Talent management practices and strategies have evolved over the years to cater to people- and organization-specific trends, similar to other aspects of work, and have changed in rapid strides over the last few years. In today’s hyper-changing environment, strategic talent management is a necessity.
What is Talent Management?
Talent management can be defined as the organized, strategic process of getting the right talent onboard and supporting them to grow to their optimal skills while keeping organizational objectives in mind. Thus, the process involves identifying talent gaps and vacant positions, sourcing for and onboarding suitable candidates, later growing them within the system and developing needed skills, training for expertise with a future focus, and effectively engaging, retaining, and encouraging them to achieve long-term business goals.
The above definition brings to light the overarching nature of talent management and how it permeates all sides pertaining to human resources at work while aligned with organizational goals. Thus, it is the process of getting the right people on board and enabling them to scale the business at large.
There are a string of elements and sub-procedures that need to work in unison to ensure the success of the organization under the umbrella of talent management. For example, analyzing the right talent gaps for the present and the future of your organization, identifying the right talent pools and best-fit candidates, getting them on track to join, and then optimizing their existing capabilities and strengths while helping them grow are equally important. Hence, they support each other, and the whole structure would crumble even if one sub-process fell out of sync.
What are the Reasons for Investing in Talent Management?
Here are the top reasons why talent management is necessary and why your organization needs to invest in it.
1. Employee motivation
It creates more reasons for employees to be attached to the organization, such as a higher purpose or meaning for employees. As surveyed by Chandler and Macleod, 91% of employees said that they wanted more than just money to feel engaged and motivated.
2. Attract top talent
It helps recruit the most talented and skilled employees. If you have a strategic talent management process in place, you are able to create an employer brand, which organically attracts your ideal talent and, in turn, contributes to higher levels of business performance and results.
3. Continuous coverage of critical roles
With talent management, an organization will be prepared for gaps in significant skills and have a plan to address the crucial and highly specialized roles in the workforce. This means that an organization will have a seamless flow of employees to fill critical roles, ensuring that operations run smoothly and that your clients and stakeholders are completely satisfied. Additionally, it prevents existing employees from being overburdened, which could eventually lead to burnout.
4. Increase employee performance
It is always easier to identify ‘good fit’ employees rather than make decisions in recruitment that don’t work towards the ideal organizational strategy. This can lead to fewer performance management situations and grievances. Also, it will ensure that the top talent within the organization stays longer.
5. Engaged employees
With the right management, an organization can make systematic and consistent decisions about the development of employees. It ensures that the employees you require have the skills and development necessary. This helps save costs in terms of time and money. Plus, when there is a fair process for development, employees feel more engaged at work. This ultimately increases retention rates and ensures that the organization can meet its operational requirements.
6. Retain top talent
A well-structured onboarding practice creates almost 69% higher levels of retention. This simply means that in the long run, an organization saves on recruitment and performance management costs.
7. Improve business performance
When an organization’s employees are engaged, skilled, and motivated, they will work towards your business goals, which in turn enhances client satisfaction and overall business revenue.
8. Higher client satisfaction
A well-established and systematic approach to talent management means that there is organizational-wide integration and a consistent approach to management. This enhances communication and the dissolution of silos within the organization. When the available systems are more integrated, client satisfaction rates are usually higher since they deal with fewer people, and their requirements are satisfied more quickly.
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Talent Management Trends in 2025
The last few years have redefined HR in more ways than one and facilitated a transition from Traditional to Modern HR management. Right from the first move towards remote work to the Great Reopening that was swiftly followed by the Great Resignation and efficiency shortages, the disruption of economies and organizations has been unstoppable rather than episodic.
We have seen that 2021-22 was a time of fighting against the wind and rebuilding human resources from scratch to solidify their new role. The year 2025 is going to be more about pushing the boundaries of human resources to the next level. This blog will briefly discuss the best talent management trends for 2025 that will dominate the talent market and how you can catch up.
