TALENT PLANNING:

A talent planning strategy is important to ensure that, at all times, you have
the right people in the right roles to meet the needs of your organisation.

As the needs of a business are constantly evolving, so becomes the need to

keep your talent planning strategy closely aligned to your business objectives
at any given time.

By formalising the way in which you approach talent planning – whether this
preserving and utilising your workforce cost-effectively during times of
economic difficulty, or expanding and developing your workforce in times of
economic prosperity – focus can be retained on what your business truly
needs, both now and in the future.

It is often through a careful analysis of how you can make your people work
best for your business, that you will begin to identify how best your business
can work and what changes can be made to make your business a success.

Below we examine what talent planning can mean for employers, including
some of the challenges that employers are facing in a post-pandemic
environment. We also provide some practical HR advice on developing and
implementing an effective talent planning strategy for your business during
these difficult times.

 The role of talent planning within the organisation

The talent that you recruit and retain within your company or organisation will
often represent one of your most valuable business assets. These are the
people who will not only ensure the successful running of your day-to-day
operations, but will also be responsible for the growth and future success of
your business.

In broad terms, talent planning refers to a combination of  people management

processes  that employers use to recruit  and retain top talent. These
processes are aimed at creating and maintaining a high-performing workforce,
and are typically tailored to the needs and overall objectives of the business in
question.

 What are the different talent planning processes?

The different processes can be broken down into the following seven key
stages:

Talent planning Detail

stage
 Attracting talent Recruiting new people, where needed, to fill key
operational roles to meet both short and long-term business
needs.

Identifying talent Identifying people within your existing workforce with the
potential to fill any skills gaps.

Developing talent Improving the skills and abilities of both new recruits and
existing employees for the benefit of your business, as well
as for the personal and professional development of key
individuals.

Engaging talent Nurturing your people to ensure that they are fully aligned
to your overall business objectives.

Motivating talent Finding ways to drive performance and maximise the

potential of your people.

Retaining talent Providing sufficient incentives to ensure that your talent

remains loyal and committed to your business.

Deploying talent Identifying where there are needs in your business, and
placing the right individuals in roles to meet those needs.

What are the talent planning challenges currently facing employers?

Talent planning can be complex at the best of times, where employers are
dealing with a variable set of integrated processes that can be affected by all
sorts of factors, including the prevailing economic climate.

In a post-pandemic environment, there are various additional considerations,

from trying to keep a business financially afloat to the need to
accommodate flexible working arrangements  to allay employee concerns
about COVID-19.

However, it is important, despite the economic and practical challenges that

many employers are continuing to face, to not allow talent planning to fall to
the bottom of their list of priorities. It is your people that are likely to get you
through these difficult times, both in the immediate and long-term.

This means that you must ensure that you are using your human capital
effectively, keeping your talent planning strategies aligned to your business
needs, both now and moving forward. By prioritising talent planning, this will
not only help you to preserve your business, but look ahead to a brighter
future.

 What does an effective talent planning strategy look like?

There is no set formula for an effective talent planning strategy although, to

work well, any strategy must remain constantly aligned to the needs of your
business at all times. Being flexible and creative in your approach to talent
planning can be key to a successful outcome here.

Below we look at the seven different people management processes, from

recruitment through to deployment, and how each of these processes can be
used to put in place talent planning initiatives that meet your business needs.

Attracting talent

In many cases, businesses have been forced to downsize to stay afloat during
the coronavirus pandemic, although you may now be looking to fill any skills
gaps to help you move forward. You may also be looking to recruit new talent
to retain an essential competitive edge during these difficult post-pandemic
times.

To attract the best and brightest talent to your company or organisation, your
employer brand may significantly impact your ability to recruit the right
candidate(s). This may need some attention, especially if you have recently
been forced to make compulsory redundancies, or otherwise made difficult
economic decisions that may not necessarily positively impact your employer
reputation.

Some time and effort may need to be invested in your overall image. This
could be achieved by identifying unique benefits and perks that may persuade
people to want to work for your business, rather than for anyone else. You can
also enhance your reputation as a socially responsible employer, and widen
the pool of potential talent that you attract, by incorporating carefully
considered and well-communicated policies on diversity and inclusion.

