Feed growth with talent management fuel

In today’s digital age, employment is no longer viewed as it was before, courtesy the range of career choices that have emerged. Individuals today have the power to create jobs in industry spaces that were once considered nonviable, thus moving beyond the ‘doctor-engineer’ restriction that was prevalent in the past. With entrepreneurship on the rise, greater focus now lies on the functioning of HR departments across industries as hiring and retention become more important. Talent management strategies have hence become a major focus area for all players in the industry.

The situation as it stands:

The focus of life at the workplace has shifted from purely financial gain to a more augmented approach towards self and career development opportunities, with employees displaying greater loyalty to their profession rather than the organization. The aim, hence, is to make a discernible change in the industry and their personal lives. The improvement seen in the industry standards today has opened up multiple avenues for employees in order to fulfil their needs. In such a situation, dissatisfied employees cannot be appeased merely through monetary compensation and must be given a sense of belonging within the company.

Another important aspect of HR functioning is hiring, which has also seen a major change. Most candidates who possess the apt skill set an organization requires, do not apply for these positions on their own, construing them as passive profiles. HR departments must now find ways to actively engage these candidates from their end to inform them of their eligibility for these positions. Expectations from companies too have risen, thereby forcing organizations to re-brand themselves differently in order to attract new talent.

A future of better retention and hiring

As these changes show, organizations must look at new strategies to retain hired talent as well as look for new talent to be recruited. This involves changes in both the internal framework to benefit employees as well as the external image to attract future employees. Some of the steps are:

• Communicate and acknowledge merit-able work: Work today functions on the principle of instant gratification, a phenomenon that is a widespread requirement for all new generation employees. The organization must acknowledge important work done by its employees on a scale proportionate to the achievement. With the likes of LinkedIn and naukri.com becoming the space for displaying professional achievements, organizations must move beyond simple ‘Employee of the Month’ awards to focus on delivering awards that would add to their professional profiles on such platforms. This helps provide an incentive to employees to perform their best and be rewarded for not just their efforts but the outcomes.
• Build a nurturing environment: Workplaces today can sometimes be perceived as unimaginative and cause employees to see their work as monotonous. The organization must build a conducive environment that challenges employees to find innovative solutions to issues. Companies can do so by following flexible hierarchies that allow employees to lead projects where they have superior experience, allowing for both employee confidence and better results. Employees must be encouraged to take up only as much responsibility as they can handle as overburdening is one of the major reasons for attrition. These efforts would help inculcate an efficient work-life balance.
• A more involved HR approach: Traditionally, an employee’s work and personal life were separated rigidly as it was assumed that any interaction between the two would be detrimental to the organization. However, in a contemporary scenario, this is no longer true. HR departments today seamlessly work to integrate an employee’s personal life circumstances into work life, such as birthdays, anniversaries and emergency circumstances to give the employee a feeling of being cared for. This in turn inculcates a sense of belonging towards the organization that aids in retention.

While retention is one aspect of talent management, organizations cannot avoid increasing their ranks with fresh employees. Hence, recruitment too must be focused upon when one looks at talent management. Some of the steps companies can undertake are:

• Build a unique reputation: Potential talent today prefers the company to adapt to their requirements rather than vice versa. In such a scenario, the organization must possess elements that differentiate it from its competition and assure new hires of a rewarding experience within the firm. Companies like Google, for example, amplified various incentives like free gourmet food and snacks and dogs being allowed at the workplace thus, illustrating how they have succeeded in creating an employee experience that is unique and attractive to all potential hires. In addition to this, companies can also distinguish themselves through unique offerings such as customized insurance plans, employee engagement through mobile apps and so on.
• Know what you’re looking for: Despite the above mentioned preference, organizations must not compromise on their requirements simply to attract desired talent. Hiring must be well thought-out so as to find the right candidate to fulfil the company’s need, thereby ensuring mutual long-term success. A candidate who has written a famous novel may not necessarily have the skills to write advertising content, despite having experience in writing as a whole. Such a situation illustrates the need to evaluate candidates only on the required skills for the company.
• Constantly look to grow and evolve: Potential talent is mostly drawn to organizations that are dynamic in nature as it provides scope for personal development while also aiding in the organization’s growth. Companies must hence look to keep themselves updated with the trends of the industry and constantly innovate so as not to stagnate and eventually become irrelevant.

Organizations today must come to terms with the rise of a new generation of employees who are no longer satisfied with the status quo. Innovation is the need of the hour and dynamic talent management strategies will ensure that organizations retain and recruit the best talent in the ecosystem to aid in innovation and growth.  

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