Talent management is at the top of the topics companies and HR managers have focused on most in recent years. It is said that the number of companies that really know what talent management — the fashionable phrase of recent years — actually is, is quite small. So what exactly does talent management mean?

Businesses are now realizing that their employees have strategic value and becoming conscious that they are their most valuable asset. It is noted that talent has an important place in making a difference and increasing productivity in the business's functions, such as new product development, sales, marketing, production, customer relations and business development. In recent years, positions such as craftsman, engineer, technician, sales representative and driver have been among the positions with the biggest talent gaps in the world, and the hardest to fill. In particular, business development manager, business analyst, engineer, field architect, medical consultant, social responsibility manager, digital marketing manager, management information systems specialist and energy trading manager lead the positions with the greatest talent shortages. It is also known that positions requiring knowledge of more than one language pose considerable difficulty. Among the biggest causes of the talent gap are the absence of candidates applying for open positions, deficiencies in technical skills and inexperience. Since candidates in open positions are expected to take on many different tasks and responsibilities beyond the job description, talented employees prefer not to work at such businesses. In Türkiye, there appears to be a deficiency especially in bringing an unconventional and innovative perspective to work, and this applies to all sectors and positions. The biggest cause of the talent gap is said to be the education system in Türkiye. A rote-based education system unable to keep up with the rapidly changing needs of the business world constitutes an important weakness for business. What businesses need to do in this situation is to find candidates capable of reasoning and eager to learn, and to give special importance to developing them in-house. Other reasons for the talent gap include not receiving enough applications for the relevant position, lack of talent and experience for technical jobs, and high salary expectations. Employers need to define their own strategies for accessing a talented workforce using modern approaches instead of applying classic methods. They need to redesign their recruitment methods and pay policies, arrange their fringe benefit practices, plan additional trainings for current employees, define road maps for employees' career development, and create a center of attraction for talented employees through the opportunities they offer. It is noted that the talent perspective is not among the natural characteristics of many businesses. Businesses' sense of identity is defined not so much around core capabilities as around market-focused formations called strategic business units. Businesses now need to be seen not only as a portfolio of products or services but also as a portfolio of talents.

Employees Dissatisfied with Their Manager Leave

It is emphasized that the most important element in a talent strategy is the company having clarity about its future vision. Which talents companies need depends on where they want to be in the future. Arranging the performance evaluation and reward system to include these competencies can shed light on what employees should attach importance to. Preparing a working environment in which employees can unlock their potential allows talents to emerge. It is stated that the biggest share among people's reasons for leaving a job is dissatisfaction with their managers. Therefore, while finding talent matters, retaining talent and enabling its development also hold an important place. Sector experts state that there are difficulties in finding talented employees in newly developing business fields and in the retail sector. Globalization keeps increasing companies' need for qualified staff. The shortage of qualified people is triggering a worldwide talent hunt. On the other hand, businesses need to make more effort to build long-term working relationships by gathering their employees around a shared vision. The importance of talented employees and of strategic HR management is seen to be increasing even further today. According to HR experts, talent management requires building a very good team and finding knowledgeable, proactive and innovative employees with a human touch. Loading employees with more than one job in businesses stands in the way of specialization. This can produce negative results for businesses in the short and long term. Ensuring specialization reduces the workload of talented employees. An employee who concentrates on a single subject uses their labor and time in the most economical way. In this way, businesses can better use their power of comprehension and mastery in deploying talent.

The Importance of Coaching in Talent Management

"Right management" and "coaching" play a key role in managing talents effectively and increasing their commitment to the business. The success of talent management is proportional to right management at that business, and to managers contributing to the process by also acting as coaches. Right management and right coaching hold an important place at the center of today's debates about generation Y and generation Z — especially in the talent management process, at the points of developing talent, binding talent to the business and retaining talent. In many businesses, the main reasons talents leave include their relationships with the managers they report to and the trust — or distrust — they feel toward them. For this reason, the phenomenon of management and coaching at a business holds an important and critical place. Businesses successful at talent management are seen to be organizations that know how to manage talent, that have leaders and managers who coach their employees, spare the necessary time for them and motivate them, and that are able to recognize the talented employees they have.

Author: Sait Sağlam