Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
HR has had to shift its priorities back to commercial matters as more businesses focus on cost savings yet talent management remains one of the biggest challenges facing businesses in Japan, according to recruiting experts Hays.
The global economic downturn has created a dichotomy in many organisations – how do they cut costs while still addressing the skills shortage in different areas of the workforce?
According to the latest Hays Journal, out now, businesses need to recognise talent as an asset to be deployed within an organisation while HR needs to be more planned and strategic about how it goes about talent allocation.
“HR professionals have had to become even more innovative and commercially driven, with a need to understand and address talent shortages in the new landscape in different ways,” says Jonathan Sampson, Regional Director of Hays in Japan.
“This means discovering where untapped sources of talent lie and evolving creative ways of attracting and identifying new talent. Then, all of these assets must be developed and allocated effectively through a business, so that the talent balance sheet constantly improves. This shift is necessary to provide the talent needed to help organisations emerge from the tough economic times and rise to new challenges.”
Not only is talent management of increasing importance to the development and execution of an organisation’s business strategy, but it has become a unique competitive advantage for businesses.
“Being proactive and deploying or sharing talented people within an organisation is what will make the difference for HR departments that are managing talent,” says Jonathan.
“HR Professionals who understand corporate strategy and align it to the competitive landscape, the wider economic environment, technological changes and the behavioural and content preferences of the relevant talent communities are at a distinct advantage.” As it may be difficult to find talent to cover the top jobs, there’s is also a strong need for businesses to develop programs that build talent over a longer timeframe.
“Businesses need to ensure talent is developed, for example, over the next five years so they will be ready to take on leadership roles,” says Jonathan.
“This not only involves identifying the top talent in a business but determining the needs of those employees’ in terms of mobility requirements, family situations and motivation.”
© Compiled from Hays Journal
6 Comments
Login to comment
Frungy
... what an utterly idiotic comment. HR is the heart of any business, and so is the heart of commerce. Strip the people out of a company and you're left with... desks? computers? .... it is this sort of idiotic approach to HR that has held the field back for so long.
Ramzel
No, Frungy. HR should be the heart of any business, but it is not. That is the problem and that is what the article is talking about.
The usual HR department at major companies is not in any ways strategic, nor commercially minded. Currently they are merely administrative in nature.
JeffLee
... while still addressing the skills shortage
Utter bllocks. There is no "skills shortage." If they want "skills," they could easily and quickly train their own hires themselves. Which is what they used to do, before the greedy tssers co-opted their governments thru their lobbying to get the state and the students to pay for all the training that ends up for corporate benefit.
40% of young people in several European countries are jobless and can't get hired. Talent shortage? Gimme a break. It's a bleeding surplus!!!! Today's multinational corporations are greediest institutions in human history, and concoct this "shortage" as an excuse to hire as many cheap Indians as they can. They'd pay nuclear physicists a dime a hour as salary if they could get away with it.
ChibaChick
Oh please. HR are flaming useless, everyone knows that. They couldnt talent manage out of a paper bag. Their reaction when a friend of mine quit recently for a better job was hilarious. "Oh but but but....we had you tipped to go all the way to the top in the future!" Really? Then why did you only give me an "average" rating in my review? "Oh, well, you see, that is because your salary is already quite high so we didnt want to give you such a large performance bonus and it is tied to your rating." Really? Well, where I am sitting, you think Im "average". This new company thinks I have great potential so ja ne! "Oh but but but...." too late. She was gone.
falseflagsteve
Don't work for these scam artists, work for yourself.
Wakarimasen
All of the "talent programs" we run - and used to take part in - are worthless. Just box tcking repetitious nonsense. most of it absolutely self evident to a 5 year old. They should stick to administering hiring and payroll.