Talent planning:
This key theme in the literature centres broadly on talent planning and aggressive talent sourcing. Talent planning is also referred to as human resource planning and deployment. The purpose of talent planning is to identify future talent needs at all levels of the organization (Cheese, ; Frauenheim, ; Freedman, ; Harttig, ; Hills, ; Lawler, ). Talent
planning focuses on the sought after competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and personality) that will be needed in various locations. The aim of talent planning is to have an optimal level of talent positioning, which refers to having the right talent at the right place at the right time with the needed competencies and motivation at all levels and all locations of the firms (Guthridge et al., ).
Aggressive Talent Sourcing
There is a general belief in the talent management literature that most talented individuals are, in general, always employed (Tarique and Schuler, ); therefore the challenge for organizations is how to capture this talent pool. The conventional sourcing strategies may not be able to achieve this. Another challenge for multinational organizations is to counter the threat of local talent being more attracted to a local organization rather than a multinational organization (Schmidt, ).
Thus multinational organisations may be forced to use creative and aggressive strategies to attract talent. These include:
(Hedricks,et al, ).
Recruiting and developing foreign nationals to work in their own country such as hiring and developing Chinese students from British universities to work in China (Clegg, ).
Attracting a diverse pool of applicants such as female workers and providing support to them to manage career barriers like the glass ceiling (Hewlett & Ripa, ).
Talent Development Process
The talent development process can be defined as one that includes four broad areas (Garavan & Carbery, ):
) Identification (who to develop?).
) Design (what competencies to develop, at what speed, and for how
long?).
) Evaluation (what analytical tools to use to measure effectiveness?). ) Organisational Support (what support can top management provide?).
The aspect that is considered the most important one in the pipeline for TM for improvement of teams, individuals and overall organisational performance, is learning and development. It is key for the attraction, retention and engagement of talents, in addition to being vital for the development of skills and the gleaning of advantage of their labour market weight to the fullest (Aksakala, ). It was
reported in a CIPD Survey of , that of responses considered TM as having a great impact upon the development of new skills (Afiounia et al., ). The development of talents has, as a consequence, been considered as
result in higher levels of performance, greater engagement and retention of employees and the potential for the organisation to become an ‗employer of choice‘ (Ahammad et al., ). Also, if adopted for all employees, talent
development can bring forward a renewed sense of a psychological contract when it is adopted for all employees (Afiounia, ). Talent management via development programmes can increase the level of performance of the chosen talents whilst, on the other hand, such programmes can bring about a negative impact to the performance of the organisation as a whole because of adverse impacts upon the performance of employees who have been overlooked (Akan and Kolachi, ). It has been suggested that a leadership role can be played
by various workers who do not necessarily occupy managerial positions, and so there could be benefit to an organisation from a comprehensive organisational approach to the development of TM rather than limiting it to opportunities for the senior management (McDonnell et al., ). Despite the economic downturn, the majority of organisations invest in those perceived to be top talents (Marachi and Wario, ). A survey by Kirk et al. ( ) indicated that almost half of the
firms studied kept considerable amounts of funding reserved for development and training as the impact of learning was given significant value. Within the context of the government of Abu Dhabi, the Department of Civil Services (DCS) has, consequently, a concern for assessment of threshold competencies through development centres such as the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (Al Yahya and Biygautane, ). In so doing, gaps in competencies can be identified and individual development programmes (IDP) designed (Sidani and Al Ariss, ). Similarly, assessment centres have been
). Training and development has a direct link to strategic planning, with the
alignment of business priorities and outcomes so that competitive advantage can be reached and distinct services can be promoted to potential clients (Akan and Kolachi, ; Vassilopoulou et al., ; Abdulwahed et al., ; Al- Ansari and Darwish, ; Oltra and Lopez, ; and Swailes, ).
It is rare for TM to be a top priority for decision makers within the Middle East (Drenth et al., ). The government of Abu Dhabi has maintained an effective
strategy for retention through simulation of common practice and the continuous development of the competencies and segment skills of senior managers (Reddy, ); however, the diversity of development opportunities and equal training for all staff, which was recommended by the CIPD ( ) in its Annual
Survey Report, is not achieved. This could increase the levels of satisfaction and lower the rates of turnover (Alnaqbi, ). The key position is that learning
and the development of talents has been established, and so an illustration will be given of the LDP, the formal TM programme for government institutions within Abu Dhabi that is an example of commonly taken practice towards talent development (Sujit, ).
