Talent management (TM) is getting redefined in order for organisations to maintain their competitive edge and sustainability. This is particularly relevant post changes to the job market and the nature of work due to COVID-19. While employees take responsibility to steer their careers and nurture their aspirations, organisations are not far behind. In this article, we highlight the opportunities and challenges in transforming the workplace and emergent talent development (TD) practices. The second half of the article relays the findings of round table discussions with eight Indian HR leaders from diverse industries providing perspectives on these TD practices.
Technology plays an essential role in enabling organisations to redefine their TM strategies and retain competitive advantage. As organisations brace for changes caused by technological disruptions in addition to hybrid work norms, they are leveraging these two disrupters to transform the way they engage and retain talent. Organisations are overwhelmingly beginning to foster academic partnerships for TD. They have transitioned seamlessly to virtual classrooms, advocating bite-sized learning models available to the employees at their fingertips. TD is focussed on building agile learning and customer understanding, and critical talent is treated with significance. Nevertheless, many TM strategies pursued altruistically focus on differentiating their offerings to cater to the needs of employees all along the talent pipeline. From online mentors to virtual assignments, organisations are inspiring employees and catering to their needs.
Co-created careers, therefore, are here to stay for two reasons. They provide aspiring professionals with customisable and significantly personalised learning and growth opportunities. In turn, the organisation benefits by encouraging longer tenure for its talent who constantly keep themselves skilled and updated in step with emerging industry needs. It helps organisations build the leadership pipeline to ensure a competitive edge in the market. Virtualisation of TD and co-creation in career management emerged from the panel discussions as critical evolving practices for effective talent engagement.
