Talent management is no longer a new concept, nor is it something only recruitment managers and experts such as Mike Giuffrida concern themselves with anymore. Indeed, thanks to their efforts, it is now something all managers have to be concerned with and it covers various business areas, including individual development, organizational capability, workforce planning, performance enhancement, succession planning, and more. In fact, it is even important in relation to pay and other rewards.

Mike Giuffrida on the Importance of Talent Management for Businesses

A survey conducted in 2015 among CEOs in Hartford and Southington showed that around 50% of businesses see talent management as one of their key priorities. Additionally, around 3/5 of all employers use talent management as a way to further the quality of their organization. Exactly what constitutes talent management varies from one organization to the next, however, with the elements most commonly included being client and board level exposure, networking events, informal and formal leadership coaching, and more.

It is important for businesses to take a more strategic approach in terms of their talent management. This is something that HR managers and CEO agree with, making it a top priority. In fact, almost all senior and top level professionals now see talent management as one of the five most important priorities within their organization. There clearly is a greater increase in the interest for talent, which is in part caused by the fact that there are new internal organizational demands and issues with external supplies. Global markets are becoming more competitive, demographic trends show that finding talent becomes harder, there is a significant shortage of talent, and business strategies and corporate governance are often unfriendly towards attracting new talent.

In order for organizations to remain competitive, they should take a strategic view towards their talent management, creating a policy that meets the needs of their business while encouraging its people to become the best they can be as well. By having a strategy in place that is tailored specifically to the needs of the organization, it will become easier to target human capital investment. At the same time, it ensures the board understands the importance of properly managing and developing available talent. Doing so meets a number of common strategic objectives, such as:

• Making sure people can perform as effectively and efficiently as possible.
• Encouraging people within the organization to learn and train.
• Becoming an “employer of choice”, which is important for branding efforts.
• Making the workplace more diverse and equal.

Numerous organizations now have distinct talent management strategies in place. However, the focus of these strategies continues to be mainly on high level staff, which could mean high potential staff is missed. Additionally, these strategies look more at how people perceive what it means to be “talent managed”. Yet, from research that has looked at the current work that is being done, it is clear that highly positive results are usually achieved when businesses start to focus on talent management.