The Concept of Talent Management

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Introduction

A successful organisation requires talented staff to run its operations. This is essential to attain the set objectives of the company and to increase its profit margin. It, therefore, becomes the burden of the employer to make the organisation attractive to potential job candidates by ensuring smooth recruitment and selection process. Recruitment and selection process is, thereby, the key component of talent management and, thereby, plays a big role in enhancing employment relations.

This is because the organisation should look out for candidates possessing the right skills to handle the demands of the organisation effectively. With the current dynamic growth in the business world that has seen most companies merge and even extensively expand, it has become critical to hire qualified staff to give the organisation a competitive edge. This essay will critically analyse the concept of attracting, recruiting and selecting the right candidate and its impact on the employment relationship.

Understanding The Concept Of Recruitment And Selection As A Relevant Area In Talent Management

Previous studies have argued that it will be challenging for the organisations to recruit and retain high performing employees in future due to skills shortage, hence, leading to talent deficit (Roberts 200). This aspect of the study becomes very important in ensuring an effective recruiting and selection process to manage and fill the skills gap likely to hit the company in the future. It actually does not come as a surprise that most managers fail to have a plan when recruiting and selecting a suitable candidate.

Actually, the line managers, who usually are left with the burden of bringing in the right talent in the company, fail in their bid to do so. This process of hiring the most suitable and qualified candidate has, therefore, become a topical area. This is attributed to the fact that not only does it have the capacity of becoming an integral part in the managerial process of the organisation but is also as one of the key components of attaining the competitive edge of the company.

Further, it is a notable fact that the process of attracting the right job seekers and at the same time recruiting and selecting them does not operate in a vacuum. This means that social trends actually determine the recruitment and selection process of the company. The current recession, for example, has had a major impact on the operational budget of the company. A recent survey conducted showed that more than 56 percent of employers’ decided to retain their employees rather than recruiting more talent with only a few of them arguing that they would recruit very few talents in the coming years (Russell 111).

This survey gives an overview of the close link between recruitment and selection on the one hand and a broad economic and social aspect on the other. It, therefore, becomes important for the line managers to keep abreast of the current reports that are bound to affect their decisions.

In addition, the process of bringing on board talented employers does not come easy. This is because most companies rely on traditional methods of selecting a candidate which have generally been perceived as being unreliable. Line managers, for instance, rely on the traditional method of interviewing a job seeker, a method which usually fails to predict the performance of the candidate being considered for the job.

It, therefore, becomes critical for the line managers to have a realistic evaluation of the recruitment and selection process. Ethical issues should be put into consideration when hiring a suitable candidate and, by insinuation, rejecting an unsuitable one. Though the organisation’s main goal is to hire employees who fit in with its culture, it should also ensure that it plays a key role in shaping the identity of the employee as an ethical issue. This ensures that a harmonious employment relationship is maintained.

Effective Recruitment And Selection And Its Impact On The Employment Relationship

The recruitment and selection of a suitable candidate are vital for the smooth running of an organisation and, therefore, becomes necessary for the selection team to get it right. In actual sense, wrong selection decisions have a negative impact on maintaining the effectiveness of the organization. It may also hinder developing tactics and even result in management pressure. This was particularly evidenced in one of the bogus selection process undertaken in one of the British Airlines.

In this case, the candidate was hired as a baggage handler, but during the selection process, the hiring team overlooked major information presented to them by the applicant such as a false home address, previous occupation and even false bank details. The candidate, on being hired, boarded a holiday jet airliner and took with him explosive devices hidden in his shoe. Luckily for the airliner, the candidate was an undercover journalist, and the explosives were actually false.

This case scenario is very important when analyzing the effectiveness of adapting an effective recruitment and selection process. A small blunder can cost the company a lot of time and resources. It, therefore, becomes essential for the recruiting team to maximize all the factors required to achieve an effective recruitment and selection process.

One important factor is to distinguish the power of perception during recruitment and selection. This can negatively or positively impact the employment relationship. A good example is hiring a candidate based on nonverbal first impression. This factor has been largely criticized by the job applicants who argue that selecting on this factor alone hinders the candidates to fully expose their talents. However, this factor plays a vital role during selection and recruitment.

Taking in all the data and critically evaluating it ensure accuracy in the perception formed about a particular candidate. Line managers have actually relied on the method of assessment centres as a selection tactic. This is attributed to the fact that the assessment method adapted helps to strike an early relationship between the employer and the employee. This helps the employer to see and assess the talent in a candidate and can even project his future contribution to the company.

