Talent is a special aptitude or natural endowment that an individual possesses. One of the approaches to treat talent is to link it to value because it is considered that organizations that create value have an opportunity to hire talented people in significant positions (Barriere, Owens, & Pobereskin, 2018). Talent management, on the whole, is a sphere of interest for empirical research, which is mainly grounded on an exclusive approach to managing employees (Gallardo-Gallardo & Thunnissen, 2016). Schuler (2018) suggests using the 5-C framework in talent management, which comprises such concepts as choices, considerations, challenges, context, and consequences. Also, the researcher focuses on the importance of developing an approach to managing talent, which can be custom, complex, or continuous. Meyers, van Woerkom, and Dries (2013) advance the theoretical understanding of talent management by discovering the nature of talent, which is considered to be innate or acquired by different scholars. Talent management in the hospitality sector needs effective strategies because the sector has a dynamic structure and is characterized by high competition (Sabuncu & Karacay, 2016).
Whelan and Carcary (2011) suggest that the concept of talent and knowledge are related and, in turn, knowledge management can benefit from the principles of talent management. One of the issues to discuss here is knowledge sharing. It is treated as knowledge exchange that involves individuals or groups of individuals within an organization, which stimulates positive changes in the performance and productivity of the staff (AlShamsi & Ajmal, 2018). Another issue related to both talent and knowledge is managing talent in knowledge-intensive settings. The issue is that in contemporary conditions a single person cannot possess all talents and knowledge necessary for completing certain tasks and there is a need for specialists able both to acquire valuable information and disseminate that knowledge internally (Whelan, Collings, & Donnelan, 2010).
Talent retention is one of the primary tasks of talent management. According to Tlaiss, Martin, and Hofaidhllaoui (2017), failure to retain talent, or talent loss, results in both direct and indirect costs as well as the loss of tacit knowledge. Many retention strategies are grounded on the preservation of work-life balance, which is vital for many employees (Deery & Jago, 2015). One of the aspects of talent loss is related to employees who have had a long-term expatriate assignment. Thus, Howe-Walsh (2015) states that up to one-half of repatriated employees leave their organization in the following 12 months after their return.
Talent loss is a trigger for knowledge loss. Thus, knowledge loss as a result of employees’ quitting a job leads to certain organizational problems such as low productivity, resource cuts, lower work quality, etc. (Massingham, 2018). Talent loss in hospitality is a result of employee turnover and ineffective retention strategies (Yang, Wan, & Fu, 2012). Research proves that the majority of hotel employees quit current jobs in search of career advancement or already have suggestions from other organizations. The hospitality industry needs careful management approaches for talented employees to prevent work-related depression. Thus, there is evidence that employees with positive affectivity and intrinsic motivation are less susceptible to emotional exhaustion at work (Karatepe & Zargar Tizabi, 2011). Many companies involved in the hospitality industry pay much attention to attracting talent and training their employees to achieve better performance (Oakley, 2017).
Knowledge, as well as skills and abilities, gain new value for the hospitality industry because they allow employees to overcome the existing obstacles and demonstrate steady performance (Cetin, Demirciftci, & Bilgihan, 2016). Consequently, knowledge loss is likely to result in a decrease in the performance of an organization. Another aspect related to knowledge in the hospitality industry includes knowledge-based resources and innovation (Nieves, Quintana, & Osorio, 2014). Then researchers claim that knowledge is a significant asset for reaching high innovation performance. Therefore, knowledge loss will have a negative impact on innovation in the hospitality industry. To summarize, it can be concluded that knowledge loss is a threat for business on the whole and organizations involved in the hospitality industry in particular.
References
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