IMPACT OF TALENT MANAGEMENT ON THE

PERFORMANCE OF AN ORGANIZATION WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ABG, PIPAPAV, BHARATI
SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES
Dissertation Submitted to the

Padmashree Dr. D.Y.Patil University

Department of Business Management

In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of

the Degree of

MASTER IN PHILOSOPHY (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT)

Submitted by:

MISS. SHRUTI ASHOK NAIK

ENROLLMENT NO : DYP- M.PHIL- 106110018

Research Guide:

Dr. R. GOPAL
DIRECTOR & HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil University
Department of Business Management
CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai 400614
November 2012
 DECLARATION

I herby declare that the dissertation ”IMPACT OF TALENT MANAGEMENT

ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ORGANIZATION WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO ABG, PIPAPAV, BHARATI SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES”,

submitted for the Degree of Master in Philosophy (Business Management) at

Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil University’s Department Of Business Management

is my original work and the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award

of any degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

Place : Mumbai Signature of the Student

Date : SHRUTI ASHOK NAIK

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “IMPACT OF TALENT

MANAGEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ORGANIZATION WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ABG, PIPAPAV, BHARATI SHIPBUILDING

INDUSTRIES” is the bonafide research work carried out by Ms. Shruti Naik

student of Master in Philosophy (Business Management), at Padmashree Dr.

D.Y. Patil University’s Department Of Business Management during the year

2011-2012, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the

Degree of Master in Philosophy (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT) and that the

dissertation has not formed the basis for the award previously of any

degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar title.

Place: Mumbai

Date: Signature of the Guide

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am greatly indebted to the Padmashree Dr.D.Y.Patil University Department

of Business Management which has accepted me for the M.Phil. program

and provided me with an excellent opportunity to carry out the present

research work.

I thank Dr. R.GOPAL, Director, Padmashree Dr. D.Y.Patil University

Department of Business Management, for giving me his valuable guidance

for the project. Without his help it would have been impossible for me to

complete the dissertation.

I would also like to thank the various people from the Shipbuilding industries

who have provided me lot of information and in fact even sharing some of

the confidential company documents and data, many of which I have used

in this report an without which this could not have been completed.

I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge with a deep sense of

gratitude to my family and friends for their endless love, prayers and

encouragement. To those who indirectly contributed in this research, your

kindness means a lot to me.

Place: Mumbai Signature of the student

Date:

(Ms. Shruti Naik)

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………...viii

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………...ix

List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………….x

Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………1

CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUTION ………………………………………………….9

CHAPTER – 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE …………………………………16

Research Gaps ………………………………………………………….27

CHAPTER–3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY & RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………………..30

CHAPTER – 4 TALENT MANAGEMENT : DEFINITION

4.1 Talent Management …………………………………………………….......33
4.2 History……………………………………………………………………......36
4.3 Human Capital Management……………………………………………….37
4.4 From Personnel to Strategic HR to Talent Management………............39
4.5 Importance…………………………………………………………………...42
4.6 Talent Management v/s Traditional HR approach……………………….43
4.7 Key Components of Highly Effective Talent Management……………..46
4.8 Talent Management perspectives………………………………………....47

CHAPTER – 5 TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

5.1 Talent Management Process………………………………………………51
5.2 Features of TM Strategy……………………………………………………53
5.3 Talent Pool…………………………………………………………………...58
5.4 Application of TM in Current Economic Condition …………………......62
5.5 Talent Dimensions………………………………………………………......64
5.6 Challenges of TM……………………………………………………………65
5.7 It starts with Talent Mindset………………………………………………..71
5.8 Manage Talent……………………………………………………………....73
CHAPTER – 6 TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
6.1 Building Successful Talent Management Strategy………………………77
6.2 Talent Management Strategy Steps………………………………………82
6.3 The Role of HR………………………………………………………………90
6.4 Talent management: trends that will shape the future…………………..92
6.5 Employee engagement means higher performance…………………….97

CHAPTER – 7 NEXT GENERATION TALENT MANAGEMENT

7.1 The Next Generation Talent Management (NGTM)…………………...104
7.2 Model of Next Generation Talent Management……………………... ..106
7.3 The role of leadership in Talent Management………………………….114
7.4 Building a Culture That Fosters Talent………………………………….122
7.5 The Talent Management Imperative………………………………….....126
7.6 Recent Studies on Talent Management…………………………………129

CHAPTER – 8 SHIPBUILDING IN INDIA

8.1 An Overview………………………………………………………………..133
8.2 Human Resource Development in Shipbuilding Industries……………134
8.3 Talent shortage in India’s Shipbuilding Industry………………………..137

CHAPTER – 9 BEST PRACTICES

9.1 ABG Shipyard Ltd…………………………………………………….. ..140
9.1.1 Talent Management at ABG……………………………………………142

9.2 Pipavav Shipyard Ltd…………………………………………………..144

9.2.1 Talent Management at PSL……………………………………...........145

9.3 Bharati Shipyard Ltd…………………………………………………….149

9.3.1 Talent Management at BSL………………………………………........150

CHAPTER – 10 DATA ANALYSIS & FINDINGS………………………….153

CHAPTER – 11 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION…………...…..193

REFERENCE SECTION
Annexure -- 1 Bibliography………………………………………………… 212
Annexure -- 2 Questionnaire………………………………………………..215
 LIST OF TABLES

Table: 4.6.1 The role of Talent Management…………………………44

Table: 5.5.1 Talent Management Dimensions……………………….64

Table: 5.7.1 Talent Mindset…………………………………………….73

Table: 10.1 - 10.20 Responses of Statement………………………………...154

viii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure: 4.4.1 Evolution of HR function………………………………40

Figure: 5.1.2 Talent Management……………………………………51

Figure: 5.2.1 Stages of Development of Talent Strategy………….55

Figure: 5.2.2 The Talent Management loop………………………..56

Figure: 5.3.1 Classifications of Talents…………………………….60

Figure: 5.6.1 Challenges in Talent Management………………….67

Figure: 5.8.1 Managing Core Talents………………………………76

Figure: 6.2.1 Talent Management Strategy steps…………………82

Figure: 6.2.2 Assessment Learning………………………………...88

Figure: 6.5.1 Employee Engagement………………………………98

Figure: 7.4.1 Talent Optimization Frame…………………………..124

Figure: 10.1 – 10.20 Pie representation responses of Shipbuilding

Industries………………………………………………………………………..153

ix
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

TM – Talent Management.

HR – Human Resources.

HCM – Human Capital Management.

ABG – Agarwal Business Group.

PSL – Pipavav Shipyard Ltd.

BSL - Bharati Shipyard Ltd.

DWT – Dead Weight Tonnage.

SEZ – Special Economic Zones.

EOU – Export Oriented Units.

KPI – Key Performance Indicators.

IDP – Individual Development Plans.

LMS – Learning Management System.

VTS – Vessel Traffic Service.

JNPT – Jawarharlal Nehru Port Trust.

x
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the last two decades, the issue of talent management has been increasingly

discussed. In today‘s society, it has become more and more critical to work with

talent management. Despite the growth in interest, there seems to be no clear

explanation of what talent management is and how organizations should deal

with it or implement it.

Traditionally, talent management referred exclusively to the development and

replacement of top executives. Nowadays, there is recognition that attracting

and retaining talented employees should take place on all levels within the

organization. This idea leads to a shift from the idea of one single ladder (i.e.

one talent pipeline focused only on (potential) leaders) towards the idea of

multiple talent-ladders or pipelines (i.e. talent pipelines for different kinds of

people in the organization, not exclusively leaders)

Talent management aims at improving the potential of employees who are

seen as being able to make a valuable difference for the organization, now or in

the future. Moreover, talent management should improve organizational

performance. However, talent management strongly focus on (potential)

leaders, which can cause organizations to ‗forget‘ the other groups of talents

that are critical today. This realisation had led to the use of the following

definition of talent management: ‗talent management means that an

organization tries to nurture and develop the people that are defined as having

both a high potential and ability‘.

1
Furthermore, talent management does not necessarily mean moving talents

upwards in organizations. The most important task for organizations is to make

sure talents are situated at the position that suits them best. Also, it is deemed

important that talent management is embedded in the organizational culture.

Current challenges and dilemmas in society that are related to talent

management are discussed: The first challenge is the emergence of both the

knowledge society and economy. In the knowledge economy, knowledge

represents the major resource for economic life and growth. It can be argued

that not only (potential) leaders have important knowledge, but other

employees at all levels and in all departments of the organization own it as well.

For this reason, a shift towards a multiple pipelines is growing in interest.

A second challenge for organizations is the change of the employment relation.

Whereas in the past, the employment relation used to be based on life-long

employment, nowadays, (young) employees are demanding challenging work,

as well as substantive rewards and opportunities to grow and learn. There

seems to be a more individualistic look on employment. With regard to talent

management, this means that organisations must take into consideration

several groups of talent that are becoming more and more demanding and that

value their own development.

The third challenge organizations are facing is globalisation. The world is

becoming more international and this severely influences the way business is

conducted. This has caused an increase in complexity and uncertainty. As

organizations have come to realise, international business depends on the

2
quality of top talent. This talent, however, is becoming more mobile and the

management of these talents has to be coordinated globally. Competition is

becoming more generic.

Another challenge is the increased diversity of the workforce. Because of the

ageing population, a shortage in labour supply will occur, which forces

organizations to make full use of all talent available. Therefore, organizations

are becoming more diverse in terms of workforce composition.

The challenges mentioned above show that the reasons for organizations to

become more and more concerned with talent management are manifold.

People are said to be the most critical asset for organizations and there is a

new urgent necessity to use them to the largest extent. Due to new cycles of

business growth and more complex economic conditions, organizations need

different types of talent, which leads to having different pipelines, since all

talents need to be attracted, developed, and retained. Besides leaders, other

types of talents have become critical for organizations and they need their own

forms of talent management.

After a thorough literature study, three best practice shipbuilding organizations

and several general best practices have been researched. However, it should

be underlined that the talent management practices of these organizations

cannot be implemented in every organization, since these best practice

organizations operate in specific circumstances and characteristics, yet other

organizations can learn from them. These best practices should therefore be

seen as examples, not as a clear direction that can be copied directly.

3
The Indian Shipbuilding Industry is relatively small compared to the Global

Industry with a mere 1% market-share but, the Indian players enjoy definite

advantages over their global counterparts, which are expected to help them

clock strong growth over next few decades. Currently, India has mid-sized

private shipyards viz., ABG Shipyard and Bharati Shipyard. However, there are

several new players who are in the waiting or in the process of setting up their

shipbuilding capacity in India.

As a first best practice organization, the Agarwal Business Group Shipyard

Limited (ABG) is presented. Their talent management is considered a best

practice, particularly in the following areas: ABG has a global talent

management strategy which is linked to the local business context. They

ensure line management involvement and engagement. The engagement of

the individual employee is also ensured.

The second best practice organization chosen for this dissertation is Pipavav

Shipyard Limited (PSL). According to PSL‘s talent management processes are

particularly outstanding with regard to the following: it is a top management

priority, it is linked to the business strategy and, it is an organizational aim and

permeates the culture.

Best practices regarding talent management, without focusing on one particular

organization, focus on recruitment, development, and retention. With regard to

recruitment, best practice organizations have an approach different from the

traditional approach. Best practice organizations recruit the best people and

then place them within the organization. Thus, instead of aligning people with

4
roles, they align roles with people. An emphasis is on the idea of a cultural fit,

i.e. employees‘ values should be congruent with the organizational values.

Looking at best practices in training and development, literature discusses

whether talent can and should be recruited or if talent should be developed

within an organization. The development argument is favoured, since an

employee, who is a talent in one organization, is not necessarily a talent in

another organization. However, even if an organization has a promote from

within policy and mainly recruits from within, best practice organizations still

recruit 20 to 30 percent externally, in order to avoid inward-thinking.

The third general best practice is retention. If organizations spend a lot of time,

effort, and money on the recruitment of talents and on the training and

development of these talents, they wish to retain these talents. In order to do

so, not only tangible, but also intangible rewards play an important role. These

rewards shall not only constitute money, but go further than that, i.e. the

employee should feel valued and get a sense of worth out of his or her job. It is

important to offer all talents – not only leaders – attractive career paths. If

organizations do not do this, talents might leave for the competition.

Concluding from the best practices, it is found that both organizations, although

very often referred to as best practices, focus mainly on leadership

development. Moreover, it revealed that it is particularly the alignment, and thus

the synergy of the practices of these organizations, rather than the practices

themselves that helps organizations create a competitive advantage.

5
During interviews it is revealed that when it comes to the definition of talent,

organizations use the word ‗potential‘, instead of the word ‗talent‘. The

interviewees stated that a talent is seen as a person with a great potential to

grow within a period of time. While the organizations interviewed did not have

an official definition for talent management, the interviewees have a clear idea

about how to manage their talents. Talent management is described as

important by all organizations, in order to attract, develop, and retain their

talents.

Regarding diversity, the interviewees state that for organizations, it is becoming

increasingly difficult to find people who fit the organization. The changes in the

employment relation represent a major challenge for the organizations

interviewed, in the sense that employees want personal achievements and a

sense of worth to be created by their job, instead of doing their job. Particularly,

Generation Y has strong demands regarding their work and they want

responsibility and growth opportunities.

At the end of the report, ten recommendations are given, which are based on

the literature review, best practices, and the conducted interviews. The

recommendations do not describe how to actually implement talent

management but should be seem as starting points to reflect upon and sources

of inspiration for organizations, when these organizations consider

implementing talent management or want to create multiple pipelines. The ten

recommendations are the following:

6
1) Talent management is not necessarily about upwards mobility.

2) Leaders are not the only crucial group anymore.

3) Organizations must this about own definitions.

4) Do not prioritize your pipelines.

9
5) Create supporting culture within the organization.

6) Ensure line management involvement.

7) Show the external environment what you have to offer.

8) Do not forget the non-talents.

9) Keep it as simple as possible.

10) Realise that a ROI is difficult to calculate

Concluding, it reveals that it has become very important for organizations to

think about the question whether a single pipeline approach to talent

management is still sufficient for organizations to ensure viability. For

organizations, to compete economically, a performing and motivated workforce

is crucial. The existence of multiple pipelines will lead to an increase in

individual performance and motivation. It is also said to lead to an increase in

organizational performance. Offering multiple talent pipelines is important for

organizations, because if talents are not placed in the right positions, the

organization will lose value and competitive advantage, particularly in

nowadays‘ (knowledge) society. In that sense, the most important message of

this dissertation is that it is crucial for organizations to think about multiple

pipelines when working with talent management. Also, it should be stressed

7
that multiple talent pipelines must be seen as an asset for an organization,

which is important if organizations want to achieve a competitive advantage.

8
 Chapter- 1

INTRODUCTION

Before going into the discussion on Talent Management, it would be apt to

understand the word ―Talent‖. Talent in general terms refers to the

capabilities, skills or the art, a person possess in a particular field. It also

refers to those people who have high potential, scarce knowledge and skill

or who can successfully bring about transformation and change in the

organization. Such individuals are usually sought after in the market and

their contributions to the business add direct value to its strategic or

competitive positioning.

According to Leigh Branham, Vice-President, consulting service at Right

Management Consultants and author of the book says, ―Keeping People

Who Keep You in Business‖, a talent is not rare and precious. Everyone has

talent – too many to possibly name all. Talent is behavior; things we do more

easily than the next person. We speak of ―natural born talent‖ but those with

a gift, knack, ability or flair for something can refine and develop that talent

through experience. Talent, however, cannot be taught. As someone once

said, “you can teach a turkey to climb a tree, but it is easier to hire a

squirrel.”

Talent Management in an Organisation, refers to those special steps an

organization adopts to recruit, develop and retain its pool of top talent. The

steps adopted should normally be creative and should not project

bureaucracy. Talent Management also denotes a deliberate approach taken

9
up by an organization to attract, develop and retain people with the aptitude

and abilities to meet not only the current requirements but also future

organizational needs.

As business searches for new and/or better means of achieving competitive

advantage, the capacity of every functional area to improve organizational

performance is under scrutiny. As a result talent management strive to

develop and retain high potential employees, and thus provide organizations

with managerial talent source and competitive human resource advantage

which impact organization performance.

The logic behind talent management is based on the fact that businesses

are run by people. Processes, technology and capital are important but it is

people who make the decisions. It‘s people who create value by using these

corporate assets to create products an organization has, the better it will

perform. This is the rational behind talent management to attract, develop

and utilise the best brains to get superior business results.

The future of most businesses is reliant on the acquisition, development and

retention of talented people to create the leadership capacity and talent

required to implement new strategies so as to meet current and future

business needs.

The need fo talent and its expert management is always a difficult challenge

as it involves tomorrow‘s star and ensuring they live up to exceptations. This

need for talent is also driven by macro trends including:

10
o New cycles of business growth, often requiring different kinds of talent.

o Changing workforce demographics with reducing labour pools and,

therefore a talent squeeze.

o More complex economic conditions which require segregated talent and

talent management.

o Job mobility is increasing, as a result top performers change employers

more than twice in their full careers.

o A global focus on leadership which is now permitting many levels of

organization.

As a result of these macro trends workplaces everywhere are facing an

increasingly complex and ever- changing landscape in their efforts to

acquire, retain, motivate and develop the talent needed to keep

organizations operating efficiently and competitively so as to create long

term organizational success.

It has never been more critical to evaluate talent management through a

sharp eye and a critical lens. As the economy moves toward a tepid uplift,

the more prepared organizations have remained flexible, creative,

responsive, and have not lost sight of the importance of talent management.

In fact, they are evaluating existing talent management strategies and

activating new or enhanced talent management programs.

In today‘s volatile business market, effectively managing human capital can

play a crucial role in business success. Talent management has become a

top priority for organizations. It is also an area where there is much room for

11
improvement. There is debate in the profession as to how to define talent

management. For the purpose of this study, we defined talent management

as a holistic approach to optimizing human capital, which enables an

organization to drive short- and long-term results by building culture,

engagement, capability, and capacity through integrated talent acquisition,

development, and deployment processes that are aligned to business goals.

People are the last weapon of competitive advantage in the global market

today. No matter your industry, company, or nationality, there is a battle-

ready competitor somewhere who is busy thinking how to beat you. Products

can be quickly duplicated and services cheaply emulated – but innovation,

execution, and knowledge cannot. The collective talent of an organization is

its prime source of its ability to effectively compete and win. In the new

economy, competition is global, capital is abundant, products are developed

quickly and cheaply, and people are willing to change jobs often.

In this kind of environment smart, committed, experienced people who are

technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile are the new

competitive advantage. And even as the demand for this talent goes up, the

supply of it will be going down. As a result, an unprecedented shift is

occurring.

Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to radically change the

role of their Human Resource function. Today, there is a progressive

movement to transform the HR function and establish a Human Capital

Management (HCM) environment that truly leverages the workforce as a

12
competitive weapon. Organizations leading the way in HR transformation are

focusing less on administrative aspects and more on strategic issues.

Talent management tops the list as a strategy for radically improving

workforce productivity to drive higher value for the organization. Today, most

organizations are struggling to understand the characteristics, enabling

technologies and definition of talent management. While they know how to

administratively recruit, retain and replace, they struggle with the strategic

elements of managing talent. The process of managing the supply and

demand of talent to achieve business goals, represents one of the greatest

opportunities for organizations to not only overcome these critical issues,

but most importantly, survive and thrive for years to come.

In today‘s talent-hungry market scenario, one of the greatest challenges that

organizations are facing is to successfully attract, assess, train and retain

talented employees. Talent Management encompasses in itself the entire

process of Planning, Recruiting, Developing, Managing, and Compensating

employees throughout the organization. Organizations have realized the

need for talent management and are now focusing to develop and retain the

existing talent in their organization rather than trying to acquire a new talent

because the cost of identifying, developing and retaining the talent internally

is more cost effective instead of replacing the talent which is lost from

external market.

Though it may appear initially that in the process of retaining talent, we are

spending more interms of increased wages, rewards and recognition, when

13
we practically analyze,the cost of acquiring a new talent is higher. Apart from

higher cost of acquiring the new talent it has to additionally face the initial

hiccups of this new employee getting along with the organizational goals and

strategies.

Every business unit is making sure that they can respond and withstand the

challenges of talent crisis by developing an effective talent management

strategy like identifying the key talented people in the organization,

cultivating and developing the skill of their present workforce and retaining

highly talented employees by protecting them from competitors.

Workforce planning translates business strategy into talent management

activities. Each company needs to understand the problem it faces, estimate

the gaps in its industry and determine the skills it needs to meet business

objectives. The direction in talent management is to a fact-based

understanding and prioritization of what is needed. It's important not to adopt

individual processes and tools in isolation from others. Talent Management

is a new, more holistic approach to HR.

Talent Management is beneficial to both the organization and the

employees. In these days of highly competitive world, where change is

the only constant factor, it is important for an organization to develop the

most important resource of all - the Human Resource. In this globalized

world, it is only the Human Resource that can provide an organization the

competitive edge because under the new trade agreements, technology can

be easily transferred from one country to another and there is no dearth for

14
sources of cheap finance. But it is the talented workforce that is very hard to

find. The biggest problem is how to retain the present workforce and stop

them from quitting?

15
 Chapter- 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

A detailed survey of the concerned literature has been carried out based on

various journals, reviews concerned magazines and internet and presented

below: Any Organization needs to have a vision and a well defined strategy

on hiring for the future. The fundamental aspects about the definitions of

human recourses have been discussed and planning of new models has

been discussed. The need to disband the conventional school of thoughts

about organizational behavior has been advocated and a new approach has

been suggested for HR [ANANDARAM, 2007.]

Berger and Berger (2003) explains a simple and practical approach to the

identification, assessment and management of talent in the current, dynamic

operating business environment. The book plainly gives advice on how to

avoid high staff turnover and poor morale Ed Michaels (2001) argues that

Talent Management is becoming critical. ATalent Management Mindset

should be in stilled in managers throughout the organization. Ed Michaels is

a recently retired McKinney and Company Director, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Doris Sims, Matthew Gay(2007) are interested in the steps and decisions

involved in the creation and implementation of talent management

programs? A step-by-step instruction for starting a Talent Management

programs from scratch, or taking an existing program to the next level is

comprehensively explained by the authors Allan Schreyer( 2004) opine that

Internet has created more confusion than solutions for the world of recruiting

16
and talent management. It has certainly made things more complex. HR

professionals and even company presidents have become desperate for

clarity on the future of talent management.

Taylor (2007a) states that most definitions give a definition of what TM

should consist of, instead of saying what it is. Therefore, he came to the

following definition: ―[t]alent management is making capabilities fit

commitments‖ (Taylor, 2007a). He suggests that his definition is focusing on

the aim of TM and he further argues that TM should not be seen as an

individual aim but as an aim of the organization as a whole. TM should help

the organization to ensure that it is able to do what it is set out to do today,

but also in the future.

William J. Roth well, H.C. Kazanas(2003) ignites the imagination, expands

the possibilities, and offers practical strategies any organizations can use to

effectively develop, retain and utilize talent for the benefit of an organization

and enter the fluid, flexible future. Managers at all levels will

cheer the sanity Roth well suggests.‖

The Taleo Research report on Hidden return on investment (ROI) of Talent

Acquisition & Mobility gives a picture of the economic impact of talent

acquisition and mobility and shows the opportunities for cost reduction and

improved corporate performance.

KARTHIKEYAN J (2007), argues that Organization need to have a vision

and a well defined strategy on hiring for the future. They are of the view that

17
whether we have the right talent within to attract and retain the best available

talent.

Hartley (2004), Talent Management is an expression that extends over a

wide set of activities, such as succession planning, HR planning, employee

performance management etc. Creelman (2004) gone further by describing

the term as a perspective, or a mindset, where all corporate issues are seen

from the perspective of ―how will this affect our critical talent?‖ and ―what role

does talent play in this issue?‖ Creelman defines TM as; ―The process of

attracting, recruiting and retain talented employees‖ Creelman ( 2004: 3).

Michaels et al,. (2001) have a similar definition: ―Talent management is

about attracting, developing and retaining talented individuals in the

organization.‖

Laff, (2006) Talent Management is not only a new word for sourcing and

developing employees. It requires a dynamic integration between many

processes Cunningham, (2007). (Laff, 2006; Uren, 2007) argued that one of

the main factors to implement successfully Talent Management in the

organization is the permanent commitment from all organization's levels and

cannot be implemented and done only by HR, if so it would unable to react

when necessity demand to changes in the organization.

Heinen and O‟Neill (2004), Talent Management is one of the most effective

ways to achieve a durable competitive advantage. The question here is how

long can the organization sustain its competitive advantage and keep the

knowledge base isolated from competitors. An example of an isolating

18
mechanism is when a knowledge based should be embedded within the firm

and not tied to specific individuals

Nonaka and Toyama (2005) argues that knowledge is transferred to the all

levels of the organization all the way through a process that includes

socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization.

Grigoryev (2006) not only employers but also employees are becoming more

aware of the fact that there are some skills and characteristics which are

essential to function properly in the workplace.

(Branham, 2000; Schweyer, 2004) found that most of the organizations

recruit externally rather than finding inside talents. This possibly happens

because managers avoid retaining their best functional individuals so they

will not risk losing them to competitors.

Von Seldeneck, (2004) the best time to recruit key people is in a slowing

economy. Since highly talented people would predisposition in order to

manage their environment, a firm might utilize such situation by providing

new compensations schemes and challenging packages that are tailored for

key Talents, simultaneously; other organizations would be dormant in

locating talented people. The internal human capital is essential to attract

talented people from competitors. Thus they should have the vision, passion,

integrity and ability to create an environment that will draw people in.

