May 2008

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So, What Is Talent Management, Really?

Talent management has begun to underscore itself in the corporate training world, but there seems to be some major confusion about what it really is. According to Wikipedia, “The term talent management means different things to different people.” Since interest has heated up because of the emerging talent shortage—more jobs require smarter people, and there are fewer of them available—the uncertainty surrounding the definition has also increased.

The definition in Wikipedia does nothing to quell the confusion; it just adds to it by stating, “Talent management is also known as human capital management, HR information systems, HR management systems, and HR modules.” So which one is it?

What we do know is that the practice of talent management can encompass attracting, recruiting, managing, training, retaining, promoting, and transitioning talent in organizations. But where does performance management fit into the process? How about competency management and succession planning? And do companies view it only as management of high-potential employees or of all employees?

Those questions are just a few of the many that need to be answered as the war for talent rages.

This month an article on page 38 explores talent management and the burning issues of “Who Owns It?” and “Why Should You Care?”

As the article points out, research by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) shows that more than 75 percent of the companies they surveyed don’t have an agreed-upon definition of talent management. But what companies do agree on is that talent management focuses on competencies and performance management.

Ed Lawler, professor of business at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and the person who wrote decades ago that “we are in the age of human capital,” has said that learning professionals “should play a role in defining competencies, explaining what they mean, measuring their presence or absence in the workforce, and relating them to strategies.” Are you ready to take the next step?

Paula Ketter
Editor, T+D
pketter@astd.org

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