Talent Management: The 80/20 business success

magdalena-gili
Column by Magdalena Gili

How long have we talked about Talent Management?

The concept of “Talent Management” was born at the end of the 90s. Research from Mc Kinsey shows that 80% of a company’s profits are generated by 20% of its workforce. This makes it difficult for an organization to attract and retain talented people; the phrase “the battle for talent” is often used. This has become one of the most key issues, ever since.

Talent is the inimitable weapon, the differentiating factor in the success of the company, in an environment that tends to be global, complex, dynamic and very competitive.

The Importance of Talent Management

Talent management, in business, is a process that enables us to identify and assess the capabilities and potential development of people who we have today and to build up the skills, in them, which we need for the future. Why is this important? This process is the key strategy aimed both at business sustainability, and the development and retention of people who add value to the organization.

When talking about sustainability, we mean that the talent management process is geared to have people prepared with the knowledge and leadership skills to take on roles that allow for the current and future success of the organization.

In terms of people, this process makes it possible to understand deeply the employees who demonstrate not only top performance in their current position, but their potential to take on new responsibilities and for planning their development into positions of greater value for the organization.

Current challenges in Talent Management

There are different factors that pose challenges to current talent management. The constant changes in the economic environment, globalization of companies, the constant mergers, and acquisitions, require organizations to make structural changes more frequently, adjusting staffing to the new requirements. This, from the perspective of talent management, alienates people indefinitely and increases turnover. From the perspective of talent management, this changing context again confirms the importance of having identified people who mean a greater loss of value to the organization upon leaving.

Considering the above, management is challenged to be flexible enough so as to develop their human resources with a broad and integrated business perspective, to understand the ups and downs that beset the organization, and at the same time, plan for comprehensive development instead of focusing only on a specific position.

Our Focus

We are convinced that a proper process of Talent Management is a priority for organizations because it affects business sustainability and retention of valuable people for the organization. Accordingly, we have developed a model and approach to talent management, generating a process, a methodology, and practical tools that are implemented and tailored according to the culture and different and specific needs of each organization.