Managing the talent crisis: A real challenge to human resource department

Acquiring skilled workforce is not just enough in today’s changing economy. Instead a lot needs to be done to retain them. Losing knowledgeable and trained staff can cause serious damage to the company’s progress and performance in the market. Since employees are a great asset to the company their hard work and dedication towards work should be acknowledged, reinforcing their sense of belongingness. The attrition rates of the employees of some companies actually match their revenue growth rates. This is giving a severe headache to the top management in general and HR department in particular. So, this has added to the functions of the HR department a new function – Talent Management. Talent management is a mindset that should be embedded in the DNA architecture of an organization. Talent management is a very conscious, deliberate approach undertaken to attract, develop and retain people with the aptitude and abilities to meet the current and future organizational needs. The new talent management process focuses more on pools of talent than on specific individuals. It takes a broad view of satisfying the need for the right mix of talent to implement today’s and tomorrow’s strategies. It is no longer about hiring the best person for a position now, but about hiring people who may qualify for key positions in the future.The paper attempts to understand all the complexities and challenges of talent management that need to be faced by the companies to build a solid foundation for the future. Talent management is a rich source of value addition to HR professionals as it puts them in role of business partners rather than being seen as glorified administrative pen pushers. The term “Talent management “has received much academic and practitioner attention since Mckinsey published the paper “war of talent” in the late 1990”s.global multinational companies now concentrate on talent management, not just to create a pipeline of talent for responding to shifting to demographics and workforce flexibility but also to revitalize and retain their existing talent. This will enable MNCs to align workforce planning with their business objectives such as entering into new partnerships, adapting new technologies and globalizing their operations on a large scale. Firms have started to realize that more than offering competitive prices, capturing niche markets and developing new products, a highly talented and engaged workforce is something that competitors cannot replicate so easily. Talent management is clearly the key to survival and sustainable competitive advantage in the fiercely competitive market of this globalised era.