You manage and track expenses. Profits would otherwise plummet. You manage building maintenance. The place would soon fall into disrepair if you didn’t. You manage marketing campaigns. Because how can you expect the desired results if someone doesn’t stay on top of the details? But is anyone managing talent?
That whole business of hiring talented candidates and coaxing, coaching, and nurturing them into life-long employees – that’s talent management. Is someone driving the effort? Is there a well-thought-out, developed, and in-place plan? Is fostering employee growth getting the attention it deserves?
At the heart of talent management is an organization’s commitment to attracting and retaining the best candidates in the job market, followed automatically and immediately by a strong emphasis on developing them into the best long-term employees. The concept of talent management boils down to an all-out effort to maximize the potential of everyone on your company roster.
What does a talent management strategy look like, and how does a company create one?
1. Evaluate the organization’s goals and priorities
- Where are we headed?
- What’s important to us along the way?
- Do we have a road map for getting there?
The answers to those questions have to come before you can get to the core questions concerning talent management. And those are—
- What skills do we need to seek in future candidates to get where we’re going?
- What skills do we need to develop and expand upon in our existing workforce?
- Who will be retiring in the next 2, 5, 10 years whose skillset will need to be replaced?
- What department is growing at the fastest pace now? Which is predicted to in the next five years?
Asking and uncovering the answers to tough questions will help you create a team that aligns with the short- and long-term goals your company aims to meet.
2. Provide continuous training and development opportunities
Training is all about maximizing the potential of the employees already on your team. Folks who’ve proved themselves to be loyal, engaged, and productive. But don’t brush aside those who seem less settled in, maybe even a tad restless. Training opportunities and a nudge to grow/expand/develop in their career could be the incentive needed to jettison them to the top of the loyal, engaged, and productive meter. Equipping those already on the roster with the tools to perform better and gain a greater level of workplace satisfaction is so much better than losing them to an employer who snaps them up because that company recognizes their potential.
Talent management that involves strategically planning career paths for every employee will help them to accomplish more because we all do better when: 1. we know where we are headed and 2. we have the necessary tools to make the journey a reality.
3. Equip management to be coaches
This isn’t about the company’s softball team or participation in the Chamber’s golf or bowling outing. The kind of coaching we’re talking about looks more like mentoring. It’s about being available to give constructive feedback and offer counsel. It’s about having time to talk, and taking a genuine interest in the well-being of individuals as well as the overall “health” of the team. Don’t assume those in leadership roles are natural coaches, already well-equipped for this task. Instead, seek training that will equip them to fill this crucial role.
Partnering with the A.R. Mazzotta team will enable your talent management strategy to be more effective and efficient as our hiring specialists tackle your most challenging staffing issues. Our comprehensive, customized services are but a telephone call away.