Learning and talent management in an organisation - Research Paper Example

?Learning and talent management in an organization Introduction: In modern times the manner of organizational operations has totally revamped, and even the small factors are taken into account in order to ensure maximum profits and improved productivity. For this purpose new disciplines have been explored and made part of the organizational hierarchy and working unit. Learning and talent management are two of them. They incorporate high importance into the organizations and their performance depends on these areas notably. With advancements of all sorts, and organizations moving into international groups and chains, the field of talent and learning management has held more ground than ever before since these two areas impact the performance in a direct manner. Organization as a whole consists of unit of members, activities, functions, hierarchy, tools and techniques and machinery(Cannon & McGee 2010). However the proper functioning of the abovementioned factors and entities is largely subject to management and their proper working which is usually ensured with the help of human resource organization and department. The importance of Human Resource Management: Human resources have played a vital role in every era, however in modern times, they have become the backbone of effective working and performance of an organization, the umbrella of human resource management is quite scattered and entails many entities that are directly impacting the performance of organization( Sims, 2002). The two of these are the learning management and the talent management. These modern trends are fast adopted and even the small scale organization that operate in different parts of the world, aim at ensuring and incorporating the factors and elements of human resource management. Their implication falls upon the other departments of organization as well and with so much global operations and functional departments, the effectiveness can be enhanced multiple times with the usage of talent and learning management(Collings & Scullion 2011). In such situations no organization can imagine surviving and excelling amongst the competitors who have employed these means as well as others for effectiveness and productivity. The supply chain mechanism, the introduction of technology and various other advancements overall have made it vital for organizations and institutes to establish talent management sections. These two areas can be incorporated into the boundaries of H.R (Human Resource) and hence it can be said that with the advent of these two areas, the H.R principles and departmental working has strengthened in parallel. These two can be termed as the modern era existence of human resource organization (reference). Talent management: It is the organization and managing of the talent in terms of the personnel. Its scope entails those who come fresh to the organization, those who are already recruited. The impact of talent management is multi folds; it has an impact not only on the individuals but the organization and the manner in which it operates. It brings about transparency and efficient working procedures in the organization with no favoritism and biases in decision making. Talent management serves as an independent department and discipline and has its regular members, the top management, the persons involved in conducting interviews, the observers, those who make decisions and those who are involved in other participatory processes (Hatum, 2010). In pasts the organizational success were largely related to resources, the policies and other variables, however in modern times if there is any variable that outweighs others, that is that of personnel and individuals involved in the organization. Winston Churchill long ago predicted and stated that in times ahead, the major decisions (Kolarevic 2003), successes in terms of organizations and overall performances in different walks of life and institutions would be largely dependent on the minds and abilities of individuals. While in past they were being ignored or their roles were not that prominent, in modern times they are only strict variable which cannot be compromised. Further, studies have shown that the companies that handle the talent management sector better end up with more profits and overall effective performances at the end of the year. Similarly research conducted in by the IBM revealed that talent management had a direct positive impact on the organization(Armstrong, 2012, 267). The monetary factor of talent management: According to a study and finding, organizations invest large amount into the employees’ payment. Since large amount goes in that direction, it must be handled well and they must be prepared in manner that is effective and enables the monetary returns through their performance, this is possible only if considerations are taken into account and the members are chosen wisely and according to the need. The findings stated that as much as one third of the overall spending of an organization go into the salaries and the perks and privileges being provided to them. Hence it can be said, it is not just about the organizational effectiveness in terms of productivity and sales and completion, rather the area of financial consideration is directly in line with the talent management(WELLINS, ERKER et.al ,2008). While the spending cannot be reduced, instead should be wisely utilized and it should be ensured that whatever is being to an individual, it is done is according to the standard requirements and that the company objectives are being met through it. The hiring process should be formulated in such a manner that takes into account the overall organizational working. A dynamic team creation is the priority consideration that should be taken into account and efforts should be made by the talent management unit to ensure that the team and organization does not rely on single person. At the same time the flexibility and scope of learning and relying should not be tilted towards one organizational department. Instead a balanced unit would serve the work and services of talent management team the best. Talent management team and backup units: One of the most important tasks a talent management team performs is that of back up unit creation. Backup units are more importantly needed in such a fast paced industry. Backup units ensure the smooth working of operations even if a unit or a member is unable to perform the task and duty to some reason (Lavin,98, 2005). The turn over factor which is quite common in modern times demand a backup team. It is the talent management which can ensure the right kind of man in store and right kind of man working. Hence the talent management team enables meeting the contingency situation in an indirect manner and if the policies are planned appropriately, they can save the