The main focus for most organizations in 2014 should be on talent
management and talent development, particularly the managerial and
technical roles that are the difference makers. One of the major
reasons to focus on talent is that it is a great way to get the HR
function into a broader discussion about what is next for the
organization and what the business strategy should be. Positioning the
HR function and talent management to contribute to the overall
effectiveness and financial performance of the organization is the best
way the HR function can add value to corporations.
The most important thing that HR should focus on in
talent management is assessing the skills the organization needs to
implement its strategy and the plan for recruiting and managing that
critical talent. It is important to understand what the organization can
do to add the right talent: Whether it is best recruited or best
internally developed, and whether it is even possible to develop the
right talent in order to implement business strategy. Understanding the
availability of talent in combination with knowing how it is critical
for the business strategy should lead to a more interactive relationship
between the strategic choices of the organization and how its talent is
trained and managed. Often, the reasons why business strategies fail is
that they mistakenly assume that the organization can get the right
talent in order to perform the way the strategy calls for. All too often
organizations cannot attract or develop it, and as a result, the
strategy is not feasible.
Talent has always been important, but it has increasingly become more
critical because so many organizations are doing much more complex,
knowledge-based work and operating globally. This has created a
situation where the performance of talent has a major impact on the
bottom line. The difference in many critical jobs between good talent
performance and poor talent performance is 100 to 1. That reality is
increasingly causing knowledge work-based organizations to focus on
talent as a source of competitive advantage.
Google GOOG +0.69%
is a good example of a company that has done an exceptional job of
recruiting and managing people who have critical knowledge skills. It
needs talented people to perform well and that translates into how they
communicate about the kind of talent they are looking for and the jobs
they offer. Further, they identify critical positions in the
organization, where performance can differentiate them from their
competitors. They make sure they fill those jobs with the right talent.
This is an important and critical part of the whole recruitment and
selection process. In the selection process, they ensure that they test
for the ability to develop the key skills that are needed for the job.
Decades ago, Google, like
3M MMM -0.2%,
began giving everybody 10-15% free time to work on their pet projects.
People have used this time to come up with new business ideas and
business projects. They have created work that fits the talent of the
people in the organization, and they have attracted talented people to
come to work for them. This allows them not only to implement their
business strategy but to also grow and develop their business strategy
based on the skills of their employees and their ability to attract top
talent.
Why aren’t there more organizations that focus on talent? Some business
leaders
think they can live without top talent. Others believe talent
management is important, but they do not see it as important as finance
or technology. Finally, many executives are unable to see the
relationship between talent issues and the business strategy of their
organization. Many executives do not have a background in talent
management. They are trained in finance or engineering and they see them
as the major determinants of organizational performance. The challenge
for HR is not just to establish the importance of talent, but it is to
link talent management to the business strategy.
