Talent Management:
A Corporate Overview
By Jacqueline Yorke-Westcott
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What do we define as talent? From an organisation’s perspective, the word talent defines any individuals who have the capability to make a significant difference to the current and future performance of the company.
The Society for Human Resource Management defines talent management as “the implementation of integrated strategies or systems designed to increase workplace productivity by developing improved processes for attracting, developing, retaining and utilizing people with the required skills and aptitude to meet current and future business needs.”
Talent management is one of many new human resource activities that have emerged in the past five years. Recent research indicates that within the United States of America, talent management is becoming a major part of corporate strategy, with the connection between talent management and business strategy being increasingly viewed as key to maintaining and/or achieving competitive advantage.
How is this of relevance to our local business community? The current construction boom has generated a skill shortage within the local labour market. Employers are challenged to attract and retain skilled personnel. Additionally, the explosion of local energy-based industries and accompanying high compensation expectations, have fuelled employment transience. High turnover rates are common to organisations even outside of the energy sector as companies struggle to meet skill demands in a tight labour market. For businesses in Trinidad and Tobago, one of the greatest HR challenges posed as we approach 2020 will be the effective alignment of human capital and business strategies to support organisational financial goals and positively impact shareholder value.
How do we meet the challenge? By incorporating talent management into business strategy. An effective talent management programme should be an integral piece of an organisation’s human resource agenda; aligned with the company’s vision, culture and overall strategy. Establish an effective talent management programme in six steps:
- Shape an ideal organisation culture- Employees learn by example. It is important for executive management to not only identify the core values that contribute to and exemplify business success, but to display the behaviours associated with these core values.
- Formulate a staffing strategy - Develop an organisational chart that outlines the talent necessary at each level, as well as a plan to attract recruits who have the core competencies that flow into this chart. The HR department in conjunction with line managers should develop a range of recruitment and selection strategies.
- Create a learning organisation- Build a training programme that consistently leads employees to learn the skills associated with the success competencies outlined in Steps 1 and 2.
- Design a rewards and incentives program - Align the rewards and incentives program (monetary and otherwise) to the success criteria identified in Steps 1 through 3. In this way, the organisation will ensure that it consistently attracts and retains the right talent and that the appropriate behaviours receive the correct rewards.
- Implement a performance management system that measures what matters - The performance management system should be able to capture and diagnose the gaps between what exists and the ideal as defined by the ideal organisation culture and staffing strategy. Effectively and accurately communicate standards to employees. It is often incorrectly assumed that employees know what is expected of them.
- Create an aligned promotion process - If you were to leave the organisation tomorrow, who would fill your shoes? It should be incumbent upon each manager to groom his or her successor. Not only does this ensure continuity in the manager’s position should the manager leave, it also allows the manager to become free to be promoted himself/herself.
Talent management is a new concept to Trinidad and Tobago, and many managers believe that employees don’t care about structured talent management programmes. The reality is that the senior managers themselves don’t place a high value on the career paths, development opportunities and succession plans for their people, but the people actually care very much. According to Donna Bernardi Paul (2005), people like to see where they fit in an organisation, both now and potentially in the future. They want to know what their positions are relative to their co-workers. They want to understand exactly what they need to know and do in order to be rewarded and promoted.
Job stability has always been an important consideration for employees. Our current political, economic and social turbulence forces many individuals to examine their long-term employment prospects. The organisation with a talent management plan in place that encompasses all of the areas described above has a far greater likelihood than its competitors to retain high-potential and high-performing employees. People will remain with an organisation because people like stability. They want to stay with organisations where there are opportunities for them to advance, grow and leave legacies. Effective talent management could become the key to business success.
References
Bernardi Paul, D. (2005) Talent Management SHRM White Paper
Lockwood, N.R. (2005) Talent Management: Overview SHRM Research
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Jacqueline Yorke-Westcott holds a BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering from the Queen Mary College, University of London, UK and a Masters Degree in Training and Human Resource Management from the University of Leicester, UK. She lectures in Corporate and Business Human Resource Management at the Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies, teaching third year students in the institution’s Associate of Arts Degree in Human Resource Management. She is also a certified trainer and a director of both Mount Irvine Bay Hotel Ltd and Yorke Structures Ltd.
As a member of the ODYSSEY CONSULTinc team she offers her expertise in all areas of Human Resource Management, as well as Organisational Development.
Organisations continue to be challenged in the area of Talent Management. As members of organisations we are aware of the problem but may not have analysed it sufficiently to develop practical approaches to addressing it successfully. 