Branham, (2000) agrees that recruitments are too expensive and it is

essential that the new staff should stay for long time. According to Dalziel,

19
(2004) a major factor of recruitment failure is due to wrong recruitment

practices that are based on credentials which considered poor predictors for

performance. The successful recruitment recipe is ―Hiring for Competencies‖

which considered a main building block that Talent Management relies on.

Cunningham (2007) identified two broad strategic choices to take into

consideration the alignment of people with roles or, alignment of roles with

people in the process of recruiting. The first choice discusses of matching

possible candidates to asset of already approved job roles. This option will

allow many factors to control performance; such as, Selection, recruitment,

placement and promotion, all of which help recruiting and placing talents

where they are most effective. Promotion in this case depends on the

amount of development and learning achievements one contributes. On the

other hand, the second choice explains the opposite idea that allies roles

with people. This choice focuses on the people selected first and the roles

will adapt to those people‟s distinctiveness. Whenever organizations have

hard time finding the right person in terms of capability, they have the option

of hiring someone who enjoys much impressive learning strengths in

comparison to his capabilities. The fast learning advantage will allow the

person to quickly develop and be trained to perform well.

Cunningham (2007) further discussed the difference of Talent Management

regarding aligning roles with people; he explains that it relates to enhancing

performance through adapting the roles in the work environment. The role

has a broad prospective as it includes the relationships with others in

20
addition to a list of tasks, job description and responsibilities. It's related to

the working environment where people enjoy sufficient interaction among

each other by sharing experiences that help in the overall development

through daily work. All the previous depends on organization design that is

essential in providing special inspiring programs to talented individuals for

effective retention. Rewards can vary; monetary or non monetary, are

considered a supporting factor, in addition, the working method applied

influences potential development. People confined to routine work are

unlikely to contribute with more than work and this inhibits development. If

someone in a limited role that consists of minor duties, they would be a bit

restricted in the routine process due to the lack of opportunities that will

allow such people to broaden their perspective and cause positive progress.

Busi & Bitici, (2006) Performance Management and Performance

Measurement are used to assess Talent Management. Performance

Measurement is a technical and practical task to assess staff performance

and Performance Management is a concept where the results of

Performance Measurements are being used and identified

Frank & Taylor (2004) pointed out that it is an essential part in the Talent

Management to provide learning and performance improvement of high

performers. Ordonez de Pablos (2004) argues that it is important to have

internal system of HRM in order to make knowledge, capabilities and skills of

the firm's human capital protected and valuable. Among the benefits that

Human Resource Management System covers are: promotion-from within,

comprehensive training and skill based pay. Based on performance

21
management systems, Frank and Taylor (2004) foresee that staff will receive

custom made responses to skill weaknesses continuously.

Michaels, Handfield-Jones and Axelrod (2001) states that while not

everyone can become a superstar in the organization, they can standout by

challenging themselves and by being more dedicated to their work, and that

is what the development programs are for. Adapting those programs,

organizations will attract Talents, retain talented staff for longer time and

would have better performance in the long run.

As Lawler, (2005) mentioned the main purpose of integrating HRM and

strategy is to make human capital to be a strategic differentiator. According

to Laff‟s (2006) study for different CEOs, Talent Management is the best

way to secure a competitive advantage.

According to Heinen and O‟Neill (2004), Talent Management is one of the

most effective ways to achieve a durable competitive advantage. The

question here is how long can the organization sustain its competitive

advantage and keep the knowledge base isolated from competitors. An

example of an isolating mechanism is when a knowledge based should be

embedded within the firm and not tied to specific individuals.

Branham (2000) agrees that recruitments are too expensive and it is

essential that the new staff should stay for long time. According to Dalziel

(2004) a major factor of recruitment failure is due to wrong recruitment

practices that are based on credentials which considered poor predictors for

22
performance. The successful recruitment recipe is ―Hiring for Competencies‖

which considered a main building block that Talent Management relies on.

According to (Schweyer, 2004) A Talent Management System puts useful

means in the hands of HR professionals that enable them to gather, process

and evaluate volumes of data related to high potentials and other staff. Laff

(2006) argues that with the presence of the new technology the talent

management will no longer be only for the top management but it will down

to the end of the organization hierarchy. Therefore the organization in this

case can assess its entire staff to find potential staff

Michaels et al. (2001) attribute great importance to coaching as a part of the

new paradigms o development, backed by Thach (2002), they all agree on

the great influence the coaching has on effectiveness. Staff should be aware

of their strengths and the areas where they can excel in order to develop in

the best manner. Further, if there is no feedback given to highly talented

people there will be a chance of derailment and lack of practices might

become harmful to a business. Staff should have the feedback in order to let

them be aware of the areas that need to be improved. Coaching help

patching up these misinformed areas by providing the needed knowledge

along with support and guidance presented by a positive feedback.

Coaches‟ experience is the core of this process where storytelling is used

as a communicative approach. If followed, the process will add to the

popularity of the manager who will become much respected and likable

person when he or she can coach and relieve (Michaels et al., 2001).

23
Further, Michaels et al. (2001) believe that leaders, who brilliantly offer

fundamental development tools like coaching and feedback, should offer

them in both verbal and written forms. Adapting an assertive yet authentic

style, managers can direct ways of growth and improvement.

According to Frank, and Taylor (2004) the concept of Employee retention

says that the employer should try to preserve his/her desirable employees

and so they can achieve company‟s objectives. Herman (2005) discusses; a

retention plan that preserves redundant loss of human and intellectual

wealth this concept aims to guarantee the stability and productivity among

the workforce as well as cut the costs of employee turnover.

According to Herman‘s research, there are five reasons why people quit; all

of which depend on communicative factors except for the fifth one, which is

compensation. Most of people quit their jobs due to lack of positive

reinforcement and inspiring feedback from managers, which makes them

feel discouraged and unappreciated for their services. These theories are

backed up by Frank and Taylor (2004) and Benjamin (2003) they rank poor

management as the number one reason behind the employees leaving.

Frank (2004), most of the workforce does not engage itself which shows a

vivid relation to Talent Management where only the top talents are mostly

the engaged workforce in a firm. (Frank et al., 2004) engagement has been

developed from classic motivation theories. Intrinsic motivation was about

making someone doing something for its own sake and not in order to

receive a reward, which is in line with engagement (Frank et al., 2004).

24
Motivation is also a part of several definitions of Talent Management (e.g.

Heinen & O‟Neill, 2004; Schweyer, 2004)

Branham (2000) provided a survey that shows that pay ranks are lower on

the scale of employee commitment and incentive. However, Heinen and

O‟Neil (2004) point out the importance of rewards for Talent Management

practice. A fact is backed up by Branham‟s (2000) states that when pay

given according the performance of the employees, it acts like a powerful

stimulant for people who are apt to perform at high levels in the organization.

Arthur & Rousseau (1996), which is increasingly important. Life-long

employment in a single organisation is not anymore the prevailing career

pattern, as career mobility is no longer considered only within one‘s

organizational hierarchy. Each employee has a critical role in determining his

or her career path and success

Richard Palmer (2002) A structured route to the making most of the ―human

capital‖ in an organization by taking a holistic approach to staff

development and organizational success. With case studies and

techniques for developing the staff skill base at low cost the book is also

suited for these cost conscious times.

PANDIT Y V L (May 2007) Focusing on the challenge of attracting and

retaining talent faced by Indian HR mangers, the article outlines initiative that

can be put in place to help organization retain nurture and retain the talent.

25
Tony Davis (2007) Talented and ambitious people will only stay with

their current employer if they are offered positive development, motivation

and nurturing to ensure they are given every chance of realizing their

potential. This book shows how to manage the needs of the individual

employees and those of the organization in parallel.

Andrew Munro (2005) This text is a response to the increasing relevance

of proactive succession management but the widespread difficulty of making

it happen. The author focuses on the business realities of succession

management rather than provide a conceptualisation of how it might work

in principle.

Ashton & Morton (2005). Practicing TM as a strategic and value-adding

instrument means ―responding to strategic or environmental demands with

high quality HR practices.‖

Taylor (2007). TM should be embedded in the organizational culture and not

be something just the management of an organization attempts to do (Stahl

et al., 2007). In our opinion, when TM is embedded in the culture, it is more

likely to become something everyone in the organization stands for, which

also gives it a bigger chance to be successful. Also, we believe that

embedment of TM is important for the improvement of the organization:

when TM is embedded in the culture, it is not only about profit, but it will be

used as something to better the overall wellbeing and performance of the

organization, i.e. with TM, organizations attempt to gain more than just an

increase in profit. Profit is still important, but it is not the only goal. Therefore,

26
it should be seen as a mindset (i.e. talent-mindset), not just as a practice

(Duttagupta, 2005). This mindset should be embedded in the whole

organization. TM is the belief that talent can differentiate an organization

from others by its culture and can cause a competitive advantage, both for

the organization as well as the individual (Paquet & Rogers, 2008).

Coleman (2005) argues that TM is more than an HR process, since it

requires an integrated and holistic approach. Organizations should realise

that talent might remain hidden and dormant if it is not developed, even

though it can be seen as a natural ability. Organizations need to pay

attention to the subject as a separate issue and not just see it as leadership

development, which fits our elitist definition of talent. TM has also been used

interchangeably with ‗human capital management‘ (Taylor, 2007b). While the

concept of TM incorporates that an organization has to see its employees as

a valuable asset, TM is focused on the individual. In contrast, human capital

management has an aggregate view and is focused on the overall value of

human asset (Taylor, 2007b). We agree with the above, since our definition

of talent focuses on specific individuals, whereas human capital

management includes all employees. It is our stance that everyone can be

an asset, but not everyone is a talent.

RESEARCH GAPS

In this technological era, there was a bubble, which made the most talented

to shift from traditional to Information Technology. But, today they are

coming back to their old economy companies. This recession created a big

gap between the supply and demand of talent resulting in over-supply of

27
technical people in comparison with demand, and under-supply of multi-

talented work force over demand. This situation made organizations to move

towards poaching. To overcome this problem, companies have to follow the

best retention strategies. Another development that took place in recent

years was that of contract job opportunities, that is outsourcing. Here the

recruits may have the talent, but commitment will be less because of lack of

sense of belongingness.

The potential of talent management should not be ignored. A talent

management strategy will improve organizational performance through

better identifying, sourcing, developing, rewarding, motivating and retaining

the talent that keeps the firms ahead of competitors.

The following have been observed as the research gaps

 Financial and non-financial parameters to be considered in measuring

talent of the employee

 Neglect of the Organization Culture; Work-life balance of the employee is

not given due importance,

 Greater emphasis is laid on the top level managers and their retention

strategies. But, not much importance is given to the study of problems of

non-Executive Level Employees,

 There has been a larger degree of research about talent management in

the western context. Not much work has been done in Indian context.

28
Hence, this research particularly studies that how important is to manage the

talent. The only obession is to adapt proper talent management techniques

in an organization for effective utilization of resources & their best possible

efforts.

29
 Chapter- 3

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY & RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to find out the effect of Talent Management for the

middle – level employees in shipbuilding organization i.e ABG, Pipavav,

Bharati Shipyard. Secondly, the research focuses on the study the major effect

of recruitment on the middle - level employees of ABG, Pipavav, Bharati

Shipyard in creation of Human Capital which will ultimately result in company‘s

growth.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To understand the need of Talent management.

2. To understand the role of leadership in attracting, managing and

retaining talent.

3. To study the use of Talent Management in various functions of Human

Resource.

4. To identify various challenges of Talent Management.

5. To study the impact of talent management on the performance of an

organization with special reference to ABG, Pipapav, Bharati

shipbuilding industries

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A systematic study of methods having application within a discipline for

human activity with a aim of discover, interpret and revise knowledge.

Research is common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. “All

30
progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than over-confidence,

for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention.” Increased amount

of research make progress possible.

PRIMARY DATA

For the purpose of collection of primary data questionnaire was prepared.

Questionnaire was made for HR professionals & the employees involve with

the talent management in the organization.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

The researcher focused on a comprehensive set of workplace practices that

influence employee motivation, commitment and willingness and desire to

achieve at work. The researcher identified these practices and a deep

understanding of typical organizational programs to ensure that the

questionnaire covered the broadest spectrum of tangible and intangible

aspects of the work environment. As a result, the questionnaire included

items about the full range of rewards practices, leadership and management

effectiveness, communication, culture and attributes related to these tangible

and intangible aspects.

The talent management initiative is taken by the HR professionals but the

implication of this initiative is on the employees. By this questionnaire, the

researcher tried to find out the effectiveness of such talent management

initiative as well as the satisfaction level of the employees. Personal

approach, surveys, mails, telephonic discussions and meetings with different

employees of all the three Shipbuilding companies.

31
SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data such as internal to the firm HRD documents Papers and

external to the firm such as published dats or commercially available data.

Sources of Secondary Data are:

 Journals
 Research Papers
 News Papers
 Websites
 Magazines
 Books

SAMPLE SIZE: 250

A comparative study of talent management has been done in ABG Shipyard,

Pipavav Shipyard and Bharati Shipyard. The respondents were both senior

level managers as well middle level. Senior level managers include HR

managers and middle level includes executives. The sampling technique

was judgmental and the research tool are questionnaire.

STATISTICAL TOOLS:

Statistical Analysis has been done using Microsoft Excel.

32
 Chapter – 4
TALENT MANAGEMENT : DEFINITION

4.1 TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent management is a professional term that gained popularity in the

late 1990s. Talent management implies recognizing a person's inherent

skills, traits, personality and offering him a matching job. Every person has a

unique talent that suits a particular job profile and any other position will

cause discomfort. It is the job of the Management, particularly the HR

Department, to place candidates with prudence and caution. A wrong fit will

result in further hiring, re-training and other wasteful activities.

Talent management refers to the process of developing and integrating new

workers, developing and retaining current workers, and attracting highly

skilled workers to work for your company. The process of attracting and

retaining profitable employees, as it is increasingly more competitive

between firms and of strategic importance, has come to be known as "the

war for talent”.

The present scenario with abundant opportunities has triggered a wave of

employees, perpetually ―on the move‖, forever seeking better opportunities

whenever, wherever and however they can. What is behind the

restlessness of these hard to keep employees? By focusing on productivity,

organizations are realising that it is imperative to hire employees who

can do the job and be successful at it. The organization no longer wants to

just hire to hire, in fact they are striving to find the right people, bring

33
them into the organization and retain their services. One of the critical

functions of HR is a sound Human Resource Planning through which they

are able to project the demand for human resource and thereafter

formulate strategies for acquiring them.

As the leading HR heads of the country point out, the solution is not just

about finding the correct retention mechanisms, but it starts from the very

beginning by devising ways to acquire the right people for the right jobs.

DEFINING TALENT MANAGEMENT

A conscious, deliberate approach undertaken to attract, develop and retain

people with the aptitude and abilities to meet current and future

organizational needs.

Talent management involves individual and organizational development in

response to a changing and complex operating environment. It includes the

creation and maintenance of a supportive, people oriented organization

culture.

Traditionally, organizational growth has been enabled by hiring more people.

However, today‘s economic environment requires that the productivity of

existing workers increase before new headcount is considered.

Organizational growth has transformed from “quantity of talent” to

“quality of talent.” A term that has suffered from significant abuse and

misuse over the past few years, talent management is more adequately

defined as:

34
A continuous, integrated process that helps employers to:

 Effectively plan talent needs.

 Attract the very best talent.

 Speed time to productivity.

 Motivate the right behavior.

 Develop targeted capabilities and knowledge.

 Retain the highest performers.

 Enable talent mobility across the organization.

In short, Talent management is the integrated process of ensuring that an

organization has a continuous supply of highly productive individuals in the

right job, at the right time. Rather than a one-time event, talent management

is a continuous process that plans talent needs, builds an image to attract

the very process that plans talent needs, builds an image to attract the very

best, ensures that new hires are immediately productive, helps to retain the

very best, and facilitates the continuous movement of talent to where it can

have the most impact within the organization. The goal of the talent

management process is to increase overall workforce productivity through

the improved attraction, retention and utilization of talent.

The talent management strategy is superior not just because it focuses on

productivity, but also because it is forward looking and proactive, which

means that the organization is continuously seeking out talent and

opportunities to better utilize that talent. It produces excellent results

because it overcomes the major problem of traditional recruiting, which is

isolation. It instead integrates the previously independent functions of

35
recruiting retention, workforce planning, employment branding, metrics,

orientation and redeployment into a seamless process.

Talent Management is a strategic and holistic approach to both HR and

business planning or a new route to organizational effectiveness. This

improves the performance and the potential of people – the talent –

who can make a measurable difference to the organization now and in

future. And it aspires to yield enhanced performance among all levels in the

workforce, thus allowing everyone to reach his/her potential.

4.2 HISTORY

Talent management is a term that emerged in the 1990s to incorporate

developments in Human Resources Management which placed more of an

emphasis on the management of human resources or talent. The term was

coined by David Watkins of Softscape published in an article in 1998.

Many companies commit the mistake of putting an effort in attracting the

best employees but fritter away this valuable resource by not making any

effort to develop or retain them. Companies have initially thought of talent

management as a means to solve high employee turnover. In course of time

it has become part and parcel of the corporate strategy itself with a key

responsibility placed on the line managers. One cannot wish away the fact

that these managers have to play a pivotal role in nurturing the talents and

skills of those reporting to them.

A talent management system must be worked into the business strategy

and implemented in daily processes throughout the company as a whole. It

36
cannot be left solely to the human resources department to attract and retain

employees, but rather must be practiced at all levels of the

organization. The business strategy must include responsibilities for line

managers to develop the skills of their immediate subordinates. Divisions

within the company should be openly sharing information with other

departments in order for employees to gain knowledge of the overall

organizational objectives.

Companies that focus on developing their talent integrate plans and

processes to track and manage their employee talent, including the

following:

 Sourcing, attracting and recruiting qualified candidates with competitive

backgrounds.

 Managing and defining competitive salaries.

 Training and development opportunities.

 Performance management processes.

 Retention programs.

 Promotion and transitioning.

Talent management is also known as HCM (Human Capital Management),

HRIS (HR Information Systems) or HRMS (HR Management Systems), and

HR Modules.

4.3 HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Companies that engage in talent management (Human Capital

Management) are strategic and deliberate in how they source, attract,

37
select, train, develop, retain, promote, and move employees through the

organization. Employees touch every aspect of your business. It's time your

human capital management system supported all your employee

interactions. From recruitment to retirement, from stable economies to

rapidly changing environments, you need to track, manage, and analyze

employee programs, policies, and cost.

Human capital is vitally important for an organization's success (Crook et al.,

2011); human capital increases through education and experience.

Research done on the value of such systems implemented within

companies consistently uncovers benefits in these critical economic

areas: revenue, customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, cost, cycle

time, and market capitalization. The mindset of this more personal human

resources approach seeks not only to hire the most qualified and valuable

employees but also to put a strong emphasis on retention. Since the initial

hiring process is so expensive to a company, it is important to place the

individual in a position where his skills are being extensively utilized.

The major aspects of talent management practiced within an organization

must consistently include:

 Performance management

 Leadership development

 Workforce planning/identifying talent gaps

 Recruiting

38
This term "talent management" is usually associated with competency based

human resource management practices. Talent management decisions are

often driven by a set of organizational core competencies as well as

position- specific competencies. The competency set may include

knowledge, skills, experience, and personal traits (demonstrated through

defined behaviors). Older competency models might also contain attributes

that rarely predict success (e.g. education, tenure, and diversity factors

that are illegal to consider in relation to job performance in many

countries, and unethical within organizations).

4.4 FROM PERSONNEL TO STRATEGIC HR TO TM

To understand why Talent Management has become so important must look

at the evolution of corporate HR:

Stage 1: Personnel Department

In the 1970s and 1980s the business function which was responsible for

people was called "The Personnel Department." The role of this group was

to hire people, pay them, and make sure they had the necessary

benefits. The systems which grew up to support this function were batch

payroll systems. In this role, the personnel department was a well

understood business function.

Stage 2: Strategic HR

In the 1980s and 1990s organizations realized that the HR function was

infact more important - and the concepts of "Strategic HR" emerged. During

this period organizations realized that the VP of HR had a much

39
larger role: recruiting the right people, training them, helping the business

design job roles and organization structures (organization design), develop

"total compensation" packages which include benefits, stock options and

bonuses, and serving as a central point of communication for employee

health and happiness.

The "Head of Personnel" became the "VP of HR" and had a much more

important role in business strategy and execution. The systems which

were built up to support this new role include recruiting & applicant tracking

(ATS), portals, total compensation systems, and learning management

systems.

In this role, the HR department now became more than a business function:

it is a business partner, reaching out to support lines of business.

Source: (http://joshbersin.com/2007/06/01/talent-management)

Figure 4.4.1: Evolution Of HR Function

40
Stage 3: Talent Management

We are now entering a new era: the emergence of "Talent Management."

While strategic HR continues to be a major focus, HR and L&D

organizations are now focused on a new set of strategic issues:

o How can we make our recruiting process more efficient and effective by

using "competency-based" recruiting instead of sorting through

resumes, one at a time?

o How can we better develop managers and leaders to reinforce culture,

instill values, and create a sustainable "leadership pipeline?"

o How do we quickly identify competency gaps so we can deliver

training, e-learning, or development programs to fill these gaps?

o How can we use these gaps to hire just the right people?

o How do we manage people in a consistent and measurable way so that

everyone is aligned, held accountable, and paid fairly?

o How do we identify high performers and successors to key positions

throughout the organization to make sure we have a highly flexible,

responsive organization?

o How do we provide learning that is relevant, flexible, convenient, and

timely?

These new, more challenging problems require new processes and

systems. They require tighter integration between the different HR silos –

and direct integration into line of business management processes.

Today organizations are starting to buy, build, and stitch together

41
performance management systems, succession planning systems, and

competency management systems. The HR function is becoming integrated

with the business in a real-time fashion.

4.5 IMPORTANCE

GLOBALIZATION :- Now for any jobseeker the whole world is the potential

place to find employment. One can know the opportunities available in any

part of the world easily and the number of talent seekers has also increased.

INCREASED COMPETITION :- Increased competition in the market

place has necessitated the need for consistently good performance on

the side of organizations. These have made the companies to put in all

efforts to hire and retain the best talent in the respective field of operation.

INCREASING KNOWLEDGE :- The knowledge era has necessitated the

retaining of those talents which have the ability to assimilate new

technologies and knowledge, which are growing at a pace never seen

before. Talent management (TM) brings together a number of important

human resources (HR) and management initiatives. Quite often,

organizations adopting a TM approach will focus on coordinating and

integrating:

RECRUITMENT:- Ensuring the right people are attracted to the

organization.

RETENTION: - Developing and implementing practices that reward and

support employees.

42
EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT: - Ensuring continuous informal and formal

learning and development.

LEADERSHIP & "HIGH POTENTIAL EMPLOYEE" DEVELOPMENT :-

Specific development programs for existing and future leaders.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: - Specific processes that nurture and

support performance, including feedback/measurement.

WORKFORCE PLANNING: - Planning for business and general changes,

including the older workforce and current/future skills shortages.

CULTURE: - Development of a positive, progressive and high performance

"way of operating".

An important step is to identify the staff or employees (people and positions)

that are critical to the organization. They do not necessarily have to be

senior staff members. Many organizations lost a lot of "organizational

knowledge" in the downsizing exercises of a few years ago. The impact of

the loss was not immediately apparent. However, it did not take long for

many companies to realize their mistake when they did not have people

with the knowledge and skills to either anticipate or solve problems that

arose.

4.6 TALENT MANAGEMENT V/S TRADITIONAL HR APPROACH

Traditional HR systems approach people development from the perspective

of developing competencies in the organization. This can actually be a risk-

prone approach, especially for companies operating in fast evolving

43
industries, since competencies become redundant with time and new

competencies need to be developed. Thus, over time, the entire approach

to development of people might be rendered obsolete calling for rethinking

the entire development initiative.

Talent management on the other hand focuses on enhancing the potential

of people by developing capacities. Capacities are the basic DNA of an

organization and also of individual potential. In fact, the following

appropriately describes the role of talent management.

D N A

Point of Departure Navigation Point of Arrival

Translating Aligning individual Clear understanding of

organizational vision values and vision with the varied roles within
into goals and mapping organizational values the organization and
the required level of and vision. appreciation of the
capacities and value addition from self
competencies to & others leading to
achieve goals. building a culture of
trust, sharing & team
orientation.

44
 Assessment of talent Enhancing capacities Individual growth to
to profile the level of to learn, think relate meet and accept
capacities and set of and act through varied, incremental &
competencies development transformational roles
possessed within the initiatives. in an overall scenario
organization. of acknowledged need
for change.

Gap analysis and Helping individuals Developed individuals

identification of realize their full enabling break through
development path. potential through performance.
learning &
development.
Source: (Deloitte, 2005:1.)

Table 4.6.1: The role of talent management

Talent DNA serves as the foundation for talent management acting as the

common currency exchanged between each sub-process (performance,

learning, succession, compensation, etc.) The Talent DNA is composed of

three primary pieces:

1. Organizations must have meaningful descriptions of the capabilities

(skills, behaviors, abilities and knowledge) required throughout the

organization.

2. Organizations must be able to relate those skills and capabilities to a role

or a center of demand, such as a job position, project or leadership role.

