Talent is top challenge for HR

.....confirmed that talent management is the biggest strategic challenge facing HR professional across Europe.

Often when people talk about talent management, they refer to the structures, processes and people that are focused on 'high potentials'. But one group that most companies overlook is 'key talent': people with talent that the organisation values.

Key talent are often more difficult to develop because of the specialist nature of their roles. By definition, they provide the organsiation with something that would be hard to replace. They may not have an obvious career track but -since their value is often organisation-specific-they are often just as important, if not more so, than high potentials.

Definition of Key Talent - ' those that hold orgnisation -specific skills and knowledge that are invaluable to the business'.

Knowing how to manage them is therefore essential:

1) Work out who they are

2) Recognise them

3) Develop them

4) Reward them

5) Manage them

6) Use them

7) Share their knowledge

8) Educate the high potentials on their value

(People Management, 14 June 2007, Vol13, No12)