8 Innovative Talent Management Initiatives for the Modern Workplace
The ability to access skills and talent remains one of the biggest challenges for organizations. Businesses have spent significant time and effort on talent acquisition and driving external employer brand strategies. Even though these strategies are still important, innovative talent management initiatives go beyond acquisition, focus on unlocking internal talent capacity, and create new avenues to access talent.
In this article, we unpack modern talent management initiatives that are helping organizations access and tap into hidden talent.
Contents
Where is the need for new talent management initiatives coming from?
8 modern talent management initiatives to adopt
How HR can get started
Where is the need for new talent management initiatives coming from?
Since the 1990s, the idea of a “war for talent” has been dominating the talent management discussion. This view suggests that organizations must outshine others to attract the best and brightest professionals. This led to increased competition and a focus on outbidding and owning the best talent the market has to offer.
However, today, talent joins and stays with organizations based on much more personal reasons. Beyond a competitive compensation package, employees consider organizations’ alignment with their personal values and goals, their brand reputation and social impact, and the overall employee experience promise.
This requires a revolution of our talent management practices, fundamentally shifting how we define, identify and manage talent, and how we determine the impact of talent management.
To truly adopt a forward-looking approach, there are a number of incremental shifts that need to happen:
Shift required in: Traditional thinking in talent management Future thinking in talent management How talent is defined Talent is a commodity that organizations find and own The definition of talent changes in response to organizational needs and is accessed via internal and external talent pools How talent is managed Over-emphasis on talent acquisition and succession planning to fill vacant roles as a point-in-time practice Holistic focus on talent access through both acquisition and mobility practices that are leveraged where they add the most value How impact is measured As operational success metrics that show how well we have executed A continuous talent experience that delivers a broader impact over time
Adopting this future perspective also calls for new talent management initiatives and tactics that go beyond current talent management activities such as acquisition, succession planning, and people development.
We discussed how to modernize talent management to contribute to business success with AIHR’s expert on talent management, Dr Marna van der Merwe. You can watch the full interview below:
Let’s discuss eight modern talent management initiatives across three categories that are helping organizations uncover hidden talent potential.
8 modern talent management initiatives to adopt
Technology-empowered solutions
Technology and data-led talent practices have advanced the impact and reach of talent management practices.
Talent intelligence and insights have become paramount to designing and executing talent initiatives across the employee life cycle, from talent identification, segmentation, and development to the visibility of internal skills and opportunities.
Three innovative initiatives related to technology-empowered solutions are:
1. Talent matching technologies
Talent matching technologies go beyond traditional applicant tracking systems (ATS) technologies by using artificial intelligence to better match suitable candidates to available opportunities.
Using large data sets, talent matching technologies are beneficial when screening high-volume application roles, removing human error and potential discrimination from the process. The technology allows for the incorporation of assessments and other screening methods as the first touch point for the recruitment process, saving time and cost.
As with any AI technology, adequate controls need to be in place to ensure that these technologies are not biased.
Examples: Talent Match (McKinsey), Harver, Loxo
2. Internal talent marketplaces and opportunity platforms
Technology has allowed for the creation of internal talent marketplaces and opportunity platforms that enable greater visibility of employee skills. Beyond visibility, these platforms utilize artificial intelligence to match employee skills with opportunities within the organization and promote internal mobility.
This type of technology also goes beyond traditional internal job boards and vacancies advertised on an intranet. It includes various opportunity types, such as gig work, assignment work, and project work, in addition to formal job roles.
Promoting such opportunities is especially useful for organizations moving towards a more skills-focused approach and require more insights into existing skills that might be underutilized within the organization.
Examples: Gloat, Edligo, Beamery, Skyhive
The adoption of technology in internal mobility practices such as internal marketplaces, applying talent acquisition principles to the talent already in the organization, and more focus on following skills-based approaches are changing how we used to run talent practices.
A talent marketplace is a platform where I, as an organization, go with my opportunities and put them out, whether that’s an actual vacancy, short-term assignment, project, or whatever the format is. For the individual, it allows them to browse the marketplace, offer their skills, raise their hand, and apply for specific opportunities.
3. AI-based coaching
Traditional coaching has always been limited to middle and senior management, given its high cost and inability to scale. AI-based coaching solutions have stepped into this gap, enabling organizations to make coaching accessible to larger parts of the workforce. This approach is especially beneficial for more junior employees starting their careers or leading teams for the first time.
Importantly, AI-based coaching isn’t a replacement for traditional coaching but acts as a complementary solution. Even though more work is required to showcase the effectiveness and impact of AI-based coaching solutions, there have been some significant advancements in this area.
