10 Talent Management Best Practices – Part I

Talent Management continues to be at top concern for leaders; therefore, in this blog we address ten talent management best practices. Let’s start by defining what talent management involves. We often hear that “talent is the most important asset in our organization.” But are you taking the necessary steps to attract the right talent, and then educate, encourage, and maintain your top talent?

Talent Management is the umbrella that covers all aspects of taking care of your employees—your talent. Talent Management includes the following components:

·????????Strategies to attract the right talent

·????????Education and training tools for all staff

·????????Established career paths

·????????Personal and professional development opportunities

·????????Mentoring relationships

·????????Leadership development plans, and

·????????Culture training based on your organization’s core values.

In this two-part blog, are ten talent management best practices that can help you enhance your Talent Management Program at your institution. We will unfold the above-mentioned components in future blogs. For now, we will focus on the first five best practices in Part I of this blog:

1.??????Updated Job Descriptions and Role Clarity

The very first step to formalize your Talent Management Program is to create and update job descriptions for all positions in the organization. In the “Position Purpose” ensure you clarify the role of the position, so everyone understands their job clearly. Include the organization’s core values so employees can identify if their personal core values align with the company’s. Having updated and clearly defined job descriptions for all positions is a strategy to attract the right talent.

2.??????Current Organizational Design

With the current turnover ratios that institutions experience these days, you could update your Organizational Chart daily. However, that is not necessary. Ideally, you first create an Organizational Design only based on functions. Then you create the Org Chart with the employees’ names that occupy each position. The most important questions to answer are: Does our current Organizational Design support our current business model? What changes do we need to make to ensure it supports the future needs of the institution? Update the Org Chart at least quarterly and ensure it’s available to all staff.

3.??????Formal Performance Review Process

The lack of a formal performance review process results in complete lack of accountability at all levels of an organization. There are plenty of software solutions that automate the entire process and save all the documentation electronically. Managers no longer need to complete review forms by hand although, unfortunately, many still want to do it “the old way” or not do them at all. Yes, the process takes time, but it is foundational to retaining your top talent and getting rid of the wrong talent in your company.

The best approach has three simple steps: 1) Employee provides input into their own performance for the past twelve months (at least one week prior to formal meeting); 2) Employee and manager meet to discuss opportunities to grow and recognize accomplishments; 3) Employee takes ownership of his/her own growth and provides manager with a plan to improve, grow, learn, etc. for the next year. Ensure the compensation and salary communication takes place in a separate meeting. Doing so will avoid the employee to want to get to the salary conversation right away.

4.??????90-Day Check-In with New Hires and “Stay Interviews” Ongoing

Attracting and then retaining new talent is an ongoing challenge for most companies today. It is therefore important to always conduct a 90-day check-in interview to ensure the new employees integrate into your company’s culture and perform their jobs as agreed. It is also crucial to stay in touch with your existing staff and one way to do so is to conduct “stay interviews.” The purpose of these interviews is to discover any issues or challenges employees may have. Many communication issues take care of themselves through these informal meetings with your current team members.

5.??????Provide Culture Training Ongoing

Your company has an established culture. Can you define it in words? Does your culture reflect your core values? Do your employees know and can recite your core values? These are important questions to ask your leadership team. The first step to provide culture training is to ensure you define your top 3-5 core values and share them consistently with the entire staff. Reward those who exhibit and live out your company’s core values to encourage others to do the same. Your culture reflects how you do things “your company’s way.” You need to continually enhance your culture and protect it from bad influences once you achieve the culture you aspire to have in your organization.

We will address the next five best practices in Part 2 of this blog. I hope these five will get you started in enhancing your Talent Management Program at your organization.

Marcia Malzahn is president and founder of Malzahn Strategic a management consulting firm for community financial institutions. If you enjoyed this blog, you can read more on the topics of Treasury Management, Enterprise Risk Management, Talent Management, Succession Planning, and Strategic Planning at Malzahn Strategic Blog page. If you’re looking for consulting help in these areas, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Marcia is also an inspirational keynote speaker and published author of five books: A daily devotional – Devotions for Working Women, The Fire Within – to help you find your purpose, friendship poems in The Friendship Book, also in Spanish El Libro de la Amistad (poemas de Amistad), and Bring YOUR Shoes to help emerging leaders with tools on how to lead. In her latest grandma baby book, Inside Your Mama’s Tummy, Marcia inspires grandparents to form a bond with their grandchildren. You can contact Marcia for speaking engagements through her website at https://crowning-achievements.com/ or email her at [email protected].