Talent Planning
There are several factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting talent. These factors can be categorized as external or internal to the organization. Normally, external factors are usually beyond control of the organization while internal factors are at its own discretion. In relation to external factors, Boudreau and Ravin (2011) provided demographic factors to be one of the determinants that affect an organization in attracting talent. Demographic factors comprise several issues. These include sex, age, economic status, literacy level among others in the population of operating environment of an organisation.
The demographic factors in the environment affect an organization’s approach to attracting talent into its workforce. For instance, an environment with a population of people who consider themselves to be of high economic status may be less willing to go for employment in an organisation which pays its workforce lowly. On the other hand, an environment with a population whose demographic information in respect to economics is rated below the poverty line is likely to go for any employment opportunity no matter the kind of salary offered. For example, these people are always prepared to take a job in a less paying organisation.
Secondly, Boudreau and Ravin (2011) provided another external factor that affects an organization’s approach in attracting talent to be the condition of the labour market. These include demand and supply of labour in terms of skills, knowledge, experience and profession. In cases where there is plenty of required labour in the market, organizations easily attract talent to its workforce. However, if the external environment has limited labour market of the required talent, an organization might face stiff competition in attracting suitable talent into its workforce. Moreover, when the demand of a particular skill is higher than its relative supply to the labour market, an organization is likely to strive to attract it to its workforce. Nonetheless, unlimited supply of a skill to the labour market makes it easier for an organization to attract desired talent into its workforce. In addition, employment situation in the labour market also affects an organization in attracting talent to its workforce. For example, if there is high rate of unemployment in the environment, it becomes easier for the organization to recruit the desired talent. However, Bradfield Group (2011) acknowledged that in situations where unemployment rate is very low, an organization is usually faced with competition in attracting the best talent to its side since other organizations in the environment are competing for the few available skills.
Thirdly, political factors are another important issues that affects organization in sourcing talent. These factors may include government policies, political stability and fundamental human rights. For instance, an environment that is characterized by political animosity, instability and unrest is likely to discourage attraction of expatriates and other valuable talents to the organization. Additionally, an external environment that is characterized by abuse of human rights is also likely to discourage attraction of best talent and skills due to the fear of their rights being violated. However, an external environment with is well known to uphold and protect human rights is likely to attract expatriates and other best talents to the organization. This is so since any person will like to work in an environment where rights are respected so as to be able to work without fear.
Fourthly, social factors in the environment may also affect attraction of talents in the organisation. These factors include religion; culture and people’s lifestyle. In respect to religion, an external environment to the organization that strictly embraces a given religion may be a hindrance in attracting talents of people who prophase a different religion. For example, an external environment that is strictly taken to be a Muslim community is likely to repel talents from Christians. On the other hand, an external environment that is characterized by a good blend of variety of religions is likely attracts talents from diverse people who subscribes to different religions.
Nonetheless, according to Vaiman (2008), apart from external factors, there are also internal factors that affect attraction of talents in an organization. To begin with, one of the factors includes recruitment policy that an organization uses in its talent sourcing. In an organization, there might be several policies relating to workforce that may be determinants in attracting talent. For example, policies that relate to cost reductions such as process outsourcing may repel talent in the organization since people fear to be laid off due to priority given to process outsourcing. Good organization’s recruitment policies usually attract talents. For instance, policies that are tailored towards talent development and advancement will always attract people in the organization’s workforce.
Second internal factor that affect attraction of talents is the organization’s size and its standing in the operation. Organization is always rated in the society in relation to its job security, upward mobility for its workforce, its culture and employees’ work life. These serve as major determinants in attracting talent in the organization. Therefore, an organization that is characterized with upward mobility of its workforce will always attract talents while that one that is characterized with poor mobility will find it hard to attract talents to its workforce.
Thirdly, management style used in the organization also serves as another criterion that determines attraction of talent. An autocratic style of management will tend to repel talents. On the other hand, democratic and participatory style of management tends to attract talents in the organization.
Nevertheless, organization benefits from attracting and retaining a diverse workforce in a variety of ways. One of the ways is through enhancing its performance. When the best talents are attracted and retained in the organization, they contribute immensely towards attainment of its strategic plans and goals thus enhancing its performance.
Another benefit according to Bradfield Group (2011) is the promotion of innovation and creativity in the organization. When best talents are attracted and retained, they bring into the organization their creative and innovative mind. This is helpful as they use these talents to come up with creative and innovative ideas that usually revolutionize an organization positively.
In addition, improved problem solving is another benefit that comes with attraction and retention of the best talent in the organization. When people with best talents are attracted and retained, they bring in their brilliant minds which become critical in solving problems.