45
3. Talent management processes must create a comprehensive profile of

their talent. They must be able to track meaningful talent related information

about all of their people - employees, contractors, or candidates.

With all three components working in concert, organizations can effectively

apply the Talent DNA to virtually any HR process that directly impacts ‖talent

supply and demand,‖ including recruiting, on boarding, staffing and

development.

The Talent DNA provides a mechanism to make accurate decisions on talent

needs—―have it, build it or buy it.‖ If needed skills and capabilities are

present internally, they can be redeployed. If not, a decision can be made to

either build these capabilities through learning and development, or buy

them in the form of hiring or outsourcing externally.

4.7 KEY COMPONENTS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TM

 A clear understanding of the organization‘s current and future business

strategies. Identification of the key gaps between the talent in place and

the talent required to drive business success.

 A sound talent management plan that is designed to close talent gaps

should also be integrated with strategic and business plans.

 Accurate hiring and promotion decisions.

 Connect individual and team goals to corporate goals, to provide clear

expectations and feedback for managing performance.

 Talent Development to enhance performance in current positions as well

as readiness for transition to the next level.

46
 A focus not just on the talent strategy itself, but the elements required for

successful execution.

 Business impact and workforce effectiveness measurement during and

after implementation.

Talent management is not about finding the best and the brightest, it is about

creating the right fit both for today and tomorrow. A rightly managed talent

turns out to be inexhaustible and priceless; it will keep on adding value to the

organization. Innominds is soon turning out to be a hub of talented people.

4.8 TALENT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

As the economy turns around, talent managers are increasingly

concerned about retaining and engaging employees. Having a simple

conversation about career aspirations could be all it takes to keep them on

board.

"A lot of the research suggests that the relationship between managers and

employees is one of the centerpieces for engagement and retention, ―said

Caela Farren, president of Mastery Works. "Having those conversations

certainly builds those bridges and lets employees feel known,

appreciated and valued. The deeper the relationship between managers

and their direct reports, the higher the performance.

"Farren said there are five fundamental reasons why employees become

disengaged or leave a company:

1. Lack of partnership or trust with managers.

47
2. Lack of career opportunities and challenging work.

3. Lack of work-life balance.

4. Lack of career fit.

5. Lack of passion for the mission or strategies of the organization.

Farren recommended engaging employees in conversations that focus

on career aspirations to identify these problems before they become

serious. Typical questions a manager should ask an employee include: What

do you love to do? What are you really good at? What do you enjoy in

your work? What are your career goals and your short- and long-term

aspirations?

"When you begin to hear [answers], you really are listening for

opportunities," Farren said. "[You start] knowing their aspirations,

knowing what they want to learn [and] what they think is important that they

need to learn - whether it's a new computer program, a language or a new

competency. Once you know that as a manager, you can begin to look for

opportunities, mentors or projects where that learning is much more

possible.

"One of the [questions] I really like to ask my employees is: 'What's

missing in the organization and where do [you] want to contribute more

fully?' Because that usually ties what their real strengths and talents are with

what their goals are, as well as with the needs of the organization, so that's a

win-win.

48
"Managers could find that it doesn't take much more to engage and retain

employees than learning about their employees‘ aspirations and finding

opportunities to fit those objectives.

"As managers get wiser about opening those doors and windows and

making it easier for people, what they find is that people stay there, that they

don't leave, that they actually stay because of opportunities," she said.

In addition to having career conversations, Farren also made the following

recommendations to retain employees:

1. FOCUS ON OPPORTUNITIES. "Really show them other options within

the organization - lateral moves they could make, ways to learn what

it is that they want to learn - and really be their advocate to make

those things happen."

2. PROVIDE MENTORING. "Hook them to mentors who are aligned

with [their] goals, whether it's to learn a competency or a language, be on a

project or move to a different part of the country."

3. RAISE THEIR PROFILE. "Help them become more visible in the

organization. Provide opportunities to meet leaders [and] customers, to

attend project meetings or be part of projects so they're actually

increasing [their] visibility and building their networks."

4. ACT AS AN ADVOCATE. "Support their goals, even if it does mean [they

will be] moving on in the organization or moving out of the organization."

49
5. OPEN THE DOOR TO INNOVATION. "Create a more innovative work

environment, where red tape is less important and good ideas, new

ideas, breakthrough ideas are critical, and reward that. People are

looking for the opportunity to contribute and innovate."

50
 Chapter – 5

TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

5.1 TALENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The old cliché - no resource is more important than your people - still

holds true today…well, that and cash flow!. You cannot afford to ignore

talent management in your organization today, if you wish to stay in

business tomorrow.

Organizations are made up of people: people creating value through

proven business processes, innovation, customer service, sales, and many

other important activities. As an organization strives to meet its business

goals, it must make sure that it has a continuous and integrated process

for recruiting, training, managing, supporting, and compensating these

people.

The followingchart shows the complete process:

Source: (http://joshbersin.com/2007/07/16/what-is-talent-management)

Figure 5.1.2 : Talent Management Process

51
1. WORKFORCE PLANNING : Integrated with the business plan, this

process establishes workforce plans, hiring plans, compensation

budgets, and hiring targets for the year.

2. RECRUITING : Through an integrated process of recruiting,

assessment, evaluation, and hiring the business brings people into the

organization.

3. ON BOARDING: The organization must train and enable employees to

become productive and integrated into the company more quickly.

4. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: By using the business plan,

organization establishes processes to measure and manage employees.

This is a complex process in itself.

5. TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE SUPPORT: Of course this is a

critically important function. Here we provide learning and development

programs to all levels of the organization. This function itself is evolving

into a continuous support function.

6. SUCCESSION PLANNING: As the organization evolves and changes,

there is a continuous need to move people into new positions. Succession

planning, a very important function, enables managers and individuals to

identify the right candidates for a position. This function also must be

aligned with the business plan to understand and meet requirements for

key positions 3-5 years out. While this is often a process reserved for

52
managers and executives, it is more commonly applied across the

organization.

7. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: Clearly this is an integral part

of people management. Here organizations try to tie the compensation plan

directly to performance management so that compensation, incentives, and

benefits align with business goals and business execution.

8. CRITICAL SKILLS GAP ANALYSIS: This is a process we identify as an

important, often overlooked function in many industries and organizations.

While often done on a project basis, it can be ―business-critical." For

example, today industries like the Federal Government, Utilities,

Telecommunications, and Energy are facing large populations which are

retiring. How do you identify the roles, individuals, and competencies which

are leaving? What should you do to fill these gaps? We call this "critical

talent management" and many organizations are going through this now.

5.2 FEATURES OF TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Key features of talent management strategy include the following elements:

1) ALIGNMENT TO CORPORATE STRATEGY

Ensuring that the talent strategy is closely aligned with the corporate

strategy must be a priority. In developing a talent strategy, both internal

and external factors should be taken into account, including factors

influencing talent management. Strategic analysis from the business

perspective should fed into an HR forecast which can help shape an

organization‘s tailored approach to talent management. Often organizations

53
are at different stages of talent management strategy development.

Research suggests that for a number of organization‘s there was a desire to

progress through the stages highlighted in following figure making the

transition to a more formal, strategically- integrated approach.

Inclusive versus Exclusive Approaches:

Some organizations adopt an inclusive approach to talent management

creating a ―whole workforce‖ approach to engagement and talent

development, while others develop a more exclusive focus segmenting

talent according to need. Regardless of which approach organizations

adopt, fairness and consistency must be applied in all talent management

processes. Diversity considerations must also be built-into talent

management processes to ensure that organizations are able to draw from

the widest pools of talent possible.

54
Source: (HRM Review, Talent Management (October 2008) The ICFAI
University Press)

Figure 5.2.1: Stages of Development of Talent Strategy

2) INVOLVING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Careful considerations need to be paid to involving the right stakeholders in

the talent management strategy. Clearly, HR specialists have an important

role to play in providing support and guidelines in the design and

development of approaches to talent management that will fit the needs of

the organization.

Visible senior- level support is a must and a talent panel is a useful means of

ensuring the involvement of Directors and senior management, especially

when it has representation across the organization. Additionally, line

manager‘s support is important at every stage of the process. Line

55
managers must take responsibility for managing performance, identifying

and developing talent in their own areas but also need to be encouraged to

see talent rather than a local resource.

Participants on talent management schemes are also important stakeholders

in the process and should be consulted and asked for feedback in

shaping development processes.

3) FOCUSING ON THE TALENT MANAGEMENT LOOP

It is also important to focus attention on the four areas of the talent

management loop,detailed in following figure.

Source: (HRM Review, Talent Management (October 2008) The ICFAI

University Press)

Figure 5.2.2 : The talent management loop

ATTRACTING TALENT:

The ability to attract external talent depends upon how potential

applicants view the organization, the industry or sector it operates in

56
and whether they share the values of that organization. The creation of an

attractive employer brand is an important factor in attracting external

talent. Where needed, lower financial rewards can be countered with

alternative benefits and employer values such as social responsibility.

DEVELOPING TALENT:

Talent development should be linked to other learning and development

initiatives. Appropriate learning and development interventions are required

at relevant stages in a career path for talented individuals to achieve

their maximum potential. Developing talent needs informal as well as

formal learning interventions. These interventions will include

conventional development activities but there is also the opportunity to

use creative alternatives such as talent coaching and mobility.

MANAGING TALENT:

Active steps, plans and activities are needed to retain and engage talent

required for the future health of the organization. Investment in

management, leadership and other development activities will positively

impact on talent retention. Organizations should develop a performance

culture where individuals take responsibility for the continuous

improvement of business processes and their own skill development.

TRACKING AND EVALUATING TALENT MANAGEMENT:

Evaluation of talent management is difficult but necessary to ensure that the

investment is meeting organizational needs. Evaluation requires both

quantitative and qualitative data which is valid, reliable and robust.

57
5.3 TALENT POOL

Strategy of talent management is aimed at ensuring a fund of highly

talented, competent, committed and loyal individuals able to contribute to

achieving the current as well as future organization's requirements, a so-

called talent-pool. Three basic groups of processes leading to ensuring an

adequate talent pool is a practical outcome of talent management strategy. It

is acquisition, development and retention of talents. Each of these processes

includes in itself a whole number of related activities, a number of particular

elements. Organizations differ in ways of how they manage their talents.

The ideal approach is to interlink all activities or at least most of them, which

is what some organizations are really striving.

TALENTS ACQUISITION
The first step the organization has to take is to identify key roles. In

connection with that the organization has to assess whether there are

available employees with key competencies who will be needed in the future

in dependency with business strategy. As long as it has not sufficient

existing resources then it has to find these talents. It may identify them

among its present employees, from the internal resources or obtain them

from the external resources, from labor market, by transferring of talents

from competitive firms, from other branches, scouting of talents among

employees who have got research fellowship in the organization, by scouting

for talented individuals among students or graduates, by direct addressing

the chosen individuals, by means of the Internet, specialized agencies and

the like. The identification of talents is made on the basis of assessment of

58
their current performance and a forecast of their potential. Performance

appraisal is the measurement of actually achieved results within those

areas for which the specified individual is responsible, and/or competencies

understood as critical for the success of performed work as well as of the

entire organization.

A forecast of potential is a prognosis for how many levels within the

organization an employee can advance on the basis of their past/current

performance appraisal, training and development, preferences in their

careers and the current and planned levels of competencies. There are a

number of methods the organization can use for performance appraisal and

a forecast of employees' potential both from the internal and external

sources i.e. methods serving to the identification of talents. For a certain

type of employee it is always necessary to choose such kinds and

combinations that would lead both to performance appraisal and a forecast

of potential. It is not possible to rely on one method only. It should also be

born in mind that first it is necessary to know the criteria of identification and

only then we can choose methods.

Talents from own sources are usually sought for through a working system

of regular appraisal within which a number of methods are utilized. To the

most used methods belong the method of assessment according to set

objectives (MBO --- Management by Objectives), assessment centre, the

analysis of critical events, and a 360º feedback. In order to identify talents

from the external sources the tests of fitness, a method of assessment

centre and behavioral (competent) talks can be used.

59
After performance appraisal and a potential forecast, the very group of

talented employees is specified - a talent-pool is formed. Individuals meeting

in advance determined criteria can be jointly indicated as talents or this

group of talented individuals can be furthermore divided into three groups -

top talents, talents and potential talents. It always depends on the

organization and its approach to the classification of talents.

High
TALENT TOP
TALENT

Appraisal
POTENTIAL
TALENT
Low

Low Potential High

Source: (http://www.management-issues.com/2006/8/24/research/talent-a-
breed-apart-.asp)
Figure 5.3.1: Classifications of Talents

TALENTS DEVELOPMENT

In the area of organization's development, the talents should be offered a

chance of improving their strong points, individual overall performance as

well as particular competencies, and deepening of their motivation. The

organization should also enable them to advance in their career. A special

development program should be worked out for the talents, and in

60
close cooperation with their managers it should be implemented. That

program may encompass a combination of various methods, activities or

instruments of development always according to the specific needs of a

concrete organization. The methods in question are both methods on-the-job

and methods off-the-job. A greater emphasis is laid on methods used for

education at a workplace but, of course, both groups of methods are used.

According to the experience from many companies that have already applied

talent management, the most efficient way of talent development are

methods of on-the-job or learning directly at a workplace, mainly cross-

training and the involvement in projects with the support of a manager,

couch or mentor. Programs of talent development are very closely

connected with career planning and succession planning. They provide

talents with opportunities to grow in their current job roles and to move

forward to the roles of a higher level

TALENTS RETENTION

Also activities ensuring retention and stabilization of talents in the

organization are inseparable part of talent management. Talented individuals

should not leave the organization because their departures have usually

extraordinary impact on organization's operation, which is irrelevant to their

number. Among factors influencing talents retention in the organization there

are the offer of interesting and valued work, ensuring opportunities for

education and development, and professional advancement, respecting a

balance between professional and private life, the offer of a flexible work

role, the offer of a quality work conditions and equipment, provision of sense

61
of recognition and respect, the offer of adequate remuneration and recently

also gaining grounds for organization's social responsibility approach. The

above-mentioned facts create for a talented individual a valuable offer

marking that sound values will be observed in the organization employees

can expect good leadership, freedom and autonomy, highly incentive work,

opportunities for professional advancement in their career and adequate

remuneration.

5.4 APPLICATION OF TM IN CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITION

The current economic conditions demand a cut in the expenses.

Unfortunately enough for talent management though organizations and

leadership is all praise for it on papers, the same is neglected as seen as a

cost center when it comes to implementation. In wake of the economic

recession human resource professionals are under huge pressure to cut

costs. Logically this is best time to validate the importance of talent

management. Hiring and compensating the best talent in the industry

optimally and ensuring performance at the same time. The question that

remains is ‗what exactly is the relevance in the current economic

conditions‘? Before trying to answer lets ponder on certain key issues.

 Aging workforce is another area of concern that has created vacuums in

organizations leadership positions.

 Organizations also report shortage of talent business line managers.

All this has opened up avenues for HR professionals for vindicating their

stand on talent management and once organizations understand that they

62
need an integrated approach to talent management, the involvement of a top

executive is important for driving success. The top executive who now heads

the talent management function is responsible for activities like succession

planning, leadership development, career development, performance

management, learning and development, recruitment etc. Having said this

we again arrive upon the question of relevance.

DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP POOL: Succession planning and leadership

development are two issues that have felt a sense of urgency after the

recent economic downturn. Organizations have been seeking leadership

positions to rescue them out of crisis.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: After succession planning and

leadership development, performance management comes next on the list.

Without a thorough and standard way to measure performance it is not

possible to promote right people to right positions and motivate them to

perform for organizational growth and development.

RECRUITMENT ASSUMES SIGNIFICANCE: Recruitment becomes

strategic so to say. Recruitment practices determine organizational

effectiveness. In a tight labor market it a daunting task to attract the brightest

talent towards your organization and then getting them onboard. Internet has

become an important source of external recruiting. Systems and standards

have been laid down for the same. Here building an employer brand is

important. Those who do, get right people onboard.

63
SKILL BASED MANPOWER PLANNING: Manpower planning is a strategic

HR process these days. Instead of a mere headcount based hiring;

manpower planning now extends to the locating critical skills, roles and

responsibilities and then ascertaining current and future talent needs for

those roles. These are vital processes that optimize the performance of the

human capital management. What is required is to ensure that they are

consistent in order to ascertain they meet the business objectives.Talent

management is in its nascent stage, there are still more processes that will

be added in due course of time as organizations opt for more initiatives in

the direction.

5.5 TALENT DIMENSIONS

Talent Dimensions is an analysis of the strategic context for talent and the

overall goals for the organization. It defines the approach, solutions and

developmental support needed. Finding, attracting, developing, retaining and

transitioning talent are the primary drivers of success in business and since

1996, Dimensions has assisted hundreds of companies in meeting these

challenges. Whether to outsource entire human resources function or need

proven expertise in leadership development, training, coaching, recruiting,

compensation or any of the other areas of talent management.

Each of the six dimensions contains many distinct practices

Talent management Description

Dimensions
Develop Strategy Establishing the optimal long-term strategy for
attracting, developing, connecting and
deploying the workforce.

64
 Attract and Retain Sourcing, recruiting and holding onto the
appropriate skills and capabilities, according
to business needs.
Motivate & Develop Verifying that people's capabilities are
understood & developed to match business
requirements, while also meeting people's
needs for motivation, development and job
satisfaction.
Deploy and Manage Providing effective resource deployment,
scheduling & work management that match
skills and experience with organizational
needs.
Connect and Enable Identifying individuals with relevant skills,
collaborating, sharing knowledge,and working
effectively in virtual settings

Source: (http://www.fasset.org.za/downloads/talentmngarticle.pdf)

Figure 5.5.1 Talent Dimensions

5.6 CHALLENGES OF TALENT MANAGEMENT

The vivacious nature of business is putting an ever-increasing pressure on

companies to be constantly on the lookout for incomparable talent in a

market where demand far exceeds supply. Given the current focus on the

linkage between talent and an organization‘s business challenges and

strategies, effective strategy execution requires sufficient numbers of the

right people with the right skills and knowledge, in the right roles. Pressing

business necessities, such as increasing turnover as the economy improves,

globalization of markets and labour forces, aggressive competition and

65
heightened corporate oversight, have intensified the need to acquire,

develop, deploy, motivate and retain key talent.

Getting the right people with the right skills into the right jobs, a common

definition of talent management is the basic people management challenge

in organizations. While the focus of talent management tends to be on

management and executive positions, the issues apply to all jobs that are

hard to fill. This has made talent management one of the most pressing

issues.

Business success relies on successful talent management. If a hospital

executive can't find nurses, a retail store executive can't develop and

engage store managers, or a lab director can't keep great scientists, they will

have difficulty meeting their organization's strategic business objectives.

The challenges of finding, keeping, developing, and motivating people in key

positions are precisely what progressive HR professionals should be

focusing on. These managers face ongoing talent management challenges

that are critical to their achieving business goals.

66
The main challenges are as shown in figure

Source: (http://joshbersin.com/2007/06/01/talent-management-changes-hr)

Figure 5.6.1 Challenges in Talent Management

The challenge of talent management has two facets to it. First is how to find

new people and second is how to retain the present workforce. Each of the

challenges has to be tackled in the most efficient way possible so

that the organization can achieve its objectives.

THE FIRST CHALLENGE - Where to find new talent?

All the organizations are finding loads of business opportunities and

consequently, their revenues are growing at a rapid pace. The

increasing business opportunities has necessitated that these organizations

go in for massive recruitment. But, the question is where to find the best

talent which is able to fit the job description and also adjust to the

67
organization‘s values and norms. If we scan the environment, we find

there is a shortage of skilled workforce that can be employed.

Some of the possible reasons that have led to the shortage are: -

DEMOGRAPHIC CONSTRAINTS: This is a common problem faced by

many of the developed countries, where a large chunk of its population is

nearing the age of retirement or is over 50 years. USA, Germany and Japan

are facing the same problem. All these countries will see a decline in their

workforce and talent. In the coming years, they will see a great shortage in

their skilled professionals.

EXISTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: The graduates and the post-

graduates that are being churned out of the universities are found to be ill-

equipped to handle the challenges of the workplace. They are mostly

equipped with only the theoretical aspects of the issues and lack the

application part. The educational system is faulty and does not take

industry needs into consideration, resulting in a mismatch between industry

requirements and educational preparation.

COST FACTOR: Recruiting new employees is becoming tougher and

tougher in the developing countries, where the HR department has to

sort out thousands of applications for a handful of jobs. Finding right

person for the right job becomes a very difficult process. It also involves

very high cost to conduct the recruitment and selection process for such

a large population of applicants.

68
ATTRACTING THE BEST TALENT: This is another challenge. As was the

case in the past, the best available talent is not just motivated by the name

and fame of the organization. Not anymore. They have a new set of

motivators like - challenging work, conductive work environment and

freedom from bureaucratic structure.

THE SECOND CHALLENGE - How to retain the existing employees?

Gone are the days when a person would join an organization in his mid-20s

and would work till his retirement in the late-50s. Today the young

professionals hop jobs, especially during the first 4-5 years of their work life.

Though the Indian service industry is basking in the light of outsourced

jobs from the developed countries, they also cannot ignore the fact that

the BPO industry is also facing one of the highest attrition rates, in

fact never heard before in India, of around 35%. It is a fact that its the

people that add value to organizations. It is also a fact that humans are a

restless species who, unlike the immovable Banyan Tree, cannot stay

rooted in one place. People need to move on for one reason or another,

and the organization stands to lose. Let us look at some of the reasons

behind the massive attrition rates: -

Gap between organizational values and goals and the personal values and

goals is one of the major reasons of the attrition rates. If they go parallel,

there is no way both would be satisfied and inevitably, the organization

would lose out on a talented employee. Working environment is another

major factor. Employees in the knowledge era demand creative and a

democratic work environment. Failure on the part of the management to

69
provide such an environment will result in a talented employee leaving the

organization. The competitive world has made sure that there is high work

pressure on the employees of any organization. This has led to

psychological problems like stress, and in extreme situations, total

burnouts. It also leads to other health related problems.

Movement for higher salary is also common among the younger

professionals. There is no shortage for organizations who are looking for

talented employees and who are ready to shell out a hefty salary for a

talented person. Other lures like better job opportunities, higher posts and

overseas assignments are also major factors in the attrition rates. Not taking

proper care during the recruitment and selection process and not taking

proper care to fit the right person to the right job also breeds dissatisfaction

among the employees.

Bad or opaque policies from management on issues of succession

planning and promotion, appointments for senior positions also is a major

factor which makes the organization lose out on the talented employees.

The professionals have different aspirations at different times of their

career. During the initial years, they have good salary and foreign

assignments. Next on the list is working on cutting edge technology.

More seasoned professionals look for learning opportunities. So employees

tend to move to those organizations which provide them with means to fulfill

their aspirations.

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Retaining the present employees is of the foremost importance to the

organizations because; the company would have already incurred heavy

costs in the form of training and development. Now if the organization has to

look for a replacement for the employee who has left, it involves a lot of

costs like – hiring costs, training costs and the induction costs. Also it takes

some time for the new employee to adjust to the new work environment.

During this time the productivity of the employee will be low.

The HR department will have to fit the new employee into a proper role in

the organization. Apart from causing the company a monetary loss and

breaks in their day-to-day operations, attrition contributes to knowledge

transfer, which is a great loss and adversely affects business. As one

leader commented, "Habits of mind are the real barriers to talent

management."

5.7 IT STARTS WITH A TALENT MINDSET

The first thing leaders need to understand is that better talent management

does not come from having better HR processes or a better HR department.

It comes mostly from having leaders and managers at all levels who

embrace a talent mindset.

A talent mindset is a deep-seated belief that having better talent at all levels

allows your company to outperform its competitors. It‘s the recognition that

better talent pulls all the other performance levers. These beliefs give

leaders the determination to strengthen their talent pool and the courage to

take bold actions to do so.

71
Leaders with a talent mindset make talent management a top priority for

themselves and their leadership teams They understand that it can‘t be

delegated, so they commit a major part of their time and energy to

strengthening their talent pool and helping others in the company strengthen

theirs. They see talent management as a central and critical part of their own

job as a leader.

Greg Summe is one leader who has a strong talent mindset. Summe took

over as the CEO of Perkin Elmer, the Boston-based engineering firm, in

1998, and has achieved a remarkable transformation of that company in the

three years since, including a dramatic strengthening of the talent among his

top 100 managers.

When reflecting on the tripling of the company‘s stock price that resulted

from the turnaround effort, Summe says, ―If it hadn‘t been for our focus on

talent management, it wouldn‘t have worked. I would have gotten less than

half of the results we saw in the first year and even less going forward.‖ He

adds, ―People were my number-one issue three years ago. They are my

number-one issue now. And people will be my number-one issue three years

from now.‖

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 OLD MINDSET ABOUT NEW TALENT MINDSET
PEOPLE

A vague notion that ―people are our A deep conviction that better talent
most impotrtant assest‖. leads to better corporate
performance.

HR is responsible for people All managers are accountable for

management. strengthing their talent pool.

We have a two-day succession Talent management is a central part

planning exercise once a year. of how we run the company.

I work with the people i inherit. I take bold actions to build the talent
pool i need.

Source: (Adapted from Elizabeth Axelrod, Helen Handfield-Jones, & Timothy

Welsh.2001. The War on Talent, Part two McKinsey Quarterly)

Table no. 5.7.1 Talent Mindset

5.8 MANAGE TALENT

As the economy begins to show signs of improvement, many businesses are

worried about losing their most talented employees. While an employer‘s

impulse might be to demand higher productivity as the economic

environment improves, they should be considering how training and

incentives can keep some of their best performing team members happy.