Examples: Coach Vici, QTrobot, Replika, Misty II Robot
Enhancing the talent experience
Talent lifecycle approaches refer to new ways of providing talent with additional exposure along their careers. The benefits of these approaches are twofold. Employees gain new skills that they bring back to the organization while driving engagement and job growth.
4. Talent exchange programs and talent sharing
Talent exchange programs refer to the “swapping” or rotation of talent between departments or organizations for a designated period. They are a great way to access new potential talent while providing your current talent with further exposure and skills.
These programs can be run formally or informally and are often facilitated by agencies that manage the matching process between participating organizations.
Talent sharing is based on the same concept of rotating talent, emphasizing addressing shorter-term workforce demands and skills shortages or redundancies.
This concept emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative to lay-offs within the retail and hospitality industry. Since then, many organizations have continued with this approach to address skills needs while providing individuals with unique upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
5. Alumni talent networks and “boomerang” talent
Alumni talent networks refer to the proactive management of employees who have left the organization. The aim is to build external talent networks of employees who share and support the organization’s values and mission and to facilitate the return of talent in the future.
Alumni talent is an important talent pool, given the existing institutional knowledge within this talent pool and shared values. Managing alumni talent networks requires a proactive approach to keeping former employees current regarding what is happening in the organization and the available opportunities and fostering a long-term relationship.
Even if these employees do not return in the future, they are credible referral sources and brand ambassadors supporting talent acquisition efforts.
Boomerang talent refers to returning employees who have left the organization at some point and return after some time. These employees are familiar with organizational processes and culture. They are much quicker to contribute than new hires and benefit from new and diverse skills gained elsewhere.
Almost 20% of employees who quit their job during the pandemic have since gone back to that job. 65% of managers report they would re-employ top and medium performers. The broader talent management strategy must reflect this to get the anticipated benefit from boomerang talent.
I don’t think the war for talent is a good concept. No one wins a war. I think the same is true for talent management. It’s not a sustainable way to manage talent, thinking it has to be “won” or “owned.”
Personalization and new work arrangements
In our HR Trends report, we identified work-life fit as a critical emerging trend in response to the changing work expectations between employers and employees.
Talent is expecting more flexibility and new ways of work that support their overall careers and well-being. Employees are making more informed decisions about how and where they want to work. This means that organizations will have to rethink how they can accommodate new work arrangements to still gain access to this talent pool.
This need for personalization is reflected in new ways of working, the type of work, and workplace arrangements.
6. Top sharing
Top sharing refers to job sharing in positions with a high level of responsibility, including the management of co-workers. Top sharing goes beyond traditional job sharing to include positions of responsibility and authority.
7. Fractional jobs
Fractional jobs are similar to part-time employment, where an individual sells fractions of their time to multiple employers, still allowing them to work full-time.
This model is becoming popular, where specialist skills are in high demand but too expensive for the organization to access. For example, a seasoned CFO spends one day a week at five different start-ups.
8. Triple peak days and the four-day workweek
Microsoft coined the Triple Peak Day based on their productivity research. The Triple Peak day refers to work patterns that showcase that more employees are also productive outside of the traditional work hours.
To leverage this, organizations can change the conventional work day to overlap with peak periods while allowing employees the flexibility to shift their working hours to accommodate. For example, an employee who works until 2 pm spends the afternoon with their children and works again after dinner from 8 to 10:30 pm still constitutes full-time employment.
The four-day week has gained global attention as organizations and countries have run experiments to see whether a shorter workweek could not lead to increases in productivity and wellbeing. Some organizations have already decided to continue with the four-day workweek, implying that full-time employment constitutes only working four out of the five or six traditional working days.
Notably, the four-day workweek differs from a compressed workweek, meaning working 40 hours in four days instead of five.
How HR can get started
HR professionals aiming to revolutionize their talent management strategy should follow a structured approach. Firstly, a comprehensive understanding of the organization’s talent demands and needs is essential. This close collaboration with workforce planning departments and a clear sense of future resource requirements.
Once you’ve identified talent needs, you can segment internal and external talent pools. Such segmentation allows for more targeted talent management approaches per segment. This also helps you determine which innovative talent management initiatives the organization could benefit from.
Furthermore, HR should prioritize establishing transparency around the internal skills within the organization. This applies to the skills needed, as well as the skills that employees have.
This transparent approach to skills fosters an environment where employees can explore internal growth and career development opportunities, which promotes continuous learning and internal mobility. Investing in technology, such as talent marketplaces, is essential to facilitate this effectively.
Lastly, engage in open dialogue within the organization regarding its willingness to explore new work arrangements as well as the change and investments required for success. Piloting such arrangements in smaller areas before broader implementation can effectively manage potential risks and ensure successful adoption over time.
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