Talent management in companies: identify, retain, value

In a context of increasing competition in all sectors, driven by globalization and digital transformation, the notion of talent now seems to play a central role. As a result, talent management is an obvious step that companies must take for their development. From the identification of potential to the expression of skills, through training or motivation, talent management is a continuous process. Its deployment must lead to the execution of the complete cycle that governs the relationship between talent and the company: the detection of talent, its retention and its valorization.

Talent management is crucial for the development of the company

Human capital management requires interacting with various concepts, including talent.

What does the notion of talent refer to?

Talent can be defined as the ability of a person to use their skills and knowledge to achieve qualitative results in the context of creation, task execution, etc. The talents present in a company are therefore related to various fields, technical or not. Talent is not to be confused with potential, which is a presumption of talent. Depending on the talent, a certain potential, linked to higher skills, can be envisaged.

Talent management, an inevitable facet of human resources management

Human resources management systems take into account the skills of each employee. Talents, whatever they may be, must be taken into account in a global vision of the company’s development.

Talent management can be understood as the processes put in place to ensure that the brand has all the talent it needs at all times, to maintain its current business and to grow. When talent is well managed, each employee experiences a high quality of life at work and the turnover rate in the company is reduced.

Talent management therefore does not exclusively take into account rare, highly technical or demanding skills. Any concept that automatically associates talent with high potential should be systematically rejected.

The challenges of talent management: people at the heart of the approach

Aiming to optimize the overall performance of the company, any talent management strategy is guided by the principle that human capital is the foundation of development. Such a strategy would be comprehensive and sustainable if it is able to:

• detect talent based on business needs;
• make talents want to join the company;
• train talents to express their full potential;
• create the conditions to retain the talents who have become employees of the company.

Spotting talent: how to go about it?

The talent management approach must lay its foundations from the identification and attraction of talent.

Detect talented people

The needs of the company are the first elements to be taken into account. These needs are linked to both the company’s core business and its philosophy. KPIs (performance indicators) can be formulated to assess the extent to which one talent or another corresponds to the employer’s expectations. A person’s talents are related to many factors:

• adaptability,
• communication skills,
• intellectual aptitudes,
• the management skills of a group and the sense of cohesion,
• know-how, etc.

This step is included in a recruitment operation, which will enter its active phase by publishing job offers or offering contracts to talented professionals. Talent-oriented competitive intelligence and social monitoring also make it possible to detect talent, in the same way as soliciting a talent hunter or using specialized platforms. Subsequently, it is important to manage and optimize your pool of candidates, by sorting on the basis of predefined indicators.

Attract talent to your company

The arrangements for attracting talent are both upstream and downstream of the recruitment process. Upstream, the image that the company conveys is essential to arouse the desire to join in talents. The company’s positions on social networks and the image it conveys as an employer brand are all elements likely to influence a talent’s decision. Opinions published on a trusted platform of reviews on companies will also weigh in the balance.

More and more people trust online reviews. The talents you want to recruit are no exception. Business review platforms give you a hand, relaying the opinions of your former and current employees. If you have set up a talent management system that values your employees, they will spontaneously praise you, and make other talented workers want to join you!

At an advanced stage of recruitment, the atmosphere in which the interviews take place is also important (interview panel, interactions and activities that the candidate attends in the wake of his interview, etc.).

What talent management strategy to retain talented employees?

Talent retention begins as soon as they are welcomed into the company. Help them understand that you not only expect results, but also value the quality of life enjoyed by your employees.

Regularly motivate employees

If you use tools to unite a team working for you, the newly recruited talent must be impacted very quickly by these tools. Quality communication between colleagues on the one hand, and between employees and supervisors on the other, should be encouraged. If you are used to organizing a company evening on certain occasions or initiating motivational outings, involve the new employee in the organizing committee of the next evening.

Get involved in the development of employees’ skills

In order to preserve their skills and continue to develop, talents need to evolve in a stimulating environment. Training is a great way to get employees to continuously improve. Internal periodic reviews are also useful; They allow talents to identify their strengths, in order to better exploit them, and to understand the weaknesses to be corrected.

Find the talent management system that values

For an employee to last in a company, it is essential that they feel valued. A financial remuneration commensurate with their skills will help to create this feeling. But you have to go beyond that!

Thanks to the methods used to weld a work team in a company, the employee develops the feeling of belonging to a group and the feeling of having importance. During the first weeks of a talent in the company, observe them to make sure they quickly become a full member of the collective. Depending on their performance, set up an internal mobility plan that ensures that talented employees always put their skills to good use. Using human resources management software, log each employee’s journey around the company and discuss their aspirations in periodic interviews. Talent development also requires positive communication, which encourages success, and inclusive leadership, which values employees’ ideas.