The other significant factor is taking a staged approach. This approach is actually a two-way process. On the one hand, the company is committed to evaluating the most suitable candidate to fill a vacancy whilst, on the other hand, the candidates monitor the company as a prospective employer. It, therefore, becomes the burden of the company to establish a professional and timely manner in which to conduct the recruiting and selection process.

This not only attracts the prospective candidate to apply for the job vacancy but to also positively accept the outcome of the interviewer. This positively impacts on the employment relationship to be created as the candidate handles the job more effectively while the employer rips the benefits of hiring a qualified and dedicated candidate.

Attracting candidates, therefore, become a critical factor in the recruitment cycle. This is aimed at ensuring that a considerable number of qualified candidates apply for the job. This gives the company an edge in selecting only the best out of all the applicants. However, most companies fail to implement the most appropriate method to attract candidates. This results in the company receiving overwhelming numbers of unsuitable candidates.

Recruitment agencies have been recommended as they are inexpensive and more resourceful as compared to a major advertising campaign which in essence attracts a huge response from unqualified candidates. It is important for the line managers seeking to fill a vacancy to rely on a more suitable approach of attracting candidates. They should also critically analyse new methods, for example, the use of the internet.

The employee, on the other hand, should make a smart decision before applying to work for a particular company. This was evidenced when the author of this paper applied for an internship position that had been advertised in a local newspaper. However, the responsibilities of what was expected of the intern were not clearly stipulated, and this was enough for the author to disregard the position despite his qualifications.

Another important factor that needs to be put into consideration in recruiting and selection cycle is the selection itself. This is attributed to the fact that it is a vital stage that encompasses the choice of strategies to be adopted by the employer to effectively make a wise selection decision when hiring a candidate. For most people involved in the recruiting and selection process, this is actually the visible stage experienced throughout the resourcing cycle.

Both the employer and the potential employee get to interact at this point, hence, creating a form of relationship. It has been argued that while recruitment has been viewed as a positive activity due to its capability of generating a considerable number of applicants, selection has intrinsically been perceived as a negative in that it is at this stage that most job seekers face rejection. It is, therefore, wise to point out that the decisions made at this stage should actually be based on a wider range of selection tools as some may be ineffective in predicting the job ability of the candidate. This, therefore, becomes one of the critical stages in the whole cycle.

While others argue that companies can hire candidates without necessarily having to meet them on a one-to-one basis, it is prudent for organizations to make an effective selection decision after interacting with a candidate. For the selection to be valuable, it is wise for the process to be conducted by professionals. The interaction plays a big role in ensuring that an effective employment relationship is achieved after the candidate is picked for the job.

The recruitment costs should be an important factor in the process. Why is this so? A company is likely to suffer immensely in case of a wrong move while recruiting and selecting a candidate. The company needs to evaluate and consider both apparent and opportunity costs. The apparent costs are expenses that are incurred during the whole procedure, such as advertising costs. The opportunity costs, on the other hand, are likely to be incurred when a company engages in a repetitive procedure of recruitment and selection. This is unhealthy to the company as it diverts the managerial team from other important activities that the company can engage in for its own good.

To reduce the opportunity costs, it is important to select and hire only those candidates that are fully qualified for the job. It is also essential to consider the implicit costs which are likely to arise due to poor performance of selected candidates, low employee morale or even dissatisfaction likely to arise from clients or the stakeholders due to the poor services rendered by the selected candidate.

The legality of recruitment and selection should be upheld throughout the process. This not only calls for the line managers to adopt valid selection techniques but to also give the applicants a chance to a fair hearing. It has been emphasized that fairness should be upheld at all times. This is evidenced in instances where most job applicants are looked down upon when they apply for a particular job position.

Take, for example, a candidate who is fully qualified to run an organisation but is discriminated against because she is a woman. Any kinds of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, is against the law. A candidate’s dignity should be upheld at all times. Most candidates argue that the line managers interviewing them fail to give them utmost respect when dismissing them and are known to utter comments such as ‘You should have not wasted your time applying for this position’, hence, bringing down their morale.

Conclusion

Recruiting and selection as a key component in talent management becomes an essential aspect to ensure the success and viability of any organisation. It also plays a major role in shaping the impact of employment relationship in the workplace which can either be positive or negative.

Works Cited

Davis, Tony. Talent assessment: a new strategy for talent management, Hampshire: Gower Publishing Limited, 2007. Print.

Israelite, Larry. Talent Management: Strategies for success from six leading companies, New York: ASTD, 2009. Print.

Roberts, Gareth. Recruitment and selection: a competency approach, London: The Cromwell Press, 1997. Print.

Russell, Bob. Smiling down the line: info-service work in the global economy. London: University of Toronto Press, 2009. Print.

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