Build Organizational Performance through Talent Enhancement

Best practices in the world of talent management are often not so much about sophisticated and unique strategies, but about effective alignment and execution. Line managers have a significant impact on the effectiveness of talent within their organization. Managers who set the tone with a positive environment get performance gains others do not come close to achieving.

Managers today are expected to be intimately involved in all aspects of people management, including hiring, onboarding, ongoing coaching and development of staff, and rewarding and recognizing employees. Line managers need to understand and use talent management tools to close the gap between the talent they will need in the future and what they currently have today. Performance planning establishes the expectations between the manager and the employee. It’s critical that the manager ensures that there is both clarity and commitment to the performance goals that are established.

Best-in-class organizations recognize coaching and feedback as critical talent management skills. Coaching is an ongoing process of dialogue and feedback throughout the performance management cycle. Coaching and development form part of an organization’s broader strategy to provide a more consistent approach to career development to ensure that it will have the talent it needs for its most critical roles. While line managers are the lynchpin of the talent management process, HR must take the strategic position and perspective that many individual managers aren’t able to see.

For many organizations this means that the HR function, is the steward of the organization’s talent management processes. They are there to support and equip line managers with the tools and processes to support their management of talent. Effective talent management is about ensuring an ongoing dialogue between manager and employee about what is important and how to improve.