suitability to management for roles as they arise. It also models year-on-year performance which minimises the risk of management missing out on workforce potential.
Training modules can further provide an online education portal, enabling employees to identify a skills gap and choose training courses to narrow this gap. The HR department is, in turn, enabled to provide materials through the portal about company policies and procedures or include development materials to correspond with individual development plans. Additionally, employees can choose to work on perceived areas of weakness to improve skills on their own.
Fundamentally, it’s all about effective succession planning for the business by ensuring that your top talent finds the right role and thrives in it.
In-demand talent has never been more mobile. If companies want to hang onto their key players, then they must make them feel valued – and talent management software is the crucial first step in that process.
Steven Boyle is the CEO of Integrated Cloud Solutions.
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