The concept of talent management is all about an organization’s dedication to doing all they can to attract, retain, and more importantly, develop the best employees and candidates in the market.
No talent management isn’t just some HR buzzword. Originally defined by McKinsey & Company in 1997, talent management is encompassed through diverse organizational strategies designed to help organizations maximize the potential of their employees.
So here are a few simple talent management strategies, to make sure you’re getting the right people in and allowing them to flourish in your business.
1. Understand the power of job descriptions
A simple but essential strategy that in many ways defines who comes in to represent your company, and in turn defines your organization’s success. A concise job description outlines from the get-go what you expect from your candidates. Be sure to include these specifications at the least:
- Job title
- Overall duties
- Necessary skills
- Work relationships
- Tools and equipment used
- Salary and benefits
2. Assess candidate cultural fit
Tied in with creating the right job descriptions, is the necessity to select candidates who fit right your organization’s culture.
Your company’s culture can be a tricky thing to put into words or define, so how can you actually assess cultural fit? As the talent management strategist, it’s up to your own experience and expertise. But here a few you ways u can screen a candidate:
- Tone of voice
- Language
- Passion
- Personal values
3. Learn to become a coach
When I say coach, I don’t mean like your high school football coach who would scream at you implicitly for doing the slightest thing wrong. But more so a mentor, and someone who is readily available to give counseling or feedback to employees.
Mentoring and employee coaching is essential to keep your employees happy, and more importantly, engaged. Wherever you see fit offer appreciation to employees, and whenever necessary offer constructive feedback. Creating a culture of trust between you and your employees is essential, whereby they look to you for consistent feedback and improvement.
4. Provide continuous training and development opportunities
Training is all about developing the potential of your employees. Your organization will in most cases lose your talented employees if they are underused or bored. So it’s imperative your hold regular meetings with your employees to discuss what areas they want to improve.
You might have even noticed an area where one of your employees needs that little bit of improvement, but he or she isn’t actively seeking to learn something else, then it’s up to you equip them with the tools they need to ensure they maximize their own potential.
5. Give back to employees with rewards and recognition
Along with training, rewards and recognition play a vital part in the maintenance of employees. You want to make employees feel recognized, appreciated and important.
For example, if your department exceeds your organization’s profit targets, then consider putting together some sort of a bonus scheme for them. Or if an employee has gone over and beyond what is expected of him or her, then consider some sort of gift or reward.
While rewards aren’t always important, they play a part in the retention aspect of your talent management strategy. Rewards help mitigate the chance your employees go somewhere else because they feel appreciated. Even tiny gifts here and there can go a very long way.
6. Cultivate an honest career path
In larger organizations cultivating a genuine career path can be very tricky, employees tend to feel far more engaged when they are under the impression that the sky is the limit for them in terms of how far they can grow.
Don’t make any promises though, but tell your employees that you will provide them with all the necessary tools to ensure they are making the most out of themselves. Career advancement is never ever a guarantee and that’s something your employees should always be aware of.
As you can see talent management is a full-time job, especially in large organizations where you have employees from all over the world with unique skill sets. Managing them all can be quite tricky, and you need to have strategies in place to ensure you are retaining your best ones and attracting candidates of the same ilk.
