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Abstract
In today's global economy, companies must continually invest in human capital. In the role of business partner, HR leaders work closely with senior management to attract, hire, develop and retain talent. Yet the skills shortage presents both socio-economic and cultural challenges as talent crosses borders. Thus, in view of workforce trends such as shifting demographics, global supply chains, the aging workforce and increasing global mobility, forward-looking organizations must rethink their approach to talent management to best harness talent. By doing so, they will be positively positioned to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace. In addition, organizational culture, employee engagement and leadership development have a significant impact on talent retention. Taking these factors into consideration, an integrated approach to talent management offers a pathway toward sustaining outstanding business results.
Introduction
"It is nearly unanimous that HR can and should add more value to corporations. The best way to do this is by being a business partner-by directly improving the performance of the business. This can be accomplished by effective talent management, helping with change management, influencing strategy and a host of other value-added activities that impact effectiveness."1
In a competitive marketplace, talent management is a primary driver for organizational success. Broadly defined, talent management is the implementation of integrated strategies or systems designed to increase workplace productivity by developing improved processes for attracting, developing, retaining and utilizing people with the required skills and aptitude to meet current and future business needs.2 A recent study shows that 85% of HR executives state that the "single greatest challenge in workforce management is creating or maintaining their companies' ability to compete for talent."3 Without question, effective talent management provides one of the most critical points of strategic leverage today.
Offering enormous business value, talent management is complex and continually evolving. Influenced by external factors such as the economy, global expansion and mergers and acquisitions, critical success factors for effective talent management include alignment with strategic goals, active CEO participation and HR management. Over time, common themes around talent management are emerging, such as the role of line leaders in the development of talent (see Figure 1). Overall, the main recurring themes are CEO involvement, culture, management, processes and accountability.4
Research shows that organizations increasingly focus on talent...