Talent Management

Talent Management

One of the factors driving the need for talent management in today’s organizations is succession planning. Since organizations have to grow and survive into the future, they have to focus on identifying talented workers who will fill critical positions as current one’s retire or leave the service. Due to skill shortages in many critical areas, the issue of succession planning has gained popularity in many organizations and is a major driving force behind HR strategies. A closely related factor is leadership development (Ensher, Nielson & Grant-Vallone, 2002). It refers to efforts by organizations to expand the capacity and ability of employees to perform key leadership roles. These roles include execution of organizational strategy through motivation of employees, the building of strategic alignments, and growing of capabilities. Another factor driving the need for talent management is technological change. As new technologies emerge, organizations are compelled to identify and develop talents that will help in making use of the new technologies to increase efficiency and competitiveness.
The Lower Merion School District (LMSD) has taken steps to adjust to the above forces. With regards to succession planning and leadership development, the organization has implemented a formal policy to facilitate identification of talented candidates for leadership succession and development of their potentials. The organization uses a combination of various incentives to motivate and retain succession candidates long enough so that key positions do not become vacant (LMSD, 2016).

These include career development and mentoring programs, as well as competitive compensation packages. Concerning the issue of technology, LMSD has established a team of experts from different departments responsible for identifying emerging technologies and making recommendations about the ones the organization should invest in. The team also makes recommendations about talent needs for the new technologies.

References
Ensher, E. A., Nielson, T. R., & Grant-Vallone, E. (2002). Tales from the Hiring Line: Effects of the Internet and Technology on HR Processes. Organizational Dynamics, 31(3), 224-244.
LMSD (2016). About us. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.lmsd.org/about-lmsd/index.aspx” http://www.lmsd.org/about-lmsd/index.aspx