Proper Implementation of an Efficient Strategic Talent Management System - Literature review Example

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: TALENT MANAGEMENT Introduction Talent management has an immense influence on the success of any organization’s human resource department. Talent management is defined as the processes and operations concerned with the organized identification of crucial positions which uniquely contribute the organization have continued competitive superiority. Talent management proves to be valuable to different stakeholders in the field of International Human Resource Management. The article provided examines the formulation and proper implementation of an efficient strategic talent management system. Talent management has no precise definitions and boundaries. On most occasions, human resource experts have failed to differentiate between strategic human resource management and strategic talent management. There is an emerging trend among chief executive officers getting increasingly concerned with talent management. This report examines the significance of different strategic talent management issues and their relevance to international human resource management1. Talent Management There are different angles from which talent management can be analyzed. According to Collins and Mellahi, talent management can be viewed from three perspectives. The first perspective insists that talent management should focus on recruiting highly competent candidates to all positions within an organization. On most occasions, hiring only highly skilled employees will result in improved performance of the organization. The primary disadvantage of this policy is that recruiting highly qualified employees might also lead to paying high wage bills. There is no significance in posting competent individuals in positions that do not necessarily require competence in the organization. The second argument stresses on the importance of creating talent pools and aiding employees proceed through different stages throughout their careers. In the third concept, an organization is encouraged to concentrate on managing poor performers to help upgrade their skills2. According to the article, creating a talent position should be the initial step in coming up with an efficient strategic talent management system. A talent position is a group of jobs that require candidates with advanced skills in an organization. The article emphasizes the need to identify a talent position first before determining the talent pool. International human resource management is primarily concerned with promoting an organization’s performance by fostering employee productivity. The primary attention should be on what the organization needs in order to gain competitive superiority. Identifying talent positions helps human resource professionals determine a firm’s strengths and weaknesses. The article points out that human resource skill can yield insufficient productivity unless utilized in the best-suited position3. When determining a talent position, organizations should evaluate the contribution of functions performed in different areas. Positions that involve functions that significantly contribute to the production process should be identified. These positions form the talent positions. Functions performed in the talent positions need to be identified and matched with measurable human resource skills. Candidates that possess the matching skills should then be placed in these posts. Talent management systems should integrate talent or strategic positions. However, the process of identifying talent positions should be balanced. Nearly all departments in an organization perform essential functions. Lack of proper balance in terms of attention paid to different departments might impair the organizations’ operations. Scholars recommend that the talent positions identified should only be given 20% extra attention. Extra attention to talent positions can lead to a significant improvement in the organizations performance4. After the human resource department has determined the talent positions, the department should then focus on identifying the target pool to fill the positions. Target pool is a group of individuals with superior skills and capabilities. The article points to the importance of identifying qualified individuals earlier than the time when the talent positions are vacated. Early identification of an individual provides human resource personnel sufficient time to evaluate candidates comprehensively. Scholars suggest that recruiting members of the talent pool should be done in a similar manner as recruiting professional athletes or sportsmen. There are multiple considerations to examine when determining a talent pool. The primary factor to consider when recruiting candidates who fit to be in the talent pool is if the candidate’s contributions are in line with the company’s strategy5. Human resource management professionals are encouraged to compare candidates abilities keenly to the functions that make up the talent position. If a candidate has all or most of the qualities required in the talent position, then they qualify to be recruited. Studies reveal that highly performing organizations in the world have a tendency of identifying talent