Rewarding employees for sticking through the bad times, and giving them

time to gain momentum is the best way of ensuring their loyalty. Talent

management is about more than finding and keeping the right people. It‘s

also about making smart decisions that benefit both your workforce and your

organization.

73
While there is no magic formula to manage talent, the trick is to locate it &

encourage it. Talent Management is beneficial to both the organization and

the employees. The organization benefits from: Increased productivity and

capability; a better linkage between individuals' efforts and business goals;

commitment of valued employees; reduced turnover; increased bench

strength and a better fit between people's jobs and skills. Employees benefit

from: Higher motivation and commitment; career development; increased

knowledge about and contribution to company goals; sustained motivation

and job satisfaction.

So, how does an organization effectively manage talent?

RECOGNISE TALENT: Notice what do employees do in their free time and

find out their interests. Try to discover their strengths and interests. Also,

encourage them to discover their own latent talents. For instance, if an

employee in the operations department convincingly explains why he thinks

he's right even when he's wrong, consider moving him to sales!

ATTRACTING TALENT: Good companies create a strong brand identity

with their customers and then deliver on that promise. Great employment

brands do the same, with quantifiable and qualitative results. As a result, the

right people choose to join the organization.

SELECTING TALENT: Management should implement proven talent

selection systems and tools to create profiles of the right people based on

the competencies of high performers. It's not simply a matter of finding the

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"best and the brightest," it's about creating the right fit - both for today and

tomorrow.

RETAINING TALENT: In the current climate of change, it's critical to hold

onto the key people. These are the people who will lead the organization to

future success, and you can't afford to lose them. The cost of replacing a

valued employee is enormous. Organizations need to promote diversity and

design strategies to retain people, reward high performance and provide

opportunities for development.

MANAGING SUCCESSION: Effective organizations anticipate the

leadership and talent requirement to succeed in the future. Leaders

understand that it's critical to strengthen their talent pool through succession

planning, professional development, job rotation and workforce planning.

They need to identify potential talent and groom it.

CHANGE ORGANISATION CULTURE: Ask yourself, "Why would a talented

person choose to work here?" If the organization wishes to substantially

strengthen its talent pool, it should be prepared to change things as

fundamental as the business strategy, the organization structure, the culture

and even the calibre of leaders in the organization.

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Source: (Ashton, C., & Morton, L. (2005). Managing talent for competitive
advantage. CRF Publishing, 4(5), 28-31)

Figure 5.8.1 Managing Core Talents

A rightly managed talent turns out to be a Gold Mine. It's inexhaustible and

priceless. It will keep supplying wealth and value to the organization.

In turn, Management needs to realize its worth, extract it, polish it and utilize

it. Don't hoard Talent- spend it lavishly, like a millionaire flashing his luxuries,

because Talent is Wealth!

We all have natural talents--those inherent capabilities that put us in "the

zone" when it comes to performance. Everyone isn't a manager. But

everyone is a performer when they're in the right role at the right time for the

right reasons.

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 Chapter – 6
TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

6.1 BUILDING SUCCESSFUL TM STRATEGY

Talent management strategies are ways to attract and retain the very best,

highest skilled workers that your company can. Much more than simply a

human resource responsibility, all of the department managers in a company

must focus on developing great talent management strategies in order to

ensure that a business stays competitive in the market place.

Understanding what constitutes an effective, actionable talent strategy and

how to execute that strategy is the first step towards implementing a

successful talent management program. A good talent strategy should

support the "basic engine" that keeps an organization running day-to-day, as

well as address the strategic challenges to position the company for future

growth.

IMPROVE

Control
Understand

Measure

If u can‘t measure it, u can‘t understand it.

If u can‘t understand it, u can‘t control it.
If u can‘t control it, u can‘t improve it. ------ James Harrington

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Every company has some form of talent strategy – it is simply a matter of

whether the strategy is effective, implicit or explicit, and how formalized it is.

A good talent strategy is about alignment, focus, efficiency and

effectiveness, and should affirmatively answer the following questions:

Is the talent strategy properly aligned with a well-defined business

strategy?

Are all talent efforts clearly focused on the business strategy?

Are the efforts efficient at spending resources and effective at meeting

specific talent needs and goals?

Many organizations are talking about talent management but relatively few

are implementing it systematically. Finding and holding on to talented people

has become a preoccupation of both HR and the board, but who is really

responsible for talent management? What does HR and the board need to

do to embed talent management in the business?

Here are top tips on managing talent:

1. IDENTIFY TALENT REQUIREMENTS

New research has shown that there is too much focus on ‗talented‘

individuals rather than identifying talent requirements across the whole

organisation. HR needs to go back to the beginning and define job roles,

ensuring both the workforce and business structure are assisted. Make sure

your talent management strategies support your business objectives rather

than a specific demand, a product launch for example. Remember to look at

the bigger picture.

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2. RETAIN TALENT

It is easy to focus on finding talent but don‘t forget to ensure you also look

after the talent once it‘s in the business. Providing a consistent procedure to

recognise staff performance and making sure employees have clear and

regular access to their performance objectives is essential.

3. GAIN BOARD LEVEL BUY-IN

Effective talent management is a critical business goal for all leading

organizations in today‘s economy. It is essential that business managers

recognise that workforce and talent management can directly impact a

company‘s profit and give them a competitive edge. Talent management

won‘t be a success if it‘s seen purely as an HR initiative. To be truly

effective, it will need senior management buy-in, but also buy-in from a

range of other stakeholders.

4. WORK WITH LINE MANAGERS

HR needs to work closely with line managers to ensure employees are

motivated, productive and want to stay in the business. But managers often

feel personal development tasks take their attention away from what they

are actually rewarded for. It is vital that these two functions understand each

other and work in partnership together. Take the time to explain why and

how talent strategies can constructively impact a business, and give the line

more accountability for the schemes.

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5. GET MEASURING

In order to show that talent management can impact the business positively

you will need to effectively measure it. HR must therefore look at what data

is collected and, more importantly, why? Is there a clear rationale behind

data collection or has it simply evolved? Is it possible to build a talent map of

the business from the data, highlighting areas of expertise and talent

deficits?

6. BE CREATIVE

When attracting top people to your organisation look outside of HR for

inspiration and enlist the use of different marketing methods. Investing in

employer branding can improve communication channels and help create,

maintain or refresh your company culture. Consider that an influential brand

can connect with employees and gain their buy-in for your future business

direction. Try new channels in which to engage with them. For example

social media is an important and interesting tool to help you recruit and you

will also be able to reach those who are not necessarily seeking new job

opportunities but wouldn‘t necessarily turn them down.

7. INNOVATIVE REWARD PACKAGES

Success in attracting and retaining the ‗noughties‘ generations will come

from innovative development and reward packages that are tailored to the

general trends in attitudes and values. There is now a need for more

personal and individualised packages. The world is made up of different

people and different priorities and for HR it‘s essential to remain receptive to

that.

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8. TALENT BANKS

You should be looking to build collections of talent before or after

recruitment. Talent banks operate where an organization identifies and

attracts potential recruits before they‘re required, as candidates often

emerge who are clearly desirable and interested in the organization but

there may not be a suitable current opening.

9. JOB ROTATION AND ENRICHMENT

Deployment is an important aspect of talent management, and job rotation

and job enrichment are vital aspects of experiential learning in becoming a

leader. Many organizations use secondments within the UK and/or

internationally to grow talent internally. Lack of employee mobility can affect

deployment of talent and can lead to employee engagement and

commitment problems later on.

10. ALIGNMENT WITH SUCCESSION PLANNING

Both succession planning and talent management are dynamic processes

occurring in changing times. Succession planning needs to be aligned with

HR initiatives including talent management. Lack of alignment can cause

problems, such as having a transparent talent management process and a

secretive succession planning process.

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6.2 TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY STEPS

Source: (Bergeron. C. (2004) Build a talent strategy yo achieve your desired

business results. Handbook of Business Strategy, 133-139)

Figure 6.2.1 Talent Management Strategy Steps

STEP 1: AN ENTERPRISE-WIDE VIEW OF READINESS

Start from current position… with the end in mind

Develop a clear perspective; involve the HR team, C-level executives,

business unit leads and managers. Answer key questions about the

organization‘s current state, culture, and desired state.

These might cover: Organisation statements

Mission statement: why the company exists

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 Corporate values: beliefs and how the company behaves

Vision: what the company wants to be

Strategy: business goals/objectives and competitive advantage

Balanced scorecard: how the company executes and monitors the plan.

How these statements and goals cascade through business units, divisions,

market segments and departments?

Which jobs/roles and skills are needed to support company statements,

performance and encourage innovation?

Which criteria the organization can use to measure performance and to

identify both high performers and underachievers?

Then, decide what the organization should look like - in terms of leadership,

capabilities and structure – to achieve these aims and goals. This defines

the desired state for performance, competitive position and profitability. Next,

examine any talent management components already in place. Analyse how

well each component is working. Document your organization‘s talent

management priorities based on organization goals, related talent

requirements and the analysis of existing talent management processes and

systems.

STEP 2: EMPLOYEE COMPETENCIES: ROADMAP TO THE FUTURE

With the inputs from Step 1, define the competencies desired by the

organization. Consider identifying specific competencies desired in these

three categories:

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CORE COMPETENCIES: Qualities & behaviours desired for all employees,

examples include accountability, conflict management, flexibility, problem

solving, reliability, communication, etc.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES: Qualities & behaviours desired for

supervisors, managers & executives. These attributes and responsibilities

might include entrepreneurship, managing people, partnering, vision,

situational leadership, strategic thinking.

JOB-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES: Skills, knowledge, abilities and

behaviours. Associate these competencies with specific roles and job

positions. Establish the proficiency levels required for each competency. Use

this to create a competency profile for each job.

STEP 3: GAP ANALYSIS - HOW DO WE GET THERE FROM HERE?

Getting “there” means first getting clear about “there.”

That‘s why the next step is to conduct a comprehensive skills inventory and

gap analysis. The focus should be around what are the competency/skill

areas that are most critical to the organization as defined in Step 2. This

exercise not only gathers vital information about the current state, it provides

a baseline to use for assessing and measuring progress as the talent

management initiative moves forward.

The goal in conducting this analysis is to provide HR, executives and

managers with visibility into employee skills. It gives organizations the ability

to identify qualified candidates for special projects or new assignments. It

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also provides employees with a means for managing their career as they

can readily see where they are and where they need to be for career

planning. This level of visibility is critical for employee retention. In addition

to an inventory of skills, it is useful to give each skill a knowledge or

proficiency rating (e.g., beginner, intermediate) and experience level rating

(e.g., 1-3 years, 4-6 years).

What is the best way to gather this information?

The organization‘s performance appraisal process provides a means for

collecting details on the current state of employee skills. The better the

appraisal process, the better that data. Basically, take the same process

used to evaluate an individual and apply it at the macro level to the

organization.

Tools can include:

Self-assessments (can be conducted anytime, including part of the

onboarding process)

Annual performance appraisals.

360-degree multi-rater assessments.

Readiness rankings.

Other information valuable for skills inventory and gap analysis can be

found in an employee‘s ―talent profile‖ including:

Awards

Colleges/Universities

Communities and Associations

Current Goals

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 Interests

Language Skills

Past Goals

Professional Licenses/Certifications

Projects

Work History – Internal & External

The sample employee information contained in the talent profile above can

be obtained from multiple sources, including from the employees

themselves and/or from a data fed from an applicant tracking/recruiting

system. The information from the above processes is then aggregated

(ideally by business units, departments, and locations as well as

enterprise-wide) to develop the organization‘s current inventory of job

roles, skills and leadership. It is important to record strengths as well as

weaknesses, since a good talent management strategy will address and

improve both.

The combined company and employee information becomes the

organization‘s job profile and talent profile ―system-of-record‖ (also

commonly referred to as the Talent Management System-of-Record‖). Once

the current state is clarified, the organization can identify how far it has to go

to reach its desired-state destination. ―Rather than simply building out a suite

of bolt-on applications, system-of-record companies will be able to

leverage the content and data collected within the system, including

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information such as skills, competencies, behaviours, interests, values,

career plans, and compensation history.

Identifying gaps to reveal important points

The organization may discover, for example, that there is a gap between the

performance process and development, or that the current development

process does not provide the visibility management needs to evaluate

and enhance readiness. This information will be of great value when the

organization moves from strategy into choosing and implementing systems.

STEP 4: DEFINE THE ANNUAL TALENT MANAGEMENT TIMELINE

The starting point and destination are now clear. The competencies linking

the two are clearly defined and the talent management ―system-of-

record‖ has been defined. The next step is to clarify the journey itself:

what specific vehicles to use, what milestones to look for when, and where

and how to ―refuel.‖ Start by mapping out an annual timeline. The timeline

differs from organization to organization, depending on factors such as

whether there are once-a-year or multiple performance reviews and when

bonuses are awarded.

In a typical organization, the basic timeline might look like the following

diagram.

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Source: (Cunningham, I. (2007). Talent management: making it real.
Development and Learning in Organizations, 21(2), 4-6.)

Figure 6.2.2 Assessment Learning

For optimal talent management, learning and assessment take place

continually throughout the year.

Note that assessment activities should occur outside the appraisal process.

This enables managers to create an environment in which employees are

more receptive to observations about where they stand and to coaching on

specific actions they can take to become better candidates for recognition,

rewards and promotions. Employees can also be encouraged, and

automatically reminded, to keep their talent profile updated. By increasing

employees‘ level of engagement, these talent management processes also

improve retention rates. Additional positive results include employee and

company goal alignment and improved business results.

A continuing cycle of learning and assessment also gives the manager

more power to help employees shore up any performance weaknesses

and amplify successes in time for these efforts to make a difference

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on annual performance reviews and as part of the company‘s succession

planning.

STEP 5: CULTURE SHOCK - MANAGING CHANGE TO SECURE BUY-IN

Implementing a formal talent management process can represent a major

culture change for an organization. Employees can be very resistant to the

new visibility of their performance and the direct link between their

performance and their career path and compensation. That‘s why change

management is an essential consideration. A good talent management

process will do a lot of the work of ―selling‖ the idea to employees and

managers. For example, by taking assessment out of the once-a-year

performance appraisal, employees will experience managers more as

mentors, regularly checking in, modifying their goals, and assigning them

relevant learning activities. This will play a major role in transforming the

perception from ―criticism‖ to ―constructive criticism.‖ This in turn will go a

long way toward winning buy in from managers and employees alike.

Before the actual talent management system is deployed, however, negative

stakeholders may try to undermine the speed, success and value of the

initiative. To prevent this, use this strategy-development phase to think

ahead to communication and learning experiences that can ease the ―culture

shock‖ and create positive readiness for employees to embrace the new

system.

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Once completing Steps #1-5 above, the organization will have well-

documented inputs and a solid talent management strategy. In

summary this strategy will:

Articulate how the ―desired state‖ (performance, skills, competencies,

competitive edge) will be attained, measured, and aligned with business

goals.

Inventory skills, job roles, competencies, and employee talent profile.

Establish the talent management ―system-of-record‖ and what is required

to build it.

List gaps, pain points and procedural weaknesses/frustrations with the

current process.

Map out the timeline of annual talent management milestones.

Anticipate the change management issues to address in

implementing a talent management system.

6.3 THE ROLE OF HR

As a primary owner of talent management, HR has many roles—one of the

most important is that of facilitator of the talent mindset. HR leads the way

for the organization to own, as an entity, the role of talent management for

organizational success. In the role of business partner, HR works closely

with the board, the CEO and senior management to ensure that they are

committed to talent management work. As talent management facilitator, HR

also pays close attention to how the organization‘s culture supports talent.

Broadly speaking, HR‘s role encompasses communicating the talent

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management philosophy companywide and knowing the industry

competition.

In addition, HR needs to develop an integrated and proactive strategic

approach to talent management—the big picture—as well as managing

critical information, such as tracking turnover and knowing what factors

contribute to retention To integrate talent management into all areas of the

company, HR also plays a role of change management agent. To drive this

change, HR addresses four diverse talent management activities:

recruitment, performance management, leadership development and

organizational strategy.

In this role, HR manages four major risks to the business:

1) Vacancy risk (to safeguard key business capabilities, focus on scarce

skills and fit to position);

2) Readiness risk (to accelerate leadership development, provide full

business exposure to rising stars);

3) Transition risk (to avoid loss of key talent, select successors with

leadership ability and hire for organization capability); and

4) Portfolio risk maximizing strategic talent leverage, focusing on senior

management‘s commitment to development and performance standards).

Finally, proactive HR leaders take a holistic approach to talent management.

It is important to establish clear expectations and communicate openly about

the talent management process. By HR explaining to management and

employees why talent management is important, how it works and what the

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benefits are to the organization and participants, talent management

strategies are more likely to be seen as a fair process

6.4 TM : TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE

Talent management practices have developed and adapted throughout the

years in response to many changes in the workplace, from the

industrial revolution and the rise of labor unions, to affirmative action,

globalization, and outsourcing, to name just a few. The 1990s ended with a

call-to-arms to fight "the war for talent." While the war for talent clearly

has cooled in the early stages of the 21st century, dampened by economic

doldrums and concerns with global security, the real battle to attract,

develop, motivate, and retain talent is going to heat up considerably. A

looming demographic time bomb will make talent management a top priority

for organizations.

This article covers a number of the trends that have shaped our current

practices as well as those that will contribute to future strategies. Formal

talent management practices have a relatively short history but rapid rise

as a profession. The Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS), now in its

third decade of service to the human resource and broader business

executive community, has been committed to improving organizational

performance through the application of strategic human resource

management practices, including talent management. HRPS was preceded

by the American Society for Personnel Administration, founded in 1948,

by 28 individuals to provide professional development for an emerging

profession in transition. Today, renamed the Society for Human Resource

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Management (SHRM), that organization has over 175,000 members (SHRM,

2003).

Talent as a driving force behind HR's contributions to organizational

success is underscored by a recent Human Resource Planning article

entitled "The 21st Century Human Resources Function." Its bold subtitle,

"It's the Talent, Stupid!," further reinforces the central role of talent in the

evolution of HR's impact with organizations they support (Buckingham &

Vosburgh, 2001).

Regardless of an employer's size or industry, during the last 50 years

waves of change have swept over organizations. Some of these changes,

such as affirmative action and related legislation in the United States or

privatization practices in China, have had a broad and sweeping impact,

forever affecting values, beliefs, and practices. Others, such as the

movement from traditional training models to web-based e-learning, are still

in a formative phase and the full impact on talent management has yet to be

seen.

In a slow or down economy, an intense talent shortage may be difficult to

visualize, yet what we know about economic cycles and demographic

trends forces us to confront a not-too-distant future that includes a

labor/talent deficit in supply/demand.

One thing is for sure: Evolutionary, and in some cases revolutionary,

changes are already underway that will affect permanently how we approach

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talent management. Workplace everywhere are facing an increasingly

complex and ever-changing landscape in their efforts to acquire, retain,

motivate, and develop the talent needed to keep their organizations

operating efficiently and competitively. Talent management strategists must

prepare for what is likely to be a roller coaster ride.

Talent management is now looked upon as a critical HR activity; the

discipline is evolving every day.

Some trends:
TALENT WAR: Finding and retaining the best talent is the most difficult

aspect of HR management. Perhaps no talent management issue will have

greater importance in the years to come than employee retention. Today, a

confluence of forces makes the retention problem critically important.

The two major forces are the down economy of the last few years and

labor and talent shortages. A troublesome outcome of the downswing in the

economy and the associated layoffs is that employee commitment and

loyalty have been weakened. HR survey consultancies are one in their view

that organizations globally are facing a dearth of talented employees and it‘s

often more difficult to retain them. Further research has also shown that

there is clear link between talent issues and overall productivity.

TECHNOLOGY AND TALENT MANAGEMENT: Technology is increasingly

getting introduced into people development. Online employee portals have

become common place in organizations to offer easy access to employees

to various benefits and schemes. In addition employees can also manage

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their careers through these portals and it also helps organizations

understand their employees better.

PROMOTING TALENT INTERNALLY: An individual is hired, when there is

a fit between his abilities or skills and the requirements of the organization.

The next step is enabling learning and development of the same so that

he/she stays with the organization. This is employee retention. An enabled

or empowered means an empowered organization. It is also of interest to

organizations to know their skills inventories and then develop the right

individual for succession planning internally.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPING TALENT: Learning and performance

improvement have always been an integral part of talent management.

Employee training has a long history of ensuring an organization has a

skilled, motivated, and competent workforce. From orientation programs

and technical training classes experienced early in one's career, to

leadership development and executive coaching, training and

development is deeply woven into the fabric of talent management practices.

As we move into the 21st century, traditional models of workplace

learning will change as dramatically as any part of the talent

management equation. The dialogue in e-learning circles today is less about

which dimension of the movement, such as the development of technical

standards or the quality of content, will most fuel rapid adoption, but more

about the synergy of these forces and how they will build greater momentum

(Taylor, 2002).

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In a world where job performance is systematically monitored by a

sophisticated learning management system, short, targeted performance-

based lessons can be delivered in real time and exactly when needed in

order to address specific tasks and skill weaknesses. Unlike in the past

when learning largely took place in settings away from the actual job,

workplace learning will become more and more integrated into the

daily work flow. Learning technology will facilitate the combination of

improved workplace performance metrics with compelling, interactive

content ultimately to make working and learning a seamless experience

POPULATION WORRIES GLOBALLY: Country like India can boast of a

young population in the coming and present times. Population demographics

are thus a disturbing factor for people managers.

TREATING TALENT FAIRLY: Treating talent fairly in all respects is critical

for motivating and retaining employees. Issues revolving around fair

treatment of employees are not restricted to racial considerations. Sex

discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace have become more

widely discussed concerns around the world during the 1990s, partly

because the globalization of business and the push of regional economic

alliances, such as the European Union, have driven the need for

common standards (HRI, 2003). Organizations like the International Labour

Organization are pushing international standards to prevent sex

discrimination and harassment.

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Disability discrimination has triggered protection in other parts of the

world which in turn has led to positive steps by employers. For example,

Japan's mandated requirement for quotas on the employment of the

disabled has led most companies represented in Japan to create

programs specifically for the recruitment and training of the disabled

For practical reasons alone, we can be optimistic that organizations will

continue to strive to treat talent fairly in the years to come.

Regardless of whether this results from simple enlightened self-interest or

some level of social conscience, as an end result organizations will want

to be known as a place where talent is valued and grown.

TALENT MANAGEMENT TO RESCUE HR: HR has been compelled to

focus on qualitative aspects equally and even more than quantitative

aspects like the head count etc. Through talent management more effort is

now being laid on designing and maintaining employee scorecards and

employee surveys for ensuring that talent is nurtured and grown perpetually.

INCREASE IN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE INITIATIVES: An organization‘s

perceived value as an employer as helps improve its brand value in the eyes

of its consumer. Most importantly it helps it attract the right talent.

6.5 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MEANS HIGHER PERFORMANCE.

We all know that teams with the best people perform at a higher level. We

also know that to deliver topline even the best people need to be engaged,

developed, and rewarded.Leading organizations know that exceptional

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business performance is driven by superior talent that‘s managed with

consistent processes.Analyst research has proven that organizations using

talent management strategies and solutions exhibit higher performance than

their direct competitors and the market in general. From Fortune 100

enterprises to small and medium businesses, companies that invest in talent

management achieve significant returns. They know success is powered by

the total talent quality of their workforce.

Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement)

Figure 6.5.1 Employee Engagement

HR professionals and line managers need talent management insights to

know more about their people and make better decisions faster. They have

information that they need to know:

 How can we align individual goals to team and organizational goals?

 Who are my highest performers and what are their career paths?

 What is my best source of hire and how can I better focus my recruiting

efforts?

98
 Who are my future leaders and how can I effectively foster their

development?

 Who requires a higher merit increase to avoid turnover risk and business

disruption?

 Who are my top internal and external candidates if my VP of operations

leaves?

 Who needs additional development before they can assume greater

responsibility?

Employees in high performance organizations have clear performance

standards, receive the training needed to keep up with new demands and

are encouraged to participate in decisions affecting their work and to be

innovative. They also indicate that co-worker cooperation in goal

accomplishment is high. An engaged workforce is one in which employees

possess a strong sense of organizational pride, proactively recommend

their organization as a good place to work and are committed to staying with

their employer given their high level of overall satisfaction.

Talent management is a recurring topic among executives & board

members. But what does it really mean, and why is it important? Attracting

and retaining talent has become a boardroom issue that is steadily climbing

higher on the corporate agenda. Talent management risk centers on the

danger of losing key competencies (including members of leadership) that

allow an organization to achieve its business goals.

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In response, companies are focusing on developing recruitment, training and

retention programs to help ensure that needed skills are available in the

future. Talent management is about more than managing physical bodies

that come to work each day. It is about managing human (or people) capital,

a phrase that describes an intangible resource comprising your employees‘

knowledge, abilities, capabilities and skills. Technologies, products and

strategies can be replicated, but it is people who enable a company to

innovate, differentiate and succeed. Harnessing that human capital requires

elevating your view of talent management to a more strategic level.

Talent management and enhanced business results. Superior talent

management correlates strongly with enhanced business performance. An

analysis of the survey data found that companies whose talent management

programs are aligned with their business strategy deliver a return on

investment that is, on average, 20% higher over a five-year period than

companies without such alignment. Among companies that integrate key

elements of their talent management programs, the results are even more

dramatic.

