Eight Best Practices of Effective Talent Management

We've all read about companies where people are happy and those where they're not, companies where people don't feel like there's a future or a way to grow their career, so they leave. That company needs a talent management strategy.

Few, if any, organisations today have an adequate supply of talent. Gaps exist at the top of the organisation, in the first to mid-level leadership ranks, and at the front lines. Talent is an increasingly scarce resource, so it must be managed to the fullest effect. Companies with effective talent management strategies are more innovative, flexible to change, have greater employee productivity, and retain their key talent.

In this article, I'll walk you through Eight Best Practices of Effective Talent Management.

Best Practice #1: Build your Plan - People strategy must be tightly aligned with Business strategy

A talent management strategy is the cornerstone for any organisation to achieve its business goals. In this way, your talent choices will drive both the quality and quantity of employees retained.

In fact, the talent management strategy is set based on business goals. It guides recruiting and hiring, performance management, career development, succession planning, and learning and development. When everyone is on the same page within an organisation, it will increase productivity that reflects strategic alignment.

Best Practice #2: Understand the world of company culture

Company culture involves the behaviours, core values, processes, procedures, code of conduct and the company people. Keeping culture at the forefront will allow your organisation to thrive. It's often manifested through company decisions and employee interactions with one another. As an HR manager, you play a huge role in ensuring a potential employee's cultural compatibility with your company. Since finding the right company's culture has become an essential factor for job seekers.

Finding talented employees who can easily fit the organisational culture and core values will enable your team members to communicate easily with one another, stay engaged with their work, and fulfil their responsibilities.

Best Practice #3: Prepare your team

HR Leaders complain that their CXOs still treat talent management strategy as an afterthought. Many organisations limit the idea of succession management to senior leadership in critical positions and the ability to secure replacements on time. While succession planning is foremost at all levels of the organisation, Talent Management leaders should believe in their powers to lead the talents to their best. HR Leaders should believe that talent management must encompass a far broader portion of the employee population with a high focus on critical positions and talent pool.

This issue is rooted in the misconception that talent management is just succession planning. If there is one rule that should guide your talent management strategy. Then it will be the time for talent management professionals should move from a seat at the table to setting the table. Successful organisations need operative leaders at all levels and functional areas to go well beyond succession planning.

Best Practice #4: Enable the Social Contract

Researchers have highlighted that the trust between employees and employers is decreasing since the traditional social contract is based on loyalty, commitment, and accountability in return for job security. People with exceptional talents are comfortable with crossing cultural and geographical boundaries. It has been proven that such people tend to relate more to people of similar skills and talents than to a particular workplace.

So, the social contract should be replaced with one where employers see employees as essential assets responsible for their own employability, learning and career development.

Best Practice #5: Know what you want and be it

As HR leaders, it’s principal to set goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for our talent pool. These metrics allow organisations to measure past and current performances and recalibrate to hit goals. Tracking KPIs also helps get insights into possible knowledge gaps, pinpoint current weaknesses, and address these challenges.?

Several studies show that companies with better financial performance are more likely to use competency frameworks as a base for talent management, selection, career planning, and retention. Talent profiles are designed to manage talent concerning business objectives. They should reflect vital plans and priorities, as well as changes with new strategies.\

Best Practice #6: Identify your HiPos unique needs

Identify unique needs and practice individualised management. To do this, you must get to know and understand each of your direct reports as an individual. Leaders who excel in this competency spend one-on-one time with each of their direct reports to learn about their career aspirations, favourite assignments, strengths and limitations.?

Based upon these variables and the needs of the business, they develop a customised development approach for each person, avoiding a one-size-fits-all development and training strategy.

Best Practice #7: The talent pipeline is only as strong as its weakest link

Have a high potential to specify how they plan to implement their learning in the future. This will allow you to reinforce positives and provide feedback that helps them build on successes. When you meet with them, ask how they have applied the learning programmes they attended – every time.

Provide frequent, constructive and balanced feedback. Timely and constructive coaching feedback is vital to the development process. The strongest coaches consistently give feedback that highlights both positive behaviour and development opportunities. They help solve the problem while building the relationship by meeting regularly, sometimes as often as weekly. This helps reinforce development progress and focuses both the coachee and the coach on the importance of the development process.

Best Practice #8: Let them know

Nowadays, organisations realised that promising individuals, those who create value for the organisation, should receive a differential focus when it comes to. According to a study, one of the most common reasons why an employee leaves a company is an acknowledgement. If you want to avoid this risk, you need to keep your employees motivated and happy at work, recognise their achievements, and give them appropriate rewards and incentives.

It’s normal for employees to experience lower motivation levels once in a while, but it becomes a problem when they start losing interest in their work.

Motivation, while vital for a successful workforce, requires continuous effort. While there is no single approach to do so, there are many simple tips you can try.

Do you have any other things to add to the list? Please write in the comment box below!