A talent management strategy is the best way to retain the best talent for your organization.
When it comes to ensuring an organization acquires and retains the best talent, a successful talent management strategy plan must be put in place.
Creating a talent management strategy is the backbone of any good HR department plan to ensure their goals and priorities for the year are connected to their organization’s objectives. Without a talent management plan, talent management activities are not giving the organization the tools it needs to succeed.
How to Develop a Talent Management Strategy
The first step in a successful talent management strategy plan is to identify the organizational goals and priorities. This is where HR managers should list their goals that answer the questions of what the organization’s high-level priorities are, and what any upcoming changes or new initiatives the organization is facing may be.
The next step is to identify any drivers and challenges the organization is facing. These include any challenges or drivers that could impact your ability to achieve the goals outlined in the first step and should include internal and external challenges. These challenges can include a highly competitive market, new regulations or legislation and even drops in employee satisfaction. Just like in step one, these should be listed out.
Step three is to conduct a gap analysis. This is where HR managers will compare where their organization is currently and where they want it to be. Any gaps that need to be addressed for this to be achieved, and risks of not addressing these issues, should be listed here.
The fourth step is to identify the HR priorities and goals. These goals should take all challenges, gaps, and goals set in steps 1-3 and determine what needs to be done to reach these goals in the coming year. This list should identify three to five major goals that need to be accomplished and it is important that these goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant and Time-Bound. In this step, your measurement of success should include ways to measure both the implementation and effectiveness of the goals set.
Step five is to inventory talent management processes and functions. This is when you should audit current HR talent management processes and determine if you need to make changes to support the goals you’re looking to achieve. Plans should be put in place to address gaps and needed changes.
The final step in a successful talent management strategy plan is to measure the results. With the goals and priorities the HR department is looking to achieve in place, it is important to verify the effectiveness of the strategy and let the organization know the results. Relevant metrics should be tracked as you work on achieving each goal so progress and success can be reported. This assures the organization your efforts were effective and worth retaining.
Creating a talent management strategy plan is not the easiest thing to do but necessary to benefit the organization and the HR department. Once a successful talent strategy framework is put into place, HR will be more capable of achieving more goals and priorities of the organization down the road.
A successful talent management strategy model will ensure your organization is:
- Strategic and Operational
- Cultivating a High-Performance Culture
- Prioritizing Successful Leadership Behavior
- Developing Employees
- Performing Talent Reviews and Succession Planning
- Developing Networking and Collaboration Tools
- Nurturing Collective and Individual Behavior
- Thinking Globally, as well as, Locally
Not only is talent management linked to business strategy but a successful talent management strategy will retain both talent and knowledge. When HR departments take the time to create a talent management and development strategy, they are better able to monitor talent and develop leaders within their organization.
