Talent Management – Answering Whats, Whys and Hows of Employers, Managers and Employees

“I have been experiencing a major decline in business even after adopting sound business strategies, hiring best available human resource and investing huge sums. I am searching like crazy what to do to get these setbacks fixated?” “My subordinates are a total mess and complete chaos. I don’t know why I am unable to get the best out of them”. “My boss, never lets me do what I am absolutely capable off, instead he forces me to do what I am least interested in. I am tired off my job – quitting seems to be the only option available with no ray of hope for a new job. How can I deal with this crisis?”

These and likewise Whats, Whys and Hows are a continuous cry, Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) consultants are destined to listen to every other day. However, yet another uphill task in front of them is to satisfy their clientele and provide them with a solution viable for all in the organization i.e. employers, managers and employees.

The crux of the matter, according to SHRM experts lies in lack of Talent Management - a comprehensive terminology defined by Association for Talent Development (ATD), formerly ASTD as,

“A holistic approach to optimizing human capital, which enables an organization to drive short- and long-term results by building culture, engagement, capability, and capacity through integrated talent acquisition, development, and deployment processes that are aligned to business goals” (ATD, 2009).

Talent management strategy, if aligned properly with the organization’s vision, mission statement and goals, can do wonders. A comparison of the aforementioned definition with the one given by CIPD below reveals no big differences.

“Talent Managementis the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement, retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organization, either in view of their ‘high potential’ for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles” (CIPD, 2009).

Talent Management Strategy for any organization emerges out from its business plan. A well designed Talent Management process involves the active participation of almost all HR functions from job analysis to critical skills gap analysis.

Any organization, spending time and resources on its workforce planning always remains at a definite edge as in return a right person recruited at the right time at the right place positively adds up to its profitability charts. Workforce planning saves the organization from the exploitation of its precious financial resources in the years to come.

Gone are the times, when Talent Acquisition was deemed enough to run the business affairs smoothly without any fluctuations. Now, there is a tug of war between talent hunters to choose the best out of market at any cost making human capital retention a big challenge. Without having a sound Talent Management Strategy, now it is almost impossible for companies to keep their human potential hundred percent intact with them for long. So, the need for succession planning, employee engagement, training and development, handsome compensation and benefit packages along with performance management gets multifold.

Unless your business strategy is not properly aligned with the talent management strategy, there will remain a dearth of collaboration and coordination at both ends – employer and employee sides, hampering the overall growth of the organization. In today’s competitive business world, hiring the best possible candidate is not enough, but you also need to provide them with a dynamic platform to progress and proceed further.

Talent Management strategy keeping in view an employee’s potential gears them upward in the organizational hierarchy via succession planning. Adds further to your human capital’s growth is strategic training and development strategy as it not only gives the employees an opportunity to explore their talent and skill set but also makes them more productive and confident in their respective spheres.

When an organization gives it’s human asset due attention by assigning them tasks they are most desirous to achieve, the ones related to their job descriptions promising higher monetary returns i.e. compensations and benefits, they love to invest all their energies for maximizing the profits of their organizations. They feel a sense of achievement with every step forward. Collectively holding the signboard, “No worries! We stand by the company in every of its thick and thin”, they really leave behind no Whats to worry about for the employers.

They become least complainant; least bothersome for the top management – resolving most of their Whys.

And when the organizations’ employees are well satisfied with their current placement and future career roadmap, are duly compensated and encouraged for every single effort, are provided opportunities to enhance their professional portfolio, are awarded for top notch performance and are respected for bringing progress to the business just like a business partner – then the doorway to all Hows filled with anxiety and distraught automatically gets closed.

Talent Management is like a bridge that fills the gap between Employers, Managers and Employees with all sitting on one table, taking best possible decisions and adopting most suitable measures to make their businesses collectively grow. Such are the conglomerates creating success stories to be remembered long after!

Training & Organizational Development in Pakistan

Training & Organizational Development in Pakistan
By Mohammad Muneeb Kidwai
Post 2008 global collapse scenario saw a typical reaction by organizations in Pakistan. While some opted for bold and risky approach of launching new products, entering into business ventures and developing organizational capability, others followed the typical KNEE-JERK response including business consolidation, downsizing and of course, the Marketing/Training budget slash.