pools before their positions fall vacant. Early recruitment of highly qualified candidates also ensures that the human resource department has enough time to negotiate a cost effective compensation program. Proper negotiation can save the organization a significant amount of funds. However, the article warns that individuals that qualify to occupy talent positions are very demanding because of their achievements. Talent pool members might be put off if they are placed in positions that limit the use of their skills. Highly achieving individuals often like to expand their skills. Studies reveal that potential members of the target pool get rather motivated by performing sophisticated functions6. Target pool members can also be sourced internally. The major challenge that human resource officers face when recruiting members of the talent pool internally is clearly defining the scope within which the talent pool members will serve. Talent pool members perform a broad range of functions that on most occasions can lead to contamination of position boundaries. This might pose adverse effects to the overall workforce of the organization. Internally sourced talent pool members may bend towards performing their former duties. These factors contribute to making internally sourcing talent pool members difficult. The main advantage of internally recruiting talent pool members is that the adoption period is eliminated. Internal; candidates, are familiar with the organization’s policies and conditions. It becomes easier for them to get accustomed to their new roles than externally recruited candidates. The training intensity required to prepare internally recruited candidates is also less compared than that required to train externally recruited members. External recruitment is generally advantageous since it gives the company a bigger possibility acquiring of highly skilled candidates7. Another common problem faced by human resource professionals concerning talent pool creation is controlling the costs of accommodating the talent pool members. Some organizations fail to examine the talent position requirements accurately. Occasionally, human resource personnel might underestimate the demands of a talent position. Underestimation will lead them to assigning fewer that required candidate. The implications of these occasions might be candidate underperformance and consequently impairment in organizational operations. Similarly, human resource professionals might overestimate the requirements of a talent position. Overestimation can lead them to assign more than required candidates. Organizations can loss finances due to this misconception. The article concludes this portion by arguing that organizations should practice both internal and external recruiting when creating a talent pool8. The final step in developing an appropriate strategic talent management system is to create a human resource structure that can comprehensively accommodate talent positions, and pools created. Two approaches were reviewed to help human resource professionals come up with an appropriate human resource structure with the ability to efficiently accommodate the talent management system. The initial approach presumes that there exists an efficient human resource code of conduct that ensures improvement in companies’ performance. The assumptions of this approach dictate that the code of conduct remains uniform regardless of the industry or territory that an organization operates in. Assumptions made by this approach are unrealistic and opens the door for inaccurate judgments. Organizations operate in different contexts. Various industries or business environments require different human resource management structures. The second approach recognizes the existence of both external and internal factors that influence the structure of a human resource management structure9. There have been significant theoretical developments on the best way to create an efficient human resource management structure. Recent studies emphasize the importance of firms to adapt to different or modified human resource structures. Having the freedom to modify the human resource management structure to suit particular needs ensures that companies are optimally equipped to gain from implementing talent management systems. The article also points out that different human resource management formats can be adapted to a single organization. Firms that implement varying structures of human resource management are often large and serve multiple functions. There are four distinct reasons that prompt companies to apply differential human resource structures. The first condition is when a talent pool employee possesses both unique and precious skills. The second is when a talent pool worker has valuable or precious skills but no uniqueness. The third one occurs when employees do not have neither precious nor unique abilities but are employed under contract terms. The final condition is when talent pool employees are externally outsourced10. Conclusion In conclusion, the talent management issue has received a lot of attention from researchers and human resource professionals in recent times. Proper understanding of detailed components in talent management significantly contributes to improving the