Employees are one of the most valuable resources that any organization has and focuses on enhancing their development. Managing the workers of an entity is also another issue whose dimensions keep changing along with other industry developments in the markets of participation. However, the environment has changed, and people have acquired more skills that require sound management practices. Managing talent in an organization is a consideration that each entity should make, but there have been many challenges in achieving that objective. One author from the Harvard Business Review indicates that talent management is a series of failures and success that need a new approach to establishing stability in organizational performance (Cappelli par. 1). The article reveals significant trends and factors in managing the skills of employees in an organization. The primary interest is in the factors that lead to the failures that businesses face and the corrective strategies that can enhance talent management in workplaces.
Talent management is an organizational approach that seeks to acquire, motivate and retain highly skilled individuals in the workforce to improve engagement and productivity (Lewis and Heckman 140). The definition reveals that the management of an employee begins right from the time of hiring through to other operations. Poor hiring practices are some of the outstanding challenges that most organizations face in the acquisition and management of talent. Cappelli indicates that most businesses and their leaders are using old techniques in their manner of hiring and promoting employees within their systems (par. 2). The methods that most enterprises use are a legacy approach where people take up positions depending on the succession plan that the leaders set in place. Innovative strategies are necessary to allow the organizations to implement better talent management strategies. The primary consideration is to take a break from the over-engagement in internal development. The first step is to enhance the ability of the leaders to anticipate the changes that are likely to occur in the business environment. That can enable the leaders to acquire newer talents from outside their entities and promote the synergy of the system.
Outside-hiring has also been influential to the failures that businesses face in talent management despite the evolution of the environment through the decades (Cappelli par. 8). At the beginning of the operation, the events of hiring talent from other institutions present the greatest benefits. However, the trend becomes detrimental when every market participant undertakes it. Every organization loses its talent at the same rate that it is taking it from other businesses. The enterprises need to promise better pay and working conditions to attract the employees from their competitors, and that increases their overall cost of operation (Cappelli par. 9). Another outcome is a high rate of employee turnovers in each of the enterprises. The implication is that the companies face a regime of instability in their employee management, and that hinders the ability to manage talent efficiently as the workers have a short period of service in one entity. Therefore, it is also not an exact solution to enhance talent management unless the organization can establish a strategy to prevent the losses of its workers. That calls for the efficiency of relationships between the employer and the employees.
One of the best approaches for increasing the effectiveness of talent management is ensuring that the organization is capable of providing for the interests of both the employer and their employees (Cappelli par. 37). The internal development approach gave the leaders the flexibility to choose the individuals that would measure up to certain challenges. However, the environment has changed, and the workers have broader options to choose from in their career paths. Therefore, a manager cannot just pick a set of employees and give them promotions randomly as was the traditional approach. Most organizations use internal boards to deal with the relevant issues of internal development (Cappelli par. 38). For example, if a vacancy arises within the enterprise, each worker gets the opportunity to apply and take the necessary assessments before picking the right candidate according to the performance results.
Another approach to talent management is encouraging the improvement of the employee skills and capabilities within the organization (Cappelli par. 31). That develops through increasing the level of engagement by enhancing the participation in training activities as well as research and development. That shows every employee that the organization has a long-term commitment to their objectives and increases their probability of staying (Lee and Bruvold 981). It creates a tie between the employer and the employee and the latter is likely to choose to stick to the organization due to the development it promises. For example, the entity can promise to settle some of the costs that the employees incur in pursuing further education. That move increases the capabilities of the employees while establishing a value strategy for the company to increase retention.
The findings in the article provide a perspective on the most common causes of poor talent management in the organizations and the solutions to the challenge. The indication is that the organizations need to establish a balance between internal development and outside hiring. That move ensures that the entity is capable of retaining the talent that currently exists in the system while providing the flexibility to acquire more workers. The aim is to balance between introducing new skills to the enterprise while encouraging the retention of the workers that are available. Therefore, it is important to consider both outside hiring and internal development simultaneously.
Works Cited
Cappelli, Peter. “Talent Management for the Twenty-First Century.” Harvard Business Review. 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Lee, Chay Hoon, and Norman T. Bruvold. "Creating value for employees: investment in employee development." The International Journal of Human Resource Management 14.6 (2003): 981-1000. Print.
Lewis, Robert E., and Robert J. Heckman. "Talent management: A critical review." Human resource management review 16.2 (2006): 139-154. Print.