This did not necessarily mean that the Training and Organizational Development was completely discontinued. The emphasis and investment in employee development varied from industry and organizations. The relatively strong and growing sectors of Oil & Gas, Telecom, Banking and Foods Industry chose to SUSTAIN people investment.

Training professionals also observed a major and somewhat logical shift in organizational approach to building capability. Most companies opted to develop in-house trainers to achieve employee skill development which has its own PROS & CONS. While it allows organizations to have higher control at lower costs with more insightful and customized solutions, achievement of such benefits are subject to availability of relevant training management/delivery skills, business knowledge and creative approach in training personnel.

Top goals in these competitive times remain achieving organizational capability with business alignment, operational efficiency and sustained growth through innovation. While Re-engineering, TQM, Kaizen and Six Sigma have proven to be tried and tested methods to achieve effectiveness and efficiency, it is the innovation part that at times remains elusive.

Only those organizations are able to achieve permanent change in behavioral skills when the interventions are process based aimed at bringing a paradigm shift - a prerequisite for the much needed OUT-OF-THE-BOX thinking. This is a huge challenge. Difficult but not impossible. As behavioral experts claim that people face a paradoxical dilemma of wanting to grow without changing themselves. Since people follow what they see not what they hear, the interventions rarely achieve their goals.

Unless the key talent (if not everyone) of the organization is conditioned with a process-based mental training supported by a learning culture, the results will remain both artificial and short-lived.

As the CEO of Motorola was once asked "How does your management support training?" He responded by saying "By attending the training ourselves first". It's time to walk the talk.
 
About the Author: Muneeb, an IBA Graduate with over 20 years of professional experience, was an Independent Trainer, Teacher, Coach at The Change Agency (www.thechangeagency.com.pk) and the author of "The Power of Visualization: A Mental Technique for Goal Achievement" when this article was first published in the 10th issue of the TimeTrax HR Professionals Newsbeat. He is now a Corporate Trainer at Mobilink.

The above write-up was also published in the special print edition of the TimeTrax HR Professionals Newsbeat.

CHALLENGES OF RECRUITMENT

 

The field of recruitment in Pakistan is undergoing a change. Not just a small scale evolution but a fundamental progression paradigm - a shift that will see the recruiting landscape change in a manner where traditional recruiters will fall behind and replaced by new, differently skilled recruiters, ready for the new challenges of recruitment.

 

What is this change and why is it so challenging?

The current global recruitment landscape is changing with a fast pace. The global war for the best talent is real i.e. the talent mass is geographically mobile and happy to move for the best job. Further, the talent mass is getting more demanding, not only in pay scales but also in terms of career progression and training & development. With the experienced talent pool shrinking noticeably in quality, recruiters are competing aggressively to attract candidates across different sectors.

 

Also, the graduate pool is alarmingly becoming “less skilled” with watered-down degrees making them under-prepared for the working life. Talent is becoming less loyal and more eager to switch companies on an average of every two years. We see the market competitors getting smarter in mapping out talent pools and attracting key personnel away from their current placements.Recruitment agencies keep failing in finding creative ways to attract the unique talent to their databases, hence bringing about the “recruitment chess” of the same talent across companies.

 

There is a fundamental essence of recruitment – “Not everyone is looking for a job”. The benchmark seems to suggest that only 10% of relevant/experienced talent is actively looking for a role at any given moment in time. So the best candidates relevant for your role/s are typically among the 90% of candidates who are not engaged in job searches.

 

Hence in a market that is full of challenges, companies must ponder on why they are focused on using recruitment agencies, posting on job boards, and CV searching, when they are not actually reaching out to the 90% non-active segment, which could include the best candidates out of the entire talent pool. Perhaps it's time for employers to play their role in accelerating the much-needed change that the area of recruitment is undergoing.

 

 

 

 

About the Author: Tehmina Kanchwala was the Regional Human Resources Manager at Makro Habib Pakistan Limited when this article was first published in the 8th TimeTrax HR Professionals NewsBeat in October 2011. Ms. Tehmina is currently serving as the Manager HR and Admin at Aga Khan Development Network.