What Does a Talent Mindset Really Mean?

Today's businesses face increased global competition, shifting markets, and unforeseen events. No wonder they are finding it more difficult than ever to attract, develop, and retain the skilled workers they need.

 

Cindy McCauley and Michael Wakefield highlighted in a 2006 article how “talent management, which incorporates the cooperation and communication of managers at all levels, has become an imperative in the face of today's business challenges. In addition, talent management processes must be more strategic, connected, and broad-based than ever before.”

 

Talent-management processes include workforce planning, talent gap analysis, recruiting, staffing, education and development, retention, talent reviews, succession planning, and evaluation. To drive performance, deal with an increasingly rapid pace of change, and create sustainable success, a company must integrate and align these processes with its business strategies. By assessing available talent and placing the right people in their best roles, organizations can survive and thrive in today's increasingly competitive markets.

 

But before aligning the processes one has to fully understand them – how to develop them, how to manage them and how to get the best out of them. Yet for some strange reason the multiple benefits of HR processes and systems like these are often talked about with passion and vigour, but rarely understood and implemented correctly.

 

According to a recent benchmarking study on talent management conducted by the American Productivity and Quality Center and the Center for Creative Leadership, organizations that excel in talent management follow eight best practices:

 

1. Defining "talent management" broadly.

2. Integrating the various elements of talent management into a comprehensive system.

3. Focusing talent management on their most highly-valued talent.

4. Getting CEO's and senior executives committed to talent management work.

5. Building competency models to create a shared understanding of the skills and behaviours the organization needs and values in employees.

6. Monitoring talent system-wide to identify potential talent gaps.

7. Excelling at recruiting, identifying, and developing talent, as well as performance management and retention.

8. Regularly evaluating the results of their talent management system.

 

A well-known McKinsey & Company report coined the term "talent mindset" to describe the "fundamental belief in the importance of talent" that high-performing organizations exhibit. By viewing your workplace through the eyes of a talent manager, you will learn to develop such a mindset. Get into the habit of asking:

 

Do we have the capability to do what is asked of us? What talents do we need to improve on or acquire? How will we further develop those talents? Think about how everyday work can serve as a further talent development for you and those you manage.

 

Organisations need to look at talent as the rule rather than the exception, where they embrace a talent mind-set at the top, which cascades down as part of the organisational culture. They need to start their talent management culture at the recruitment phase – having a sound recruitment policy that ensures that they attract and recruit the best talent available in the market place for their specific needs now and into the future.

 

Looking after talent management, into the future, requires a direct link between the corporate strategy and the human resources strategy. Where organisations, regardless of size, have a ‘view’ of what their organisation structure will look like in the short to medium term (often, one to five years, depending on the industry) and being consciously aware of all the possible changes in job functionality.

 

This allows organisations to plan proactive development programs for their talent at the individual and team level, throughout the company – ensuring that they are constantly ‘fit for purpose’ and optimising the development of their talent – who in turn ensure they optimise the performance outcomes of the organisation.

 

Very few organisations dedicate the time and effort, to identify and install the right systems and processes to optimise the development of their current and future talent – but maybe the leaders of different business sectors in the future, will be those that go beyond just talking about talent, and actually embrace and implement talent management on the ground.   

 

References

 

McCauley, C. and Wakefield, M. (2006).Talent Management in the 21st Century: Help Your Company Find, Develop, and Keep its Strongest Workers. Journal for Quality & Participation. Vol. 29, Issue 4, p.4-7.