Talent management continues to be a top concern for leaders; therefore, in this blog I’ll address ten talent management best practices. Let’s start by defining what talent management involves. I often hear that “talent is the most important asset in our organization.” But are you taking the necessary steps to attract the right talent, and then educate, encourage, and maintain your top talent?

Talent management is the umbrella that covers all aspects of taking care of your employees—your talent. Talent management includes the following components:

• Strategies to attract the right talent
• Education and training tools for all staff
• Established career paths
• Personal and professional development opportunities
• Mentoring relationships
• Leadership development plans, and
• Culture training based on your organization’s core values.

In this two-part blog, I’ll outline ten talent management best practices that can enhance your institution’s talent management program. Here are the first five talent management best practices:

1.      Updated Job Descriptions and Role Clarity

The very first step to formalize your talent management program is to create and update job descriptions for all positions in the organization. In the “Position Purpose”  section of your job descriptions, clarify the role of the position so the employee understands their job clearly. Include the organization’s core values so employees can identify if their personal core values align with the company’s. Clearly defined job descriptions for all positions is a strategy to attract the right talent.

2.      Current Organizational Design

With the current turnover ratios that institutions experience these days, you could update your organizational chart daily. However, that is not necessary. Ideally, you first create an organizational design based on functions. Then you create the org chart with the employees’ names that occupy each position. The two questions to answer are: Does our organizational design support our current business model? What changes are needed to ensure it supports the future needs of the institution? Update the org chart at least quarterly and ensure it’s available to all staff.

3.      Formal Performance Review Process

The lack of a formal performance review process results in a complete lack of accountability at all levels of an organization. There are many software solutions that automate the review process and save all documentation electronically – managers no longer need to complete review forms by hand. Yes, the process takes time, but it is foundational to retaining top talent in your company.

The best employee review processes have three simple steps: 1) Employee provides input into their own performance for the past twelve months (at least one week prior to the formal review meeting); 2) Employee and manager meet to discuss opportunities to grow and recognize accomplishments; 3) Employee takes ownership of his/her growth and provides manager with a plan to improve, grow, learn, etc. for the next year. Ensure the compensation and salary communication takes place in a separate meeting. Doing so will avoid the employee to want to get to the salary conversation right away.

4.      90-Day Check-In with New Hires and “Stay Interviews”

Attracting and retaining new talent is an ongoing challenge for most companies today. Conducting a 90-day check-in interview is one way to ensure new employees are integrating into your company’s culture and performing their jobs as agreed. It is also crucial to stay in touch with your existing staff and one way to do this is to conduct “stay interviews.” The purpose of these interviews is to discover any challenges employees may have within the organization. Many issues can be addressed through these informal meetings with your current team members.

5.      Provide Culture Training

Your company has an established culture. Can you define it in words? Does your culture reflect your core values? Do your employees know and can recite your core values? These are important questions to ask your leadership team. The first step to provide culture training is to ensure you define your top 3-5 core values and share them consistently with the entire staff. Reward those who exhibit and live out your company’s core values to encourage others to do the same. Your culture reflects how you do things “your company’s way.” You need to continually enhance your culture and protect it from bad influences once you achieve the culture you aspire to have in your organization.

I will address the next five best practices in Part 2 of this blog. I hope these five will get you started in enhancing your talent management program at your organization.

Are you looking for help with your talent management program? As always, we are here to help.