The new year is not so far; it’s up to HR leaders to predict what will shape the future of work in the next year and define priorities accordingly. The labor market is faced with today’s competitive environment and an increasingly hybrid world of work that demands more flexibility than ever before; finding your next steps is anything but cut out for you.
Human resources operations have changed a lot over the years, especially since the onset of the pandemic. You can check out our lineup of top talent management trends for 2025 to gain key insights into how you can build the necessary strategies to attract and retain the best talent in this dynamic environment easily and effectively.
1. Flexibility Is the New Normal
Even though it became a necessity during the pandemic, offering employees hybrid and remote working options is a trend that’s going to stay. In light of this new reality, organizations that include a remote working option attract seven times more applicants than those that don’t. Consequently, more and more employers will continue to offer workers enhanced flexibility and remote working options as opposed to the classic nine-to-five full-time in-office schedule.
The human resources departments have to adapt to working with employees who are not physically present most of the time. Interviewing, Screening, and onboarding new employees are being done remotely, which is adding to the challenges.
Of course, HR professionals are also likely to operate remotely or in a hybrid capacity. Working with online portals and cloud-based systems is essential to how HR departments function on a daily basis.
2. Understanding a New Generation of Workers
Across industries, slowly but surely, HR professionals will have to start adjusting to a new generation that is joining the workforce. The millennial generation has been entering the workforce for several years and will continue to be a larger proportion of the employees at most organizations. Members of Generation Z are graduating from school or college and entering the main workforce.
Human Resource departments will soon discover that these younger workers have a different set of beliefs and priorities for their professional careers. For instance, younger workers expect to have flexible schedules, even if they’re not working completely remotely.
A majority of employees in the two younger generations of the workforce also prefer to be in touch with their supervisors and managers daily. They ask for feedback on their job performance, and they want to engage in projects.
HR workers will have to adapt to these specific preferences and adjust policies to give these young employees the flexibility and engagement they crave. At the same time, though, there is still a multigenerational workforce where “veterans” and “young bucks” are working together. You must know how to manage both sides of the coin efficiently.
3. All-in-one employee management apps
The new technologies are shifting workplace dynamics, and there is no doubt about that. Particularly employee management apps, they help enhance engagement and productivity, offer real-time data, and transparency. It’s easier to make more informed business decisions, and even improve the employer brand.
However, the value of implementing employee management apps goes beyond these and is given below.
The benefits of using an employee management app:
Along with the benefits we listed above, the list could go on. For example, employee management apps –
- Makes the onboarding process easy and efficient
- Enhance the employee’s training experience
- Gives you the ability to quiz employees on their information retention
- It gets easier to share employee appreciation and recognition
- Make it easier and quicker for employees to get the needed documentation
- Bridges communication gaps
- More accurate time tracking for payroll processing
- Easy connection between remote and deskless employees
Honestly, the benefits could go on endlessly. However, not every employee management app is created to achieve all. So, if you’re looking for an all-in-one employee management app that packs all of the above benefits, then try Engagedly.
4. Prioritizing Employee Wellness
One other consequence of the pandemic is that employee wellness has become even more important. Most of the time, human resource departments will be front and center in implementing new policies concerning health and wellness. However, the trends in talent management concern not just typical physical illness but mental health as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to high levels of anxiety, with people worrying about their health, family well-being, and whether the pandemic could put their jobs at risk. This simply means HR departments need to create wellness programs and employee assistance programs where they can focus equally on physical and mental health.
Human resource professionals should find methods of detecting mental health distress among employees and make sure that they have the resources to deal with those issues. Meanwhile, encouraging employees to engage in fitness, healthy eating, regular exercise, and other good health practices will continue to be crucial for HR professionals.
