Talent management is often thought of as an organizational function requiring “soft” skills like social awareness, or an ability to tailor communication to meet each employee’s individual needs.
It is perhaps for this reason that many organizations relegate talent management to a line management position when, in reality, it should be tied closely to key organizational issues.
In a Talent Management article I wrote with Robert Vulpis, executive director of HR, Learning and Development at Morgan Stanley, we explored the question of what talent leaders can do to build engagement among new recruits and manage their existing human resources.
One of the last trends we noted that I’ll mention here is making the link between talent management and C-suite executives.
Imagine any sport that requires unified team effort. Crew rowing might provide the perfect example. The coxswain, who sits in the stern and steers the boat by calling power and rhythm directions, must command the efforts of all rowers – from the bowman to the sternman. Without guidance from the coxswain, the team will potentially veer wildly off-course and lose the race.
Particularly in times of economic uncertainty, an organization needs to ensure that it has executive buy-in in order to achieve desired business results. To achieve this sort of collaboration and the resulting success, it’s imperative for organizations to heed the advice that HR professionals have been offering for years: elevate human capital management to a strategic imperative that impacts business objectives and requires C-suite endorsement.
So building engagement among new recruits and managing existing employees requires that talent leaders lobby for support from the executive team by connecting organizational goals to talent concerns.
In short, by taking talent management to the top!
