How Talent Management and Training Must Go Hand-In-Hand

Salt and pepper. Bacon and eggs. Big Mac and fries. Batman and Robin. These are things that go hand-in-hand.
Here's another:  talent management and training.
And this is something you can't overlook in business.

And the best practice of talent management is to make sure your staff are fully-equipped, with the training they need. In this article, we look at the fundamentals of talent management and training.
So join us on our journey to demonstrate why top-quality training is necessary for any forward-thinking strategy.

What is talent management?

Talent management, essentially, is nurturing employees and molding them into the vision of your business. Not to mention the needs of the market you serve. It's a long process that also needs a clear, focused strategy to keep it prominent in your workplace.



It's usually a long process to manage talent! You start with placing the right advert so you can employ the right staff. This leads to the best induction into the business and developing them fully. And paying special attention to retaining the best of the bunch!

Many people wrongly assume that talent management belongs solely in the Human Resources department. Well, we disagree. It's actually a fundamental tool that's necessary across any organization. Only this way will staff of varying tasks and responsibilities be well-trained and used to their full potential.

The CIPD website has its own section on talent management. It says, "Talent management is now an essential management practice; what was once solely attached to recruitment now covers a multitude of areas."
So avoid it at your peril! Or read on to see how this change has become a necessity and why training is integral to a sustainable and effective operation.

How has talent management become so important?

Value-for-money is always at a premium, So it's important for businesses to make sure that their staff are well trained as they are monitored. This doesn't mean via CCTV, but to confirm that their skills and needs are being well managed.

This isn't just a case for new employees – far from it. You're never too old or too experienced to learn a new skill. So that's why talent management is imperative for all levels of a business. And why monitoring to measure the quality of talent management is just as important as the system itself.

It's a tool that should be led from the top-down. We've touched on the fact that it's more than just an HR issue, But HR is of course integral to it. To be effective, a clear strategy should be set by senior, experienced staff, with HR on hand. And discussions must be had with each department on how to implement the system successfully.

Questions need to be asked - and answered fully.
How will it be introduced? How will we manage it on a daily basis? How will we ensure that talent is properly managed over a long period?
These should all be addressed before a talent management system is put into place.

Why is training so important for talent management?

Well, high quality training is important for any business. So you need to make sure that your staff are given all the tools they need and every pearl of wisdom possible so they can do their jobs effectively . As we've already said, you're never too experienced to learn something new: a new process, a new program or a fresh pathway in the industry. You'll never know everything!

Training is needed in every part of a business, from grass-roots entry level positions to senior, strategic roles.  And with talent management, you have a tangible resource that makes sure your staff get the training they need, and the training they want!

With a productive talent management strategy, you must:

• Define objectives and rewards – give your staff a goal to strive for.
• Use an effective recruitment process – so you're employing the best staff you can.
• Develop individuals and teams – give staff opportunities to enhance their skills, both on their own and as a group.
• Increase staff retention – keep hold of staff and watch them grow – never give up on them!
• Quantifiably improve performance – monitor performance in a tangible way which shows that improvements are being made. Show results to your staff to boost their self-esteem.

Without training, a talent management system will be split in the middle, with no positive results to show.
Each of the above points interact with and reinforce each other. And training is a vital part of this structure.

Do you need to improve your staff's skills? Then train them.
Do you need to increase the number of staff you retain? Train them and they will stick with you.
Do you need to develop a team? Train them as a team and watch them flourish together.
Without meeting all the criteria, parts of your talent management strategy just won't work.

Failing to invest in your staff is like putting diesel fuel into a petrol car. It can lead to major problems and be more costly to sort out in the long run. So why not invest in the first place?
That investment, along with a clear and concise structure of objectives and rewards for your staff, will give you increased staff retention.

So, how about an example?

Meet Larry. We all know Larry, and like him, because he makes a great cup of tea. But not only that, he's the perfect example of how talent management is integral in all areas of the business.

Larry is an IT technician. So as part of the company's IT department, it's important that he keeps on top of the latest tools and development strategies . This way, the organization can keep up with developments in its sector.
The problem is, Larry's skills are rarely improved at work, So he needs to find time, after a busy day, to take on some learning from home.

And here's where a lack of talent management can have its biggest issues.
Larry is feeling down and knows that the company is falling behind. He also knows that he needs knowledge in new areas so he can improve and help the business to prosper. But he's not getting the help he needs from management, and understandably feels unhappy.  He even considers quitting the business (despite being a long-serving member of staff) because he feels his interests aren't being looked after.

Add to this the fact that Larry doesn't have any defined objectives or rewards. What's he working towards? What is the greater goal? This, too, will leave any employee feeling neglected and looking for an employer who will help him to improve in his chosen career.



After a while, Larry has indeed moved on, and the company is looking for another member of staff to do his job.  But if they're treated in the same way, they'll probably leave for similar reasons in a year or two.

This is where a talent management structure comes in. Give Larry the tools he craves, invest in his training and therefore his future, and set clear monthly objectives for what you want him to achieve.
It may just be to ask him to look for new development areas, or new software or hardware that can improve the business. But even this is a quantifiable goal which, with his training, could head off the problems we've mentioned.

This same model can be applied across the whole business. Take sales as an example. If you don't help salespeople to improve their skills, they won't be of the same quality as people working for your competitors. Or take your Human Resources department: are they fully trained with the latest practices? If not, it sounds like a talent management plan is what you need.

What talent management means to ZandaX – and how we can help you

As a training company, who thrive on seeing people pick up new skills and thrive in business, we're striving to help companies with two main areas of their talent management programs.

With aid in the key components of evaluating performance and developing staff, we help businesses to set up a process to manage their talent, and make sure that staff are receiving the best possible training for their day-to-day working life.

With that, ZandaX aims to make these areas of learning as easy as possible for businesses. Also to provide the tools needed to see what training is needed, for teams and individuals. We've got a number of courses available, so make sure to take a look at our full course list.

So whether you use ZandaX or not, place an effective talent management strategy at the center of your business plan.
In this way, you won't just be ahead of your competitors, but you'll find that running your business is a whole lot easier, too...