Companies seeking a competitive advantage in today‘s marketplace will

view talent management as a process that connects a company‘s strategy

with its mission, vision and values, and the way it manages and develops its

people.

Effective talent management policies and practices that demonstrate

commitment to human capital result in more engaged employees and lower

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turnover. Consequently, employee engagement has a substantial impact on

employee productivity and talent retention. Employee engagement, in fact,

can make or break the bottom line. Employees who are most committed

perform 20% better and are 80% less likely to resign. In addition, the

foundation for an engaged workforce is established by the quality, depth and

authenticity of communication by HR and senior management to employees,

as well as the quality of supervision.

The role of the manager as the most important enabler of employee

commitment to the job, organization and teams cannot be overemphasized.

Furthermore, when done well, practices that support talent management

also support employee engagement (e.g., work-life balance programs—flex

time, telecommuting, compressed workweeks, reward programs,

performance management systems). Rewards and recognition also help

both to retain talent and to improve performance.

Study on employee engagement and business success showed that

employees who were extremely satisfied at work were four times more likely

than dissatisfied employees to have a formal measurement process in place

as well as receive regular recognition. Further, 82% said recognition

motivated them to improve job performance. Increasingly, organizations are

putting formal and informal reward programs in place.

To be most effective, however, organizations must regularly communicate to

employees about reward programs. Discussing reward programs as early as

during the interview process demonstrates that the organization values its

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employees.The process of building employee engagement is ongoing.

Beyond compensation and benefits, employee engagement is best fostered

through a meaningful and emotionally enriching work experience.

Effective employee engagement—a mixture of tangible and intangible

factors—fosters an environment of stimulation, development, learning,

support, contribution and recognition. However, a recent study found that

less than one-fifth of employees were highly engaged, one-fifth of the

workforce was disengaged and about two-thirds were moderately engaged.

The impact of employee dissatisfaction varies, depending on work

experience (e.g., overwhelming workloads, distant and non-communicative

senior leadership, few developmental opportunities). The risk is that

moderately engaged employees may move toward being disengaged. The

opportunity and challenge for HR, working with senior management, is to

increase the strength of employee engagement.

Focus on engagement demands strong leadership, a sense of shared

destiny, autonomy, accountability and opportunities for development and

advancement. To better engage workers, companies must work harder to

inspire people and provide a sense of passion, pride and mission. Ultimately,

it is organizational culture that determines employee engagement and

retention of talent.

Every company and country faces unique challenges, and no single talent

management program or approach applies to all of them. Talent

management (how an organization manages and develops its people

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consistent with its business strategies) must be an integral part of the

business strategy to be effective. Managing talent means trying to harness

the full potential of your human or people capital—that intangible resource

that brings with it the complexities of and connections to human behavior.

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 Chapter – 7

THE NEXT GENERATION TALENT MANAGEMENT

7.1 NEXT GENERATION TALENT MANAGEMENT (NGTM)

Great businesses however are skilled at developing and deploying talent in

ways that continuously grow their experience, stretch their abilities and

enable their achievements. Creating work environments that promote people

agility across jobs and organizational boundaries is the next imperative for

companies seeking competitive advantage through their talent. It is

surprising how few companies develop and move their talent around the

organization. They know how to recruit stars, fire failures and replace

leavers – but few seem to know how to provide one of the most important

factors in retaining talent – opportunities to achieve, move and grow – within

the company.

To be most effective, however, organizations must embrace next-generation

talent management thinking and approaches. This means building a robust

talent infrastructure which includes four key factors: sustainability, a focus on

distinct populations, alignment and shared ownership.

Companies are cautiously planning their next moves with one key goal in

mind: re-igniting growth. In previous eras, business leaders have focused on

driving growth through innovation, R&D, and customer centricity. Talent

management was rarely high on the agenda. However, this time around,

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businesses are recognising that a deep insight and knowledge of their

workforce is the key to unlocking the company‘s talent to drive growth.

In developed economies, Talent Management commands attention due

to aging workforce that is expected to retire at any moment. In developing

economies, Talent Management generates interest due to explosive

business growth, aging workforce, and widespread hijacking of talent

across national borders. While Talent Management is sometimes a term in

search of a meaning, traditional Talent Management is usually understood

to mean systematic efforts to recruit, develop and retain highly productive

and promotable people. But the needs of business really go well beyond

that. There is thus a need to think beyond traditional Talent Management to

Next Generation Talent Management (NGTM)

What model can help practitioners conceptualize NGTM? How practitioners

get started in implementing NGTM? These are the key questions, which will

be answered as follows.

What model can help practitioners conceptualize NGTM?

All the best approaches to talent management share a common element:

they are guided by a strategic model that helps practitioners integrate,

and communicate to stakeholders, how all the individuals efforts fit

together systematically. The NGTM goes beyond the mere consideration of

identifying, developing and retaining productive and promotable people. It

includes how the work is performed (which will change performance and

promotability requirements), inventorying in-house experts (know as

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high professionals), considering ethics and values as well as performance,

preparing for the transfer of specialized knowledge, and preparing for the

transfer of social networks.

The NGTM is often integrated with a career planning program in which

individuals are challenged to clarify their future life/ career goals and

identify their own developmental needs to meet their career goals.

7.2 MODEL OF NEXT GENERATION TALENT MANAGEMENT

The steps of the model are described below

STEP 1: Get Commitment; clarify Roles and Goals, and Build.

STEP 2 : Clarify what work people do, what people successfully do the

work, & who possesses special knowledge & special social relationships.

STEP 3: Evaluate Present Performance.

STEP 4: Recruit and Select Appropriate People from Inside and Outside the

Organization.

STEP 5: formulate future talent requirements and align with strategic

objective.

STEP 6: Assess Individual potential for promotion and individual values and

ethics.

STEP 7: Inventory Existing Talent.

STEP 8: Plan for Individual Development.

STEP 9: Systematically Retain People and Transfer Knowledge and Social

Relationship.

STEP 10: Evaluate Results.

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STEP 1: GET COMMITMENT; CLARIFY ROLES, GOALS, AND BUILD

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

No Talent Management effort can thrive unless it enjoys the full

commitment of top, middle and lower- level managers. For that reason,

securing and sustaining management commitment is the essential first step.

Managers must do more than pay lip service to Talent Management. They

must demonstrate efforts to support it every day through their actions.

They must devote personal time to it. Each key group of stakeholders in the

organization- top managers, middle managers, first- line managers and

workers- has roles to play in the Talent Management effort. These roles

must be clarified and communicated. Further, individuals must be held

accountable for carrying out their roles and getting results. One way to do

that is to build talent acquisition, development and retention directly into

the Key Performance Indicators (KPI‘s) of each manager. A second way is to

reward people for achieving measurable talent management goals.

Talent Management efforts may, of course, has many goals. These must be

clarified and prioritized. Managers must agree on them so that the Talent

Management does not try to be all things to all people.

Typical Talent Management goals may include the following:

 Preparing sufficiently well- qualified replacements before key leaders

retire.

 Preparing sufficient numbers of well- qualified people to support

business expansion.

 Recruiting high potentials from outside the organization.

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 Developing high potentials inside the organization.

 Role- modeling Talent Management efforts by developing self and

others.

Of course, many such goals may exist. The goals should be formulated

based on business needs and should be made measurable.

STEP 2: CLARIFY WHAT WORK PEOPLE DO, WHAT PEOPLE

SUCCESSFULLY DO THE WORK, & WHO POSSESSES SPECIAL

KNOWLEDGE AND SPECIAL SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS:

It is not possible to implement an effective Talent Management program if it

is not clear what work people do and what kinds of people are needed to do

the work. Hence, it is necessary to update job descriptions, which describe

the work that people do, and formulate competency models, which

describe the successful people who do the work. Job descriptions must, of

course, be tailored to meet the unique needs of the organization. The same

principle also applies to competency models, which are influenced by the

corporate culture.

One way that organizational leaders can influence the organization‘s

talent requirements is by changing how the work is done. If work is

outsourced, in sourced, simplified, process- improved or otherwise

changed, then the competencies required to do the work is changed.

Hence, it is possible to change what competencies are needed to

accomplish organizational goals by changing who does the work and how

they do it.

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The NGTM goes beyond traditional Talent Management by adding other

elements as well. It pinpoints who possesses special knowledge, such as

institutional memory or special proprietary knowledge of the business. That

issue is usually understood to refer to the so- called knowledge

transfer problem. Efforts to solve the problem center around technical

succession planning and usually require practical solutions.

When experienced people retire or otherwise leave an organization, they

also take with them the social relationships that they have cultivated over the

years. These relationships have practical value, since customers, suppliers,

distributors and other key organizational stakeholders have usually

developed trusting relationships in working with individuals in organizations.

When those individuals leave, the stakeholders are not necessarily sure they

can trust the successors. There is thus need to plan for social relationship

succession.

STEP 3: EVALUATE PRESENT PERFORMANCE:

Performance management is essential to any talent management program.

While individuals should not be promoted solely because they are

performing well in their present jobs, it is also true that they should not be

promoted if they should not be promoted if they are failing in their

current jobs. Effective performance management programs should measure

both results (such as Key Performance Indicators (KPI‘s) and the behaviors

linked to the essential to job success.

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STEP 4: RECRUIT AND SELECT APPROPRIATE PEOPLE FROM INSIDE

AND OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION:

There are two ways to secure talent- develop it from inside the

organization or recruit it from outside. It is thus essential to think creativity to

outcompete other organizations in recruiting talent. At the same time,

most organizational leaders should review their job posting and other

internal recruitment programs to ensure that the best qualified people are

being recruited for each vacancy.

Selection methods should also be examined. On what basis are people

being chosen? Are the approaches based on the competencies essential to

job success? Or are other and perhaps less performance- oriented,

criteria being used in selection? A trend in selection is to use multiple

methods to judge the suitability of job applicants and demonstrate the

competencies linked to success.

A growing issue is an organization‘s ability to attract, develop and retain

people who are beyond traditional retirement ages. There are many reasons

why retires may be attractive. One is that they need less training to do their

jobs and be productive. Another is that they can help to provide

coaching- and even executive coaching- to break in successors or less

experienced workers.

STEP 5: FORMULATE FUTURE TALENT REQUIREMENTS AND ALIGN

WITH STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Talent requirements do not remain static. As organizational leaders pursue

their strategic plans, talent requirements must be revised to ensure that

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people are being considered for promotion based on future, rather than

merely present, talent requirements. After all, people must be prepared for

promotion based on future needs, nit always current ones. It takes time to

develop people and for that reason it is essential to consider future talent

requirements and align them to the organization‘s strategic objectives.

STEP 6: ASSESS INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL FOR PROMOTION AND

INDIVIDUAL VALUES AND ETHICS:

Assessing individual potential is all about determining if people can

perform at higher responsibility levels. It is commonly called potential

assessment. Good performers at one level- as measured by systematic

performance management- will not necessarily perform well at higher levels

of responsibility because different competencies are required. Common

approaches to assessing potential include manager nominations, multi- rater

assessment, psychological tests, assessment centers, realistic job

tryouts, and work samples. While potential assessment usually focuses

on comparing individuals to the competencies required at higher levels

of responsibility, recent thinking has suggested that organizational leaders

should also measure individuals against corporate values and corporate

codes of ethical conduct.

STEP 7: INVENTORY EXISTING TALENT:

How quickly and effectively can an organization marshal its talent in a crisis?

Finding talent is often done informally by asking managers. But that is not

necessarily an effective, or speedy, approach. And large organizations face

a particular challenge because there are so many people and each

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individual may possess unique talents and may even be a high professional

in his or her own right. How easy is it to find talent when it is needed?

Organizational leaders should thus establish competency inventories, based

on the problems faced by the organization, to catalog and find talent quicker

time is a strategic issue and finding talent quickly can make the difference

between competitive success- or failure.

STEP 8: PLAN FOR INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT:

How are individuals groomed for higher levels of responsibility? The most

common way is to establish Individual Development Plans (IDP‘s) to narrow

developmental gaps between what competencies people must possess to

be qualified for promotion and what competencies they presently possess.

Many organizations have established Learning Management Systems

(LMS‘s) that make it easy for individuals to pinpoint appropriate

methods to build their competencies. Typically, IDP‘s indicate what

competencies people need to develop, how they will do it, what resources

they will use to do it, and how their learning will be measured or otherwise

assessed. Some approaches to developing individuals may be group-

oriented, such as in- house leadership development programs. Others may

be hands- on in which individuals are given specific action learning

projects that build their competencies while individuals are learning

from others. Still others can be individualized and may include on- the- job

learning or on- the- job coaching.

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STEP 9: SYSTEMATICALLY RETAIN PEOPLE & TRANSFER

KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS:

Few organizations have systematic retention programs that are geared to

keeping the best people. Exit interviews are just not enough. More often,

retention is handled on a case- by- case basis. Unfortunately, such

approaches usually result in treating some people differently from

others- thereby creating ill- will and eventually prompting more turnover.

What is needed is a consistent organizational approach to retention that

makes use of best practices I retention systematically.

Organizational leaders should also take effective steps to transfer the

special knowledge of high professionals- sometimes called in- house experts

or high professionals(HiPros)- who are not necessarily promotable but who

posse specialized competencies in solving unique problems confronting

the organization. Such experts can be highly effective mentors when they

are willing to transfer some of what they know to others. Finally,

organizational leaders should also take steps to transfer social relationships.

That is highly challenging. Many people have established a broad social

network to help them do their jobs.

For instance, some sales people are highly effective in finding the best

people to make decisions on sales. When these sales people leave the

organization for retirement, these social contacts are lost. But it is not as

simple as making introductions; rather, customers and others must learn

to trust successors. It is thus necessary to groom successors through a

series of projects so that customers learn to trust them. Of course,

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social relationships can also exist in occupations outside sales, and they are

just as important to transfer to successors.

STEP 10: EVALUATE RESULTS:

Evaluating Talent Management programs is a topical issue. Many

executives and HR practitioners wonder how to evaluate talent programs.

The NGTM programs, however, are evaluated by metrics established from

the initial goals identified for the program. Suppose, for instance, that a goal

of a talent program is to groom successors in preparation for a wave

of expected top management retirements. In that example, it would be

appropriate to measure the program based on how many and how well

individuals are prepared to meet that goal. That can be tracked annually.

7.3 THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN TALENT MANAGEMENT

The time for ―talent‖ is now, with leadership routinely discussing human

capital as top source of competitive advantage. But moving business leaders

from talking the talk to walking the walk remains a challenge. It‘s a critical

challenge too, as talent management programs need to be driven from the

top to ensure lasting success.

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“Leadership is not making friends and influencing people, i.e.,

salesmanship. It is the lifting of man’s visions to higher sights, the

raising of man’s performance to higher standards, the building of

man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.”

--- Peter Drucker.

Business leaders have the opportunity to define core elements of any

strategic human capital initiative. From defining high-level business

objectives to identifying critical roles and competencies that will end up

defining the very nature of the talent culture, senior leadership plays a

fundamental role. But the business leader needs operational processes and

technologies to transform vision to reality –a integrated talent management

platform is one vital piece of this puzzle, delivering a unified view into talent

data, workflows, and process.

Leaders, directors, and managers, who constitute the leadership in an

organization, and members of the organization or workers, are required to

maintain an organization‘s existence. Their competencies acquired through

formal education and experience that improve the organization‘s productivity

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and revenues, are in essence the basis of human capital values. In order to

maximize the human capital values, leadership in the organization should

recognize the importance of the following aspects in human capital

management:

 TALENT – Recruiting for the right talent through effective recruitment

and identifying talents already embedded in the organization, and further

develop these talents or potential capacity into needed competencies.

 COMPETENCY – Applying competency based human resources

management whereby all job positions have the required competency

profile well documented and individual competency level of incumbents

periodically appraised.

 TRAINING, EDUCATION, ON THE JOB EXPERIENCE – Investing on

improvement of individual competency in line with their respective talent

into the required level of competency of the job position.

 PLACEMENT, ROTATION, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – These

are essential processes in managing talents and competencies: to

develop the right talent for the right competency to carry out current or

future job assignments. Good talent based manpower planning reduces

development cost, cycle time, improve productivity, and creates

employee satisfaction. Effective performance management leads to

improvement of human capital values.

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 HEALTH AND SAFETY – Attention to personnel health and safety are

paramount to ensure that the organization‘s human capital performs well

and grows to higher value.

 MOTIVATION, INNOVATION – These represent the people aspect of

human capital which do not exist in other physical capital. Highly

motivated, innovative and creative people with the right talent based

competency well developed will ensure high value of corporate human

capital and growing corporate wealth.

Research showed that the involvement of top executives in driving or

actively participating in the talent management strategy is critical to its

success. In the context of Asian culture, proactive role or role modeling and

demonstrated commitment of top executive and leadership in the

organization are utmost importance to ensure snowballing effect for a

successful implementation of the talent and competency based human

capital management throughout the organization.

Economic benefits of the integrated talent and competency based human

capital management include, among other things: increase revenues,

customer satisfaction, improve quality, increase productivity, reduce cost,

reduce cycle time, and increase return to shareholders and market

Capitalization. The intangible benefits include employees‘ satisfaction,

motivated work force, climate conducive to innovativeness and creativity,

and high individual and team performance.

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THE ROLE OF LEADERS:

Leadership is one of the rare and precious human capitals. Effective

leadership is a personal role that requires the blending of motivational,

strategic and management skills to align focus, energy and drive whilst

creating a culture that encourages individual thinking and attainment.

Ultimately leadership is about pushing ideas and thoughts forwards,

shouldering responsibility and unlocking hidden drivers and aspirations to

bring out the confidence of others. Harnessing energy in a strategic way that

inspires and unites a team towards achieving some common task.

The fundamental nature for the relationship between leader and followers is

that leaders need followers, and followers needs leaders. This type of

scenario appears to reinforce the need for leaders to require followers, and

followers to follow.

Some researches advocate that leaders ought to have an obsession

for talent management, so much so that the very idea consumes and

directs the strategy for the organization. Now, before you begin to think this

may sounds a bit far fetched, consider this the attraction of talent, as well as

the development of the same, are the major facet of organizations today. In

fact, organizations that have worked to manage (encourage, develop and

retain) talent are the very organizations that have that ―it‖ factor and have the

competitive advantage in the market place. These organizations are the

ones who have fostered an environment where the employees are free to

think. To learn, to grow, to take risks, to think outside of the box, to safe

environment, to share information etc.

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Management is a high beneficiary if having high talent around. Bottom line-

tasks are accomplished at a much more efficient level. In fact, a recent

study showed top executives, in organizations of over $1 bn in yearly

revenues; spend about 20-40% of their time devoted to talent

management. Why? They know that nurturing and managing talent in

their organizations provide them with a competitive advantage they

cannot obtain otherwise. In addition, another clear benefit is the ripe crop of

leaders in the organization being developed from within. Organizations

are more consistently promoting from within. Studies suggest that over

60% of organizations are looking internally for talent to promote.

Leaders are increasingly seeing their very own in house high potential

employees as their largest sources of leadership.

LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS :

Leader presumes follower. Follower presumes choice. One who is coerced

to the purposes, objectives, or preferences of another is not a follower in any

true sense of the word, but an object of manipulation. Nor is the relationship

materially altered if both parties accept dominance and coercion. True

leading and following presume perpetual liberty of both leader and follower

to sever the relationship and pursue another path. A true leader cannot be

bound to lead. A true follower cannot be bound to follow. The moment they

are bound, they are no longer leader or follower. The terms leader and

follower imply the freedom and independent judgment of both.

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Many of the research endeavors conducted the area of leadership

illustrate environments that appear to nurture a leader and follower

hierarchy within organizations. It is the quality of the relationship of leaders

and followers, all the way up and down the organization chart, that makes or

breaks organizations Is also appears as though many of the leadership

theories and models operate within a similar organizations hierarchy where

leaders lead followers and followers follow the leaders.

This scenario leads one to think about the implications of the leader-follower

relationship. Is it in the best interest if the effective executive (and the overall

organization) to create the environments where leader lead and followers

follow, or is it more fitting for the leaders of organizations encourage

environments where generating new talent pools of individual is the

norm? Other considerations need to be at the forefront of any

investigation into the management of talent such as gender issues and

the criteria associated with gender and leader/follower relations.

True leaders are those who epitomize the general sense of the community

— who symbolize, legitimize, and strengthen behavior in accordance with

the sense of the community — who enable its conscious, shared values and

beliefs to emerge, expand, and be transmitted from generation to

generation-who enable that which is trying to happen to come into being.

The true leader‘s behavior is induced by the behavior of every individual who

chooses where they will be led.

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It is suggested that all individuals have specific cognized goals, wants, and

needs that can be directly associated with one‘s employment. Although

happiness may be an under-investigated construct within organizations, it

certainly contributes to the environments and overall climate within the

organizations and affects how people work within the organizations.

On the other hand, employee satisfaction has been studies for several

decades. Although the job satisfaction-performance connection is undecided

by all, it is clear that job dissatisfaction leads to increased turnover

intentions, role withdrawal, absenteeism and other dysfunctional reactions

such as avoidance of work and defiance.

Therefore, satisfied employees are more likely to stay engaged in their

work, cooperate with co-workers, not look for new job and perform more

effectively than those employees who are dissatisfied before we investigate

what factors contribute to talent management within organizations, we must

first discuss the posture of organization regarding leaders and

followers.

It is true leadership; leadership by everyone; leadership in, up, around,

and down this world so badly needs, and dominator management it so

sadly gets.

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7.4 BUILDING A CULTURE THAT FOSTERS TALENT

Culture: If you build it (right), the talent will come (and stay)

Creating and maintaining a talent-rich culture is especially important today

because talent is difficult to find. ―The War for Talent,‖ the demand for highly

skilled people outstrips supply. This is a challenge so many organizations

are confronted with today, and finding the delicate balance between

producing results and retaining and engaging employees can be difficult.

Given today‘s uncertain economic landscape—companies are still

downsizing and doing ―more with less‖—the risk that employees could

become disengaged is greater than ever. At the core of the solution is

creating a sustainable talent culture. Studies show that creating a talent-

focused, supportive company culture is part of what drives individuals to join

and stay within an organization.

Leaders and talent management professionals create a positive work culture

that encourages people to stay, emphasizes learning and talent

development, continually refreshes current talent and attracts new talent.

Business leaders who prioritize healthy, talent-rich cultures share the

following characteristics:

VALUE DIVERSITY: Recognizing the importance of diversity—which spans

perspectives, backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, etc.—successful business

leaders actively seek out and pursue alternative points of view.

Understanding that their world view is not all encompassing, they are able

to leverage others‘ perspectives to gain a competitive advantage.

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MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF CANDOR: Talent processes are visible and

people know where they stand. Conversations are transparent and open

with both the individual and their employers.

ENCOURAGE MOVEMENT CROSS-COMPANY: While leaders want to

have the best talent on their team, they also look for opportunities to cross-

pollinate talent across the organization. They realize moving and stretching

are essential in adding depth to the talent pool around them.

FLEXIBLE AND OPEN TO TRY SOMETHING NEW: New is not seen as

―frightening‖ by leaders seeking to develop talent or change the culture. It is

seen as a way to implement positive change, challenge the status quo, and

learn from the company failures and achievements that result.

DEVELOP AND COACH TALENT: To foster talent development, leaders

look to evaluate their employees‘ talents and actively encourage the

development of their people through clear, specific, and constructive

feedback and training mechanisms.

ASSUME ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HAVING AND DELIVERING ON

TALENT PLANS: Not only are talent plans emphasized as a critical part of

the development journey, they should be a part of the fabric of a

development-oriented culture. Plans are created, have a follow up

mechanism, and encourage active engagement to aid in development and

succession planning efforts.

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ACT AS COMMUNICATION CHAMPS FOR TALENT INITIATIVES:

Business leaders at talent-rich cultures vocally champion opportunities for

their employees to move on and gain experiences that further their skill sets.

These leaders proactively seek out opportunities rather than wait on HR to

make promotional decisions.

ENGAGED IN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES: Leaders that value rich,

diverse talent stay engaged in the process and make it easier for employees

to enhance their skills and access resources that can take their careers to

the next level. They are committed to developing those around them as well

as themselves and make learning a top priority.

KEY ENABLER TALENT SUCCESS FACTOR BUSINESS IMPACT

CONSULTATION
STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE THE BEST
ALIGNMENT MANAGEMENT TALENT
LEADERSHIP

TALENT HUMAN LOWER

RESOURSE COST
+ ASSESSMENT =
CAPABILITY
CULTURE
LEADERSHIP & TALENT DATA IMPROVED
DEVELOPMENT ANALYTICS DIVERSITY
OF TALENT

Source: (Phillips, J. J. (2005). Investing in Your Company‟s Human Capital.

United States of America: AMACOM)

Figure 7.4.1 The Talent Optimization Framework

Talent Optimization Framework, shown in Figure 8.4.1 above, focused on

comparing results between top and bottom quartiles for business outcomes

on each of their eight levers. They found that organizations with a stronger

score in the Supportive Culture lever of their talent framework had a 30%

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increase in achieving greater business outcomes than those in the bottom

quartile. Further, they demonstrated that organizations focused on creating a

supportive culture had a 10% positive impact on improving business

outcomes, even if the other levers of the model were considered average.

Having a framework in mind for what this could look like can be imperative

for structuring talent initiatives and then communicating the overall vision for

talent with others in the organization.