organization large amount of value. On the other hand if the talent management team is lacking or fails to deliver the backup unit, the overall system can go down due to one unit. With such fast paced world of commerce and businesses, the supply chain members and rest of the stakeholders can barely afford such situations. Talent management as a recipe of present and future: Talent management in an indirect manner saves the future of organization through the decisions being made in present. Their recommendations and their choice of person enable devising policies and plans that are effective in longer run (Galagan,17 2011). The other side of talent management: Talent management may help the organization; however they serve on individual basis as well. They enable participation, encouragement and trust amongst the members regarding their performance and subsequent excelling in the tiers of organizational hierarchy based on their performance. There would be no such feeling of harshly treated or unjustly handled with presence of talent management committee. Certain pre requisites: The principle of talent management is based on certain basic rules. The first and foremost is merit fulfillment, followed by the policy ensuring that the right man is inducted in the right place (reference). This is a general management rule as well, a misfit person, no matter how skilled and learned he is, may not be able to deliver in a certain area that is not of his specialty. This problem can be overcome via the disciple of talent management that ensures the induction and recruitment of right kind of man at the right place. Other condition that must be fulfilled is that of merit and standard. No personal prejudice, no personal biases and affiliations nor any other factors may become a force in the induction or promotion of a person to a designated post. The talent management team considers the requirement of organization, and based on that they ensure hiring and positioning a member to a required place and designation. The factor of turn over: With the advancements all over and more and more options available to the members of respective organizations, the rates of turnover are higher than ever in the history of management and organizational workings. For this reason the presence of talent management unit is more important, as mentioned earlier their role does not restrict their working only to the recruitments at early stage, rather they have an important role to fill the gaps being created as a result of turnover. The creation of gap may not just be limited to turnover, and may result from natural processes through the retirement of a member of team or other natural causes, yet in all cases the talent management team has a role to play and ensure that the boots get filled with the right kind of feet. This process is again a collaborative process and the talent management team cannot perform it without the say and approval of human resource management team and that of top management. While talent management team can provide the recommendations, perform scrutiny of the members being short listed, the human resource team would look into other factors such as legal issues, and various other factors which are needed to be taken into account before hiring a person or replacing other. For example while filling the gap with in the organization, it should be the merits are not violated and a person being hired is the rightful owner of the post and position and others are not being denied any chance deserving of their abilities and efforts in the organization. The executives at top level can supervise the processes and through their expertise provide guidelines and make the overall process of filling the shoes a smooth and effective one. An able talent managmetn team and subsequent top management as well as human resource management team can replace this into an opportunity and through induction of new person bring about more zeal and energy into the unit, while a mismanaged effort can result in overall ruins of the organization just by the loss of single member. The need of talent management discipline: The impact of talent management falls not only on the organizational working; rather it is the cry and demand of overall stake holder unit. While in modern times the organizations are not more limited to single building, rather their works stretch way beyond single city and country. The global nature of organizational operations has made things more dynamic and hence more demand for the recruitment of members who would fit in the requirement box appropriately, this can be done no better than through the presence of an effective recruitment and talent management department . the stake holders involved demand presence of such kind of members on distinctive posts and positions that make the overall processes easy and effective, the demand is the presence of such members who can maximize the opportunities, minimize the threats and create overall beneficial environment for all the stake holders with maximum benefits. Importance of stake holders in form of vendors and supply chain unit cannot be ignored and they make up the vital part of the processes success or failure. The modern times have become so challenging that organizations fail finding best vendors and supply chain partners if the persons in charge do not meet the standard proceedings and requirements of the situation at hand. The field of talent management is quite broad, and it not only incorporates the manual methods rather proper solutions as well as systems and tools are present and in effect which constitute the policy of talent management. Alliance of H.R strategy and T.M: While human resources is a large entity and talent management can be termed as its subset, these two need to operate in co alliance and synchronous manner. A fragmented approach in terms of talent management could lead to disproportionate results and rather than any advantage, may yield negative impacts. All the actions taken under the domain of talent management must be in consideration and possible consent of the human resource unit, and the same applies for the human resource unit. This condition hurdles the process of smooth working between the two units and rather than gaining any benefits can lead to slag and low productivity. Similarly in terms of the applications and solutions in place, to each other and they must be compatible with other one. For example, the human resource management system (H.R.M.S) must not be contradictory to the processes and functions of talent management. Use of software solutions by talent management team: The talent management teams use number of software applications that are integrative in nature and make the overall process easy. These have an impact on the output product and are more effective and frequently used in organizations of services industry. The right kind of application