Talent management vs people management

Although talent shortages are still a matter of great concern in the UK, recent years have presented a significant shift from talent management to people management.

Why? Firstly, a report by CIPD found that one in five workers are considering leaving their jobs in the next 12 months. Combining that with the fact that hiring a replacement costs an average of £30,000, more companies are recognising the importance of engaging their existing workforce and supporting their development.

Why Employees Choose to Leave and the Costs Involved

There are lots of reasons for employees to choose to move on from their current job positions. According to a recent survey by Glassdoor, a substantial number of employees cited the following factors behind their decision to pursue their career elsewhere:

• Disapproval of their boss or line manager.
• Boredom with their work.
• Dislike of the company’s culture.
• Lack of confidence regarding the direction of the company.

Staff turnover is undoubtedly a costly and risky part of business, particularly when tallying up the logistical and developmental costs of replacing an employee who’s moved on to pastures new.

According to Centric HR, the average cost of replacing an employee is 6-9 months of that employee’s salary. So, if you lose an employee who earns £30,000, it’ll cost £15,000-£22,500 to replace them in hiring and training costs, not to mention the hidden costs that arise when a staff member decides to leave, which include the following:

• Other staff expressing a wish to leave.
• Higher levels of stress-related absences.
• Interruptions to workflow and missed deadlines.
• A reduction in productivity or levels of customer service.
• A drop in staff morale, particularly if the leaver was popular and good at their job, and/or you need the remaining staff to take on the leaver's work.

How to Improve People Management

While many employers look outward to close skill gaps in their company, they miss out on the reward of supporting the development of their existing employees. The following steps will help you empower your employees to become leaders in their roles, which is often more valuable in the long-term

1. Actively support the development of your employees

The more support you give your employees regarding career goals and skill development, the more that they’ll trust that you have their best interests at heart.

While it’s fairly easy to make high-performing employees feel empowered, you shouldn't overlook employees who are struggling to find their footing. It’s often these individuals who need the most mentoring to boost empowerment and engagement, whilst still needing some direction to help them improve their performance.

Encourage employees to take on roles and responsibilities that reflect their skills, even if that means transferring to another department or switching roles.

2. Ask employees their opinions

It’s advisable to (within reason) share the direction your company is heading with employees and involve them in decision-making to improve the company's policies and culture.

A good start is to share employee satisfaction surveys, where staff can share their thoughts, concerns and suggestions for improvement. However, you also need to take action and keep your employees informed on how their feedback has impacted the direction of the company. This helps them feel in the loop and part of the wider success of the organisation.

3. Give employees opportunities to be leaders in their field

Instead of words, help your employees develop leadership and decision-making skills that they can use to grow into their roles and become thought leaders. Foster an environment of positivity in the workplace to nurture more confident staff, and make sure that failures are instead seen as opportunities to develop and learn more.

4. Review and revise policies that could be hindering empowerment

While it’s all good and well to talk about how much you want your employees to take action and be leaders, you also need to evaluate whether or not your written policies reflect this.

It’s difficult to heed verbal encouragement to act with autonomy when written policy is full of contradictory procedures. It’s therefore important to continuously review policies that may be standing in the way of employees claiming ownership over their responsibilities.

5. Recognise good efforts and reward good results

When employees show initiative and take action to solve problems, keep customers happy, improve processes, or create growth, recognition inspires them and shows you appreciate their work.

It also helps keep them incentivised to stay and grow in your company, and by adding awards, bonus schemes, and small gestures like thank-you cards, you can reward high-performers and generate a positive mentality.

Find out More About People Management

With people management and talent management overlapping and the mental well-being and confidence of employees becoming so important, it could be the perfect time to start a career in human resources.

Helping staff achieve what they want and ensuring their needs are met in the workplace, human resources roles are rewarding and exciting for the right people.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out the HR department jobs we currently have available.