Talent Management

It is well known: In the coming decades, demographic change will cause the number of people of working age to decline significantly in many countries of the Western world. Already today, companies are noticing an acute shortage of skilled workers and increased competition for talent. Although the aging of the workforce is recognized as a problem for the economy, Swiss companies are only rudimentarily practicing systematic talent management. This is confirmed by experts and studies, including a benchmark study conducted by the human resources company Mercuri Urval in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Central Switzerland in autumn 2012 with 400 companies in the region.

Study reveals major deficits

The majority of the more than 120 companies that took part in the survey see binding

Why talent falls by the wayside

The biggest problem is the loyalty of talented professionals to their company. Employees' loyalty to the company is declining. The youngest generation in particular tends to change jobs every two years or even more often.

In general, companies in Central Switzerland have a modest assessment of their competencies in talent management. In any case, most companies lack a clear commitment to this strategic management function. Only 28 companies state that they have a defined talent management process. Where information about talent is collected, the focus is only on the degrees, career history and career goals of the individuals concerned.

Soft skills tend to fall by the wayside. According to the study, only twelve of the companies surveyed use individual assessments to select talent internally. Only nine of the companies surveyed have an IT solution for the systematic management of information on potential within their own company. To promote their talents, the same companies primarily offer specialist training, in addition to networking the talents within the company. Soft skills training, coaching and mentoring are less frequently mentioned measures. This means that promotion remains one-sided. Only 55 of the companies surveyed have explicitly defined key functions in their company. Only 30 of them have a succession plan for these positions, which are so important for the sustainable success of a company.

What this Central Switzerland study reveals applies in various forms to the whole country: talent management is still in its infancy in most companies.

A holistic approach

Most companies have targets that they pursue and a strategy that shows the way to get there. However, business success is not only based on the right strategy, but above all on the right employees to implement the strategy. It's about putting people at the heart of business strategy. Consequently, talent management should also be weighted as a strategic function in every company.

With a sound HR strategy, key functions in the company are defined and the employee competencies are described, which the company

Sound HR strategy is required

needs to remain competitive in the future. It provides answers to the following questions: What competencies do we need? Which ones do we already have? Which ones can we develop? Which ones do we need to bring in from outside with new specialists? And finally, how can we best organize our competencies? This holistic competency model establishes the link between corporate requirements and employee competencies. Based on this, the talents on which the company's success depends can be built. The talent strategy must be clearly aligned with future business challenges. Only foresight brings competitive advantages.

Identifying and recruiting talent

Those who want to identify talent in the company must not only assess what they have achieved so far or what qualifications they bring with them. Past successes say little about future successes and the potential of the individual. The strongest correlations with professional success are intellectual aptitude, conscientiousness and ambition to achieve.

Intellectual abilities in particular can be tested very well in individual assessments. An external specialist like Mercuri Urval brings decades of experience in assessing potential and offers its clients tested methods for this responsible task. Another advantage of working with external agencies to assess talent is their impartiality towards all employees and internal interests. It goes without saying that assessments are also the right instrument for recruiting new talent, measuring potential and forecasting success. If the same professional tools are used to assess existing as well as new professionals, this creates transparency and acceptance for HR decisions. Talent recruitment is a strategic task as the foundation of talent management.

Develop and retain talent

Ensuring sustainable corporate success means retaining good people, motivating them and leading each individual to his or her personal best. Good training and practical experience are important, but are not enough on their own. The full development of skills and competencies often requires a fundamental change in behaviour. This can be achieved with various methods of personnel development.

Business coaching is the most effective performer in the professional environment.

Measuring and promoting potential

personal development process. Coaching means practice-oriented learning through guided action. It is a powerful method to help employees in key positions to develop their competencies and to make them more successful. Coaching is pure practice, unlike leadership or management courses. It promotes awareness and provides insight. It is focused on individual goal setting and optimized organizational performance. The personal progress motivates them to continue, the coaching shows them company perspectives. Other decisive factors in motivating talent are the early transfer of responsibility and a high degree of decision-making freedom, for example in the form of project management or deputization. In this way, it can be concretely observed how the talents behave in this situation and how they solve tasks independently and in a goal-oriented manner.

Provide freedom, meaning and benefit

A large scope for decision-making and action is particularly important for Generation Y. Young workers want to go their own way to achieve goals. Rigid structures are out for them. Freedom, meaning and benefit in everyday work are values that the company must offer them. All generations like to receive recognition, appreciate a good corporate culture and a stable company. The compatibility of family and career as well as health promotion are further topics that are gaining in importance in the competition for good employees. Employer attractiveness is also enhanced by internal succession planning for key positions. In the context of talent management, this involves the forward-looking filling of positions in the company that are particularly relevant to success. Internal succession planning not only reduces the costs of the

Coaching is pure practice

recruitment and knowledge transfer, but also send out positive signals to everyone.

Success in talent management

Sustainably successful companies know what skills they need and because they have the right people on board in the right positions. Only those who recognize potential and recruit the right talents can also manage them. Talents are not only young and highly educated people, but generally success-critical employees. Talent management must be planned with an eye to the future and practiced in a convincing manner. The decisive factors are the appreciation of talent in the company, the anchoring of development programs in top management, and the commitment of all managers to the talent management process. The HR department plays a key role in the overall process by initiating and coordinating the activities. However, it is only successful if all executives and top management assume their responsibility in the operational implementation.