Current Research in Talent Management

Talent Management – A Definition

"Developing, redeploying and retaining top employees" serves as a general definition of talent management. Synonymous with Human Capital Management, talent management is an umbrella phrase which includes employee recruitment, retention, performance management, skills and competency management, succession planning, redeployment, learning management, training, on-boarding, career development processes, internal career centers and internal career pathing.

Effective talent management enables organizations to successfully compete in an increasingly global economy by effectively identifying and harnessing the human power within. Additionally, talent management helps companies with employer of choice initiatives, regulatory compliance issues, M&A activities, downsizings, career transitions, organizational change, as well as human resources measures and metrics.

Talent Management – Current Trends

» The War for Talent – The Most Critical People Management Issue is Attracting and Retaining Top Employees

A plethora of research has accumulated showing that companies worldwide are experiencing shortages of talented employees. The recent Talent Pulse Survey 2005 of over 1,400 HR practitioners worldwide by Deloitte consultancy, reports that the most critical people management issues are attracting and retaining high-caliber workers. These issues are further heightened by the fact that 54% of the respondents believe that talent issues have an impact on overall productivity and that there is a clear link between talent management and business performance.

HRVote, Human Resources magazine’s online voting forum, also reports that attraction and retention is the top business issue for HR professionals. Consider the following statistics calculated from the HR professionals visiting the site:


72% nominated attraction and retention as a key issue

44% indicated talent management and succession planning was a significant challenge

» Increasing Use of Talent Management Technology

Online employee portals, the majority originating out of the need to offer easy employee access to benefits, are being expanded into comprehensive online experiences. Employees increasingly are managing their careers through such talent management technology portals, and companies are increasingly learning about, and more effectively managing their employee populations.

A recent Human Resources Magazine article Just do it! Are you a serious HR professional? highlights the importance of the human link with technology by offering, "When it comes to the psychology underpinning effective group cooperation, HR professionals need to be able to help line managers see that essentially all businesses are social and technical systems that require the effective cooperation of people, and some form of technology to deliver products, services or experiences of value to customers to make a profit. At this level all businesses are the same."

» Fostering Internal Talent – The Skills and Abilities of Employees Within the Organization

Being able to identify talent within an organization is an initial step, however developing and retaining that talent are critical follow up steps being undertaken in forward-thinking companies. In a recent Vancouver Sun article Targeting Talent: Boomer retirement wave is rapidly approaching. Where will you get your talent from? (September 17, 2005), Stephen Diotte, a partner with Deloitte, states fostering talent from within is going to be the most important thing going forward for most organizations. Knowing what skills exist within the employee population, and how they can be developed will be critical. Many organizations are utilizing talent management technology to amass skills inventories easily enabling internal redeployment and succession planning.

» Growth in Employer of Choice Initiatives

Originally targeting specific groups, i.e., women, working mothers, and women of color, employer of choice initiatives are broadening. Being recognized, both formally and informally, as an "employer of choice," "best company to work for" or a "best places to work" is becoming a mainstream concept for companies worldwide. And, this message is targeting all potential employees, not just members of minority groups as mentioned above. As the war for talent and skills shortages increase, employer of choice initiatives likely will increase in order for companies to attract and retain top talent.

» Talent Management – the Next Core Competency for HR; Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) on the Rise

Talent management is projected to be the next core competency in HR domain expertise, according to a newly released IDC study U.S. HR BPO 2005 Vendor Analysis: The Evolving Landscape. Second to benefits expertise, talent management is increasingly becoming a hot commodity, especially in the HR Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) space. According to IDC:

• 37% of U.S. HR outsourcing spending in 2004 was on HR and talent management services
• The U.S. HR BPO services are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 16%, to almost $16.5 billion by 2009

Internally, specialists in talent management are increasingly in demand. According to a recent article in Human Resources Magazine Making the most of a hot HR job market "there’s a shortage of good people in these areas, particularly at the more senior levels."

» HR Measures and Metrics – Going Beyond Budgets and Headcounts

Increasing pressure on HR to justify its value, is propelling the HR function in many companies to determine exactly what is important for it to measure. According to a recent Human Resources Magazine article How effective is your HR function? original HR evaluation, which focused on maintaining budgets and employee headcounts, is being expanded to include scorecards and more effectively designed employee surveys. Such tools, often delivered through talent management technology, provide powerful data regarding efficiency and effectiveness within an organization.

» Population Trends

Consider the following:

• By 2050, 40% of Europe’s total population and 60% of its working population will be people over 60. – Eurostats, 2000
• By 2008, the United States will be lacking 10 million workers due to demographic changes in the country. – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics


These worldwide demographic statistics speak clearly for themselves. Their daunting messages are fueling many companies to solidify their talent management philosophies, so they can not only survive, but thrive in the years ahead.