Factors to consider when changing an organization‘s culture to emphasize

the growth of its talent. The themes that talent managers should keep top of

mind when thinking about how to implement these changes include:

Culture matters – By having a supportive culture, HR executives and

business leaders can better retain talent and maximize team growth and

output.

Focusing on people is positively correlated to improved performance.

Effective talent management strategies start at the top and start from

day one.

Learning should be a continuous process for each individual and should

demonstrate value and ROI over time.

Keep in mind the positive traits and characteristics of talent-rich cultures

and make strides to incorporate these in your own organization.

It is possible to change work culture so that it positively affects

employees and the bottom line. It will not occur overnight, but with a few

simple steps conducted regularly, the talent will flourish.

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7.5 THE TALENT MANAGEMENT IMPERATIVE

It is estimated that organizations spend anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of

their total operating spend on payroll and other direct employment expenses.

And yet, very few organizations make decisions about their people with the

same discipline and confidence as they do about money, clients and

technology. Organizations that focus on maximizing their investment in

people, rather than administering it, understand they will gain a significant

competitive advantage. Organizations embark on the path toward

maximizing their investment in people by first identifying the workforce as an

asset. This asset requires the same level of business discipline for

optimization and management that would be expected of other business

capital (i.e. financial, property, technology, etc.). Organizations that

effectively optimize human capital focus their talent management strategy

around three key principals: business focus, agility and alignment. Talent

management has emerged as a corporate mandate for organizations

seeking to create competitive advantage through human capital assets.

IT‟S ABOUT THE BUSINESS

After years of paying service to the notion, successful organizations are

beginning to take action on the all too common platitude ―our workforce is

our greatest asset.‖ They are linking key business initiatives with talent

management principles to rapidly address new business opportunities and

challenges, ultimately developing and allocating the right people with the

right skills and experience at the right time.

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By increasing productivity and motivating workforce behavior, talent

management leads to higher levels of organizational performance, including:

Rapid product introductions

Improved service delivery

Increased innovation

Lower production costs

Increased on-time, on-budget projects

Higher customer satisfaction

Sustained organizational improvements

THE AGILE WORKFORCE

For most organizations, the last decade has been defined by the search for

incremental and sustainable increases in productivity, profitability and

competitive edge. Organizations expanding into new markets and

developing new products and services depend on their people to conceive,

communicate, lead and execute those initiatives. Being able to rapidly

address new organizational opportunities and challenges by developing and

allocating the right people with the right skills is the essence of workforce

agility. Organizations are increasingly recognizing they lack insight into their

current workforce and lack an understanding of how the HR function can

fundamentally assist in enabling the execution of business plans.

Progressive HR leaders understand that they can begin to contribute to

organizational initiatives by establishing business processes that manage

the supply and demand of talent. Integrated and dynamic internal mobility,

succession, career development and recruiting processes enable

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organizations to optimize the knowledge, skills and deployment of their

workforce to meet the goals of mission critical initiatives.

THE ALIGNED WORKFORCE

To successfully execute business objectives of growth, profitability, customer

satisfaction, etc., companies must align the performance of their people to

corporate goals. That is, people must understand what they need to do, be

able to do it and be rewarded for doing it well. Successful organizations

recognize that their competitive differentiation hinges on ability to

purposefully connect the workforce with the business goals and to motivate

behavior that contributes to organizational performance. In aligning an

organization‘s workforce, new processes and enabling technologies

essentially transpose strategy statements into day-to-day work activities that

can be measured.

Effective alignment allows work to be measured through performance

metrics and scorecards to create a shared vision. Cascading goals establish

a direct line of sight from what an individual does, to the measured business

result, instilling a greater sense of personal accountability towards a

common goal. As the final component to a fully aligned environment,

executives must establish incentives that link individual behavior and

success to the achievement of corporate objectives. Pay-for-performance

reward structures serve to motivate behavior that supports the goals and

strategy of the organization. Those that have deployed consistent, unbiased

pay-for-performance initiatives have realized strong benefits, both qualitative

and quantitative.

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Effective alignment allows work to be measured through performance

metrics and scorecards to create a shared vision.

7.6 RECENT STUDIES ON TALENT MANAGEMENT

Studies on talent management reveal a number of common themes. First,

the focus on talent management forces companies to become aware of—

and assess—their workforce talent and current and future talent needs.

Second, organizations that understand the business case for talent

management successfully link talent management and organizational

strategy, reaping benefits in increased workplace performance. Third,

organizations are seeking effective ways to measure talent and determine

bottom line impact.

• 2005 TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES SURVEY

According to this study, 43% of companies see retention of key talent as the

issue that will have the most impact on their business. Further, 72% of

organizations are concerned about the negative effect on the bottom line

due to inadequate skills of incoming workers. The study emphasizes that as

baby boomers turn 62 in 2008 and skills gaps widen, the impending talent

crisis will quickly become a global, cross-industry threat. For example, 33%

of companies state that 11% of their workforce may retire in the next two or

three years. For 31% of companies, the issue of retirement and impending

skills shortages is being discussed at the board level. However, only 50% of

organizations have a defined list of critical skills for the future.

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• THE HIGH - PERFORMANCE WORKFORCE STUDY 2004
Executives in six countries spanning more than 15 industries were surveyed.

The findings reveal six practices that dramatically improve workforce

performance, yielding strong contributions to business performance. The

number one practice is a formal process for talent management, supported

by technologies, that enables an organization to objectively assess

employee skills and capabilities and quickly identify the best candidates for

open positions.

• SURVEY OF GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

This survey explores global talent management practices among

multinational companies (MNCs), focusing on global-scale processes to

identify and develop leaders. According to the study findings, the most

effective processes for identifying talent and increasing visibility of high

potential candidates are assessment processes with open and frank

discussions. Yet not all MNCs consider these discussions at the same level;

80% of American companies see talent review meetings as open and frank,

compared with 55% of European companies. Many MNCs explicitly seek

and encourage diversity in their talent pools. Within development planning,

the most critical experiences are those that provide high potentials with a

broad organizational view, visibility and experience outside of their comfort

zones (e.g., participation on global task forces, two- to three-year

international assignments, inclusion in critical meetings).

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• HOW LEADING ORGANIZATIONS MANAGE TALENT
From in-depth interviews with HR leaders of large employers in a variety of

industries, this study reveals that leading companies make attracting,

engaging and retaining employees a strategic business priority. leadership

focuses on clearly communicating the business strategy to the workforce as

well as defining the role people play to execute that strategy. Effective

leaders have a clear understanding of what drives value in their

organizations, what motivates their customers and how to achieve growth in

the future. Many companies have developed talent management metrics to

support business and financial measures, with metrics built into the balanced

scorecard. Through the performance management system, managers are

held accountable for employee retention and creating opportunities for high-

potential employees.

Looking to the Future Anticipated workforce changes and cost-effective

ways to access talent are key to the next generation of talent management.

Predictive workforce monitoring will lead to effective strategic talent decision-

making. Factors such as flexible talent sourcing, customized and

personalized rewards, distributed and influential leadership, and unified and

compassionate workplace cultures will be important for successful talent

management. Companies will increasingly utilize different types of

employment relationships, and nonstandard employment models will

continue to evolve. Free agency employment relationships—contracting for

the best talent on an as-needed basis—will become more common. To

benefit from the knowledge, skills and corporate memory of mature workers,

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phased retirement will become prevalent. Keeping workers engaged—

particularly the next generations—may call for HR to redesign the workweek,

benefits packages and reward programs.

Scenario planning and talent-match databases will become essential

planning tools. In closing, to sustain outstanding business results in a global

economy, organizations will rethink and reinvent their approaches to talent

management. Effective talent management calls for strong participatory

leadership, organizational buy-in, employee engagement and workplace

scorecards with talent management metrics. Companies that master talent

management will be well-positioned for long-term growth in workforce

performance for years to come.

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 Chapter – 8

SHIPBUILDING IN INDIA

8.1 SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY – AN OVERVIEW

The ship building industry enjoys strategic importance in view of its role in

developing a country‘s shipping fleet. Being a labour intensive industry,

countries with low wage levels are ideally suited for ship building activities.

The ship buildingsector is a global industry with China, South Korea and

Japan controlling 78% of the total market share. India is a very small player

with an insignificant market share.

Indian shipbuilding industry has also witnessed healthy growth in the recent

past. Spurred by this recent growth several companies are setting up

Shipbuilding capacity. The existing shipyards are aggressively expanding

capacity. The overall announced investment of the upcoming private

shipyards exceeds INR 200 billion, all proposed to come online within the

next 5-7 years.

Given the inherent labor intensive nature of the shipbuilding industry, India

has a Natural advantage by virtue of its lower cost of labor and availability of

skills. However, in order to establish India as a preferred shipbuilding

destination. Certain areas have to be addressed. Elimination of regulatory

hurdles and Continuance of support in line with that enjoyed by competing

nations like China and Vietnam are required for the industry to develop

scale.

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Shipbuilding is a cyclical industry, where variables like fresh developments in

the shipping industry, current market perception, government tax and

reforms. The development of the shipbuilding sector has the potential to

positively impact the economy including service sectors.

Indian shipyards have certain advantages over shipyards in developed

nations. India possesses a large pool of technical workers, and its cost of

workforce is relatively low, compared to most other shipbuilding countries.

Apart from this, the Indian navy usually gives orders to Indian shipyards

based on national interests. This will also act in favour of the Indian

shipbuilding industry.

Shipbuilding acts as a catalyst for overall industrial growth due to spin offs to

other industries, including steel, engineering equipments, port infrastructure,

trade and shipping services. The indirect potential of shipbuilding industry in

employment generation and contribution to GDP

Shipbuilding which includes, shipyards, marine equipment manufacturers,

and a large number of service and knowledge providers, is an important and

strategic industry in a number of countries around the world. Shipbuilding is

a globalized, technology-based, and capital intensive industry.

8.2 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES

Due to the high quality of training imparted to maritime personnel, India has

always been regarded as a major source of skilled manpower for world

shipping. India has around 150 training institutes with four in the public sector

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and around 146 in the private sector, capable of producing 11,164

seafarers (4,575 officers and 6,589 ratings) annually.

RECENT INITIATIVES
RECRUITMENT AND PROMOTION
To facilitate the mobility of manpower from one port to the other, appointments

at senior levels will be effected through a composite method where eligible

officers from all major ports fulfilling the criteria would be considered.

Recruitment and promotion rules of such appointments shall also be

standardized.

INCENTIVES

To improve the efficiency of ports, the Government has allowed incentive

programs to be implemented by ports. Under these programs, the performance

of port officers/personnel would be monitored by respective ports regularly and

incentives like awards /mementos / remuneration for each year would be

awarded. Incentives programs have been undertaken at various ports. The

incentive programs initiated for crane operators at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust

(JNPT) has led to an improvement in productivity parameters.

DOCK LABOR BOARDS

To enable interchangeability of labor, the Government has introduced the Dock

Workers {Regulation of Employment (inapplicability to Major Port Trusts)}Act,

1997, that provides for merger of Dock Labor Boards; it has been implemented

by most ports.

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TRAINING

Training programs for port officers and employees have also been identified as

important under a recent initiative. It is proposed that there would be

induction/foundation courses for new entrants and departmental promotes. The

curriculum of the training program would be designed to cover the

multiple activities carried out at a port. Refresher courses would also be

conducted at regular intervals to keep pace with the latest developments.

Successful completion of training courses would be made mandatory for

promotions. Training institutions will be encouraged to collaborate with reputed

counterparts abroad for upgrading skills of both trainers and trainees.

AREAS TO BE ADDRESSED

CALCULATION OF PRODUCTIVITY LINKED REWARD

The present scheme of payment of productivity linked reward is based on

certain productivity parameters calculated on an all-India basis. The payment is

made out of the resources of the port trusts and each major port trust is an

independent entity. So the scheme may need to be relooked at, based on

productivity parameters of individual port trusts.

RETENTION AND TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL

While training has been identified as a focus area by the Government, it is also

necessary to address the need for training for special skills in areas where

ports face manpower shortage. This includes training for crane operators,

pilots, Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) operators, etc. Incentives should be

provided to ports to invest in training infrastructure such as simulators, etc.

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Plans should also be developed to retain key staff such as pilots, IT personnel,

VTS operators, etc.

DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING CURRICULUM

The Indian maritime training system lacks consistency in content and methods

owing to the absence of a regulatory body. The large number of private

institutions with no control has led to allegations about the quality of training in

the country. There is a need to re-design the courses, reducing focus on theory

and increasing focus on practical aspects. Another issue is the lack of slots at

ports and ships which results in delay for cadets to start their training.

Arrangements should be made to ensure that institutions make arrangements

for the required number of training slots before intake of cadets.

India's maritime sector is witnessing promising growth, which is reflected in the

increase in the demand for infrastructure and services across the entire value

chain comprising shipping, ports, ship-building/repair, and logistics. While this

growth has exposed bottlenecks in infrastructure and service provisioning

across the sector, it has also opened up opportunities in each segment.

Therefore, it is critical to pursue comprehensive measures in the policy,

administration, and project level in each segment, so that bottlenecks are

addressed and opportunities are capitalized upon, thereby ensuring that the

growth momentum is sustained.

8.3 TALENT SHORTAGE IN INDIA‟S SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY

India is a large peninsula with a coastline of about 7500 km. The nation

therefore requires a vibrant and strong shipbuilding industry for economic as

137
well as strategic reasons. At present South Korea, Japan and China

dominate the shipbuilding industry. Despite a long coastline, good potential

and availability of favorable sites for shipbuilding, the country‘s share in the

overall shipbuilding tonnage in the world is around 1.12%.

Indian shipbuilding is mainly centered around ―27‖ Shipyards comprising of

―8‖ Public Sector and ―19‖ Private Sector units. A major share of the

shipbuilding capacity is held by public sector yards. Private Shipyards,

though more in number are severely limited by capacity and size of ships

they can build.

Ship design and Shipbuilding will require skilled manpower in various

disciplines viz. naval architecture, marine engineering, mechanical and

electrical engineering, production management, information technology etc.

in three tiers viz. Degree holders, Diploma holders and Technicians.

Presently, there is a shortage of such skilled manpower categorically in view

of the rise in Shipbuilding activities and future scenario.

To cope up with demand of the above mentioned qualified and skilled work

force for shipbuilding, will encourage setting up of educational institutes in

the private sector or with the private sector participation.

Will consider allotting land for setting-up of training and educational institute

purposes etc. The rate of such land shall be as per the prevailing norms.

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Pro-active actions by the industries to tie-up with the nearby ITI/ Polytechnic/

Engineering Colleges for imparting education/ training will be encouraged.

Will also encourage setting up a Shipbuilding Skill Development Centre in

the private sector.

The centre will primarily take up following assignments:

(a) Design of industry oriented curriculum.

(b) Workforce demand & supply monitoring system.

Will endeavour to provide necessary support/assistance and coordinate with

the concerned departments/agencies for Human Resource Development

related activities. Existing engineering college, polytechnics and ITIs will be

encouraged to increase the number of seats in various disciplines as per the

projected requirements. Beneficiary industries viz. Shipyard and ancillary

sector will be encouraged to extend financial support to all such Human

Resource Development institutions.

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 Chapter – 9
BEST PRACTICES

9.1 ABG SHIPYARD LTD.

About ABG

ABG (Agarwal Business Group) Shipyard Ltd., the flagship company of ABG

group was incorporated in the year 1980 with 10 lakhs by takingover

Magdalla Shipyard Pvt. Ltd. with the main objects of carrying Shipbuilding

and Ship Repair business. ABG Shipyard Limited is an India-based

company. It is the largest private ship building and repairing company

operating in India. ABG Shipyard, state-of-the-art ship building or

manufacturing unit is located in Surat at Gujarat; India.The company's

shipyard is located at Magdala, near Surat spread across 35 acres on the

banks of the river Tapi. The yard can simultaneously build on modular basis

and repair up to 23 ships. Also the Surat plant is the first ever plant

constructed by the ABG Shipyard Ltd. Further, the manufacturing facility of

ABG Shipyard at Surat is at par with prevalent world standards and conform

to ISO 9001:2000 quality standards for production. The company is an

established manufacturer of a variety of marine ships, including bulk carriers,

140
deck barges, interceptor boats, anchor handling supply ships, diving support

ships, tugs and offshore vessels.

The corporate office of ABG Shipyard Ltd is located at Mumbai, India. In a

span of 15 years from the year 1991, the company has achieved the status

of the largest private sector shipbuilding yard in India with satisfied customer

base all around the world.

MISSION:

To be a Global Marine Shipbuilding Company, offering customized full-

service solutions to our customers, enabling them to focus on their core

competencies.

VISION:

ABG Shipyard Limited shall be a world class Shipyard capable of building

and repairing vessels with the highest standards of quality, safety and strict

adherence to delivery schedules at very competitive prices.

ABG PEOPLE - SKILLS & TRAINING

The strong 275 ABG team represents a unique blend of skill, expertise and

camaraderie along with contractual labour consisting over 1200 people. Our

experienced and highly knowledgeable experts keep abreast of the latest

developments. Well trained and well equipped with sophisticated

technological tools, they rise to global challenges with finesse. ABG‘s

exclusive Vocational Training Programmes enable ongoing skill

enhancement. We integrate diverse skills such as creative and analytical

141
thinking, technical know-how, managerial expertise, financial knowledge and

more to create highly motivated customer driven teams.

Employee Training Schemes:

Excellent relations with employees

Attrition rate - only 1% for management level.

A minimum training day at all levels is considered as 4 days per year.

Most training schemes based on skills improvement, self development

and safety culture.

9.1.1 TALENT MANAGEMENT AT ABG SHIPYARD

In a buoyant talent market, the Company continues to attract and retain

talent of the highest quality.ABG shipyard is a manpower driven industry and

believe that employees are key contributors to their business success. To

achieve this, they focus on attracting and retaining the best people possible.

They believe that a combination of their strong brand name, working

environment and competitive compensation programs allow them to attract

and retain talented people.

The manpower requirement for the new ship building facility is anticipated to

be around 5000 including contract employees. The existing ship building

facility is located at Surat and do not foresee any difficulty in the availability

of and recruitment of the requisite quality manpower. While certain senior

persons from the existing unit will oversee the operations of the new ship

building facility during the initial days, they would recruit both skilled and

unskilled manpower across various functional areas. While the ship building

142
facility would require additional manpower, the human resource requirement

for the marketing and corporate department will not increase on linear basis

and shall start enjoying the benefits of economies of scale.

ABG shall recruit personnel for the new ship building facility closer to the

starting of commercial production of this unit. They place special emphasis

on the training of employees to enable them to develop their skills and to

meet changing requirements. They focus on an initial learning programme

for trainees as well as continuous learning programmes for all their

employees. For the purpose of training their employees, they organize in-

house and external training programmes.

ABG believe that well-trained employees are key enablers for the efficient

growth of their operations and ability to manage large, complex designs.

They are specifically focused on developing manufacturing and quality

control competencies among their employees. Some of their initiatives that

have helped to develop good managers include management development.

Programmes whereby experienced employees provides training on

importance of quality control measures, tools employed to achieve quality

products and discussions on new molecules being discovered. The training

programmes are aimed at ensuring optimum utilization of employees skills.

ABG seek to adopt a very open culture and a participative management

style, to enable employees to benefit most from the knowledge and skills of

the management and technical professionals. They have also linked

remuneration to performance, with certain portion of salary of management

143
and research/technical professionals being earned as variable pay. They

strive to foster a feeling of well-being in their employees through care and

respect. They have several structured processes including employee

mentoring, grievance management and corporate ethics programmes which

are intended to facilitate a friendly and cohesive organizational culture. They

have established a mentoring program that enables them to facilitate and

associate themselves closely with their employees' interests and aspirations.

ABG Shipyard maintain high standards on safety at their shipyards. The

management is concerned with the safety and health of their employees and

maintains a safety assurance program to reduce the possibility of costly

accidents. The safety department establishes guidelines for compliance with

all applicable state safety regulations. They also provide training and safety

education through orientations for new employees and regular employee

safety meetings.

9.2 PIPAVAV SHIPYARD LTD.

Pipavav Shipyard Limited is now been formally renamed as "Pipavav

Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited"

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Overview

Pipavav Shipyard project was originally conceived and implemented by SKIL

Infrastructure Limited (SKIL).

A shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore fabrication complex is constructed by

the Company at Pipavav in the State of Gujarat, India. The complex is

spread over an aggregate area of 198.92 hectares (approximately 491.53

acres), comprising an SEZ unit spread over 95 hectares (approximately

234.75 acres) and an EOU spread over 103.92 hectares (approximately

256.79 acres). The EOU site adjoins approx 720 meters of dedicated

waterfront. The two sites are connected by a dedicated corridor road of

approximately 4.5 km length built by the Company.

MISSION:

To create visibility and value for all stakeholders on a sustainable basis by

leveraging on most advanced capabilities to exploit global opportunities.

VISION:

To make the Company one of the best in the world in every aspect with

focus on Defence, Offshore and Heavy Engineering in the coming decade

and to contribute humbly towards India becoming net exporter of warships,

oil and gas assets.

9.2.1 TALENT MANAGEMENT AT PIPAVAV SHIPYARD

TM has a high priority at PSL Talent development is part of the PSL‘s

culture, which is, for example, reflected in the promote-from-within policy and

145
the belief that leadership development contributes decisively to PSL‘s

competitive advantage. TM is linked to the organization‘s overall growth

strategy, which aims at winning market. Looking at employee development,

there are some formal training and development programmes at PSL;

however, most development is achieved on the job, i.e. by direct manager‘s

support, mentoring, and the help of teammates. During the first year of

employment at PSL, every employee gets a 360-degree review. There are

multiple leadership development programmes and part of the evaluation and

compensation of line managers is based on the development of their

organisation. TM at PSL are the effective recruiting processes. Uniform

criteria are used during interviews, details about the assessments are

recorded for each candidate, and quantitative scores are assigned. Later,

performance is assessed against the baseline set during the interview.

PSL benefits from: training and skill development are encouraged and talent

is more easily retained, as there are promotion opportunities within the

organization; as it provides trust through organizational hierarchies, it

favours strong performance and facilitates decentralization, participation,

and information sharing; a sense of fairness and justice in the organization is

created, contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a meritocratic

culture i.e. a culture based on employees‘ achievement. However, this kind

of policy might create a risk of the tendency toward inward-thinking. That is

why PSL fills 20 to 30 percent of their middle management to senior

management positions with external recruits. Moreover, executives are

146
encouraged to become board members of other organizations and to

become members of professional networks.

People are hired and developed along principles fostering commitment. all

stakeholders, i.e. also the talents themselves, are accountable for

contributing in making the TM processes and systems robust. PSL sponsors

the leadership development courses for the senior leaders. This mirrors the

organization‘s idea that TM is both a leadership responsibility, as well as a

business process.

The management and the talent pool of Pipavav Shipyard is being

continuously strengthened by attracting the best talent available in domestic

and international markets that can cater to the exacting demands of

customers.

An exciting position is given with plenty of opportunity for growth, learning,

and advancement. This is always desirable, as a meaningful job that has the

potential to make a difference in the lives of their employees. Pipavav

Shipyard gives Financial support for employees who wish to continue their

education. They also provide increased benefits, stock options, more

vacation time, company cars, child care, and other perks.

Pipavav Shipyard believes in recognising their employees for the

outstanding performance. Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well

done, and nothing makes someone feel more appreciated than cold hard

cash. Employee feel that the company has some degree of loyalty towards

147
them, which could in turn influence them to repay their employers with some

loyalty of their own.

Employees in Pipavav Shipyard are allowed to enjoy on casual days This

allows employees the chance to express themselves better and this creates

a more comfortable work environment. There is a proper interaction level the

managers spend some time to know their employees better. A thorough

understanding of an employee's goals, concerns, skill level, values, health,

and job satisfaction. At the same time the company will educate itself as to

which employees are the most valuable in both business and personal

sense.

Upper-level employees are trained as retention managers to help in the

seemingly never-ending battle to keep talent. A successful retention

manager must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and have a

talent for listening, respecting, and understanding their employees concern.

Pipavav Shipyard believes that the company's strengths will enable them to

promote an image to help recruit and ultimately retain the best employees

out there.

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9.3 BHARATI SHIPYARD LTD

The voyage at Bharati Shipyard began in 1973. Bharati Shipyard Ltd is the

foremost privately operated shipyard in terms of building facilities in India.

BSL has earned its reputation by constructing a large array of specialized

sophisticated vessels for diverse offshore, coastal and the marine market

sectors. BSL also has earned International Code for the security of ships

and of Port facilities (ISPS Code) issued by the Directorate General of

Shipping. Ministry of Shipping.

BSL has been able to achieve a high level of quality and timely production

on account of the high professionalism in the management, design,

production and quality assurance that works together as team towards their

goal. – "Where quality and technical excellence are tradition and where

the emphasis is on prompt delivery."

Vision/Mission statement:- Putting customer first. Best service of quality &

technical excellence with emphasis on prompt delivery are central to

everything we do.

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9.3.1 TALENT MANAGEMENT AT BHARATI SHIPYARD

TM is considered very important at Bharati Shipyard. They have built a

―talent factory‖ A talent factory is an organization that has combined

functionality, i.e. talent processes that support both cultural and strategic

objectives, and vitality, i.e. emotional commitment to TM processes by

management, who exhibit this in daily action. This combination allows the

organisation to develop and retain key employees. This has led BSL to

develop the human resource practices and policies on a central level, but at

the same time built in flexibility to provide local variations BSL relies on

multiple sources of data, e.g. 360 degree feedback, panel reviews, and self

assessments and has established processes that are used throughout the

organisation. This means that every subsidiary has the same list containing

methods, e.g. for assessment and recruitment. They provide a base for the

measurement and decisions about the recruitment, but also the development

of talents.

