Why is Talent Management challenging for CTOs? How can it be streamlined?

To have a strong workforce of talented individuals that could drive the projects with utmost efficiency, Talent Management becomes instrumental for an organization. Talent Management is not just limited to hiring but it is an organization’s commitment to recruit, manage, develop, and retain the talented employees that are available in the job market.

For IT this task is even more challenging as the dynamics of the IT industry change at a rapid pace, making it difficult to keep up with the fast-paced technological advancements. Coming up with professionals that are skilled in the latest frameworks, can be tiring for an organization. 

As per the Mercer Global Talent Trends 2019 report, Technology industry experience over 70% of the disruption.

Source: Mercer

In addition to this, several challenges are put up at each step of the Talent Management cycle that could be overwhelming. Let us take a closer look at the phases of Talent Management Cycle to identify these challenges, in order to come up with relevant solutions that could be applied for their mitigation.

Source: Business Jargons

With the fast-paced upgrades in the skill requirements, planning talent management often takes a toll, and gradually affects the whole recruitment process. It is essential that the organization sync with the respective tech departments of the organization to align their planning in a futuristic way keeping in mind the future technology needs of their company. 

As we have discussed the challenges that are faced by the CTOs in the recruitment of skilled talent, there are important steps to be taken by the CTOs that could ensure the hiring of the right talent pool.

But, what remains a noteworthy point here, is the retention of the already hired talent pool. As per a Glassdoor report, 66% of the millennials expect to leave their organization by 2020. The same report suggests that 63% of the millennials believe that their leadership skills are not being fully developed.

Source: Glassdoor

When we look at the same picture from the companies’ perspective, we could sense that they are losing a lot of their talent due to the lack of high retention rates. 

Source: Glassdoor

With a small fraction of companies that engage in acceleration programs clearly indicate a dire need for them to be in place, so as to improve the retention statistics. 

Having said that, the focus should be laid on nurturing the talent of existing employees to ensure that the company does not get deprived of the talent pool. By initiating the learning and development programs in the organization, and appreciating the growth of the employees as individuals could play an instrumental role in overcoming the challenges that are faced in Talent Management.  

With a clear roadmap and growth-oriented strategies that promote the development of employees, the situation can be made better. By filling these gaps, talent management goals  can be achieved that could help the organization strengthen and grow as they move ahead.

As a CTO, how do you see Talent Management as a challenge? How do you act to streamline Talent Management for your organization?