By using your social media and web presence, or any promotional or

advertising campaigns, to reflect these types of recruitment initiatives, this will
help you to rebuild a positive employer image and put you ahead of your
competitors when it comes to attracting the best and most talented recruits.

Identifying talent
In many cases, you may not be ready or financially able to recruit new talent
to your company or organisation. However, you may already have under-
utilised talent within your existing workforce with the potential to fill any skills
gaps and business-critical roles, in this way lessening the burden and cost of
recruitment.

The process of identifying existing talent within a business is often referred to

as resourcing. This is essentially where you analyse your current workforce
and its capability, making predictions for skill shortages to determine
immediate and future needs, and finding ways to maximise your people
resources.

There are various ways in which to identify potential talent and manage your
people, from mentor programmes to robust performance management
reviews. Through effective resourcing, you may be able to find talented
individuals who are already culturally integrated and aligned with your
business objectives, and who are willing and able to move sideways into
different roles, or to move upwards into more senior roles, as and when these
positions arise.

 Developing talent

Succession planning, alongside resourcing, also plays a significant factor in

the talent planning process. This is about developing the talent that you have
recruited or identified within your company or organisation, and ensuring that
your people go on to develop the necessary skills and experience to realise
their full potential whilst working for you.

By offering training and development to key individuals, this will help to ensure
that those who are looking to move into more senior roles at some point in
their careers are ready for promotion when the time arises. This could be
achieved through initiatives such as specific skills programmes, professional
networking or even secondment within or outside your business.

Subject to having the necessary resources, you may also want to encourage a
climate of continuous learning and development for everyone employed by
you. By investing in skills training for all your staff, you will be able to develop
the strengths of your entire workforce, creating meaningful career
opportunities based on the personal and professional expectations of each
individual.

 Engaging talent

Providing career support for your staff, and supporting their professional
development, is just one of the ways in which you can help to engage your
employees, where the possibility of career progression can be an attractive
way of incentivising your people to work hard.
However, you may need to identify other ways in which you can bring out the
best in your workforce, where even highly driven individuals may sometimes
need support and encouragement to perform well.

You may find that by giving your staff a dedicated channel to put forward their
ideas to help your business progress, or to express their worries or concerns,
this will help them to feel more engaged and valued. The most engaged
employees are the ones that want to actively contribute to the success of the
business and feel confident that their voices will be heard.

The provision of wellbeing programmes, especially during such stressful times

where concerns about health and safety have been heightened, may also help
your staff to feel nurtured. By providing the right support, and a healthy work-
life balance, your employees will feel valued and better able to perform well
for you, even during these challenging times.

 Motivating talent

Closely linked to employee engagement, you also need to identify ways to

drive performance and productivity. Succession planning can again be crucial
to facilitate this important part of the people management process.

At a senior level, it is not only essential for you to know who your high value
or high potential employees are, but to make sure they know this themselves
and what you are doing to help develop them further for their continued
progression.

At a more junior level, all employees must be made aware that there are
opportunities for them to develop and grow. It is important to ensure that the
full potential of all employees is realised, not just key individuals who are
considered valuable to your business, and that your workforce knows this.

Retaining talent

Retaining top talent can be key to the success of your business. A good talent
planning strategy will look to what incentives can be offered, not only to recruit
your talent in the first place, but also to retain them.

You need to look at creative ways to incentivise the commitment and loyalty of
your staff, in this way alleviating the risk of losing your top talent to one of
your competitors. There are various retention tools that can be utilised as a
means of reducing employee turnover, from competitive benefits to creating a
positive working environment in which the wellbeing of your workforce is
highly valued.

Deploying talent

Having invested in recruiting and retaining talent within your company or

organisation, you will need to consider how and where best to utilise the skills
of key employees within different areas of your business.
You will need to identify where any skills gaps lie and what skills you have on
board. In this way, you can deploy the right people with the right skills to fill
key roles to further the progression and growth of your business.

The mobility policies you have in place should provide the flexibility for talent
to move freely about, either sideways into similar roles or upwards into more
senior roles. In this way, any deployment opportunities will not be missed by
unnecessarily restrictive or complicated procedures.