BSL has created a system of talent pools to track and identify talents within

the organization. These talents are assigned to local talent pools, and within

these pools, they are selected for different assignments Over time, they are

given the opportunity to cross boundaries. In this way, BSL hopes to develop

the future leaders of the organization. People who are seen as fit for the

most senior level of management are singled out and administrated

centrally. However, BSL is experiencing some difficulties with the younger

employees, the Generation Y, who are demanding a different job than older

generations. This is why BSL is thinking about ways how to offer as much

150
variation as possible to this generation. BSL is seen as a global

organization, which causes graduates and young employees to have certain

expectations. Within BSL, there is a realization that the organization needs

to offer international assignments, to avoid the risk of losing younger talents.

In order to overcome this challenge, BSL has introduced alumni schemes:

there is a realization that younger employees leave the organization earlier,

but by keeping in contact with these talents, BSL might be able to bring them

back as mid-career hires.

The second focus of a talent factory is on vitality. Vitality concerns the mind-

sets and attitudes of the people involved in TM. Talent Management should

not just be found in HR, but throughout the line and all the way up to the top

of the organization.

BSL tries to foster commitment to TM by involving the line managers directly

in the TM process. These line managers have to work together with central

and regional HR functions to fill important positions with talents found

throughout the whole organization. It is stated that BSL is well known for its

development of people. BSL has training programmes that should prepare

talents for management and executive positions. The training that is offered

is of high quality and will help people develop their skills and increase the

knowledge, to maintain a competitive advantage Engagement is the ―degree

to which company leaders show their commitment to the details of talent

management‖

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At BSL, specific policies and practices are formulated, in order to ensure line

management engaged. The growth objectives of different units are linked to

the people development.

BSL recognise the value of people as their most valuable asset and believe

that their Company‘s employees are central to their sustainable success.

Findings show that knowledge-intensive industries build talent by supporting

collaboration and knowledge-sharing among individuals and across the

organization.

Developing, motivating, rewarding and retaining talent at all levels is a

business priority and a key responsibility of Company‘s senior management.

Delegation, empowerment, learning from failures that emanate from

calculated risks is being institutionalized as well. The management has met

with considerable success in creating a work place environment that

encourages people to constantly learn and grow. As a result of this human

resources focus, the Company boasts of a highly motivated and committed

workforce

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 Chapter – 10

DATA ANALYSIS & FINDINGS

Survey has been conducted in ABG Shipyard, Pipavav Shipyard and Bharati

Shipyard. sample size of respondents are 250 including both male and

female. The respondents were both senior level managers as well middle

level. Senior level managers include HR managers and middle level includes

executives. Survey has been done to know the effectiveness of the talent

development in the organization. Comparative study has been done

between ABG, Pipavav & Bharati Shipyard.

1. How long have you been working for the company?

(a) Less than a year

(b) 1-2 yrs

(c) 3-4 yrs

(d) 5-10 yrs

(e) 10yrs & above

ABG Shipyard
3%

20% Less than a year

39%
1-2 yrs
18%
3-4 yrs

20% 5-10 yrs

10 yrs & above

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 Pipavav Shipyard

10% 6% Less than a year

11%
33% 1-2 yrs
3-4 yrs
40% 5-10 yrs
10 yrs & above

Bharati Shipyard

8% 10%
Less than a year
22%
28% 1-2 yrs
3-4 yrs

32% 5-10 yrs

10 yrs & above

Figure no. 10.1

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Less than a year 3% 6% 10%
1-2 yrs 39% 33% 28%
3-4 yrs 20% 40% 32%
5-10 yrs 18% 11% 22%
10 yrs & above 20% 10% 8%

Table no. 10.1

Analysis:- From table above it can be observed that the majority of

respondent in all the 3 shipbuilding companies fall within the 1 to 4 yrs

working experience in the company, followed by least percent of

respondents who fall in less than a year. Respondents with 5 to 10 years

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working experience are tied at 18%, 11%, 22% response rate from each

companies respectively. Lastly, respondents with 10years and above

working experience are more in ABG Shipyard then Pipavav & Bharati

shipyard.

The very nature of the relationship between employers and employees has

undergone a fundamental shift: Today, workers not only expect to work for

decades on end for the same company, but they don't want to. They are

largely disillusioned with the very idea of loyalty to organizations. But, at the

same time, they don't really want to shift employers every two to three years

for their entire career.

2. Overall how much are you satisfied with your company‘s personnel

policies?

(a) Satisfied

(b) Dissatisfied

(c) Neither Satisfied or Dissatified

ABG Shipyard

6% Satisfied
42%

Dissatisfied
52%

Neither Satisfied nor

Dissatisfied

155
 Pipavav Shipyard

14% Satisfied
40%

Dissatisfied
46%
Neither Satisfied nor
Dissatisfied

Bharati Shipyard

11% Satisfied

31%
58% Dissatisfied

Neither Satisfied nor

Dissatisfied

Figure no. 10.2

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Satisfied 42% 40% 58%
Dissatisfied 52% 46% 31%
Neither Satisfied 6% 14% 11%
nor Dissaisfied

Table no. 10.2

Analysis:- The respondents from ABG Shipyard (52%) & Pipavav Shipyard

(46%) are extremely dissatisfied with company‘s personnel policies whereas

58% of respondents from Bharati Shipyard are satisfied.

Personnel Policies must be specific and well-defined. Every employee must

be fully aware of the various policies affecting his/her interests. Also, the

156
policies must be stable, although not rigid. Stability creates a sense of

security and removes uncertainty from the minds of the employees. The

application of policies must be consistent throughout the organization. Policy

statement enables the management to take a definite course of action in

respect of employees matters. For instance, a policy on performance

appraisal.

3. Does your company use talent management practices for identifying key

performers?

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

36%

Yes
64%
No

157
 Pipavav Shipyard

28%

Yes
72% No

Bharati Shipyard

40% Yes
No
60%

Figure no. 10.3

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 64% 72% 60%
No 36% 28% 40%

Table no. 10.3

Analysis:- Talent Management practise for identifying top performers is

practised in all the 3 Shipbuilding companies. It is highly practised in Pipavav

Shipyard as compare to ABG & Bharati Shipyard.

It is rightly said, “Your Top Performers are Your Blueprint for Beating the

Competition.” Top performers will become model for identifying

158
individuals—inside and outside of the company—who have the potential to

contribute in real and meaningful ways

4. Within your organization, what kinds of talent development activities

are carried out?

(a) Skill building classroom workshop

(b) Developmental experience term assignments

(c) Coaching

(d) Mentoring

(e) Education

(f) Others

ABG Shipyard
4%
Workshop
14%
21% Assignment
18%
Coaching

23% Mentoring
20%
Education
Others

Pipavav Shipyard
Workshop
10% 18%
16% Assignment
15%
Coaching
22% Mentoring
19%
Education
Others

159
 Bharati Shipyard
Workshop
8% 22%
15% Assignment
12% Coaching
18%
Mentoring
25%
Education
Others

Figure no. 10.4

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Workshop 14% 18% 22%
Assignment 18% 15% 12%
Coaching 20% 19% 25%
Mentoring 23% 22% 18%
Education 21% 16% 15%
Others 4% 10% 8%

Table no. 10.4

Analysis:- Mixed activities carried out in all the three Shipbuilding

companies for developing talent. To nurture talent, most organizations use

companywide talent management programmes for high potentials coaching

and mentoring to help staff move into key roles and and develop talent.

Organizations are using certification for improving the training programs.

Almost six in ten organizations undertake talent management activities.

Talent management activities tend to be directed at high-potential

employees and senior managers. The main objectives of talent management

activities are to develop high-potential employees and to grow future senior

managers/leaders & also to meet the future skills requirements of the

organization.

160
5. At the time of Talent Management exercise, is the individual assessed
on
(a) Past Performance

(b) Fresh battery of tests

ABG Shipyard

33% Past experience

Tests
67%

Pipavav Shipyard

40% Past experience

Tests
60%

161
 Bharati Shipyard

32%
Past Experience
Tests
68%

Figure no. 10.5

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Past Experience 33% 40% 32%
Tests 67% 60% 68%

Table no. 10.5

Analysis:- In this survey employees of all the 3 shipbuilding companies

said that the individual assessed on fresh battery of tests rather on past

performance.

Identifying those individuals with leadership capability and potential to

undertake complex roles. An evaluative judgement of an individual‘s

potential, focusing on five elements:

Performance history

Capability ratings

Personal aspirations

The ability to progress

Readiness to move to a new role

162
6. How do you indentify the talent?

(a) BY COMPETENCIES

 creating profile of leadership job

 creating profile of management
(b) BY RESULTS

 objective measures like sales/production/etc

 subjective measures like total contribution /team effort etc
 accountable for complex jobs
(c) BY POTENTIAL

 accumulated skills / experience

 ability to learn new skills
 willing to tackle bigger/complex challenges.
(d) OTHERS

ABG Shipyard

10%
Competencies
42%
30% Results
Potential

18% Others

163
 Pipavav Shipyard

7%
36% Competencies
Results
43%
Potential
14%
Others

Bharati Shipyard

12%
30%
Competencies
Results
41%
17% Potential
Others

Figure no. 10.6

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Competencies 42% 36% 30%
Results 18% 14% 17%
Potential 30% 43% 41%
Others 10% 7% 12%

Table no. 10.6

Analysis:- ABG Shipyard identify talent on the basis of competencies

whereas Pipavav & Bharati Shipyard identify talent on the basis of

employees potential.

164
7. In your current organization, what methods are most commonly used to

communicate with employees?

(a) In – Person

(b) Employee meetings

(c) Letters from Senior Executives

(d) E – Mail.

ABG Shipyard

In – Person
12%
Employee meetings
52% 33%
Letters from Senior
Executives
E – Mail

3%

Pipavav Shipyard
In – Person
8%
23%
Employee meetings

67%
Letters from Senior
Executives
2%
E – Mail

165
 Bharati Shipyard

In – Person
11%
45% Employee meetings
38%
Letters from Senior
6% Executives
E – Mail

Figure no. 10.7

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
In – Person 12% 8% 11%
Employee meetings 33% 23% 38%
Letters from Senior Executives 3% 2% 6%
E – Mail 52% 67% 45%

Table no. 10.7

Analysis:- According to the survey all the 3 shipbuilding companies

generally communicate with their employees through e-mails and in

general meeting. One can't avoid written communication in the workplace;

it's everywhere. Emails, memos, reports, and other written documents are all

part of everyday business life. Email is a lifesaver for many people,

especially in the business world. If you rely on emails and memos to conduct

your business, it's very important to portray a professional image.

166
8. Talent management is the process of ensuring that the organization

attracts, retains, motivates and develops the talented people it needs. Do

you have such a process in your company? If yes, Please mention what

is it?

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

30%

Yes No
70%

Pipavav Shipyard

36%

Yes No
64%

167
 Bharati Shipyard

24%

Yes No

76%

Figure no. 10.8

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 70% 64% 76%
No 30% 36% 24%

Table no. 10.8

Analysis:- In all the 3 shipbuilding companies talent management process

is conducted. It is becoming harder and more competitive to find talented

people with the right attitude and skills. The solution is talent management:

attracting, developing and retaining the right people. Nurturing, developing

and retaining the most talented people requires constant attention and action

in several ways

Whatever your business, having the right people in the right roles is

essential for success. Talent management ensure that there is a steady

supply of the right people with the right skills and approach.

168
9. Designing jobs and developing roles which give people opportunities to

apply and grow their skills and provide them with autonomy, interest and

challenge. Does your HR undertake such assignments?

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

33%

Yes No
67%

Pipavav Shipyard

22%

Yes No
78%

169
 Bharati Shipyard

14%

Yes No
86%

Figure no. 10.9

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 33% 22% 14%
No 67% 78% 86%

Table no. 10.9

Analysis:- The response from all the 3 shipyard companies said that no

such assignment is conducted by HR professionals.

Roles & Responsibilities of HR professionals

Facilitates the creation of a Personal Development Plan for each talent

pool member.

Provides career counselling and helps to create a bespoke career path

for each talent pool member. This career path includes clearly identified

milestones explaining what is expected of the talent pool member at 12,

24 and 36 months.

Understands each individual‘s career aspirations & support line

managers in managing their talent pool employees.

Ensures senior executives‘ participation at succession planning

meetings and in the talent management process.

170
 Advises about suitable leadership development programmes and

development activities.

10. Providing talented staff with opportunities for career development and

growth. Is there such a program in your organization?

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

40%

60% Yes No

Pipavav Shipyard

46%
54% Yes No

171
 Bharati Shipyard

32%

Yes No
68%

Figure no. 10.10

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 60% 54% 68%
No 40% 46% 32%

Table no. 10.10

Analysis:- Career development program is carried in all the 3 Shipyard

companies. More importance is given in Bharati Shipyard as compare to

ABG & Pipavav Shipyard.

Implement key career development measures to drive performance

Ensure that investment in learning and development is meaningful. Provide

employees with incentives to develop by showing them how they can

progress Working together, organizations and their employees can meet

common goals through career development. Career development ensures

work remains challenging and meaningful. It aligns the skills and capabilities

of the employee with the business strategy of the organization, satisfying the

need of employees to make a difference and contribute to the organization‘s

success. It drives engagement, productivity and performance.

172
11. Excluding financial compensation which of the following do you believe

are your organization‘s most effective means of rewarding motivating &

retaining talent?

(a) External Training Sessions

(b) Innovations

(c) Recreational Activities

ABG Shipyard

36% 38%
External Training Sessions
Innovations

26% Recreational Activities

Pipavav Shipyard

40% 45%
External Training Sessions
Innovations

15% Recreational Activities

173
 Bharati Shipyard

33% External Training Sessions

47%
Innovations
Recreational Activities
20%

Figure no. 10.11

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
External Training Sessions 38% 45% 33%
Innovations 26% 15% 20%
Recreational Activities 36% 40% 47%

Table no.10.11

Analysis:- ABG & Pipavav Shipyard focus on external training sessions to

retain employees whereas Bharati Shipyard focus on recreational activities

such as games, fully equipped gyms, cultural programs. External training

can bring fresh ideas. To foster better relations and esprit de corps among

the employees, Recreation Committee organizes a wide range of subsidized

activities for the staff. They include sports, to cultivate healthy lifestyle; art

and cultural events; and family-oriented activities for bonding and closeness.

12. Developing the leadership qualities of line managers; recognizing

those with talent by rewarding excellence, enterprise and achievement. Do

you have these as part of your leadership development programs?

YES NO

174
 ABG Shipyard

38%

Yes No
62%

Pipavav Shipyard

27%

73% Yes No

Bharati Shipyard

42%

58% Yes No

Figure no. 10.12

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 62% 73% 58%
No 38% 27% 42%

Table no.10.12

175
Analysis:- Organization understand that leadership can also be developed

by strengthening the connection between, and alignment of, the efforts of

individual leaders and the systems through which they influence

organizational operations. Pipavav Shipyard give more importance to such

leadership programs. Leadership development is an activity that enhances

the quality of leadership within an individual or organization

13. Are Talent Management initiatives a top priority in your organization

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

34%

Yes No
66%

Pipavav Shipyard

30%

Yes No
70%

176
 Bharati Shipyard

42%

58% Yes No

Figure no. 10.13

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 66% 70% 58%
No 34% 30% 42%

Table no. 10.13

Analysis:- Top priority is given in Pipavav Shipyard ltd.

HR management revealed an explosive growth in talent management

initiatives in their organizations. This survey validates the fact that

organizations worldwide are focusing more and applying more effort on

talent-management initiatives today and will continue to do so during the

next few years as external factors, such as the looming talent shortage and

global expansion, become more and more prevalent.

177
14. What % of your workforce has been identified as ―Talented‖ ______%

ABG Shipyard

Talented

70%

Pipavav Shipyard

Talented
62%

Bharati Shipyard

Talented
55%

Figure no. 10.14

Analysis:- ABG Shipyard have 70% of talented workforce. Highest levels of

job satisfaction and organizational commitments benefit to attract and retain

the best and brightest workforce.

178
15. Does your organization have a staff member whose position is

exclusively responsible for overseeing talent management initiatives?

Yes at managerial/ Executive level

No

ABG Shipyard

38%

62% Yes No

Pipavav Shipyard

43%

57% Yes No

179
 Bharati Shipyard

28%

Yes No
72%

Figure no. 10.15

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 38% 43% 28%
No 62% 57% 72%

Table no. 10.15

Analysis:- All the 3 Shipbuilding companies are not sure that a staff

member is appointed who wil is exclusively responsible for overseeing talent

management initiatives.

The role of Talent pool member

Provides ongoing coaching.

Sets stretching objectives for performance and development.

Provides time and capacity for an individual to engage in development

activities.

Receives regular feedback.

Provides support to others within the organization, ‗cascading‘

experience and expertise.

180
16. Overall how satisfied are you with this company as a place to work as

compared to other places you have worked?

(a) Satisfied

(b) Dissatisfied

(c) Neither Satisfied nor Dissatified

ABG Shipyard

22% Satisfied

53% Dissatisfied
25%

Neither Satisfied nor

Dissatisfied

Pipavav Shipyard

15% Satisfied
45%
Dissatisfied
40%
Neither Satisfied nor
Dissatisfied

181
 Bharati Shipyard

20% Satisfied
32%

Dissatisfied

48% Neither Satisfied nor

Dissatisfied

Figure no. 10.16

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Satisfied 53% 45% 32%
Dissatisfied 25% 40% 48%
Neither Satisfied nor 22% 15% 20%
Dissatified

Table no. 10.16

Analysis:- ABG employees are the most satisfied then Pipavav & Bharati

Shipyard. Ensuring that employees are happy in the workplace. Happy

workplace is a great place for productivity.

The three ―E‖s

Engaged: The employee is attached to the company and willing to put

out extra effort.

Enabled: The company environment supports the employee‘s

productivity and performance.

Energized: The employee feels a sense of well-being and drive.

182
17. What are your talent retention initiatives?
(a) Acquiring new talent
(b) Leveraging existing talent
(c) Retaining the current potential

ABG Shipyard

Acquiring new talent

27% 33%
Leveraging existing talent

40% Retaining the current

potential

Pipavav Shipyard

19% Acquiring new talent

32%

Leveraging existing talent

49%
Retaining the current
potential

Bharati Shipyard

24% Acquiring new talent

25%

Leveraging existing talent

51% Retaining the current

potential

Figure no. 10.17

183
 Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati
Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Acquiring new talent 33% 32% 25%
Leveraging existing talent 40% 49% 51%
Retaining the current 27% 19% 24%
potential

Table no. 10.17

Analysis:- The talent retention initiatives of all the 3 companies is leavering

existing talent. The benefits of talent retention initiatives are clear, improving

productivity and allowing the talented people to realise their potential,

removing the barriers to performance and encouraging excellence.

18. What category of employees should organizations try to retain?

(a) Only Experienced Employees

(b) Only Employees who exhibit managerial skills

(c) All employees

ABG Shipyard

20%
45%
Experienced
Skilled
35%
All Employees

184
 Pipavav Shipyard

18%
42%
Experienced
Skilled
40%
All Employees

Bharati Shipyard

13%
Experienced
27% Skilled
60%
All Employees

Figure no. 10.18

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Experienced 20% 18% 13%
Skilled 35% 40% 27%
All Employees 45% 42% 60%

Table no. 10.18

Analysis:- Employees are the base of any company whether they are on

senior or junior level. So here in this, as in Bharati Shipyard many

employees view were yes the company retain all the employees. While in

ABG & Pipavav Shipyard the views were mixed in case of experienced or

all.

185
As companies shed flab in terms of their human resources.

You can have Albert Einstein in your organization, but he will not give

results if he does not have his heart on the job. Employees do not like

to be shackled. They want to learn and be empowered.

- Ronesh Puri
Managing Director, Executive Access

19. If a person wants to leave the job how do company retain that candidate

(a) Salary appraisal

(b) Provide a better job role

(c) Understand personal issues and resolve it

(d) Provide proper motivation

ABG Shipyard

20%
35% Salary Appraisal
15% Better job role
Resolving personal issues
30% Proper motivation

186
 Pipavav Shipyard

37% 28% Salary Appraisal

Better job role
Resolving personal issues
10% 25%
Proper motivation

Bharati Shipyard

34% 24%
Salary Appraisal
Better job role

12% 30% Resolving personal issues

Proper motivation

Figure no. 10.19

Parameters ABG Pipavav Bharati

Shipyard Shipyard Shipyard
Salary Appraisal 35% 28% 24%
Better job role 30% 25% 30%
Resolving personal issues 15% 10% 12%
Proper movtivation 30% 37% 34%

Table no. 10.19

Analysis:- Retaining the candidate in the company for a longer time is the

biggest challenge and all 3 shipbuilding companies are doing well. ABG

shipyard focus on giving their employees better job role & resolving the

personal issues. On the other hand Pipapav & Bharati Shipyard focus on

proper motivation.

187
20. HR must act as facilitators

*HR‘s role is to facilitate the management of talent and to act as coaches

and consultants to the line managers. For it to be truly successful talent

management cannot be seen as simply an HR initiative.

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?

YES NO

ABG Shipyard

26%

Yes No
74%

Pipavav Shipyard

40%

60% Yes No

188
 Bharati Shipyard

32%

Yes No
68%

Figure no. 10.20

Parameters ABG Shipyard Pipavav Shipyard Bharati Shipyard

Yes 74% 60% 68%
No 26% 40% 32%

Table no. 10.20

Analysis:- 74% in ABG Shipyard said HR acts as a facilitator.

HR involve line managers and senior executives in identifying and managing

the most talented people. Is clear about the skills and behaviours needed for

the organization‘s long-term development Integrate talent management with

succession planning, and ensure that both directly support the business

strategy. Maintain top level support for the talent pool and succession plans.

Today HR professionals believe Invest in talent management – it is vital

for the future

189
FINDINGS

According to the data obtained from the survey, the process of talent

management to ensure that the organization attract, retain, motivate and

develop the talented people existing in the organization.

Talent management was thought to be the more cost effective to identify,

develop and retain management talent than to replace lost talent with

recruitment from the external labor market. Various studies estimate the cost

of replacing an executive can run into several times the salary of that

executive. It was thought that over the last several years, there has been a

growing body of research and evidence that clearly shows the incremental

economic value that talented, high performing people deliver.

It was thought that there exists a major difference in average share

performance between organizations with a culture of talent management,

and those without. Line managers are expected to coach and support their

talented direct reports towards development and career goals, a process

that should cascade from the CEO and senior executives. HR‘s role is to

facilitate the management of talent and to act as coaches and consultants to

the line managers. For it to be truly successful, talent management cannot

be seen as simply an HR initiative.

190
The talent management process in the organization was found to be

WORKFORCE PLANNING

A systematic approach was followed within the organization : Identifying the

requirements, Identifying the high potential candidates, Put them through

intentional learning experiences, Select the best, Evaluate the success.

RECRUITMENT

Talent was identified by competencies and potential and sometimes by

results. The talent development was carried out by leveraging of the existing

talent and sometimes by acquiring new talents.

ONBOARDING

Onboarding activities were carried out smoothly. Visible support from top

management, flexible and linked to company business plan and emphasize

on accountability and follow up were found to be the important factors that

help to develop and retain talents.

TRAINING AND PERFROMANCE MANAGEMENT

Various talent development activities that were carried out were skill

building, mentoring and short term assignments as focused training

programs, career transition, technical skills and leadership development and

sometimes job experience was found to be most important for talent

development. The activities such as developing the leadership qualities of

line managers; recognizing those with talent by rewarding excellence,

enterprise and achievement existed.

191
SUCCESSION PLANNING

Succession planning existed to ensuring that the organization has suitable

people to fill vacancies arising from promotion, retirement or death.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Reward system that recognizes and values contribution, and provides

competitive pay and benefits. A reasonable degree of security for employees

was available.

192
 Chapter – 13
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

CONCLUSION
As organizations continue to pursue high performance and improved results

through TM practices, they are taking a holistic approach to talent

management—from attracting and selecting wisely, to retaining and

developing leaders, to placing employees in positions of greatest impact.

The mandate is clear: for organizations to succeed in today‘s rapidly

changing and increasingly competitive marketplace, intense focus must be

applied to aligning human capital with corporate strategy and objectives. It

starts with recruiting and retaining talented people and continues by

sustaining the knowledge and competencies across the entire workforce.

With rapidly changing skill sets and job requirements, this becomes an

increasingly difficult challenge for organizations. Meeting this organizational

supply and demand requires the right ―Talent DNA‖ and supporting

technology solutions. By implementing an effective talent management

strategy, including integrated data, processes, and analytics, organizations

can help ensure that the right people are in the right place at the right time,

as well as organizational readiness for the future

Business strategy is something that should not be kept in big files in the

manager‘s office, but something that the employees leave, breathe and eat

daily. Therefore business strategy should be clearly communicated, should

be understood by all and should be visible. When the lowest ranked

employee in the business is able to understand and tell others about the

193
company strategy and what his/her role is on that strategy, then this could

be used as the measure that the company has done well in selling its

business strategy to its employees.

