Companies are suffering under the crisis and desperately looking for ways, how to increase the results and reduce costs in order to achieve a higher profit, demanded by the shareholders or the company owners.
The managers are looking for the talents, which can help them to achieve the demanding targets. So, where are the talents and how can Talent Management help the business to achieve better results and higher sales?
Is Talent Management something totally new, which can help the companies to fight against the negative effects of the crisis – the “ miracle drug “, which cures all the business problems?
The name might be new, but the idea behind it – to develop systematically the skills of the talented employees – is not so new. Tomas Bata, the most successful and worldwide known Czech entrepreneur, already applied the principles of Talent Management in his company during the biggest economic crisis in world history.
Bata said at that time very clearly, that training and development of the employees (which is an important part of Talent Management ) is a strategic investment for the future success of the company and significantly increases the economic results.
So for him, Talent Management was not just a cost factor, like many managers see it today, but it was the engine for business success.
The message is clear – if a company wants to be successful, not only today, but also in the future, it needs to invest systematically into Talent Management.
How to achieve better business results by implementing Talent Management?
The Talent Management system has to be based on the business strategy of the company and its tools have to support actively the business development. Therefore it is necessary, that the Top Management together with HR as the business partner defines the priorities of the Talent Management Strategy. Here is already the point, why many Talent Management systems fail: lack of support by the Top Management, lack of understanding by the line managers for the needs and the benefits of Talent Management, line managers see it just as a cost factor and their involvement as a waste of time and money.
Accordingly, quite often the entire Talent Management ends up in an exercise of filling out excel sheets and the effects for the business are zero.
Only, if the CEO or an influential member of the board is the owner of the Talent Management project and actively involves himself, it can be successful and help the business to achieve better results.
It is also important, that the Talent Management project should be driven and steered by a tandem of project managers, closely working together: the HR Manager and the Business Manager. They have to cooperate very closely to define the strategy and the targets of Talent Management, so that they will be closely linked to the business strategy.
Warning: It happens quite often, that HR does not involve the line managers right from the start and that the HR people do not explain and communicate the goals of the Talent Management system. This can backfire and cause serious problems, because the line managers will have a tendency to refuse support for the implementation of Talent Management or they will permanently criticize HR for lack of cooperation and communication.
Every Talent Management system, which wants to be successful must be based on the competency model of the company, which should reflect the key competencies ( skills and abilities ), which are important for the companies success in business.
The responsible project managers ( the HR Manager and the Business Manager ) should answer the following three key questions, when implementing the Talent Management system:
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Do our talents have the right competencies ( skills and abilities ), which support our business not only today, but also in the future?
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Does our company provide the necessary support for our talents to become successful in our business?
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Do we have a clear leadership throughout our company on all levels, which identifies, supports and develops talents for our companies business goals?
The role of HR here should be to deliver innovative, business driven HR solutions and to develop the capabilities within the company to deliver high performance results.
Therefore the HR professionals must know very well the business strategy, the business needs and of course the products/services, which the company offers.
Professional HR must ensure, that the different parts of an innovative Talent Management system ( Staffing/Recruitment Strategy, Performance Management Strategy, Leadership Development Succession Strategy, Compensation & Benefit Strategy and the Learning & Development Strategy ) are fully integrated into the business model of the company.
What are the main benefits of a systematic Talent Management for the business?
In line with the philosophy of Tomas Bata, Talent Management is an investment in the future success of the company and helps to increase the long-term shareholder value.
It helps to develop new revenue sources and to boost sales.
It creates customer satisfaction, because the talents are highly motivated to provide top service to the customer.
Last, but not least it guarantees, that higly expensive talents stay loyal to the company and continue to contributeto its success in business.
Talent Management is the key to success in business today and even more tomorrow!
Dipl. Kfm. Jörg Petzold, PhD.
Head of Talent Management Czech Republic and Slovakia, HUDSON