‘People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is a car or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps’ − Mary Kay Ash

The topic of managing talent raises two immediate questions: What is talent and what exactly does managing talent involve? Talent focuses on performance and potential. All employees with either high performance in business or people skills should be considered highly talented. Managing talent should not be viewed just as an action, focused on hiring and recruiting promising individuals who have a high potential to perform well. It is also about keeping them on board and providing them with opportunities and the right conditions to be able to perform, excel and advance their capability.

The main challenge in talent management is to attract the right people for the business and to give them the environment where they can develop their full potential. There are five principal activities in the process of talent management – identifying, attracting, developing, retaining and handling the departure of talent. While the first four steps are widely recognised principles, the fifth is often neglected. Managing resignations is important for two reasons – if an employee has not demonstrated his or her potential and delivered an acceptable level of performance, the talent management process should step in. It could be the case that the employee may add more value in a different job or it might be necessary for that employee to leave the company and seek another employer. It is important that the individual leaves on a good note. A network of former employees can be invaluable in alumni networks that companies form.

The two most popular actions to undertake in managing talent are to develop career tracks designed and tailor-made for the specific individual and to develop compensation schemes for talented people. As the Boston Group stated: “There needs to be career development and retention plans. These people are savvy. They know their market value!”

In order to manage talent, companies should take a number of actions. These include the assessment of their future talent needs in line with business requirements; monitoring and managing the career path of future leaders; tapping different professional networks; matching talented individuals with key positions within the organisation; providing development opportunities. Companies should also offer current employees a value proposition that aligns their aspirations closely with their objectives. By implementing these steps, a company will expect to meet its growth and business objectives.

The process for managing talent needs to be transparent. Employees who do not understand the talent management process will suspect favouritism when other employees are selected for key assignments. Transparency in the talent market is one of the key successes for effective talent management. The art of managing talent in today’s working environment is instrumental in cultivating a contented and fulfilled workforce, a prime requirement for any successful business.

Anne Marie Thake BA (Hons), MSc. (Manchester) is a Director of the Foundation for Human Resource Development (FHRD)