Researcher would like to stress once more the importance of thinking about

multiple talent pipelines. If talents are not placed in the right positions, the

organisation will lose value and competitive advantage, especially in

nowadays‘ (knowledge) society. The idea about work has changed and

workforce composition is also changing. In order to keep up-to-date with

these changes, but more importantly to attract and retain valuable

employees, organizations need to think about their TM processes and

whether or not these processes offer what all valuable talents in an

organization want and expect from an employer. Researcher believe it is

crucial for organization to think about multiple pipelines when working with

TM. This is the most important message researcher want to convey.

Therefore, researcher wants to stress that multiple talent pipelines must be

seen as an asset for an organization, which is important if organizations

want to achieve a competitive advantage.

Finally, to conclude the future of organizations depends on how the whole

organization and not just HR anticipates and reacts to changes in this era of

talent shortages. They have a long way to go to lead organizations

implement for reaching changes and bringing about transformation among

the members of the organization. TM is an continuous process.

194
RECOMMENDATIONS

Below, ten recommendations concerning the issue of TM and the multiple

pipeline approach will be given. These recommendations are based on the

literature review, the review of best practice organisations, and the conducted

interviews. However, we would like to underline that these recommendations

should not be seen as recommendations to actually implement TM, so they are

not to be understood as a recipe to construct multiple pipelines. These

recommendations are to be understood as starting points to reflect upon, in

order to provide organizations with some ideas when they think about

implementing TM. In that sense, the recommendations below represent rather

a source of inspiration than solutions, for organizations to think about. Of

course, every organization has to decide which of the points are relevant for its

particular situation.

1. TALENT MANAGEMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT UPWARDS

MOBILITY.
This point has been mentioned above several times, but researcher believe

it is important to refer to it as the first recommendation. In our opinion,

organizations need to realise that the concept of a career has changed. A

career is no longer seen only as moving upwards through the levels of the

organization, towards a (senior) leadership position. Nowadays, making a

career entails much more: next to moving upwards, it can mean moving

through the organization in lateral paths, but also moving between different

organizations. As said before, this is called the boundary less career

(Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Researcher believe it is critical for

organizations to take this changing idea of a career into account and we

195
 think the TM of an organization needs to be in line with this idea. In today‘s

society, it is important that organizations offer a career to all their talents,

not only the talents in the leadership pipeline. Employees are more

demanding when it comes to their career and for (almost) all employees,

not only leaders, in the knowledge society, having a career has become

very important. It seems that, if an organization does not offer career paths

to everyone, employees might consider leaving and going to an

organization that will offer them a career that is more in line with their

expectations. Therefore, researcher stress that it is important for

organizations to realise that the roles and the demands are changing and

that TM should not only be focused on upwards mobility, but also embrace

lateral mobility, in order to offer attractive perspectives to multiple groups of

talents. This also sends a message for potential employees of an

organization: they see that in order to be developed they do not necessarily

have to grow in ranks, but can have a career without having to lead other

employees.

2. LEADERS ARE NOT THE ONLY CRUCIAL GROUP ANYMORE.

As has been mentioned above, in the last few decades, the roles of leaders

have changed significantly. It can be argued that leaders are not as crucial

as before, since employees are becoming knowledge workers and

professionals more and more, and therefore, they are less interchangeable

and more valuable for organizations. This means that it is not only leaders

making a difference for the organization. Of course, leaders are still

important, but they are not the only crucial factor in the organization

196
 anymore. Researcher believe it is necessary for organizations to take this

into account, since it shows that TM should be focused on more than one

group, in order to attract and retain all crucial talents, instead of just

leadership-talents. As leaders are not the only crucial group anymore,

organizations must find ways to offer attractive career paths to talents other

than leaders.

Offering an attractive career path for different groups of talents will also

help to prevent putting people into the leadership path that actually do not

want to be leaders or do not have the right competencies. As researcher

have argued several times above, being a talent does not necessarily

mean that this talent also has the talent to lead other employees. Different

groups of talents can be chosen by an organization, depending on what is

crucial for its particular circumstances. However, it has become clear to us

that these talents require a different form of management than the

traditional sense of management. To conclude, as leaders are not the only

crucial group anymore, organizations should establish talent pipelines also

for talents other than leaders.

3. ORGANISATIONS MUST THINK ABOUT OWN DEFINITIONS.

We believe that, when organizations want to work with TM, they need to

have a clear idea about what constitutes a talent and what kind of

competencies are important for the talents in their organization. This

relates to the core business of the organization. Researcher thinks that

every organization is unique and that different organizations have different

core businesses. The definition of talent needs to be aligned with the

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specific core business of an organization. From the interviews conducted,

researcher understood that in practice, organizations see both the

definition and the TM processes as dependant on the character of the

organization.

There are some very specific approaches within organization and

organizations differ from each other. So, it is likely to assume that different

TM processes will fit different organizations. This idea fits the contingency

perspective of HRM. Delery and Doty (1996) state that there are several

contingency factors that will influence the relationship between different

variables. In this case, the variables are the organization and the TM of

that organization. Examples of contingency factors are organizational size,

age, technology, and location. These contingency factors can cause

certain TM processes to work well in one organization, while they do not

fully work in another. This perspective is the so-called „best fit‟ approach

(Beer et al., 1984), which emphasizes that managers are wise to adjust

HRM to the specific context; organizations may under-perform if they do

not adjust (Boxall & Purcell, 2008). Therefore, it can be assumed that TM

also has to be adjusted to fit a specific organizational context, in order to

reach its full potential. Researcher believe that when organizations do not

take this into account, this can be a strong barrier for TM. So, we argue

there is no ‗one-size-fits-all‘ approach to TM and that it is very important for

organizations to think about their own definition and approach to TM, to

make it fit the organization and its employees. Furthermore, every

organization seems to have different success factors. Nowadays,

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employees can be seen as a success factor (Boxall & Purcell, 2008). Yet,

every organization has to deal with different kinds of employees and

therefore, researcher believe every organization should have their own

definition of talent.

Furthermore, looking at the core business of the organization can help to

figure out what kind of talent it needs. Therefore, it can help the

organization to define the groups of talent that could be formulated, i.e.

what groups of employees are necessary for the organization to perform

their core business, now and in the future. This will lead the organization to

think about whether one pipeline, and thus focusing the TM processes on

one group, is enough. Nowadays, it might be that organizations need

multiple groups of talent in order to stay viable. Looking at the core

business and at the future direction of the organization can help the

organization anticipate what kind of talent will be needed.

Moreover, researcher believe it is important that the TM processes of an

organization are aligned with the other HR practices of that particular

organization. As every organization has a different set of HR practices, the

individual organization must identify and decide which kind of TM

processes would fit with the HR practices that are already established. To

illustrate this idea, we would like to present the example of team rewards. If

an organization rewards its employees based on team effort and then a TM

process implemented, which includes singling out talents, as a

consequence, team performance may decrease, since not only will

employees be rewarded for individual effort, but also because labelling

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 certain employees as talents means that these talents will be moved

through the organization. This means that the talent will leave the team,

which can decrease team performance, since one valuable member is

missing and therefore team dynamics probably have changed.

A TM process in that organization must take into consideration that taking

out the talent must not be at the expense of the other team members. This

example highlights that not every TM approach fits into every organization,

but that an organization has to look at, what they already have in place.

4. DO NOT PRIORITISE YOUR PIPELINES

Reseacher believe that it is very important that when an organisation

implements multiple pipelines, these pipelines are seen and treated as

equally important. Prioritising one over the other will give the idea that

there are still certain careers that are valued more than others and that

there is a possible distinction in how important the different talents are for

the organization. This might cause dissatisfaction with certain groups of

talents. Furthermore, this might cause that talents will try to get into the

pipeline that they believe is perceived as most important. Because of this,

talents end up in a pipeline that is not suitable for them or where they

cannot reach their full potential. It might also lead talents in the lower

valued pipeline to leave the organization and to go for the competition, as

they feel they might be more valued in that other organization.

The above relates to possible jealousy and envy that could come to exist

when certain groups of talents are prioritised at the expense of others. This

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 can cause dissatisfaction, which could lead to talents leaving for other

organizations where they feel they are valued more than in their current

organization. Also, this jealousy might make talents try to get in the pipeline

that is the most valued, which, as has been mentioned before, can cause

talents to be in a pipeline that is not suitable for them. So, researcher

believe that prioritization in the beginning of the implementation process is

important, since certain pipelines have to be identified based on the core

business of the organization. The organization has to choose which groups

of talents will be crucial to the organization in order to stay viable, now and

in the future. However, when these groups have been chosen and the

different pipelines are established, no prioritization should be made.

5. CREATE A SUPPORTING CULTURE WITHIN THE ORGANISATION

Researcher believe that the culture of the organization should support TM,

in order to make TM work to its full potential. This means that the culture of

an organization should allow for TM to be fully integrated in the

organizational culture. For TM to work, naturally it is necessary that certain

people are singled out as talents. The culture of the organization needs to

support this. For example, if the culture is solely focused on teamwork,

singling out individuals might become a problem, as has been illustrated

above. Labelling talents in a team-oriented culture can create „lonely

stars‟ who are moved through the organization and not part of a team

anymore. This could cause a decrease in satisfaction, commitment, and

engagement. Therefore, researcher believe it is essential that the culture of

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the organization is supportive of the pipelines the organization chooses

and the accompanying practices it wants to implement.

Moreover, TM should be seen as an organizational aim, not as an

individual aim. While growth and development can be regarded by the

talents as a personal goal, it is important that the whole organisation sees

and encourages the importance of TM. We researcher believe it is

essential that everyone knows that TM can benefit the organization, since it

can enhance performance and give employees the chance to develop

themselves and grow within the organization. When people are labelled as

talents, their career paths most likely change. This will usually take them

away from their current position and colleagues. This will also influence the

dynamics of the team the talent used to be a member of. When the culture

of an organization is not supporting, the fact that talents are moving around

the organization can cause dissatisfaction or a decrease in performance.

Furthermore, from the information researcher gathered in the interviews, it

showed that many organizations that had TM in place, also offered

additional training and education for the employees that had not been

identified as talents. TM can send out a message that development is

important and that the different employees, also the non-talents, are

valued. This can create a positive atmosphere which might enhance overall

organisational performance. Researcher believe that having multiple

pipelines contributes to this enhancement even more, as it shows that it is

not only potential leaders that are valued, but different groups of talents. An

organisational culture that embraces the idea of multiple talent pipelines

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might enhance motivation and commitment throughout the organisation,

since talents can be found amongst different groups of employees.

Moreover, researcher think it is important that an organization appoints

people, who have the responsibility over TM, i.e. it should be a separate

function. These people should work closely together with the rest of the

organization, to create a form of alignment, yet TM should not be regarded

as something an HR-manager can do next to all of his or her other tasks.

Different stakeholders throughout the organization must put effort in the TM

processes and in order to make this happen, a supporting culture is a

prerequisite. This culture will not only support the people responsible for

TM in doing their job, it will also ensure that this separate function will be

able to exist. Furthermore, we believe that integrating TM into the culture of

the organization will help to make TM fit the organization. For example,

different national cultures may have different ideas about TM. As has been

mentioned before, singling out employees as talents may not be

appropriate in collectivistic cultures. It can be assumed that the

organizational culture will be influenced by the national culture. When TM

is integrated in the culture of the organization, researcher believe that the

differences in national culture will be taken into account, as these

differences are visible in the organizational culture.

To conclude, we argue that it is important to integrate TM in the

organizational culture. It might be a ―constant battle for priority‖, to make

everyone within the organization see the importance of TM, but in order for

it to work effectively, TM should be integrated.

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6. ENSURE LINE MANAGEMENT INVOLVEMENT

It is important to strike that TM is not only HR managers‘ task and

responsibility, as it has been mentioned before that TM should be a

separate function. However, also line managers should have a special role

in TM, as they are particularly important to have a high consistency of HR,

and in this case TM, throughout the organization (Boxall & Purcell, 2008).

This means that if TM shall have an influence within an organization, line

managers have to integrate it in the whole organization and integrate it in

their daily work. They deal with their employees every day on a close basis

and thus also with talents in the group of employees they are responsible

for.

Moreover, researcher believe line managers can be very important in

identifying the different groups of talents; they deal with the workforce

everyday and could identify, together with the top management of the

organization, the different pipelines that will be crucial in the future. So, line

managers can be seen as crucial filters, both positive and negative,

between TM processes on paper and the actual implementation and

realization. This means that they can largely support or hinder the

implementation and execution of TM. Training for line managers to better

understand and communicate with their employees, and to grasp their

interests and passions is significant (Boxall & Purcell, 2008). If line

management, for whatever reason, is not participating in TM, there is a

high chance that the complete process might fail. Also, during the

interviews, line management involvement revealed to be crucial. This might

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include the provision of training for line managers in order to prepare them

to deal with (new) TM processes in their organizations. Moreover, due to

their closeness to the employees, line managers know the (potential)

problems and barriers that the implementation of new policies and

practices might embrace. Furthermore, line management involvement is

critical in TM as it is the line managers who have to identify and recognize

the talents on the work-floor.

After having been identified, talents can be moved through the

organization, and do not necessarily remain in the area of responsibility of

the line manager who initially identified that talent. In order for this to

succeed, it is crucial to implement a culture that shows line managers that

they are acting for the success of the organization and have a

responsibility to let the talents work somewhere else in the organization.

Taking a talent out of a team might decrease the performance of the entire

team, which in the end might mean that the employees not labelled as

talents, as well as the line manager, might experience a negative time after

the talent has been moved. It is important that line managers know how to

deal with this, in order to make sure that TM is seen as something positive.

This shows that line management involvement also relates to the

recommendation made above, namely, that TM must be part of an

organizational culture, which in turn will influence line management

behaviour.

Furthermore, organizations should reflect upon the degree to which they

integrate involvement in TM in the incentive schemes, performance

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 appraisals, and goals of line management. This means that line managers

not only need to realize the importance of TM, it should be part of their

function. It should become a goal of line managers to identify and talent

and to move these talents through the organization. It is important that line

management sees TM as an organizational aim and is in some way

rewarded for the tasks related to TM. If they feel that they will only lose

their best people when they identify them, TM will not work to its full extent.

All this shows that line managers are critical stakeholders when it comes to

successful TM processes.

7. SHOW THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER.

The external environment has become an important stakeholder for

organizations. Image, reputation, and employer branding have become

crucial for the success of an organization. So, these elements should be

taken into account when it comes to the implementation of TM and multiple

pipelines. The literature review and the interviews have made realize that

many organizations do not use employer branding to the fullest potential

with regard to TM. Organizations could be more active and visible in

showing what they have to offer to their (potential) employees. We believe

that many organizations have attractive career opportunities and TM

processes, but do not make full use of them in order to recruit talent, by

advertising these opportunities and processes. Moreover, organizations

should more actively show what makes them different from the

competition, in order to recruit talented employees. Multiple talent pipelines

can contribute to employer branding in that organizations show (potential)

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 candidates that they do not necessarily have to become leaders if they

want to make a career. Thus, organizations should send out a clearer

message to both their current and their (potential) future employees about

who they are and what they have to offer.

8. DO NOT FORGET THE NON-TALENTS

All the current discussions about talents and talent management in both

literature and practice might convey the picture that talents are the only

important employees of an organization. This apparent hype led us to the

recommendation that organizations have to make sure that they do not

forget the non-talents. Of course, as researcher have argued several times

above, talents are the employees that make a difference for an

organization. However, organizations must keep in mind that there need to

be ‗normal‘ employees surrounding and supporting the talents.

Furthermore, without a complete workforce that is functioning well, an

organization cannot exist. It is not only the talents that keep an

organization viable, it is the entire workforce. Organizations must be aware

that not 100 percent of their employees can be talents. As stated earlier,

not every employee can be a talent, but every employee can be an asset

for an organization. Most organizations researched in literature and

interviews, have a certain percentage of employees that can be considered

talent. Yet, this percentage is often a small number, and if an organization

only focuses on the talents, the majority of the workforce will be ‗forgotten‘

or ‗ignored‘.

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Nonetheless, we want to strike that organizations still have to manage the

‗non-talents‘ in order to make full use also of these human resources, i.e.

these assets. Although now a days, a lot of attention is focused on TM,

organizations need to find appropriate ways to recruit, develop, and retain

normal employees. If an organization identifies one percent of their

employees as talents, it is crucial to think about the 99 percent of

employees, who are not identified as talent. If an organization forget about

its ‗normal‘ employees, it cannot stay viable, no matter how good its TM

processes are. Therefore, researcher believe organizations should not only

have elaborate TM processes, but should also offer some sort of training

and education to regular employees. These employees also need to be

kept motivated and they also want to feel valued by the organization. Even

though these employees may not be classified as talents or high potentials,

they can be high performers. It is important for organizations to make a

distinction between the two groups, but the organization should not forget

to also reward the high performers, in order to keep the whole organization

motivated and performing well. Furthermore, researcher believe this might

help to avoid envy or jealousy among employees.

Whereas the organizational culture also plays a role in this, i.e. the culture

should enforce the idea that TM is an organizational aim, rewarding

employees who perform well will make that these employees also feel

recognised, despite the fact that they have not been labelled as talents.

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 So, while researcher argue that TM is very important, researcher would like

to stress that focusing solely on TM will not benefit the organisation. The

biggest group of employees, i.e. the non-talents,

should not be forgotten.

9. KEEP IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

For TM processes to function and to be applied in the organization, it is

necessary that they are easy to apply and as transparent as possible. At

first glance, this might appear to be quite obvious; however, researcher

believe that simplicity might help the TM process to have an impact

throughout the organization and also believe this is especially important in

the first stages of the process, when the processes or the different

pipelines have to be implemented. The more complex the process is, the

weaker is the chance of actual realisation. Of course, with a growing

complexity of an organizational structure it is increasingly difficult to have

simple TM processes. However, organizations should keep in mind that the

more transparent and easy to apply, the easier is its implementation.

Furthermore, by keeping the TM process simple and transparent, a better

alignment between the new processes and the processes already in place

in the organization may occur. Researcher believe, and this belief has

been strengthened by the interviews held, that many organizations have a

lot of TM processes in place, yet do not label it TM. Researcher see it a

important that these processes are recognised as TM, in order for these

processes to function to their full potential and to build a synergy.

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 Therefore, researcher argue that TM can be seen as a puzzle. Many

organizations have already implemented processes that are part of TM, yet

there seems to be no alignment and no full recognition, i.e. the different

pieces do not yet fit together. Researcher believe that for organizations, it

can be helpful to use this puzzle metaphor, to find out which pieces are

already part of the organization, which pieces are still missing, and how

these pieces can fit together.

10. REALISE THAT A ROI IS DIFFICULT TO CALCULATE

Of course, researcher realise that business is about making money. Thus,

when it comes to decision making with regard to TM, management is often

immediately interested in the return of invest (ROI). Organizations want to

determine those investments in talent that will have the strongest impact on

the execution of their strategy (Anonymous, 2004). Moreover, management

is often focused, and has to be focused, on short-term success which can

be shown in numbers. Nonetheless, when it comes to the measurement of

ROI in HR in general, much has been discussed in literature, however, in

practice, most approaches fail (Creelman, 2004).

If an organization has a culture of which TM is a constituent, this will

influence the overall performance of that organization and not only the

performance of the employees identified as talents will grow. This means

that in such a culture, not only talents, but also non-talents are performing

better, which, in the end, might lead to an increased organizational

performance. As a consequence it is not possible for organizations to

exactly identify the ROI made in their TM, or even in the individual talent.

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When an organization implements TM, the organization as a whole is

shifting, thus, it is not possible to track back the ROI of one particular

talent. However, HR should be involved in the measuring of TM. Yet, these

measurements are not about money. HR can measure the number of

talents that flow through the organization, or the performance of talents

when it comes to certain competencies these talents are developing.

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 ANNEXURE – 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arthur, M.B., & Rousseau, D.M. (1996). The boundary less career: a new

employment principle for a new organizational era. New York Oxford

University Press.

Ashton, C., & Morton, L. (2005). Managing talent for competitive advantage.

CRF Publishing, 4(5), 28-31.

Berger, L. A. & Berger, D. R. (Eds.). (2004). The Talent Management

Handbook: Creating Organizational Excellence by Identifying, Developing

and Promoting Your Best People. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Branham, F.L. (2000). Keeping the people who keep you in business: 24

ways to hang on to your most valuable talent. New York: AMACOM.

Busi, M. & Bititci, U.S., (2006). Collaborative performance management:

present gaps and future research, International Journal of Productivity and

Performance Management, 55(1/2), 7-26.

Cunningham, I. (2007). Talent Management: making it real. Development

and Learning in Organizations. 21(2), 4-6.

Creelman, D. (2004). Return on investment in talent management: measures

you can put to work right now. Human Capital Institute.

212
Duttagupta, R. (2005). Identifying and managing your assets: talent

management. IP Value 2005, Building and enforcing intellectual property

value, p.1-6.

Frank, F.D., & Taylor, C.R. (2004). Talent Management: Trends that Will

Shape the Future. HR. Human Resource Planning. 27(1) p. 33-42.

Grigoryev, P. (2006) ―Hiring by Competency Models‖, the Journal for Quality

& Participation, Winter.

Heinen, J.S., & O'Neill, C. (2004). Managing talent to maximize

performance. Employment Relations Today. 31(2). 67-82.

HRM Review, Talent management (February 2007) The ICFAI University

Press.

HRM Review, Talent management (October 2008) The ICFAI University

Press.

Lawler, E.E. (2005). From human resource management to organizational

effectiveness. Human Resource Management. 44(2). 165-170.

Laff, M. (2006). Talent Management: From Hire to Retire. T+D Alexandria.

60(11). 42-50

Michaels, E., Handfield-Jones, H., & Axelrod, B. (2001). The War for Talent.

Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

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Nonaka, I., & Toyama, R. (2005). The theory of the knowledge-creating firm:

subjectivity, objectivity and synthesis. Industrial and Corporate Change.

14(3). 419-436.

Schweyer, A. (2004). Talent Management Systems: best practices in

technology solutions for recruitment, retention and workforce planning.

Canada: Tri-Graphic Printing.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

 www.talentmgt.com

 www.google.com

 www.yahoosearch.com

 www.wikipedia.com

 www.cornerstoneondemand.com/integrated-talent-management

 www.talentmgt.com/learning_development/.../index.php

 www.shipping.nic.in

 www.dgshipping.com

 www.abgindia.com

 www.bharatishipyard.com

 www.pipavavshipyard.com.

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 ANNEXURE – 2

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME _________________________________

AGE _________________________________

COMPANY _________________________________

DESIGNATION _________________________________

1. How long have you been working for the company?

(a) Less than a year

(b) 1-2 yrs

(c) 3-4 yrs

(d) 5-10 yrs

(e) 10yrs & above

2. Overall how much are you satisfied with your company‘s personnel

policies?

(a) Satisfied

(b) Dissatisfied

(c) Neither Satisfied or Dissatified

3. Does your company use talent management practices for identifying key

performers?

YES NO

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4. WITHIN your organization, what kinds of talent development activities

are carried out?

(a) Skill building classroom workshop

(b) Developmental experience term assignments

(c) Coaching

(d) Action learning

(e) Mentoring

(f) Education

(g) Others

_______________________________________________

5. At the time of Talent Management exercise, is the individual assessed on

(a) Past Performance

(b) Fresh battery of tests

6. How do you indentify the talent?

(a) BY COMPETENCIES
 creating profile of leadership job
 creating profile of management
(b) BY RESULTS
 objective measures like sales/production/etc
 subjective measures like total contribution /team effort etc
 accountable for complex jobs
(c) BY POTENTIAL
 accumulated skills / experience
 ability to learn new skills
 willing to tackle bigger/complex challenges.
(d) OTHERS

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7. In your current organization, what methods are most commonly used to

communicate with employees?

(a) In – Person

(b) Employee meetings

(c) Letters from Senior Executives

(d) E – Mail.

8. Talent management is the process of ensuring that the organization

attracts, retains, motivates and develops the talented people it needs. Do

you have such a process in your company?

YES NO

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

9. Designing jobs and developing roles which give people opportunities to

apply and grow their skills and provide them with autonomy, interest and

challenge. Does your HR undertake such assignments?

YES NO

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

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10. Providing talented staff with opportunities for career development &

growth. Is there such a program in your organization?

YES NO

11. Excluding financial compensation which of the following do you believe

are your organization‘s most effective means of rewarding motivating &

retaining talent?

(a) External Training Sessions

(b) Innovations

(c) Recreational Activities

12. Developing the leadership qualities of line managers; recognizing those

with talent by rewarding excellence, enterprise and achievement. Do you

have these as part of your leadership development programs

YES NO

13. Are Talent Management initiatives a top priority in your organization

YES NO

14. What % of your workforce has been identified as ―Talented‖?

______%

15. Does your organization have a staff member whose position is

exclusively responsible for overseeing talent management initiatives?

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 Yes at managerial/ Excecutive level

No

16. Overall how satisfied are you with this company as a place to work as

compared to other places you have worked?

(a) Satisfied

(b) Dissatisfied

(c) Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied

17. What are your talent retention initiatives?

(a) Acquiring new talent

(b) Leveraging existing talent

(c) Retaining the current potential

18. What category of employees should organizations try to retain?

(a) Only Experienced Employees

(b) Only Employees who exhibit managerial skills

(c) All employees

19. If a person wants to leave the job how do company retain that

candidate

(a) Salary appraisal

(b) Provide a better job role

(c) Understand personal issues and resolve it

(d) Provide proper motivation

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20. HR must act as facilitators *HR‘s role is to facilitate the management of

talent and to act as coaches and consultants to the line managers. For it

to be truly successful talent management cannot be seen as simply an

HR initiative. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?

YES NO

220