With changes happening at a fast rate in the current business world, keeping pace with them requires the skill, talent and knowledge of a dynamic work force. This is where talent management makes an entry. Talent management makes use of the skills, knowledge and passion of the employees by its proper identification and taking measures for its conversion into company profitability. The human resource manager is to discover the processes that can help in creating a work culture that is capable of utilising the skills of the employees to the maximum assuring utmost return to the company as well as the employees.

Successful talent management makes use of an analytical and objective method of recruitment of talents. Inclusion of MBTI, DISC, etc into the selection process helps in recruitment of the right person with the right capabilities and attitude to the right job. An effective recruitment can absorb people with high technical, leadership and professional calibre. It can add to employee satisfaction and in the creation of a healthy work environment which can induce the employees to perform better, thus generating employee loyalty. Creation of employee loyalty can improve the retention within the entity.

Once enrolled into the entity, the management has to pave the way for employee development. It has to promote an open and transparent system wherein new and challenging opportunities are kept open for the employees to exploit. The employees should be able to foresee to a degree, the direction in which their career will travel. They must be given the freedom to experiment newer ideas and tackle unprecedented opportunities which might turn out to be a success or failure. The environment must provide for better learning opportunities which can encourage the employees to undertake newer techniques.

Managers or specialists must coach and mentor the employees to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and utilise their potential for professional and personal success. They should be assisted in recognising the various opportunities that can add to their growth.

To reap the maximum fruits from talent management, there should be a well planned succession plan. It should be drafted after conducting a skill audit capable of measuring the quantity and quality of the present talent and future requirements. The succession plan ensures the smooth flow of operations by a team of competent employees. Performance appraisal programs can be used as a tool for judging the capabilities of the existing employees.

To quote Marc Effron, vice president of talent management for Avon Products, "The issue . . . is the quality of the workers we have, especially the competitiveness of our leaders. It seems that companies in developing countries are much more serious about building great leaders than we are. They are aggressively investing in good, basic leadership development -- developmental assignments, projects, self awareness -- and they're doing this with more commitment and a greater investment of time than many Western companies. So, whether there will be a physical shortage of talent may be a moot point if the talent we will have can't compete." - Chief Executive, March 2007 (responding to their "Best Companies for Leaders" article). This, in short, describes the need for talent management.