Especially in highly competitive industries with a demand for skilled talent, the importance of a talent management strategy is difficult to overstate. But finding great talent management strategy examples can be tricky—and the less efficient and effective your organization is when it comes to talent management, the harder it becomes to attract and retain the best talent.

In previous articles, we have taken an in-depth look at processes and best practices related to broad talent management strategy development. In this piece, however, we are going to explore the role of accurate and actionable data in a company’s ability to develop successful talent management strategies. 

First, let’s ensure we’re clear on what, exactly, talent management entails—and why it matters.

What Is Talent Management and Its Benefits?

Talent management refers to a broad category of activities and processes, all of which relate to a company’s ability to analyze its staffing needs, attract high-quality talent, and retain its best employees. 

Why is managing talent important? A clear link exists between the most competitive, innovative companies and highly effective talent management processes. In short, the benefits of talent management include the ability for companies to…

  • Improve business performance and outcomes

  • Reduce costs

  • Empower employees

  • Unlock competitive growth 

What Is Included in Talent Management?

No two companies will have identical talent management processes, but there are certain components of talent management that provide the recipe for a successful framework. The talent management model McKinsey recommends, for example, includes:

  • Finding and hiring the right people

  • Learning and growing

  • Managing and rewarding performance

  • Tailoring the employee experience

  • Optimizing workforce planning and strategy

You can learn more about McKinsey’s recommended framework and approach in this article. Looking at the list above, though, begs a few questions, like:

  • “How can we find and hire the right people?”

  • “How can we provide the right learning and growth opportunities?”

  • “How can we effectively manage and reward employees for their performance?”

  • “How can we optimize the employee experience?”

  • “How can we enhance our workforce planning and strategy initiatives?”

In each case, the different components of talent management share one requirement in common: each requires certain types of information. This underscores the importance of accurate, accessible, and actionable information in any talent-based initiative—and some type of strategy for collecting, managing, and using the necessary information.

What Is a Talent Management Information Strategy?

Making timely staffing decisions that align with organizational priorities requires not only an effective overall talent management strategy, but access to the right information as well. As you can assume from its name, talent information strategies center around the types of information a company needs for each stage of their broad talent management framework—and how they can use that information to unlock increased efficiency related to their unique staffing challenges.

As technology rapidly advances and existing or prospective employees’ priorities and expectations shift, understanding the fundamentals of information management becomes essential. As a recent Raconteur article notes, organizations “with a robust information management strategy adapt more easily and advance faster.” 

Making things more complicated for modern organizations—especially in highly-competitive industries like tech—is the reality that high-quality “talent is now everywhere,” meaning organizations “can no longer afford to be restricted to one or a few locations if they want to attract the greatest talent.” This means companies must learn to balance the old with the new, supplementing traditional staffing methods with approaches like project recruitment, Statement of Work (SOW) or contingent workforce solutions.

With a solid talent management framework in place, supported by information management best practices, companies can turn recruitment and retention into their own competitive advantages rather than challenges. To put it simply, the higher the quality of information available to decision-makers, the better decisions they can make. The ultimate result? An easier recruiting and retaining the best available talent!

What Are the 5 Steps in Talent Management Information System Development and Implementation?

How you implement your talent management information system will vary based on the organization’s priorities and available resources. While larger organizations may have plenty of personnel and bandwidth to devote to formalized information management roles, others will need to start more modestly by instituting basic information management practices.

  1. Assess Your Needs: Consider today’s needs, and what the organization’s short- and long-term plans may require. The more information at your disposal here, the better prepared you’ll be to make the right talent management decisions.

  2. Audit Existing Talent Systems and Processes: What’s working, and where is there room for improvement? Do you have the kinds of up-to-date, accurate information you’ll need when it comes to managing talent throughout the organization? As you find areas where you could really use more information, document them. That way, when you evaluate different avenues for staffing, you can set the right priorities. 

  3. Identify Key Challenges—and Evaluate Potential Solutions: Start by listing out the various staffing-related challenges you experience in your organization, including unique industry-based challenges. Then, spend some time ranking those challenges based on their importance, impact, and urgency. Finally, you’re ready to evaluate different workforce solutions and strategies. This is where many organizations—especially those in particularly competitive industries that demand top-level talent—opt to work with an agency like Lorien, who offers a wide range of solutions to fit any company’s objectives.

  4. Make a Plan; Assign Roles and Responsibilities: Once you know what needs to happen, it’s time to get to work assigning roles and responsibilities. You’ll also want to consider your ideal timeline for implementing your new talent management strategies, including identifying meaningful milestones and, ideally, when you intend to reach them. When assigning roles and responsibilities, set clear expectations and be careful not to overload any one particular individual or department.

  5. Keep Communication Open: Even if you have some experience with developing successful talent management strategies, there are always certain unknowns involved. That’s why it’s essential to make sure that you’ve not only set clear expectations throughout the organization but that you’ve made communication and collaboration clear priorities as well. As you work through the plan, gather plenty of feedback—and don’t forget the principles of change management as you navigate the implementation process. 

Explore Diverse Workforce Solutions with Lorien

Whether you are looking to fill a handful of strategic positions, or your company is plotting expansive growth, you’re going to need talent. Working with a staffing solution like Lorien is the best way to assess your needs, evaluate different solutions, and effectively implement a range of talent management strategies. Our team brings years of experience and expertise, and we’re passionate about helping companies secure the talent they need, when they need it. Reach out today to start the conversation!