5. Finding and Investing in Employee Talent Internally
One of the more surprising trends in talent management and HR is that more organizations are offering employee training programs, upskilling, and reskilling opportunities to provide opportunities to existing talent. Partially, this is a reaction to a seemingly shrinking talent pool and a consequence of organizations trying to retain employees at a higher rate. Consequently, HR departments are starting to incentivize employees to stay with the same company for the long term while also recognizing employees who will be a good fit for more advanced positions in their company.
This is, of course, a new challenge for human resources professionals, who are required to use different strategies when looking for ideal candidates internally rather than externally. HR teams, when looking internally, need to understand employee potential and goals to see who can be promoted based on future open positions. Insights and data can help you identify existing and missing skills and plan to close those talent gaps in your organization.
6. Offering Record Pay Rises
Research indicates around 2/3rds of US companies are planning and have budgeted to provide higher pay raises than this year in 2024. While most companies increase employee salaries by 3%, this is anticipated to increase to 4.1%. Also, if implemented, this will be a record high since the Great Recession of 2008.
This showcases companies’ awareness that employees’ expectations have risen in direct proportion to the current high inflation rate. Additionally, it also shows that the current labor market and fluctuating economic conditions need businesses to constantly reassess their salary budgets in order to remain competitive, keep their existing workforce happy, and attract new talent on board.
7. Owning the Employer Brand
An effective employer brand is vital in attracting and retaining the best talents in today’s competitive labor market. Companies that have established themselves as brands receive 50% more qualified applicants and enjoy reduced hiring costs per candidate. By 2024, it will be the new norm for HR teams. With employees as their audience, owning the employer brand, controlling their careers site, having a talent community, enhancing company culture, and growing their sophisticated attraction strategies will be their goals
8. AI-Powered Data Analytics
The future of Human Resources will be a blend of technologies. In the coming year (2025 and beyond), disruptive Artificial intelligence will control data analytics and recruiting trends. Research by IBM predicts that the adoption of AI integration in commerce and manufacturing will increase from nearly 40% to 80% in the next three years. In the coming years, data analytics powered by Artificial Intelligence will be applied to various aspects of human resource management. Not just that, but the future of work and HR will be based on these technologies.
HR is already playing a strategic role in many organizations. Data analytics and reports will help HR become more informed and objective in the future. For instance, AI-enabled analytics platforms can help identify employee leave trends, employees who are at risk of leaving the company, and much more. The timely availability of data will surely assist HR and the leadership in making strategic decisions and potentially mitigating risks.
In the future, AI will also help with data-driven recruitment. Certain processes and communications will be automated, saving businesses time and money. Chatbots will be able to communicate with applicants and employees without human supervision. This will be a boon for both employees and recruiters. Thus, embracing artificial intelligence-powered data analytics is surely going to be one of the future technology talent management trends for 2025.
Also Read: Engagedly Acquires theEMPLOYEEapp to Help Customers Communicate, Engage And Develop Their Deskless Workforce
9. Don’t Neglect the Human Element
Last but not least, HR departments need to keep in mind that there is still a human element to what they do, despite the increase in technology. These professionals still need to be welcoming and empathetic people who encourage employees to come forward with their concerns. These are the basic traits that will never go out of style and prevail in the business world.
Even though technology is a massive part of HR’s daily functions, there are various things that AI can’t do. There are serious concerns in the workforce with regard to physical health, mental health, and high levels of staff turnover. These are very human issues that HR departments will need to address. HR departments have massive challenges ahead of them in 2022 and beyond regarding keeping employees healthy, happy, and productive, with or without all of the technology at their fingertips.
Moving Forward With Talent Management Trends In 2025
Talent management trends are ever-evolving, and while these above-mentioned are hot-ticket items this year and next, there is no doubt that they will change as the months go by.
No matter whether you’re an HR professional or the owner of a small business, it’s important to keep your ear to the ground while adapting your business strategies as needed when new talent management trends fire up.
At Engagedly, we continually strive to bring out the best in your organization by offering services for an employee-friendly environment and meeting your business goals.