Talent Management - Recruitment, Selection and Onboarding

1 Talent Management Introduction The contemporary organization is seriously and continuously faced with the challenge of throat-cutting competition in the market. As technological advances moves to the next level, companies and businesses are looking at ways of remaining competent and lean in their overall operations. One very critical resource with the potential of helping businesses achieve the much needed competitive and market edge is the human resource. The personnel are involved directly in operations and their input reflects on the quality and general performance of the organizations.

Individual skill and talent is thus very basic in helping organizations achieve their targets and objectives within very short periods of time. However, this critical skill and talent also needs to be nurtured in a way that it will enable it to grow and flourish such that the organization may continue benefiting from it. This paper explores in detail the aspect of talent management within organizations, and in particular analyzes the individual components involved in attracting, utilizing, developing, and rewarding the appropriate talent.

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2 Part A Attracting appropriate talent in organizations It is more efficient for organizations to hire the right skill than hope to develop it once the workers have already been hired. It is more likely to cost the organization less to assess such developable areas as interpersonal skills, technical skills, or even decision making skills at the time of hiring workers than planning on developing these areas later on when the workers will already be under employment. Therefore, efficient talent management should begin right at the time of recruiting and selecting the right workers into the organization.

Recruitment exercise As the war of talent takes shape between organizations, the management needs to adopt the most appropriate recruitment and retention practices. The human resource department can offer value by basing their actions on the following five major areas; ensuring the stability of the organization, giving emphasis to employer brand as well as reputation, developing employer strategies that integrated, offering support to multi level accountability, involving initiatives that focus on talent management, and offering career opportunities and personal development.

Attracting and retaining talent requires that the hiring process be done while basing on an existing “fit” between employer and the workers. Companies enjoying excellent reputation and having strong brands are at a better position to attract the best talent.

Several employee-attraction strategies exist and organizations should adopt the most preferable ones for their case so as to be able to perform their activities in the most efficient and appropriate manner. The organization should ensure it establishes a brand image so as to become attractive to employees. It is only after the organization has become the number one employer of choice among potential employees that it can next move into devising recruitment and selection

3 means most appropriate for its need. Employer branding is influenced by the firm’s own reputation as an employer, as well as a business that produces either goods or services. An employer brand is created by analyzing the needs and wants of an ideal candidate and putting this into consideration while deciding what needs to be offered. It is also sustained by establishing the extent to which the core values of the organization offer support to the whole issue of building an employer brand. This should be incorporated in the manner in which the brand is presented for as long as they remain ‘values in use’. In other words, these values should not just be espoused but instead need to be lived by all members belonging to the organization.

Attracting talent also requires that the organization defines the brand features by reviewing and examining all the areas that negatively affect people’s perceptions about the organization. In particular, people’s perceptions on general treatment, the available opportunities for growth, leadership, fair deal provision, work-life balance, management quality, the reasons for the successes of the organization, as well as the involvement with colleagues. The organization can also benchmark the approaches used by other organizations in order to get rough ideas about what the same organizations have employed to build their own brands. Finally, and very importantly, organizations need to practice honesty and be real. Human beings will have trust and faith in an organization that offers what it promised to achieve. This is also possible when you promise what is realistic and achievable otherwise unrealistic promises will end up breaking the hearts and faith of many people (Murphy, Shleifer & Vishny, 1991).

One method of undertaking this practice is by using specific labor pools. The human resource manager needs to assess the areas of strength in the organization and study the existing workplace policies and programs. With this knowledge, it will then become easier to identify segments representing the labor force which require more effort. For instance, women who are

4 yet to begin their careers or those returning to the labor market after childbearing years constitute a considerable talent pool. An organization considering this category of workers would basically be required to create an environment that supports women workers in general. An organization may also consider talented, physically disabled personnel to help in the execution of various activities and roles. The personnel manager will therefore be required to effectively structure a strategy for recruiting and retaining workers that is aligned to the organization’s business goals.

This will be critical in promoting growth and sustainability of the organization.

A different approach to carrying out the recruiting activities of the firm is by subcontracting the services of a professional agency. These agencies conduct the recruitment on behalf of the organization and do it in a professional way, ensuring that workers meet the set criteria of employment by the organization. They study their client organization’s human resource requirements and attempt to staff the organization with the right talent such that all the needs are met as anticipated by the client organization. The recruiting agencies are often companies with good and acceptable reputation who have been in practice for longer periods of time. In trying to increase their marketability, recruiting agencies shop for the most competent skills and talent from different learning institutions as well as from other sources even when such demand does not exist. They then retrain the talented staff and keep them ready for an eventual employment opportunity that may crop up. Some of these talented resources that are acquired by the recruiting agencies are placed on different career-developing opportunities by working for different organizations on temporary and trial programs (Miner, 1973).

However, before an organization seeks to hire the services of an HR agency for purposes of carrying out its recruitment programs, there are several questions which need to be asked and convincing answers found. For instance, the duration of time that the vendor has been on

5 business should be inquired. A longer operation period would imply having garnered the right experience in the market to staff workers with proper qualifications. This experience is important because the organization seeking to recruit sub-contracts that role to a different organization having faith that they have all it takes to produce the best results. The expenses incurred in subcontracting this crucial function are enormous and the benefit should be equivalent to the price being employed by the concerned organization.

Analyzing the vendor’s physical and financial size is also very important before hiring the services. The vendor should be in a position to carry out extensive research in the job market and enlist all the skills and knowledge that constitutes competent talent. The vendor must also have an existing pool of talent which client organizations can search and determine that indeed the agency is up to the challenge. To attain these heights requires huge financial resources and muscles. The agencies must not appear to be reactive to the market needs and requirements.

They ought to be proactive by studying trends and engaging in research activities that will provide amicable solutions to questions arising in the employment field. They will also need HR professionals who have the right training and skill to execute activities in the employment circles. In other words, a competent recruiting agency should be in a position to advise the client organization on what should be done in the event that the scenario in the job market changes.

Organizations are already shrouded in a lot of risks and the last risk they should get themselves in is entrusting such a critical function as recruitment activities to an incompetent body which is unable to deliver on their promise.

Checking the clients that the vendor has already serviced is an important indicator on competency. If the vendor has recruited workers for large established firms with recognized reputation, then there could be a higher possibility that the agency is competent and can therefore

6 be relied upon. However, if the client organizations are small inconsequential firms with hardly any market recognition, then that as well could be an indicator that the recruiting agency cannot be relied upon. Another pointer to reliability should be the vendor’s future life. Recruiting agencies are HR firms which should have long term plans of developing and advancing into the future. Their existence well into the future is particularly important because they will be required to design features that serve the marketplace and generally offer support services to their client organizations. With the high dynamism being witnessed in the personnel market, it would only be important that such an agency offers support services to its client organizations whenever they require them.

The vendor’s solutions should also be configurable to the global markets. The organization seeking these services can confirm these by requesting that the vendor demonstrates to them what they offer. The reason for this requirement is that we live in an information age where there is high integration, and where such physical barriers as international boundaries no longer exist. Companies can attract even workers from different countries and continents of origin for as long as they possess the required skill. As we move towards a global market that is controlled by events and trends in the global arena, it is more important that a recruiting agency’s practices be compliant to global markets and trends. Additionally, it is upon the client organization to ensure that the vendor has fully invested in functionalities that are more useful than in mere interfaces that are more stylized. These indicators will generally save the company the agony of attracting and recruiting staff that are less competent to work for the company.

Selection The recruitment exercise identifies people with the right skill and talent that the company requires to carry out its duties. Through recruitment, the organizations collects so many

7 individuals that have what it take to assist the company achieve its objectives and targets.

However, there still needs to be done some fine tuning on the already recruited lot so as to get the top cream from among them. The selection process at this juncture is what provides these fine details. It basically examines the extent to which the recruited workers will fit into the organization’s culture, that is, its values and norms. There will be further analysis and assessment of the work requirements at this stage as well as defining the meaning of cultural fit.

The end result of this selection process is that it will help in identifying characteristics deemed as the most important in the execution of roles and duties. In particular, the attitudes to work as well as to specific careers and the entire company at large will be very critical. The organization needs to achieve both competent talent and the right attitude in one individual so as to make it possible to attain the objective in the most efficient way and manner. The selection process may also realize behavior that is slightly different from what the organization expects of the selected workers but this should not be a cause to alarm as behavior can often be shaped up later as the people familiarize themselves with the organizational culture for as long as their attitude is positive. As writer and scholar Leary Joyce puts it, you can recruit for attitude but ensure you induct for culture (Miner, 1977).

8 PART B Recruitment As a talented worker, there are various strong factors which I look up to in a potential employer before offering for recruitment and selection. The value proposition of the company will take precedent and, to a greater extent, inform my decision on whether or not to apply for consideration. As an individual who is aspiring to grow in my career, the recruitment process undertaken by the organization should be a reflection of professionally designed recruitment policies as well as programs that targets at attracting the best potential talent at the job market.

The recruitment exercise should be purely conducted on merit, where applicants are selected according to their qualifications basing on the laid down procedures and rules. Making use of professional human resource agencies to conduct recruitments will provide more confidence to me as a talented worker because the whole acquisition exercise will be conducted with the precise objective of talent in mind. The procedures and the entire exercise at large will systematically explore the numerous areas of strengths that I posses and explore the areas where I have huge potential in as well.

The selection procedure will further go down deep into analyzing my particular talent or skill. Being conducted by a professional body that has well trained personnel, the selection process should precisely make comparisons of my respective skills with those of the other recruited candidates and decide on which one is more eligible for the chance to be eventually hired. The strength of my individual skill and competency should form the basis of the eventual decision that the organization shall arrive at. This will give me confidence as a worker that the organization intending to hire my confidence has, first of all, been able to recognize my competent skill. This is the onset of a process that will most likely build on my talent even

9 further by ensuring that I’m retained in the organization for longer durations, and that my career development will be expertly managed and my service to the firm equitably compensated.

Having been hired through a very competitive system, I will be assured as a worker of a level playing ground where decisions taken by management about my career will purely base on the extent of my skill. I will thus work hard in order to ensure that my performance is geared towards giving the utmost in as far as skill and talent is concerned.

Utilizing There can never be talent nurturing without the actual committing of the said talent into action. As a worker therefore, I would expect that the management offers me the opportunity to utilize my skill and talent in performance of roles and duties. It is only through actual committing and performance of skill that the management would be able to determine deviations and effectively offer a workable remedy. However, the apportioning of duty and responsibility should be done in a commensurate way, that is, my expected performance should consider the experience I have had so far since joining employment. Responsibilities should be given to individuals while giving considerations to their level of skill because it is only then that a true and reflective benchmark can be done. Even with skill, it is still very important that workers learn new ideas and procedures so that they can be able to integrate the two in the most efficient way. The learning thus can be undertaken practically while the workers have a hands-on experience on the various duties and responsibilities.

Retention of workers basically looks at how an organization can continue maintaining its workers for longer prolonged periods of time. As an individual worker, one aspect that will retain me in an organization for long is the satisfaction that my compensation is equivalent to the skill and talent that the organization benefits from me. That will give me the motivation to

10 explore even deeper on how to further increase my skill and build my talent. Management should therefore, through the human resource department, work at ensuring that every worker is compensated equitably. The drawing of compensation figures should basically consider what skill or talent is being is being referred to. In other words, questions should be asked on whether or not it is a rare skill. The efforts expended in performing the skill should also be analyzed such that equity is achieved. When equity in terms of compensation and skill utilized appears to be non-existent, I can easily be tempted to look at the direction of other potential employers who promise to pay me well. As theories have already explained, money is a source of motivation and it will make many workers feel as though their efforts are being rewarded in the most appropriate way. Apart from salaries, my general welfare as a worker should also be looked into keenly. My health and safety both while within and without the work environment should be carefully addressed with the promise of offering care in case of ailment. This kind of treatment will help me focus my brain and thoughts on my job and hence help in uplifting my talent and skill (Koch & McGrath, 1996).

Developing The company or organization must have a career development plan through which all its workers and employees must benefit. A career development plan basically aims at improving on the quality and performance of individual workers. As a worker, I do expect that after joining the organization I will have the opportune time to develop my skills and make them even better than were the standards at the time of employment. The organization should continuously look at ways of imparting more skill and knowledge in me so as to remain relevant at the workplace.

Global trends and practices are highly dynamic due to the ever changing technology and therefore systems are expected to change with time. I also need to be in a position where I can

11 still handle and operate different systems even if they have transformed over time. This can only be true if the organization offers me the chance to train and learn new procedures and practices.

It will also improve my general performance which is beneficial to the organization.

Training and development will not only increase my skill but, importantly, will improve my confidence at work. I will be able to perform my duties and roles well assured that my job is secure. This internal feeling of gist and power is particularly important as it will most likely have a positive impact on my general skill and talent. I will have the feeling of belongingness where the organization feels like part of me and I therefore offer my level best to protect and also fully serve it. In terms of my career plans, training and development will offer the chance and opportunity to climb the corporate ladder and achieve my professional dream. It is very fulfilling and promising for every worker when he or she sees the strides made right from recruitment throughout the employment period to that time when one gets separated with the organization.

Rewarding The primary reason why people work so hard to get employed is for earning salaries.

Everybody is looking for a source of livelihood and employment offers a perfect source for individuals to earn money. With the promise of more money for excellent performance and execution of duties, I will work hard towards ensuring that I improve on my skill so that at the end of it all I can earn more money. I would therefore expect that the organization is keen on benchmarking performances and rewarding every individual worker according to the efforts they put in. This motivation thus derived will make it possible for everyone in the organization to offer his or her best skill and talent. Financial motivation can be in the form of good salaries that are commensurate to performances and work done, overtime payments to workers who spend extra time while striving to perform their duties, or other benefits that result from the worker’s

12 overall performance of work, such as house allowances, hardship allowances, transport allowances, as well as entertainment and medical allowances. These monies are given under different names and titles but their ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of the worker’s concentration from issues that might not necessarily and directly relate to his or her work.

Instead, the financial reward is meant to provide the worker with the chance to fund the resultant expenses as he continues to fully focus on the professional roles and responsibilities.

Another important aspect of rewards that can improve on my skill and talent as a worker is non-financial benefits. For instance, recognizing my exemplary performance before the rest of the organization will give the motivation and energy to perform even better. As human beings, we would like to beat others in anything good that we participate in together and therefore human resource managers need to constantly encourage the practice of recognizing achievers.

The feeling about everybody knowing you are a strong performer urges you to push on and even better the prospects next time. Other presents like assets or medals also have a psychological influence on the general performance because they are constant reminders about your competent skill and talent that enabled you to achieve them. Rewards in form of presents of high value like a house or vehicle can be exchanged for money and still derive very high motivation among workers to work on their skill and talent for the better (Zenger & Lazzarini, 2004). In a nutshell, the talent pipeline is a complete process which involves all the aspects that can best assist in improving and developing further the talent, knowledge and skill level of individual workers within organizations.

Conclusion Talent management is a continuous process that is supposed to be planned, controlled, directed and coordinated by the personnel management of every organization. As competition in

13 the business world intensifies, the human resource has certainly become one of the main areas where organizations derive their competencies from. Firms are no longer hiring anybody with skill but rather the practice has been that those who posses the most competent skill and talent are the ones sought after. Immediately after being hired, the organization nurtures their skill in a systematic way by ensuring that their competency develops further and that it is also developed to be a flexible one so as to fully optimize on the potentials. Efforts are also made to ensure that the workers are retained in the organization for very long periods of time so that the organization can continuously benefit from their talents. Development of these respective talents and skills through training is also vital as changes and improvements continue to be witnessed in the work environment. It is therefore important that workers are trained as a way of sharpening and harnessing their skill and prowess in conformity to work trends and practices. Finally, rewarding workers for their skill and talent as well is very important. Money is a motivational factor which is more likely to cause the workers to improve even further on their skill. Apart from money, there are other rewards which are not financial but whose consequence and effect positively builds on the talent of the workers. A system of reward should be drawn so that there is equitable compensation for work done.

14 List of References Koch, M. J. & McGrath, R. G., 1996. Improving labor productivity: Human resource policies do matter. Strategic Management Journal, 17(5), p. 335-354.

Miner, J. B., 1973. The management consulting firm as a source of high-level managerial talent.

The Academy of Management Journal, 16(2), p. 253-264.

Miner, J. B., 1977. Implications of managerial talent projections for management education. The Academy of Management Review, 2(3), p. 412-420.

Murphy, K. M., Shleifer, A. & Vishny, R. W., 1991. The allocation of talent: Implications for growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(2). p. 503-530.

Zenger, T. R. & Lazzarini, S. G., 2004. Compensating for innovation: Do small firms offer highpowered incentives that lure talent and motivate effort? Managerial and Decision Economics, 25(6/7), p. 329-345.