Job experience
The new development scheme recognises that, for purposes of personal growth, people often seek out new experiences and challenges. Indeed, Akan and Kolachi ( ) have noted that this is particularly the case with employees
with high potential, and they have further highlighted how important stretching the abilities of people can be, and how organisations ought not to fear the promoting of projects within which people are assigned roles even when they
have no direct specific experience (Vassilopoulou et al., ). Timing is considered to be a very important factor in regard to such new experiences; transferring people too quickly could backfire by undermining the employee ability to achieve results that are motivational within the process of learning. Akan and Kolachi ( ) have also emphasised that there is a need for work
variety as well as stimulation because of taking on a weightier role. A talent pool can be given a variety of career challenges, such as fixing projects that are in trouble, or being involved in the setting up of a project.
Coaching
Coaching has been attributed great importance within a new development paradigm, with numerous authors agreeing that coaching has a significant influence upon effectiveness (see, for example, Al Ariss, ; Allen and Ulrich, , and Ayub et al., ). Self-awareness of areas of strength and the potential to excel helps staff development greatly (Tansley, ). Furthermore,
if highly talented people are not provided with any feedback, there is a chance that there may be harm to an organisation (Rizvi ). With feedback, staff can
get an awareness of what aspects require improvement, and coaching can help clarify matters and provide positive feedback and the required knowledge, guidance and support (Bethke-Langenegger et al., ). With a communicative approach that uses storytelling, the experience of the coach is central, and the relief, support and coaching process can help a manager receive a greater deal of respect and popularity. Moreover, Bjorkman et al., ( ) consider that leaders, in a position to offer fundamental tools for
coaching and adapt an authentic and assertive style that can help direct the organisation towards improved performance and business growth (Marachi and Wario, ).
Mentoring
Bluen ( ) considers that another significant role in the development of talent
is played by mentoring A good manager ought to show care for his ‗high potential‘ employees by offering praise and support, encouraging them and
building up their self-esteem, and emphasising that there is a trust that they will exceed the performances levels that everyone expects of them (Boselie et al., ). The role of the mentor is also to constantly provide feedback that enables employees to develop a ‗bigger picture‘ It is recognised by Bluen ( ) that employees with exposure to mentoring have a tendency to establish
a high degree of dedication and satisfaction within their careers. As with most talent management concepts, an organisation is only likely to reap the benefits of mentoring processes if they have become embedded within overall organisational strategies (Kirk et al., ). Boselie et al., ( a) have also noted an ‗institutionalisation of mentoring‘, with only certain organisations
explicitly assigning a mentor to a potential talent; mentoring is, however, also considered to be valuable for talent development by their research (Schuler and Tarique, ).
Training
There must an emphasis upon employee development within an organisation for everyone; although someone may not be exceptionally talented, they can be
pushed to the limits of their abilities (Brink et al., ). Brewster and Cerdin ( ) point out that, whilst training and development are no longer considered
synonymous, training remains the most commonly used approach. Management development may be enhanced by leadership development and foundational managerial education and, for Chami-Malaeba and Garavanb ( ), the integration of such training into the job in question is the key factor.
Leadership development refers to instruction, by a senior, well-respected leader in an organisation, in an environment that facilitates lots of face-to-face contact and the solving of real and significant problems for the business (Spraggon and Virginia, ). Foundational managerial education, on the other hand, refers to
academic knowledge, gleaned from executive programmes of education or MBA‘s that are useful for employees facing a period of career transition (Chuai
et al., a). Such programmes introduce a range of new concepts, knowledge and skills (Brink et al., ). An approach for leadership that is high
impact can provide a powerful format for action learning and, furthermore, immerses an employee within the company values and the principles of the leadership, whilst facilitating the creation of relationships for spontaneous mentoring of employees, and the development of networks based on trust (Bethke-Langenegger et al., ). The implementation of such a development
approach can help instil first-hand knowledge of how the organisation can be driven forward successfully (Kirk et al., ). Training can, however, be highly
costly for an organisation and so it is important for its impacts to be evaluated (Chuai et al., ). Whilst training can help embed significant improvements within an organisation, it ought not be seen as an eliminator of major problems. Overall though, as Boselie et al., ( ) stress in analysing talent management
trends, learning systems that are technology based look set to effectively solve many training needs as they become more readily available.