Defining Talent Management - Time to Make the Donuts....

Probably one of the biggest things to get our head around at Fistful of Talent is the whole definition thing.  After all, talent management has all the underpinnings for inclusion in buzzword bingo.  With that in mind, what the h#*l does it actually mean?

For me, the definition of talent management is pretty simple at a top level.  It starts with Talent Acquisition (that's why you see all the recruiter and actively recruiting HR types on our team - a nice hyper bunch...), then should include all progressive practices designed to help you get the most out of your people investment once you have the talent signed as a part of your organization.

The fuzziest part of the definition thing?  For me, it's determining what non-recruiting activities are a part of the Talent Management function once employees show up for work.  With the obvious omission of onboarding, I think this chart from Taleo is the most effective I have seen in capturing the space.  You've got performance management, career development, succession planning and more captured on the performance management side of the house.  Other TM components, like career pathing, are a natural part of these bigger blocks...

I found this chart on the Taleo blog, and it's another reason I like Taleo (I'm a Business Edition user of the recruiting product). 

Recruiting and Performance Management linked to form (at least in my eyes) Talent Management.  What a concept!!

Comments

[Meg Bear]

Kris,

I agree that Taleo is showing a lot of the key elements of a Talent solution. There are a couple that are missing. Part of Career Development would have to include formal and informal Learning and then of course you must include Compensation. Industry is starting to settle on those being the primary elements for a complete Talent Solution.

[marenhogan]

I agree. In the midwest, where the work ethic is high and the temperature low, compensation is an essential key. I'm not sure but is forecasting a part of succession planning? The term (you're right we DO talk about that a lot) seems to refer to how to replace what you're losing or promoting and not how to recruit for new intiatives. For us needs forecasting is the very first step.