The talent management practices followed by organizations

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

Statement of the Problem: All organizations have people that means they have human resources and regardless of the size of an organization or the extent of human resources, the organization survives and thrives because of the capabilities and performance of its assets that is the people who work there.

A recent survey conducted by SHRM which indicated that human capital is one of the biggest challenges in the coming years for business. But to identify a talent also requires talent in return, Hence recruiting and retaining top talent is the biggest challenge for HR professionals so for them talent management strategy should be the top priority and for this innovation in HR is very necessary but unfortunately in HR innovation seems to be a missing skill.

As India has gone more on the side of outsourcing work so it has tried to develop its own set of HR challenges. Now a day's qualified graduates are becoming scarce. So our main aim is to find out do we have the right talent within to attract and also to retain the best available.

Therefore the organizations need to focus on innovative and creative strategies that will attract and retain the talent needed to meet the needs of the organization. Hence the main focus should be on talent hunt and talent retention.

A company is known by the people it keeps: -

The organization is form by its people and as a result, the success and failure of organization is affected if the people working there are affected. In customer driven service sector organization it's a challenge to manage people or employee. Such service driven organization tends to take a long-term view of managing their employee than only focusing upon the regular operational monitoring of their workers. There is an emphasis on human resource planning and integration between the management of people, resources and corporate business strategies which are emphasized in strategic human resource management (SHRM). Caring for customer and delivery of high quality services to customers and clients are additional dimensions of managing all resources strategically in excellent organizations.

SHRM is the explicit management, planning, integration, leadership of resources and

Assets.

Effective management of human resources is necessarily strategic. One cannot hope to continue to accomplish the work without having some future view of who might be leaving and when, what skills might be needed and why, and some idea of the current impact of the local economy and employment trends.

All organizations have people, they have human resources. Regardless of the size of an organization or the extent of its resources, the organization survives and thrives because of the capabilities and performance of its people. The activities to maximize those capabilities and that performance are necessary regardless of whether the organization refers to them as Human Resource Management.

Objective of the Study:-

The objective of this paper is to study the talent management practices followed by organizations, identify various challenges of talent management.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent management is a process that emerged in the 1990s and continues to be adopted, as more companies come to realize that their employees' talents and skills drive their business success. It is also referred to as Human Capital Management.

Companies develop plans and processes to track and manage their employee talent, including the following:

Attracting and recruiting qualified candidates with competitive backgrounds

Managing and defining competitive salaries

Training and development opportunities

Performance management processes

Retention programs

Promotion and transitioning.

Benefits of Implementing a Talent-Management Program:

Providing the resources helps the employees achieve their best individual potential, and it helps the business respond to challenges, enter new markets and move ahead of the competition.

A company with a talented and successful work force can develop a public reputation for being a great place to work, which fosters loyalty among current employees. Talented candidates will also be more interested in working for a company that values its employees and gives them opportunities for continued success.  

How to get started with Talent Management:

There are few ways an organization can begin managing employees talent:-

Bring in a consultant to review the internal processes.

Evaluate the areas that are critical to organization.

Evaluate the areas that are weak and in need of improvement.

Another way is to use a computer system to help your organization track and manage its processes. There are many hosted, Web-based solutions available that can be integrated into a total ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system along with accounting, payroll and other systems to simplify HR processes for the HR generalist or specialist. 

In addition to payroll or other basic HR functions, HRIS systems can help organizations by providing the following talent-management capabilities:

Insight into recruitment processes such as hiring requirements, job descriptions, feedback from applicants and future hiring needs

Developing and tracking incentive programs that attract and retain top talent

Metrics that measure current talent and industry trends, as well as forecast future needs

Integration with employee ERP and self-service systems that help employees research company benefits such as medical coverage

Access to real-time salary information to standardize employee compensation and offer employees competitive compensation rates and raises

Onboarding and performance-management services to develop and foster new workers, retain seasoned employees and attract employees from competitors

