What can talent managers do to attract and retain talented people?

Great questions Donna. I tend to think in terms of offering candidates and employees opportunities to do what they love doing and to grow. It's helpful to identify what people really enjoy doing, not just what they do well, and tailoring the job so they can use their talents and abilities. It's also beneficial to allow people to grow by providing educational opportunities as well as letting people think freely and often about how to expand their jobs.

I determine whether the job related skills are well matched ,then review the cognitive skills to ensure that there is anability to grow , then determine if the individual will fit into the company culture.

Hi Donna,
Really good question...and I am sure that there are no fix answers to this. But there are some tried out ways and means. In my organisation we have created a Fast Track Scheme for employees wherein employee can enter and face Development Centre kind of process and get selected for certian stream (such as General Management, Specialist, Technical, etc). This gives career jump of 8 to 10 years. Also those who do not get selected in the final list are also given challenging jobs and assignments to challenge their skills. Some of them emerge as Star Performers and climb the ladder faster than others. Also we have observed that recognitions (Mostly non-monetart) are more important than rewards! Hence we focus on these. Sending employees for higher education, premium institutes, sending to some special management courses and deputations & job rotations in defferent areas to prove their mettle.
Another observation is that the engagement of senior leadership with employees. More they meet employees, bonding grows...somebody mentioned here about 'emlpoyer brand'...which gets built over time, both inside and outside.

Good question Donna - todays world is becoming more and more boudryless and work is shifting to more intellect based roles. Hence attracting and retaining talent can become a big differentiator for any business, talent managers play a key role in this initiative by

- Identifying team members who have the potential to grow in the organization and not just hire for the current role
- Ensuring a world class onborarding process is in place to get the new team members reach their highest potential
- Continously working on creating career paths for team members in the organization
- Building a culture of learning and on the job development
- Creating a process of engaging team memebrs in challenging work and participating in building strategies for the company.

All of these would help build a culture where team members would would see long term engagement with the organization, hence driving retention and attracting similar talent.

The retention of talent begins well before the interview. It starts at the time the position is first publicized. Few companies think about this.

For example, how does the HR office handle the application process? Are they courteous when potential candidates telephone? Are they helpful, or do they just tell people that they don't accept CVs, and that everything has to be on the application form? I've seen instances where the HR office doesn't take calls at all. Is that how you want to be seen by prospective employees?

I ask these questions because if you want to retain talented people, then you must remember that you are not the only one who wants their talent. In other words, if you don't treat them properly, then when it suits them, they'll leave.

The current job market is masking the underlying shortage in skilled labor, never mind the really talented. If you want to retain talent, then you must work hard to give people a reason to stay with you, whether the economy is good or bad.

Cheers, Bruce

Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol

Retaining talented people is a challenging task but very much acheivable. Here are some steps that I suggest.

1. Get to know their wants , their ambitions and passion through a team of dedicated HR people. Try to align their needs in line with organization and nurture them .

Make them feel that they are a valuable asset to the organization.

Following such a practice will help retain and attract the best talent for the organization.

Donna,
I am a big believer in building a culture or "employment brand". By doing that from the ground up rather than "bolting it on" I have been very successful in recruiting and retaining talent both as an HR executive and a consultant for clients.
People join and stay with "cultures" and organizations they feel aligned with.
The best way to accomplish that is defining you culture and as a colleague says "Hire hard, manage easy".

K Kemper, enjoyed your response. As with all words used by HR and their consultants we need to know their definition of the word talent.

"I claim, vehemently, that companies have STAFF and they do not have talent."

A voice of sanity although I would say companies have employees rather than staff since staff sounds too much like staph, an infection by the Staphylococcus (or "staph") bacteria. Come to think of it many employers are infected by bad staff, usually management staff. We need to inoculate employers against hiring bad staff.

All people have their own talent but few employers know how to hire people whose talents become job strengths. Talent is more often than not a job weakness which explains how so many under-performers and non-performers get hired.

talent is the term for actors and actresses and singers and those who ENTERTAINMENT.

Who is the sob that carried that term over to HR for companies seeking
vps, department managers, etc.

FYI: I have taught HR. And one thing a company asks those who goof off is,
in a not so happy tone, "what are you anyway, a comic?" When that
is asked of a TALENTED person preparing for the stage, it is a compliment.

I claim, vehemently, that companies have STAFF and they do not have
talent. A person can be talented but to perform highly skilled operation
plans or take over scenes, it takes a lot more than talent. IT takes
vision, it takes a fall back plan and more.

TALENT is not involved in using those skills. My FATHER was talent;
he was a musician for 70 yrs!!! He was not a company skilled person
and would have been insulted if you had called him that and he called
gay people queers--which is what was the norm for that life style in the
50's.

Let's call oranges, oranges, trees, trees, and highly skilled
members of a company who work in a COORDINATED WAY [which
talent does NOT!!! ] highly qualified STAFF and officers when applicable!!!