It is no secret that the fight is on to retain high and top performing talent. Today’s employees have a better understanding of their market value. 

So how does one define Talent? 

“Talent” in an organization set up has various definitions. In some organizations, talent would mean high performing employees, while in other organizations it would have a broader-based definition encompassing much larger proportion of the workforce. As per an article in HBR, talent is defined by TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC: The simplest one is to think about talent in terms of the vital few. So Pareto’s rule of– 20% of individuals in any collective group or organization can be expected to account for 80% of output or productivity. So if you can identify the vital few in a company, those are your most-talented employees. And your task is to predict who they will be before your competitors do. So that’s a very simple rule. 

Talent management has traditionally been defined as all processes that relate to employee lifecycle: talent acquisition, onboarding, learning & development, performance management, reward administration, employee engagement. While these activities are still critical, the focus is now on improving the employee experience. 

A MULTIGENERATIONAL WORKFORCE: 

The current workplace typically comprises of at least two different generations – generation X & Millennials. These generations have varied priorities and goals, and hence it is employer’s responsibility to manage expectations of these different groups. Businesses can no longer rely on “one-size-fits-all” approach to attract and retain talent. 

Generation X is at an age where they are moving into senior management positions and would prefer matching benefits, job security, job advancement, and opportunities for work-life balance. On the other hand, millennials are looking for flexible work arrangements, paid time off, control over their schedule. Attracting and retaining the right mix of talent across various roles keeping these personality aspects in mind is crucial. These will also impact the company culture and leadership styles as different generations look for different elements in an employer. 

As per a survey by EY – 2017 Media and Entertainment People Strategy, technology giants like Google and Facebook are having a large impact on employee expectations within the media industry. 

As per this report, “HR professionals in Media companies must tackle the following as they address current and future challenges:

GROW:

• As we continue to enhance external customer experience, how do we maintain engagement with our internal customers – our employees?
  
  
• How do we attract, hire, grow, and retain the right talent to contribute to our bottom line through innovative solutions positively?
  
  
• How do we harness the power of data to gain insight on not only the behaviors of external customers but also from our employees? 
  
  

OPTIMIZE:

• How do we leverage new technologies to streamline and automate business processes while improving productivity?
  
  
• As our organizations continue to scale, how do we continue to align our people strategy with business strategy? 
  
  

PROTECT:

• How do we remain competitive with creative disruptions from non-traditional competitors and technology firms and win the war with talent?
  
  
• As data confidentiality becomes important, are we training, updating, and communicating our people on protecting our systems and data?
  
  
• As we expand at a global level, do we have a robust mobility program that can help us remain compliant with associated tax requirements?” 
  
  

On the one hand, the Media Industry must develop capabilities to improve external customer experience by collecting real-time feedback to improve their product and service offering if it must compete with tech giants like Google & Facebook. On the other hand, these are also the same companies where we are competing for talent. Also, our existing employees expect a workplace similar to these tech companies. There is ground to cover for us to manage these challenges especially with revenues being under scrutiny and media companies expected to identify a more cost-efficient model of working. 

So if I were to identify some of the key talent priorities to attract and retain top talent are: 

1. Career Path and Opportunities for Growth
   
   
2. Employer Branding and positioning ourselves as an attractive employer
   
   
3. Company Culture
   
   
4. Robust Leadership development
   
   
5. Global Capabilities and mobility opportunities. 
   
   

Balancing High Tech and High Touch: 

Ability to recognize the need for a technology solution will be a significant business advantage. As HR leaders we have to evaluate what functions can be automated and still provide desired levels of service. With increasing technologically advanced options, human resources professionals will be tasked to figure out when processes should be automated, versus when a human face or voice is the best route.

Continuous Talent Development: 

Excellence can only be achieved through constant improvement and change; hence, these elements should be a firm's key focus. Keeping the employees abreast with the latest developments in the industry and upgrading their knowledge to survive the fierce competition. The focus should always be on constant value addition and progression. 

Mentorship Programs: 

Gone are the days of tackling Gen Y, we are now dealing with millennials. It is tough to decide who can make an impact on their fresh minds. Selecting internal people carefully based on their experience and people understanding is the way to go.

Training for Accountability: 

Trained talent in our industry is always scarce, and that makes it extremely critical for us to have in-house programs to hire, train and deploy talent consistently without loss of time and with exceptional cost-efficiency. 

Placing priority on management and leadership training to ensure line managers can effectively convey expectations and outcomes. Hence the development of line manager should be another top priority. 

Metrics and Measurement: 

If you can’t measure it, you cannot achieve it. HR teams should develop systems and structures that can help organizations understand their workforce and optimize talent-related processes. The most important metric in business is the ROI. Similarly, in HR, if we are to invest in a selection process, the aim is to speed up the time and quality of hires for an open position. Next is the having a single, accurate database for HR information. 

Talent management is a business strategy that will enable organizations to attract good talent and retain their top talented employees.

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