The debate as to whether talent management (TM) is a legitimate business concern as opposed to a passing fad has been settled for most companies. That is why these organizations have incorporated TM issues into daily business operations and have dedicated more resources to address them. While this is good news, a crucial question deserves consideration. Do you truly know your company’s effectiveness on all elements of TM?

As a starting point, consider what makes TM a legitimate business concern. If a company cannot successfully execute its business strategy, its sustainability is in jeopardy. A business strategy must be supported by a human capital strategy. Consequently, the top of the house has come to realize that TM is essential for strategy execution. According to research conducted by IBM and the Human Capital Institute:

  • 80% of CEOs anticipate substantial changes for their organizations and their biggest concern is having a workforce in place that can adapt
  • Talent is a board-level concern for 50% of organizations
  • Companies that apply talent management practices demonstrate higher financial performance than their industry peers

Understanding your company’s effectiveness related to TM elements fundamentally involves using stakeholders and subject matter experts to assess the execution of these elements including how well they are integrated. In other words, determine the strengths (“+”) and areas needing improvement (“Δ”) related to:

  • Workforce planning
  • Talent acquisition
  • Talent engagement
  • Talent development
  • Talent deployment
  • Talent leadership
  • Talent retention
  • Talent metrics

Once TM strengths have been identified, discussions should focus on maintaining them over time. Once areas needing improvement have been identified, conversations should center on prioritizing the order in which they will be addressed and then executing a plan to do so.

As you think about your organization’s +/Δ related to TM, here are some questions to consider:

  • How well defined is our human capital strategy?
  • How effectively does our human capital strategy support our business strategy?
  • Do we address all elements of TM?
  • How integrated are the elements of TM in our company?
  • How do we gauge the impact of TM elements over time?