usage is another factor. The use of software for services purpose is a new trend and it also falls under the scope of talent management unit. The first step of talent management team- recruitment: While talent hunt team takes into account many factors and their working dimensions are quite broad, they formally start with the recruitment process. Their decisions and their responses are vital towards the recruitments done in the organization. Any recruitment so done is based on their decision and opinion. In order to standardize their process and decision making policy, specific guidelines are available and put in place. This is done to ensure that the recruitment is done according to the specified rules, guidelines and no violation of merit or standard has taken place. The talent management team must take into consideration various factors and the recruitment must not be done on basis on single variable determination. It should be an iterative process that should look into the person’s ability to handle situation, their ability to communicate, their strength on technical side, their ability to cope with unforeseen and their relationship building orientation with the members. These are some of the factors a professional talent management team must take into account while allotting a seat or position and placing the new induction in the required vacant place. Two elements are vital for organizational turn over, one is the presence of resources and other is that of capable members and team unit who know their roles well and are sufficiently able enough to perform their tasks according the need Career development plan: Career development plan is an iterative process which includes the consideration of all the factors and elements that pave the way for process and at the same time, those processes which hurdle the process of development. Talent management team does not only perform the tasks of induction and recruitment rather they facilitate the career growth and enable understanding the roles and duties of each member along with the benefits attached to them. The talent management team provides guidelines and the factors such as dos and don’ts that would hurdle the way of an individual towards further progress in the organization. The impact of career development has a direct affect both the individual and the organization itself since the end product is the progress of organization and improved yield. Standardization of processes: While the talent management discipline includes not just the decisions made, and the personnel, but also the processes and the applications and softwares as well. The operation of these elements in a standardized manner is highly vital and if they are not handled in a standardized manner they would result in non productivity and overall burden. Performance management: The scope of talent management also takes into account the overall performance of individuals, keeping that in view, the decisions are being made. They are being physically implemented in form of the annual reports, quarterly reports and reports based on promotion and other decision making variables. The performance of individuals on any seat is measured with regard to the objectives achieved, the productivity improved, the level of comfort, the overall performance and their behavior and response to change. Performance management also includes the measure of person’s ability to handle situations of critical importance, the ability to handle situations unforeseen and those which might require on the spot decision making and those which include team members response and consideration. Resistance: Resistance to change is a general concept and trait of mankind; this is more visible in organizational environments. Often the adjustments within the organization are met with resistance and force. Enabling the process of change and creating the tendency to accept is part of the talent management process. This can be done so through the process of training, guidance and awareness amongst the members on the benefits of change. While no change results in stagnation, change serves as a positive omen and sign of movement and progress. Part of talent management team is to introduce the members to the benefits of change and remove their resistance to any change. Change could be in form of the nature of work, their designation, the variables used, the tools in process, or the overall environment (Howatt, 2008). Learning management: Learning is a continuous and iterative process. This process does not end, and rather the moment learning halts, the progress halts, for this reason it must be ensured that a constant flow of learning is induced into the organization. This can be done in multiple ways. The most common manners are those of trainings, guidelines provision and patterns which enable learning. Learning like talent management impacts the overall performance of the organization and profits and performance can be moved either way with the help of learning imparted. Need for learning: Knowing what is to be done and how is it to be done holds the secret and key towards effective operations. Performing any task without any basic knowledge and conducting it a haphazard manner makes the task less effective more troublesome and overall process difficult and less rewarding. On the other hand knowledge management in terms of knowing what is to be done and how and by whom is it to be done allows tasks completion in a better and effective way without much hassle. Learning process: Learning process is not just limited to guidelines and instructions rather practical work and demonstration. With modern times providing so many options in terms of the tools and techniques, solutions and softwares availability, learning can be made possible in those areas as well. In other words it is the presence of more options towards learning and ultimately more options of success and enhanced yield at the end of project. Inducing the learning management in to the organization is the core responsibility of the top management and think tank because without learning the organization cannot meet the challenges of future. They should encourage maximum participatory seminars, sessions and other activities that are aimed at not only nurturing the capabilities of the members but also setting precedence of continuous improvement. The learning process is crafted in such a manner that enables meeting the challenges of future. The creation of awareness about the possible opportunities and threats that may be part of future strategies and events is a part of learning process and learning management unit. Playing with innovative ideas and challenging the mind should be the main theme of learning process. Since the market success strategies are often devised and achieved through such thinking abilities. The process of innovation might be a slow one and rewards are achieved later on , but those so achieved are highly productive and far more than what can be achieved without giving the mind any tough as such. Familiarizing the members with suitable and reasonable approaches to adopt in times of severity is another factor that should be part of the learning process and management. Learning and conducive environment: A basic element to the possibility of making learning easy is that of providing the members with environment that promotes and nurtures their abilities as well as enables them learning at ease. This can be done if the environment is collaborative and they are encouraged to ask and come forward with their concerns and problems. The practical work at the organization is one of the best source of learning, however this is also accompanied with challenges and obstacles, this is in the hands of top management to encourage the employees to come up with problems and questions (Naeve & Lytras 2007). Learning itself is a step wise process and learning content should be provided in a manner that is coherent with the learning ability. Starting with the basics leading to level wise complex patterns can enable effective working and learning. Besides this, the uniformity of event occurrence and the communication is vital. Learning is not just limited to the members of the organization that are in direct contact with the machinery or the services as in case of service industry, rather learning is a compiled effort that is required by even the top management. They can corporate this learning to make more effective strategies of success and implementation in a long run (Wiley 2012). Learning management can be done either on departmental level within the organization, or through seminars on board that involve not just the stake holders but also those members and parties that are in competition with the organization. Element of communication: Communication in general is very vital towards the overall functions of the organization. It becomes unavoidable when the tasks are cross functions and involve more than one unit or more than one organizational department in function. Similarly the working of talent management department and presence of communication is highly vital in order to convey the appropriate message at an appropriate time to the member units of organization. Process identification and learning: Learning involves ability to identify the processes which will enable achieving the desired results. Further, knowing that what is to be done, and what is to be avoided is also part of the learning process which must be done effectively. Besides this the identification and knowledge of goals is also vital. Goals enable the path determination and it should be part of the learning process initiated. Acquaintance with the kind of tools used in the organization is another area where the learning process should be focused and can enable better execution through the use of tools and techniques. Skill development: Skill development is an equal part of organizational learning and it should be incorporated in to the system to make the process of functioning and throughput more effective. Skill development can enable the members produce at a pace faster than they would with unpolished skills(Lussier, 2011) Objectives clarification: Learning management should constitute the objective determination. Each member should be able to know what is expected and what is to be delivered accordingly. Without the knowledge of goal and objective the overall process would go in a haphazard direct ion and would result in deviations and ultimately reduced benefits and productivity. The knowledge of key performance indicators and the areas of priority against those that need to be handled afterwards should be known to the members of the working unit. Learning process should as a elementary factor enable the members understanding the basic principles of management in form planning, organizing, staffing controlling, leading (Havinal, 6, 2009) and other factors that make up the vital elements management structure. These are the basics without the knowledge of these the members would fail achieving what is desired. Learning processes should include the temperament handling and the ability of the members to create acquaintances with the change, while change is resisted all over and is a trait of human being, the learning process should highlight this area to improve the productivity. Besides this the learning should be based on moral values. Practicing the rules and regulations and not falling to the temptations of any kind should also be part of the learning and training process. Motivational studies should make up to the learning processes and members should be encouraged into taking chances and trying their ability (Osterloh & Frey, 2001). The removal of fear from the hearts of members should be part of the overall learning process. Conclusion: Talent management in other words is the effort towards improvement and continuous struggle towards ensuring that the organization outshines the rest of its competitors and provides the customers and clients with what is desired of them and is expected of them. Without talent management the situation would end up as hazy one and no clear strategy could be found otherwise. Similarly the learning process is that of educating and confronting the challenges and preparing the strategy towards it. Both of them are equally important and their proper working can help an organization achieve the desired results easily (Vaiman & Vance 2008). Learning management brings about flexibility in approach and enables thinking out of the box for situations that might come out of the blue. Learning should be made part of the organizational work just like any other activity in the functioning and it should be ensured that learning and knowledge is imparted on regular intervals and to the need of organization and situation. Psychological strengthening and ability to confront all sorts of situations without losing calm and nerve is part of the learning management and should be imbibed into the members daily routine activities. Works cited: Armstrong, M., 2012. Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. s.l.:Kogan Page Publishers. Cannon, JA & McGee, R 2010, Talent Management and Succession Planning, 2nd edn, Chartered InstItute of Personnel and develoPment. 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Sims, R. R. (2002). Organizational success through effective human resources management. Westport, Conn, Quorum Books. WELLINS, RS, ERKER, S & SMITH, AB 2008, Nine best Practices for Effective Talent Managment, Development Dimensions International, Inc. Wiley, A 2012, 'Human Resource Development Quarterly', Industrial Relations & Labor); 53/73, Septemeber 2012. Vaiman, V & Vance, CM 2008, Smart Talent Management: Building Knowledge Assets for Competitive Advantage, Edward Elgar Publishing. Read More