“Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary simply by doing them with the right people,” Elizabeth Green said. Talent management is an undisputed reality that leading organisations integrate into their HR management strategies.

However, what does talent management really consist of? At the turn of the 21st century, the HR manager’s primary focus was on attracting the best available talent to their organisations. This trend has now been countered by another reality of managing an organisation’s talent.

In fact, the greatest challenge for any HR manager today isn’t to attract the appropriate talented candidates but to retain talent within the organisation. Forward-looking organisations remain successful because they constantly strive to implement solutions that will attract and retain the best talent available while competition is still catching up.

As we progress further through the digital era, according to Reuters, the largest generation in history is slowly but surely taking over the workforce. Generation Y employees are smart, educated and agile, socially networked and digitally savvy.

Having grown up at the same pace as technology advancements, these employees seek stable careers that do not exist anymore as a result of the recent global economic recession the world is still struggling to leave behind.

All of this puts additional pressure on organisations wanting to retain and develop human capital, with the rate of technological change consistently changing the business environment.

Managing an organisation’s talent means that the organisation is seeking to form successful, long-term relationships with its employees. In so doing, a successful organisation would pay attention to the small details that can make or break such relationships.

Forbes magazine (2012) listed 10 main reasons on why talented employees leave the organisation, and all 10 reasons focus on the failure by management to use available talent within the business opportunities available to the organisation.

The financial and business implications of managing talent hence do not simply imply providing adequate work conditions and working environment to employees, or rewarding performance through career development, but more importantly making the best use of the organisation’s available talent so that employees can grow with the organisation.

Talent management’s emphasis has developed from providing performing employees with rewarding careers to integrating performing employees into the business strategies and operations, providing them with the necessary tools to develop the organisation even further.

Hence the psychological aspects of assisting, motivating, retaining and developing employees may be met by organisations that seek to offer challenging and rewarding careers. This will in turn stimulate employee engagement, employee development and more importantly, employee retention.

Steve Jobs once said that “you have to have a lot of passion for what you are doing, because otherwise any rational person would just give up”. He also said that successful people are those who love what they are doing and hence persevere in what they are doing.

“Successful organisations need to be formed by teams of great people, and the financial psychology of managing such teams can be seen through the perseverance and engagement high performing employees strive to achieve even higher standards of performance,” he added.

Will Smith said “greatness exists in all of us” and is not limited to anyone in particular. He explains that he did not grow up with the sense that he was where he was going to be but with the mentality that where he was didn’t matter because he was focused on becoming something greater. This is the secret to success, the winning psychology of making talent management strategically and financially successful.

Talent management focuses on giving employees the opportunity to develop themselves, giving them the occasion to achieve, harnessing their creativity and innovation and believing in abilities and strengths.

Successful people have to be able to believe in themselves and organisations that want to avail themselves of their available human capital have to believe in these employees.

The financial psychology of managing talent focuses on believing in employees, giving them the resources to make the best use of their abilities, monitor achievements and focus upon success.

This will spur motivation, which will subsequently nurture confidence, can-do attitudes and help develop the organisation’s talent even further.

Robert Delia is a HR specialist with over 20 years’ direct working experience in different industries. He works for CSB Group as an HR and training consultant and also heads the group’s recruitment agency Vacancycentre.com.

Why does talent leave?

1. You failed to unleash their passions
2. You failed to challenge their intellect
3. You failed to engage their creativity
4. You failed to develop their skills
5. You failed to give them a voice
6. You failed to care
7. You failed to lead
8. You failed to recognise their contributions
9. You failed to increase their responsibility
10. You failed to keep your commitments