Employee-tracking systems to identify training and promotion opportunities and help employees transition to other suitable positions within the organization

Research Methodology:

Secondary data:

Various journals on talent management ( talent management strategies, talent retention strategies, NHRD journal , Hyderabad)

HR websites ( free HR management library online)

Research paper

SIGNIFICANCE OF TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES:

7 Talent Management Practices

1. Align Goals and Track Everyone's Progress:

Make sure that every employee's goals are aligned with organizational goals and also regularly monitor progress on goals so that corrective actions can be taken as required. Finally there is need to be able to quickly and effectively communicate any change in focus or priorities. Talent management system allows to quickly communicate changes the impact organizational goals to everyone who has a linked individual goal.

2. Conduct Regular Employee Reviews to Keep Employee Performance On Track:

Employee performance reviews give employees an opportunity to talk with their manager about what they are doing well, areas for improvement, skill gaps, career plans, goals, competencies, development needs and more. It's one of the most effective ways to keep performance on track. They also help managers and HR identify low performers and take action to improve their performance, so the company can get the most out of all its resources.

Finally, employee reviews make it easier for managers and HR to make critical decisions about workforce restructuring and right-sizing if/when needed. By providing a history of employee performance they allow managers and HR to accurately identify high and low performers and employees with critical knowledge/experience/skills.

3. Provide Ongoing Feedback to Maximize Performance:

Ongoing feedback helps everyone maximize their performance. It allows for quick corrective action, so managers and employees can address any issues while they are still small. To formalize this process, quarterly or semi-annual reviews instead of just annual ones may be required.

4. Invest in Performance-Based Development:

Always make sure that an organization is getting value from investments made in employee development. Identify the skill gaps by using employees performance appraisals. Consider which competencies are key to organizations success and try to target training to build strength in these areas. To make sure that the training is efficient and effective as well measuring the change in employee performance ratings is essential.

5. Identify and Reward High Performing Employees:

This is a very critical step which helps in knowing high performing and high potential employees. Even if a company is not in a condition to provide salary increases or perks during an economic setback providing them with organizational commitment also recognize their contributions through other means as such employees are not worth loosing so acknowledging their performance is essential.

6. Have a Succession Plan:

Always keep a succession plan ready with the talented employees which help the organizations by replacing the people at critical times of the company during economic setbacks. Even the high performing and high potential employees can also be of great help to the organization.

7. Be as Efficient as Possible:

Inefficient process are not affordable to an organization during economic setback. System that automate talent management processes have the ability to make the processes efficient as well as cost effective which will in turn result in higher employee satisfaction and involvement.

CHAPTER -II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS:

As an old saying - "no resource is more important than people "and this holds true today also hence ignoring talent management in an organization is not at all affordable.

Above listed are the steps of talent management process which can be explained as follows:

1)

The first step requires preparation of organizations strategic plan which will give an indication of required skills by an organization for its future avenues also it should signify the core competence. This will give an idea that what talent needs to be outsourced.

Start sourcing the required talent from the appropriate avenues.

Provide detailed descriptions of job.

Conduct behavior based interviews to select the best candidates.

Conduct orientation programs for new employees such that they become familiar with the organization culture and the work area.

Assistance to new employees ensures that the placement will be successful.

2)

Retaining talented employees do not completely depend upon what is being paid to them, after conducting several exit interviews for high performing employees certain reasons can be listed down:

Organization culture plays a huge role in creating a work environment which can drive the people in or out.

Contradiction of values between employee and organization will also exert influence on an individual's decision to leave it.

An employee must make a good relationship with its immediate manager.

Decentralization of decision making task.

Employee - organization right fit is required.

3)

Development should be both in terms of individual growth and organization's needs. It playa a key role in talent management. Development must be in following terms:

Knowledge

Skills

Behavior

attitude

Conduct gap analysis by assessing every employee's competency profile and correct if there are any deficiency that exist between the actual and desired current performance.

