The important role of talent management in the success of a business is increasingly coming to the fore, as we start to experience the first signs of an upturn in the job market. Talent management is back on the agenda of businesses as they move out of survival to pro-active mode with new products and services.
This refocuses management attention and places greater emphasis on employee development and on winning back their employees’ engagement in an attempt to retain key talent. Diversity in its widest sense is a priority issue to consider. Building diversity considerations into talent management strategy has never been more important than during this period, when employers need to nurture and capitalise on the best talent to build an edge to the recovery and move fast in the face of competition.
However, recent research carried out by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) shows that the majority of organisations are failing to integrate diversity and talent management in a way that will ensure the best business performance. The research consisted of a series of structured focus groups as well as interviews with HR directors and leading talent management and diversity practitioners, together with other UK-based organisations. The results show that only the leading talent management and diversity practitioners in the field are making an effort to link diversity with talent management. Evidence showed that even in organisations where talent management and diversity policies are in place, they were often not linked and the organisation therefore missed out on the impact that an integrated approach to diversity and talent management would have produced.
The leading talent and diversity practitioners are the ones that recognise the benefits of accessing and developing talent from the widest possible pool of people. They are open to the idea of creating an inclusive, open and diverse workforce where everyone’s skills, perspectives and ideas are valued. They believe that the different perspectives produced by this approach create a rich tapestry from which businesses can draw up intelligent plans that will ultimately lead to enhanced business performance and hence bigger profits.
Against this backdrop, issues concerning disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, age and religion fade into insignificance as pragmatism and common sense take over. Competence and character often speak louder than words or, in this case, prejudice and perceptions.
Olivia Galea Seychell, Senior HR Manager for the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, has argued that it is critical for organisations to integrate diversity into talent management strategy and activities. She commented: “By joining up their efforts on talent management and diversity, organisations would benefit hugely from the bringing in of new and innovative ideas. Also, employees are able to share their skills which in turn brings more employee satisfaction and hence a better service to the client. Integrating diversity with talent management is critical for organisations to be able to outperform their competitors and hence build an edge to recovery.”
It was seen from the CIPD report that the majority of organisations believe that the current economic climate is having an impact on their efforts to successfully integrate diversity with talent management. On the other hand, the leading talent management and diversity experts feel that talent management and diversity assume greater importance during difficult times and firmly believe that talent management and diversity can help businesses see through the recovery.
Furthermore, Ms Galea Seychell said that organisations that fail to integrate diversity with talent management would lose out hugely on the benefits of accessing and developing talent from the widest pool of people. “Firms should be open to all talent. Everyone has the potential to contribute something to the organisation, no matter who he or she is.”
Hence, it is crucially important that if organisations want to get out of the recession in a healthy position able to outperform their competitors, they must be able to integrate diversity with talent management. As Elizabeth Broderick, a Sex Discrimination Commissioner said: “If we are serious about building strong companies, it is about accessing all the available talent.”
Ms Camilleri is a researcher at the Foundation for Human Resources Development