The ability to hire, develop and retain talented employees has become a critical skill for organizations looking to grow and remain competitive in our ever-changing economy. Because talent takes time to curate, few companies have the qualified staff they require, and suffer with gaps at all levels and pressure to run organizations with a smaller staff and reduced budget. However, leaders are seeing the importance of developing strong talent in a highly competitive job economy. Effective talent management may be your strongest advantage over your competitors. 

Defining Talent Management

• Effective talent management includes leaderships' ability to articulate:  
  
• Current and future business strategies
  
• Gaps between current talent and the talent needed to succeed
  
• The plan in place to close talent gaps, as well as how those connect to overall business strategies
  
• Hiring and promotion decisions
  
• Goals for both the individual and the business
  
• Ways to develop talent and enhance performance

What Drives Talent Management? 

Here are the six factors that can shift the way companies now manage employee development:

1. Better talent equals better business performance. It was apparent before, but when CEOs are looking for return on investment now, one quick way is in talent. According to the Hackett Group, companies that excel in talent post earnings 15 percent higher than peers, which could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars for your business. 
   
2. Financial value. The financial value of a company is often dependent upon the quality of talent it offers. 
   
3. First-mover advantages. The speed at which business changes requires us to pay closer attention to the talent we hire and the effectiveness of their performance.
   
4. Board buy-in. The quality of talent has to be exceptional to meet the standards of your organization’s board and investors, who will constantly be measuring value. 
   
5. Employee values. Employee expectations of their workplace are also changing, requiring CEOs to understand and address employee engagement.
   
6. Generational divides. Demographics in the workforce are shifting. As employees in top positions defer retirement, they leave Millennials and Gen Z to apply for a multitude of positions, instead of finding a perfect match for their talent. 
   

When we recognize the importance of talent management to an organization, it is critical for leadership to remain actively engaged in talent management opportunities. Additionally, leaders should work directly with managers to develop business plans. They should offer insight to the talent required and what needs to be achieved to meet business goals. As a trusted advisor to the business, talent managers will become leaders in the execution of business goals.

An example of this would include creating a special learning program for employees in pivotal roles, such as those managing multiple positions, or mid-level leaders with the likelihood of advancing within the business. By providing supplementary training for high potentials in the organization, companies are likely to receive the highest return on investment and growth within the organization. 

With this in mind, it is essential for leaders to keep HR informed on the business plans of the organization, as it will directly impact the selection and hiring process. It is far easier, more efficient and less expensive to place higher priority on selection over development, simply because not all skills can be developed. Judgment, learning ability and adaptability are all skills near impossible to train. Instead, hiring based on the needs of the business, with knowledge of the skills demanded by the position, is a much more suitable way to manage talents. Factors for executing a high-performance talent management approach include communication, accountability, skill, alignment and measurement.