Keep up the focus not only on developing weaknesses, equal focus must be there on keeping strengths at the cutting edge.

Conducting various workshops such as providing training program which should be linked to the strategic needs of the organization.

Mentoring plays important role in development programs this also gives an employee feeling of belonging to an organization.

Bridging of talent development program with the performance management system.

4)

Talent identification through talent hunt camps is one of the main components with talent management but actual performance clearly gives the reflection that whether the talent is usable or not. Therefore sound performance management practices are very crucial.

TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS - THE NEW HR MISSION:

Talent management takes place with coordination among various connected HR practices which ultimately brings in competitive advantage to the organization as talent fosters innovative ideas.

Talent and performance goes on simultaneously as teams having the best talent would perform at a higher level. It basically deals with implementation of integrated strategies so as to improve processes of recruitment, developing and retaining people with the required skills so as to meet future organization needs.Therefore now a day's good organizations are looking more into developing talent management strategy.

Above shown is the taleo's graphical representation which depicts talent management responds to business goals as well as drives business performance.

Major Functions of Talent Management:

Hiring the best employees: this includes various aspects such as

work force planning

job description and specification

screening applicants, recruitments

outsourcing as well

Development of employees at all levels:

Career development

Employee orientation

Leadership development

Management development

Personal development

Training and development

Employee retention:

Retaining talent

Employee performance management

Group performance management

Retaining employees

Talent Management in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Indian pharmaceutical industry is an evergreen and widely changing sector. With the addition of 663 formulations under the Drug Price Control Order, this sector is expected to grow by 11 percent. According to the recent study done exports to U.S. and Europe in generic drugs are likely to increase.

Patent expiry of certain drugs also contributes to the growth of Indian pharmaceutical industry, thereby expanding the generic market. Several branded drugs worth US$400 billion and in Europe US$25 billion would go off patent hence providing adequate opportunities for Indian drug market in generic sector to capture the market share.

Enactment of patent protection act in early 2005 has brought India to the edge of outsourcing venues for the multinational companies (MNCs). But before entering into that area Indian pharmaceutical companies must think strategically about their human resources and also the financial condition of the company. There are various talent management issues which are need to be undertaken before seeking growth in the new environment.

Before the introduction of new patent rules in 2005 India's intellectual property laws offered patent protection only to process patent not to product patent and as a result Indian pharmaceutical companies could not reproduce a branded product without paying royalties to the manufacturer, they could only manufacture the similar drug by altering the process. With this the Indian companies gained a lot of market share by selling these low cost generic versions of branded drugs and hence they expanded globally by selling their generic products abroad. But as the business landscape has changed more of MNCs can enter the Indian markets without any fear of patent infringement. As because of rising costs of developing and testing drugs in US and European countries they will be more attracted towards India for both manufacturing and research and development.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry's highly skilled and educated workforce as well as established infrastructure is the causes of attraction for global pharmaceutical companies.

Big pharmaceutical companies are revising their approach to generics as they cannot rely completely on off patent drugs for increasing their margins. Some of the India's major players such as Dr. Reddy's laboratories, Zydus Cadila and Ranbaxy laboratories have been expanding their R&D activities.

Due to such a change in business landscape Indian pharmaceutical industries have developed five talent management strategies such as:-

Employee retention: For a long term success of a company retaining one's best employees is very crucial and this can be achieved by adopting best of HR practices. Make clear to their employees about the organizations future goals and make them acquire certain skills of competency. Zydus Cadila has a very high employee retention rate as they perform management attributes of rewarding and retraining employees.

Focus on 'FIT': While conducting selection interviews always consider will the personal behavior of candidates would be able to align with the corporate culture as every organization has a unique personality some candidates are entrepreneurs and some have culture driven behavior. For ex vice president, human resources of Ranbaxy said that the firm's entrepreneurial spirit attracted him to join the firm.