performance of an organization’s human resource department. Thorough evaluation of an organization’s requirements concerning accurate identification of talent positions, talent pools, and human resource structure requirements is critical. Efficient development and implementation of a strategic talent management system are fundamental to improving a company’s performance11. Bibliography Andersen, Niels Åkerstr M., and Asmund W. Born. "The employee in the sign of love." Culture and Organization 14, no. 4 (2008): 325-343. Armstrong, Michael. "Human resource management practice." London: KoganPage (1999). Ashton, Chris, and Lynne Morton. "Managing talent for competitive advantage: Taking a systemic approach to talent management." Strategic HR Review 4, no. 5 (2005): 28-31. Axelrod, Elizabeth L., Helen Hadfield-Jones, and Timothy A. Welsh. "War for talent, part two." The McKinsey Quarterly (2001): 9. Barron, Paul. "Education and talent management: Implications for the hospitality industry." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 20, no. 7 (2008): 730-742. Berger, Lance A., and Dorothy R. Berger. "The talent management handbook.” New York (2004). Bhatnagar, Jyotsna. "Talent management strategy of employee engagement in Indian ITES employees: key to retention." Employee relations 29, no. 6 (2007): 640-663. Blass, Eddie, ed. Talent management: cases and commentary. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Blass, Eddie. Talent management: Maximizing talent for business performance. Chartered Management Institute, Public Affairs Department, 2007. Boudreau, John W., and Peter M. Ramstad. Beyond HR: The new science of human capital. Harvard Business Press, 2007. Cappelli, P. (2009). Talent on Demand–Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty. Strategic Direction, 25(3). Cappelli, Peter. "Talent on demand." Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA (2008). Cheese, Peter. The talent powered organization: Strategies for globalization, talent management, and high performance. Kogan Page Publishers, 2007. Christensen Hughes, Julia, and Evelina Rog. "Talent management: A strategy for improving employee recruitment, retention, and engagement within hospitality organizations." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 20, no. 7 (2008): 743-757. Collings, David G., and Kamel Mellahi. "Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda." Human Resource Management Review 19, no. 4 (2009): 304-313. Creel man, David. "Return on investment in talent management: Measures you can put to work right now." Human Capital Institute 2121 (2004). Cunningham, Ian. "Disentangling false assumptions about talent management: the need to recognize difference." Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal 21, no. 4 (2007): 4-5. Ferndale, Elaine, Hugh Scullion, and Paul Sparrow. "The role of the corporate HR functions in global talent management." Journal of World Business 45, no. 2 (2010): 161 Frank, Frederic D., and Craig R. Taylor. "Talent Management: Trends that will shape the future." Human Resource Planning 27, no. 1 (2004): 33-41. Hills, Angela. "Succession planning-or smart talent management?" Industrial and Commercial Training 41, no. 1 (2009): 3-8. Human resources management. Oxford University Press, 2011. Lewis, R. E., & Heckman, R. J. (2006). Talent management: A critical review. Human resource management review, 16(2), 139-154. Littleton, Suellen M., Michael B. Arthur, and Denise M. Rousseau. "The future of boundaryless careers." The future of career (2000): 101-114. McCauley, C., & Wakefield, M. (2006). Talent Management in the 21st Century: Help Your Company Find, Develop, and Keep its Strongest Workers. Journal for Quality & Participation, 29(4). Mellahi, Kamel, and David G. Collings. "The barriers to effective global talent management: The example of corporate elites in MNEs." Journal of World Business 45, no. 2 (2010): 143-149. Mucha, Rochelle Turnoff. "The Art and Science of Talent Management.” Organization Development Journal 22, no. 4 (2004). Piansoongnern, Opas, and Pacapol Anurit. "Talent Management: Quantitative and Qualitative Studies of Hr Practitioners in Thailand." International Journal of Organizational Innovation 3, no. 1 (2010). Schuler, Randall S., Susan E. Jackson, and Ibraiz Torque. "Global talent management and global talent challenges: Strategic opportunities for IHRM.” Journal of World Business 46, no. 4 (2011): 506-516. Schweyer, Allan. Talent management systems: Best practices in technology solutions for recruitment, retention, and workforce planning. John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Scullion, Hugh, and David Collings. Global talent management. Rutledge, 2010. Silzer, Rob, and Ben E. Dowell, eds. Strategy-driven talent management: A leadership imperative. Vol. 28. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Stahl, Günter, Ingmar Björkman, Elaine Farndale, Shad S. Morris, Jaap Paauwe, Philip Stiles, Jonathan Trevor, and Patrick Wright. "Six principles of effective global talent management." Sloan Management Review 53, no. 2 (2012): 25-42. Tarique, I., & Schuler, R. S. (2010). Global talent management: Literature review, integrative framework, and suggestions for further research. Journal of world business, 45(2), 122-133. Read More