What’s Your Talent Strategy for 2018?
By Ragland Thomas
As we get ready for 2018, one of the critical focus areas for all organizations will be Talent. Given the changes driven by revisions in visa policies, the emergence of multi-generational workforces, the impact of technology or people, and many others which are affecting organizations globally, it’s imperative to prioritize the talent agenda for your organization. I’d like to recommend a few key considerations for your 2018 Talent Strategy.
Virtual Workforces
The virtual workforce is gaining traction as more and more organizations are trying to juggle cost, talent availability, and infrastructure challenges while leveraging technology and employee ease. The focus is on having the right people with the right skills, working from anywhere, coming together to virtually accomplish the organization mission. The HR Team, along with the Leaders, should work on creating an environment that facilitates virtual workforces by building culture, policies, and behaviors that support remote employees.
Gig Economy
Given the increasing number of platforms and organizations nurturing the gig economy, it’s time for those organizations to begin to capitalize on their efforts. This is also supported by the changing need of the workforce, to offer their services while retaining their independence. The focus should be on sourcing and leveraging the right skills for the right duration and reduce the time taken to source, select and onboard. Once the task is accomplished the resources get disbanded, so organizations can evaluate as to where the benefits of the gig economy can be harvested.
Technology
Artificial Intelligence is impacting organizations for both good and bad reasons. The impact of AI on jobs is creating a lot of fear in the minds of the workforce. Some of the key focus areas with regard to technology is how to prepare the workforce upfront for the impact of AI. This will mean helping the workforce to acquire new skills or find jobs. Another focus area will be to ensure that the right technology is available to enable excellence from employees.
Engagement
Organizations have to revisit their approach to engagement of talent. Feedback cannot be restricted to just one conversation in a year. The impact of social media, smartphones, and the internet is so powerful, we seem to have developed an addiction to receiving and sharing information. With this in mind, the focus should be nurturing a culture of immediate and constant feedback to enable your talent to be their best.
Experience
If someone was to ask your Top Talent to share their experience in your organization, what would it be? Organizations should begin to focus on the experience of employees in the organizations and these experiences will span from joining to exit and will include the everyday experience. If the experience of the employees needs to be positive then the focus should be on aligning the culture, structure, leadership, skills and any other organizational element to ensure that there is an integrated focus on providing the appropriate experience for your employees.
Cultural Alignment
Another critical factor is how embedded in the talent strategy in the organizational culture. Sometimes we find a best practice and we implement that in our organization without ensuring proper alignments. The talent strategy should be customized to your organization’s needs.
These are some of the key focal points we could use while crafting the talent strategies for 2018. The backbone should be the ability to diagnose, design and deploy the appropriate talent intervention to suit the fast-changing talent landscapes of the organization.
Ragland Thomas G is the CEO & Principal Consultant of IGOD, serving as Vice President for Global Organization Development & Strategy with IOD and is responsible for Global corporate accounts, memberships and partners He facilitates Executive Coaching (ECCP) and OD Certified Professional Program (ODCP). He can be reached at info@instituteod.com. For more information about our certification programs and professional development courses, please visit our website at www.instituteod.com.
The Institute of Organization Development offers an online Talent Management Certification Program (TMCP) for those interested in advancing their careers in the field of Talent Management. Participants learn how to help their organizations implement an aligned talent management strategy and receive the guidelines, tools, and resources needed to be successful.
The Talent Management Certification Program (TMCP) is offered online over 8 months, 3 hours per month to maximize your development as a Talent Management Strategist. Our expert faculty provides interactive discussions, activities, and examples to enrich your learning.
Testimonies:
I work in Talent Management but have never had the training and exposure to Talent Management best practice strategies and processes until this program.
This program gave me the experience I needed to help my organization implement an aligned talent management strategy.
This program was great because every aspect of Talent Management is covered and helped me to see the big picture as well as the component parts.
For more information about our certification programs and professional development courses, visit our website www.instituteod.com.