With continuously changing market dynamics and competitive landscapes, it is becoming increasingly imperative to have the right “fuel” to steer organizations forward. Companies therefore need to have the right practices in place to find and nurture talent constantly. After all, talent is the fuel that successful organizations depend on. Some of the trends that I believe will redefine talent management in 2012 and the coming years would revolve around the following parameters:

Hiring will get further refined and focused towards having on board the best and the brightest.

Talent is wealth and organizations will have to focus on hiring and retaining the best resources from the market. Attracting talent in order to offset the impact of attrition will be the key focus for the entire HR fraternity across industry. Industry would also look out for young talent acquisition as a cost-effective way of hiring as they bring in a fresh outlook, risk-taking ability and out of the box thinking. With existing market dynamism in place, there would be emphasis on further redefining the newer ways to keep top-flight and a high-level talent in the fold on a global scale. Since talent is a sole business driver across the industry, the need for an organization would be to work together and overcome the war for talent.

It will become critical to actively and regularly engage organizational talent

Enterprises will be required to predominantly focus on areas like talent mobility, cross regional exposure, etc. Safeguarding the right talent along with creating an atmosphere for new talent acquisition, will be a driving force for HR as a function and organization as a whole. It will become crucial to identify ways to keep high performance employees engaged with the right opportunities being shared with them. On the other hand, current changing market realities will become a challenge in not only managing the business but also keeping the spirits and motivation levels of employees in the right frame – as in such periods when most companies will face talent volatility.

Social media will play a very important role not only in sourcing the right talent but also in engaging, knowing more and retaining the talent

Social media’s impact is growing and will help organizations in talent acquisition. More and more people are going social and mobile to engage with potential employers and vice versa. A lot of firms are either already or will in future manage prospects through social media tools. The usefulness of technology extends far beyond recruiting and provides effective venues for connecting and creating compelling environments for informal learning. From recruitment to learning and development to customer engagement, technological possibilities have expanded and a robust menu of applications is readily available. Therefore, an organization’s constant endeavor should be to explore new technology platforms that foster connections with current employees and potential employees.