Why Talent Management is Becoming the Biggest HR Priority for 2016

Staying on top of industry and HR trends is essential for remaining competitive and attractive to both your current employees and prospective employees. Once you hire and train a talented individual, retention must be top of mind.

Below are some reasons why talent management is at the top of human resources trends for 2016.

To Offer More Personalized Training And Development

It is no longer enough to offer only general management, leadership, or communications training and development, but to personalize training and development. This can be achieved by sending employees to skill or industry specific training and seminars—and by having a corporate trainer personalize their training session to your employees’ needs. While you still may offer training by department, aim to provide employee specific training through solo seminars, training games, or online training courses.

To Engage with Employees in Open Lines Of Communication

Open communication has been a popular HR priority for decades, but if we are being honest, until recently, true openness was rarely celebrated. With the innovative minds of no-holds-barred Millennials saturating the workforce, communication standards are changing. Instead of thinking of communication as a challenge or as “constructive” criticism, look at it as an exchange of thoughts—and as though it is the only path to groundbreaking innovation.

To Receive Real-Time Feedback About Employee Morale

Quarterly, semi-annual, or bi-annual performance reviews have always been an HR best practice. However, they sometimes lead to employees being blindsided—not to mention the stress many employees feel as the impending review approaches. One of the most popular HR trends for 2016 is to provide real-time feedback, so employees always know where they stand.

Real-time feedback helps to open the lines of communication and makes it easier to make corrections and improve behaviors. This goes beyond touching base on the project at hand; it includes sharing clear and specific feedback related to skillsets and measurable goals. Scheduled reviews can still be used to discuss salaries and long-term goals.

To Offer More Competitive Salaries

Yes, payroll is a line item that needs to be managed, but with a growing number of employees looking to stay just 3 to 5 years (or less), competitive salaries go a long way in slowing the rate of employee turnover. While the salary may be more than you would like to pay, you must also factor in recruiting costs and productivity losses while training someone new. Every industry is different, but for a salary of $50,000, it will cost 20% of the salary to hire and train someone new. On top of that, you must factor in the time it takes to get them going at full speed.

Aside from the 2016 HR trends above, celebrated business author, Markus Buckingham, cautions that HR professionals must consider the variables in their talent management analytics.

This article was originally published by ManageStaff. View the original article.