Nonetheless, recruitment and selections methods all play an important role of employing relevant people in the organization. Recruitment methods are those approaches that are geared towards attracting people to apply for opportunities present in the organization. On the other hand, selection methods are all those efforts that are used to select the best people from the potential pool. However, there are several recruitment methods that are used by organizations in sourcing talents. These include developing relationship with career and guidance departments in institutions of learning, collaboration with professional organizations and working with recruitment firms. The benefits of developing relationship with learning institutions such as universities and colleges is to sell the organization to young professionals and to make them aspire to work with the organization. On part of collaborating with professional organizations, the organization benefits in a manner that it is assured to recruit and select from authorized professional practitioners in the field. Additionally, recruitment firms on the other hand help the organization to have a large pool of people to select from.
However, after having a recruitment pool, selection methods are used to select the best personnel for the organization. These methods include personality tests, interviews and psychometric tests. However, all these selection methods have one common benefit of establishing intelligent quotient of a candidate in a specific or a general field of knowledge. Moreover, the intention of all these methods are the same since all are intended to establish and recruit the best people with the highest level of skills, knowledge and experience for an organization. Nonetheless, there exist some little contrasts between these selection methods. For instance, in the personal tests and interviews, personality of an individual is evaluated in terms of interpersonal relationship while in psychometric tests; it is purely intelligent quotient that is determined.
Induction Plan
On the other hand, Pounder (2009) provided that once an individual talent has been attracted to the organisation and recruited, it is relatively important to undergo an induction process. This process has several crucial purposes in the organization. These purposes of induction include;
- Acting as an avenue through which new recruits are able to learn expectations of the organization.
- Being the process through which the organization’s culture is inculcated in the new recruit.
- Acting as a platform through which the new recruit is able to learn both the internal and external environment of the organization
Therefore, in elaboration, it acts as an avenue through which new recruits are able to learn expectations of the organisation. Through learning of the business processes, they are in a better position to learn how business is conducted in order to achieve the set goals and objectives.
Secondly, through the induction process, the organisation’s culture is able to be inculcated in the new recruit. New staff is able to cope with the culture of the organisation. This is important since it helps one to become part of the wider community of the organization.
Thirdly, Pounder (2009) opined that an induction programme also plays an important role of helping the new recruit to learn both the internal and external environment of the organization. Mostly, new recruit will be a person who is new in the environment both internally and externally. The induction process helps him or her to adapt to these new environments by familiarizing with it before settling down for meaningful engagement.
Consequently, these three purposes of induction have benefits to an individual and to the organization as a whole. To begin with, it is evident that the induction process acts as an orientation process to the new recruit. This is a benefit since it enables him or her to learn the operation of the organization and to adapt to the new environment. Moreover, it also benefits the new recruit by providing on job training before he or she is left to perform these duties on his or her own. On the other hand, it is beneficial to the organization since it advances the culture of the organisation to the new recruit. In addition, it also acts as a platform through which the organization advances its expectations to new recruit.
For that matter, the paper provides an example of an induction plan that identifies areas to be covered, three months timelines and the roles of people involved in induction process. An induction process needs to begin right from the first day one is recruited in the organization. For instance, during the first day, one is supposed to be welcomed in the organisation by being given the contract and code of conduct which is supposed to guide an individual throughout his or her work life in the organization. Moreover, history of the organisation should also be provided. Moreover, organisation’s structure should also be explained to the new comer. All of these activities are supposed to done by a human resource officer right from the first day to the end of the first month. This stage should cover the whole of the first month since one needs time to go through rules, regulations and guidelines of the organization in order to be within the legal framework in his or her work life in the organization.
In addition, the second month should involve induction in the organization’s departments. For instance, the sales manager is supposed to explain the structure of his or her department and provide a market overview. Marketing manager on the other hand is supposed to provide marketing information in respect to market segmentations while the finance officer is required to provide the financial position of the organization. Moreover, at this phase, the new recruit should have a practical touch in each of these departments by having a brief stay in each department.
Additionally, after an induction in organization’s departments, the new recruit in the third month should then go to the field as a final phase of his or her induction process. For example, if one has been recruited for a sales position, one should go with the salesmen to sales presentations in order to learn how merchandising is done by the organization. Field induction in third month should mark the end of induction process. Thereafter, a new recruit is ready to take challenging assignments in the organization. To wind up, it is important to prioritize induction process in the organization. This is important since it helps a new recruit to adapt well in the environment as he or she becomes productive to the organization.
References
Boudreau, J. & Ravin, J. (2011). Transformative HR: How great organisations use evidence-based change for sustainable advantage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bradfield Group. (2011). Resourcing Talent. Web.
Pounder, B. (2009). Convergence guidebook for corporate financial reporting. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Vaiman, V. (2008). Smart talent management: Building knowledge asset for competitive advantage. USA: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.