Is The Term “Talent Pool” Obsolete?

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Yes it is.

Talent is fluid today. It is also being re-defined.  Thus, what used to be considered a “Pool” (either captive or available) is now a technologically-equipped, high speed resource of communicators with motivated skill sets seeking opportunity.

Economic hardship has also put a hard, cynical edge on many.  Selling must occur both ways (employer and employee).  To an extraordinary degree the age in which we live is requiring us to redefine trust and the degree to which communication and expectation contribute to it.

Loyalty has taken a back seat to the above.  Recruiters, companies and entrepreneurs must recognize these hard facts of life. 

Values

As long as values for the organization are base-lined and maintained in the enterprise mission statement and clearly promulgated in objectives to the employees, then it becomes a management maintenance challenge with regard to employee acquisition and retention.

The fact that individual value systems may or may not align with the organization values or changes in them is a communications issue. If the conflict is too stark - people will not join a company, will not perform if they join and leave or be fired as the a usual result.

In a free society organizations and individuals have choices.  "At Will Employment Contracts" are taken literally. In not so free societies other conditions exist that impact     values.  Conditions there are dictated by governments or stark economic conditions.

With the global competition for resources and employment these days, business and governments must view the value issue in its simplest terms and not make a complex science out of it.

People, companies, jobs, resources and success will be achieved through supply and demand.  All will change to acquire the balance necessary for success

Managing Talent

The most successful organizations pair experienced personnel on a staff basis with junior ones as models. Each has individual assignments and reports to the boss but the senior party is the example in the process/experience-driven aspects of the job and is available to answer questions.

The younger individual infuses the older one with energy and new ideas much like osmosis. The result is a hybrid of old and new that works and has been put together by a team.

The above approach works extremely well, imposes on no one, results in the young and old learning by observation, satisfaction and recognition for collective efforts and reduction in the boss’s work load; a win-win all around. 

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Know how much leadership to offer and how much to let the individual grow on his or her own. 

Strike the right balance between specific and generic guidance so the unique individual traits of the workers come through in the business model.

Let the employee have a role in solutions to problems, system design and success of the firm. When you do so, your talent will remain stable and grow with you.