What is Talent Management?

Your employees are one of the most important assets in your organization. You can have the best ideas and strategies, but if you don’t have the right people, your chances of success are drastically reduced. The talent management process is how you make sure you get the best people for your needs.

Attracting talent, hiring, onboarding, and engagement are some of the things that make up successful talent management. Even though it sounds easy, this process needs to be carefully planned if you want to be successful.

What is the definition of talent management process?

The talent management process by which companies identify talent needs, hire suitable candidates, develop their skills over time, and retain them successfully for the long term. It begins from the moment you want to hire/attract talent and continues as long as they’re with your company.

The talent management process might look slightly different from company to company. But it usually includes things like:

• Recruitment

• Learning and development

• Engagement

• Succession planning

The goal of the talent management process is to have highly motivated, engaged employees who perform their best. This helps you stay competitive and innovative.

How do you create a talent management process?

A lot depends on the talent management strategies you currently have and your company’s goals. One thing to keep in mind is that the talent management process isn’t related to only one area. Talent acquisition and talent development are different areas. Both can be included in talent management. 

To create a successful process, you need to start where you are. Assess your current employee management process. What is working? Is it aligned with your future needs? Which areas are lacking?

Look at things like HR analytics and HR metrics. These can give you a good idea of which processes are going well and which aren’t. 

5 steps for building a talent management process

The following steps will help guide you in creating a successful talent management process. Depending on your goals, you may need to include other things as well. These 5 steps, though, are essential in any talent management process.

1. Attract and hire

Talent attraction should be your first priority. If you’re not attracting the right people from the start, there’s little you can do going forward. 

Start by looking at internal candidates. Is there anyone you could promote or move laterally to fill your vacant position?

Sure, by doing that, you’ll probably need someone to replace them in their old position. But at the same time, by promoting your current employees, you boost morale, retain talent, and increase productivity. 

If none of your current employees are suitable, start looking outside. Have a clear hiring process that helps you find the right person. Think of the characteristics you’re looking for, the knowledge, cultural fit, and other things that are important to your company.

2. Talent development

Things don’t stop once you hire the right people. Learning and development are continuous processes. They usually start with onboarding. At this time, you’ll help employees get accustomed to the work culture and their tasks.

Later, a focus on development will ensure candidates stay curious and perform well. A lack of development opportunities is one of the top reasons people leave a company. Prioritizing it will have the opposite effect. 

3. Employee engagement

Engaged employees perform better and are less likely to quit their jobs. Teams that work well together, with people that help one another, are more focused and have better results. That’s why your talent management process needs to take engagement into consideration. 

4. Employee retention

Employee retention is a multi-step process. Engagement, learning, and development are part of it. But they’re not the only variables. 

Focus on things like rewards, diversity, equality, promotions, and opportunity for growth. A person who feels stuck behind a glass ceiling is more likely to leave when a better opportunity appears.

5. Transitioning

Transitioning or succession planning is one more step to take when building a talent management process. Eventually, some people will leave the company. When that happens, it’s important to have the proper transition mechanisms in place. 

Exit interviews can be part of it. The person leaving may also help train the newcomer. A lot depends on the dynamic in your company and the specifics of the job. In short, create clear succession plans that allow for an easy transitioning process.

How to measure your talent management process

You know what the talent management process is and how to create one. But how do you measure success? There are a few easy metrics to track.

• Turnover. You can track both voluntary and involuntary turnover rates. They will give you an idea of how your retention strategies are going. Another option is to look at high-performer turnover rates—the number of people who were performing very well and still choose to leave.

• Performance. There are many ways to track how your employees are performing. Some of the most used ones include quality of work and new-hire failure rate.

• Talent distribution. This metric includes demographics like age, gender, nationality, and more. It is a great metric when devising a talent management process. It also helps guide the recruitment process if you want to ensure diversity and inclusion in the company.

• Cost to hire. This is a classic recruitment metric that you can apply to any talent pool. It includes all costs from ad placement, sourcing, and time invested by managers and HR to evaluate candidates. When you interview multiple people for the same position, all their costs need to be included.

10 examples of effective talent management processes

In case you’re still wondering why the talent management process is important, here are 10 examples of how it can help.

1. Strategy. An effective talent management process will aid you in creating an effective strategy to recruit, retain, and manage talent. Your strategy should include everything from talent acquisition up to and including their exit from the company. 

2. Recruiting. Discovering talent and hiring them is key to your success. A good talent management strategy will help you find the best people available.

3. Career planning. Nobody wants to be stuck in the same position forever. Working with the talent in your company, identifying and supporting their career goals is a must. Otherwise, people will start feeling less valued and will soon start leaving.

4. Working conditions. Work-life balance and flexible working hours are essential to most people. Designing policies that respect your employees’ time will improve working conditions. It will also contribute to your long-term success.

5. Organizational culture. This isn’t something you can directly control. Instead, it evolves in time. What you can do is help shape it through a series of positive norms. Clear expectations need to be set as well. Things like working conditions, career planning, or strategies all contribute to your organizational culture.

6. Compliance. An effective talent management process comes with regulatory compliance. And vice versa. That’s because compliance includes training, communication, monitoring, and reporting. Some of these are steps you need to take to build your talent management process.

7. Organizational structure. When you first start a company, its structure isn’t the first thing on your mind. But as your organization grows, things can get out of hand quickly. Your talent management process will help you build an organizational structure that supports your goals.

8. Performance management. Performance is not only a key metric in a talent management process. It is also part of a successful one. Feedback, rewards, and recognition of top performers will help you reach your goals.

9. Brand identity. Managing your talent in an effective manner will help you create a brand from the inside out. 

10. Employee satisfaction. Again, employees are essential to your success. And so is their satisfaction. Assess how they feel about their job. One way to do this is through anonymous surveys. Other HR metrics may also be useful.

Key Takeaways

Talent management is a process that begins from the moment you’re trying to attract the right people. But it doesn’t stop there. It includes every step you take to guide your employees while they’re working with you.

• Hiring

• Onboarding

• Learning and development

• Engagement

• Succession planning

These are only some of the things that make up an effective talent management process. With it, you can improve performance and reduce turnover. You can create an authentic brand identity and even achieve regulatory compliance.

Talent management process FAQ

What is a talent management process? 

A talent management process involves the creation and continuous improvement of strategies and workflows to identify talent needs, hire suitable candidates, develop their skills over time, and retain them successfully for the long term. 

What are the steps to building a talent management process? 

Keys steps to building a talent management process include establishing strategies for: 

• Talent acquisition

• Employee development

• Employee engagement 

• Employee retention

• Transitioning and succession planning 

What are the benefits of a talent management process? 

The benefits of a talent management process include improvements to: 

• Talent strategy

• Recruiting

• Career planning 

• Working conditions

• Organizational culture

• Compliance

• Organizational structure

• Performance management

• Brand identity 

• Employee satisfaction