What is talent management?

At a recent employee engagement conference in London, I facilitated a discussion on talent management.  As predicted in 2008, the war on talent hasn't gone away – it just hasn't been in the headlines with so many organisations right sizing to survive the recession.

Talent Management is now the biggest boardroom people issue.

Albeit the ageing population, the survivors of the numerous headcount cuts, or the pressing need for innovation to compete with China and India, organisations need to take action to ensure they have talented and engaged people to make them successful.  And they need a strategy to not only attract talent, but a strategy to retain good people by building trust and transparent relationships.

David MacLeod (co-author of the government review on employee engagement) was the keynote speaker at the Engaging for Growth Conference, and he highlighted the keys to getting the balance right.

• Value and respect people as individuals
• Communicate the strategy of the organisation clearly and in simple terms
• Ensure that  the managers who are managing employees focus them on what is needed in their role and give them the scope to bring themselves to the role
• Organisational integrity - leaders need to be transparent and walk the talk - this means having an open door for any news – not just good news!

The group in my workshop debated whether talent management programmes should be inclusive (everyone in the business) or exclusive (the chosen few).

We decided that the best successes have been those who have nominated themselves as being ready for accelerated progression and are prepared to put in the extra effort to developing themselves.  Whether they stay or leave to work for a competitor is all down to the congruence between the values and behaivours of the organisation they work for.

To understand more about what makes talented people engaged, contact Katherine Wiid, Director of People Specialists Recrion on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk.