Does your company understand where it needs to be in terms of its workforce capabilities? A recent Ernst & Young report warns that most organisations will lose their competitive edge in the near future because of out-dated talent management programmes, and BusinessWorld Online article "Talent management's new challenges" agrees, citing this EY report and stating;

“…while many companies understand where they need to be in terms of talent, they are still struggling with how to get there. One example is in the area of cultivating a global mindset. Companies understand the importance of this, yet have difficulty implementing effective mobility and diversity strategies. More and more, it seems that companies need to invest in talent management, flatten traditional organisational structures, and adopt more inclusive leadership styles.”

The BusinessWorld Online article goes on to highlight four areas noted in the EY report where today’s companies are facing talent management challenges;

Globalisation: As corporations become more global their talent management programmes need to become more global too, allowing personnel to gain broader exposure and experience in their markets as well as in the different cultures in which the organisation does business. Companies that do attempt to address this need via overseas assignments typically lose 38% of their overseas assignees within 1 year and 61% within two years, significantly reducing the benefits they hoped to gain.

Metrics: Companies using employee satisfaction and retention as a metric for talent management effectiveness may be measuring the wrong things. According to the EY report; “The fact that you were able to coax some mediocre person to stay with you for 20 years, even though they were never really qualified for any of the jobs you asked them to do during that period, is a pretty useless statistic when you think about it…what you really want to know is whether there is a gap between the person who filled the job and the ideal qualifications that the position requires.”

Leaders: The international business environment often calls for different leadership competencies than were previously thought important in leadership talent. Soft skills that allow leaders to describe and embody an organisation’s vision and culture, and inspire colleagues and subordinates are more desirable than the financial and industry expertise previously cultivated.

Succession: A little over half of top performing companies have established, and are confident about, succession plans that prepare the way for the next generation of corporate leaders. The rest of the companies claim to have unclear qualifications and processes for selecting their next generation of leaders!

Talent management needs to be a long-term goal that is strategically aligned with business objectives and pursued using a disciplined process which is integrated throughout the organisation. Per BusinessWorld Online; “They should look at closing skills gaps, create customised training and development programs, and identify future leaders early in their careers. They should also focus on the “softer” skills to bolster not just a future CEO’s technical expertise, but also his people skills.”

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