Abstract
In recent decades, talent management has undergone a great evolution (McDonnell, Collings, Mellahi & Schulerl, 2017). The increase in employment opportunities, the demographic winter, and the growing demands of the labour force have generated the need for a new model of people management (Collings, Scullion & Vaiman, 2015). This has resulted in companies struggling to acquire the most talented professionals. This chapter studies the revolution talent management has experienced and presents the main challenges in the new people management. Authors offer entrepreneurs and managers useful recommendations for adequate talent management.
TopIntroduction
Currently, organizations are immersed in an environment called VUCA, Volatility (V), Uncertainty (U), Complexity (C) and Ambiguity (A), a term that characterizes and represents the current business environment (Millar, Groth, & Roos, 2016; Popova, Shynkarenko, Kryvoruchko & Zéman, 2018). VUCA is both a result of innovation and a driver of innovation. It is a scenario in which companies are forced to adapt to the continuous changes that attack their strategic planning and their professional routines. This represents a considerable challenge for talent management.
In reaching the current scenario, talent has evolved significantly during recent decades (McDonnell et al., 2017). A factor that has greatly influenced this evolution is the increase in professional opportunities, which is evident from the current decline in the unemployment rate. Employees, following this improvement in the employment landscape, have begun to demand greater professional development, more autonomy at work and other aspects, which in turn are a consequence of the arrival of new generations in the labour market (Reditt, Gregory & Ro, 2019). This confluence of variables has led to the need to make changes in people management during recent decades (Collings et al., 2015).
Thus, what was previously known as people management, has been renamed International Human Resources Management, and the people carrying out this task as Talent Managers (Cascio & Boudreau, 2016). This management of talent has emerged as a critical element in human resources strategy (Scullion, Collins & Caliguri 2010). Talent managers face new, changing needs and situations. This chapter deals with the evolution that talent management has undergone from the 20th century to the 21st century. The authors present the policies which are most in demand by the professionals of the new generation. Thus, the main contribution of this chapter is to propose the new challenges of people management for the current environment. The authors recommend key measures that company managers need to implement to achieve what is undoubtedly the main competitive advantage at present for value creation: attracting and retaining the professionals with the best talent.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digitalization: is the process by which companies reorganize their work methods and strategies to obtain greater benefits thanks to the implementation of new technologies.
Labour Flexibility: is set of measures aimed at making work times, environments and systems more flexible, to adapt them to every moment in the workers' lives.
Generational Diversity: is the coexistence of people with a wide range of ages in the workplace.
Work-Life Balance: is the balance between the different spheres of a person's life, promoting full development, without deterioration in the quality of life.
Employer Branding: is the image that a company has as an employer. It refers not only to the reputation gained among employees, but also to possible candidates.
Professional Development: is the result of career planning and includes the aspects that a person enriches or improves with a view to achieving objectives within the organization. It can be through individual effort or with the support of the company.