Ease Transitions : Companies must try to make easier for employees while entering a new environment which is very difficult especially if relocation is involved in it. Mentoring programs is a good option for all new hires so that they will acclimatize quickly. This will not only make them more comfortable but also make them productive also sooner.

Make the Position Attractive : High level professionals are always looking for a robust career path in any company. Let them know what opportunities would be provided to them. For example Nicolas Piramal always provides their employees with cutting edge projects such as development of new molecules.

Management of folklore factor: Managing the traditional beliefs, myths, tales and practices of people. Just as protection of brand reputation is necessary, managing employer's image requires a lot of attention.

Hence there is a new stage set for Indian pharmaceutical industry to reach a new level in the global market place. The ability to maximize opportunities depends on strategic business planning, hiring as well as managing them properly. Identifying the talent through various talent hunt programs and assessing their needs through this Indian pharmaceutical industry will be rewarded with growth and success in its journey.

Talent Shortage in India's IT Sector:

Many IT companies in India such as Infosys, Wipro, and IBM are facing a talent crunch due to the lack of quality workforce. This issue arrived in October 2006 when a board member of Google inc. said that the company is facing a challenge of finding right and skilled candidates in India when compared with other parts of the world. There is shortage of employees with web development skills, web designing technology and there is requirement of talented middle managers in this sector.

Analysts indicated that such talent shortage in Indian IT sector had estimated that by 2010 India could face a shortfall of 500,000 IT professionals. So there is a lot of dearth in Indian IT sector of talent which should be enhanced by providing training and development programs to the new hires, for ex Infosys has done a great job by opening the world's biggest training center for its employees at Mysore where they are provided with simulation techniques so that one can learn easily and also do not disturb the decorum of work place.

Talent Poaching: RIM v/s Motorola:

Talent poaching is another important issue under talent management practices. Two of the leading manufacturers of mobile phones Research in motion and Motorola had entered an agreement of not poaching each other company's employees. But in 2008 Motorola sued RIM for poaching its 40 employees whereas a month later RIM counter - sued Motorola for illegally preventing it from hiring the employees who had been fired from Motorola after the bond between them had expired. But till now the question arises that whether talent poaching is ethical or not as in all sectors employers are always concerned with protecting their trade secrets.

ANALYSIS:

After reviewing the secondary data from various journals, HR websites and newsletters and by using judgmental sampling technique there are certain areas which Indian organizations must improve in terms of talent management approaches:

Making aware your employees with the mission and vision statement of the organization.

Hiring process should be performed carefully by assessing candidates skills earlier.

Organization fit culture that will make an individual to join the organization.

Employees work must be valued within and throughout the organization which would also motivate them.

Certain policies must be generated which focuses on employees career growth and development opportunities.

Conduct gap analysis so that company comes to know what is gap between current employees ability and the competency required by the company.

Decentralization of decision making process and also idea giving process.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Every organization in whatever sector it serves should have defined capabilities in terms of skills, knowledge, ability and behavior.KSA analysis is very important for every organization to follow talent management practices.

After defining the capabilities the job position and description must be defined and then both must be related to each other so as to find out center of demand.

Talent retention is very important which can be improvised by looking into the working culture of the organization so as to retain talent for long time.

Tool of motivation is very necessary to boost up the employees which can be done by providing certified based training which will also enhance their efficiency.

Strategic talent management practices must be followed by looking into the most crucial initiative of the practice.

Create an integrated talent management environment by providing a clear vision and preparing the employees for changes associated with new environment.

CONCLUSION:

For an organization to succeed in today's competitive and rapidly changing market in depth focus must be applied to the human resources by coordinating with the corporate strategy and objectives of organization. It should always start with selecting high performance candidates and also retaining them also develops them into great leaders. With rapidly changing environment and job requirement although the talent management task is a great challenge for organizations but it should be made mandatory also as it fosters in lot of innovative ideas to the company which ultimately leads to its growth and success. Thus implementing an effective talent management strategy organizations can ensure that the right people are selected at the right time and for the right job.