Introduction
Talent Management, the process of identifying, attracting, acquiring, retaining and compensating the human capital, has been undergoing a series of transitions over the years. This is due to the introduction of managerial technology such as the SAAS (Software as a Service) as well as the emerging trends in the HRM (Human Resource Management) that has steadily evolved from the manual paper work to a more unified automated method Burkely (2009).
The Talent Management has basically undergone a four-phase evolution; each stage being an improved state of its previous as they tend towards the forth coming future. The first stage in this chain of transition is the core HRM functions. Here, the managerial practices are very manual and there is no unified connection of the fundamental of the Human Capital Management (HCM) processes. The HR manager only concerns with the manual preparation of the payrolls and candidates recruitment. The second stage that follows this analogue management is the introduction of the integrated system of HCM. Here, the HRM is still very well coordinated as desired. There is no formulation of the TM suites as all things still seem to be on a take off stage of Automation. SAAS therefore becomes an option for the management.
The third stage is where the TM has been fully automated and the TM suites are fully incorporated. There is also the introduction of the portal and internet delivery However, there is some uncoordinated elements of management as the data is still kept by different owners of various departments. The last stage, which also tends towards the future of the TM, has a more sophisticated and unified HCM processes. All the data of all the employees and candidates are unified and are put under a single ownership. It therefore becomes very easy to coordinate the managerial processes. The HR manager is therefore able to anticipate and even predict the needs of the talents.
However, Talent Management does not stop there. There is a future beyond this fourth stage. This is because the technology development is a continual process and therefore there must be a crystal clear roadmap that leads to a future generation Talent Management models. The following are among the suggested pillars on which the future TM processes shall lean:
Digitized Talent pools
The companies must come with ways of reaching the global pool of talents. This can be done through the help of the social networking. Social networking can be done either internally or even externally. The internal networking gives the member talents the opportunity to explore the still available chances within a company. These employees can apply for the jobs posted on the company’s site or even post their qualifications and the posts they wish to serve in. the company shall therefore have an internal pool of talents of its own. The external networking works in the same way only that it also attracts the new talents from all over the world. A good example and a source of information in this topic is the popular LinkedIn which gives the potential employers an opportunity to sneak peak in to a talent’s abilities and experiences. However, this has been a worry to the manpower which is gradually being laid off. The roles that were played by man have undertaken by the automation technology
Simulation
The performance management will be making the use simulation to improve on the workforce development. The workers will be given consistent and regular feedback according to the performance of the business. The managers will not have to wait for the annual reviews of the performance. The information retrieved from the simulation and gaming shall be used to make recommendations and corrective measures. The Microsoft ESP shall be very instrumental in this model that comprises the simulation and gaming.
The Predictive measurements
These are the methods used in the recruitment process. This model does not consider the past performances of a talent also the future. It will automatically match a talent’s skills, qualifications and preferences. On the other hand, a talent is also able to who else has applied for the very positions and his qualifications; the competitors therefore have a chance to see each other’s profile. Under predictive measurements, compensations can as well be made based on the potential of a talent and just on the past performance.
Equity-based compensation
A company can compensate for its talents by offering the monthly salary, annual bonuses or even the equity (stock) of the company. The privately owned companies are however disadvantaged in this prospect since their properties can not be traded in the stock exchange. This makes such private properties unmarketable. The private companies therefore can easily compete for the many qualified talents in a pool. The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance was used to gather this information.
Equity based compensation makes the owner or the business partially lose the ownership of the equity as it transferred to the talent; a situation which the private companies find very tricky. However, equity compensation obliges a talent to work hard for the success of the company. As an incentive, it may also cut down the payment in cash to the talent thus increases a company’s savings. Equity compensation can be in form of:-
Stock option- this is where a talent has an opportunity to buy equity (stock) of the company at a predesigned time and price. It is advantage to the talent since he will benefit from the increase in value of the company’s stock. This also provides some liquidity for the very company thus the company benefits as well.
Equity bonuses- these are performance bonuses which are paid in terms of equity instead of cash. These bonuses give incentive to the talent
Stock purchase plans- this plan enables a talent to buy stock from the company at a discounted price. This gives the employees incentives and also liquidity to the company.
The equity based compensation however is a major concern to the employers as since they fear losing the ownership of the company’s property. Another worry is the transfer of the ownership of the equity to a third party by the talent.
Succession planning
The predictive plan of succession shall automate the recommendation by matching the global talents with the available positions within the company. This shall be closely facilitated by the social networking where the personal profiles and preference shall be automatically matched with the successive posts in a company. The virtualization and the networking on the social media shall replace the person to person counseling Rayd (2010).
Reference
Burkely, G. (2009) The Future of the Talent Management, New York,
Rayd, H. (2010) Human Capital Management in the 21st Century, New Orleans
The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance
(2013)Taleo Research White Paper, Talent Management
