Talent Management Projects: Are They An HR Function?

The McKinsey Quarterly article on “Making Talent a Strategic Priority” conducted a survey of 98 business/HR leaders that yielded obstacles to effective talent management; it’s amazing how well these “obstacles” correlate with obstacles to any organization wide effort like project management and PMO processes- the top three were:

1. Senior managers don’t spend enough high-quality time on talent management

2. Organization is “siloed” and does not encourage constructive collaboration, sharing of resources

3. Line managers are not sufficiently committed to development of people’s capabilities and careers.

Often HR is given the “talent management” task. However, the “obstacles” point to talent management being a function performed by ALL management. The obstacle that really jumps out for me is item 2. followed closely by item 3. “Siloing” can be overcome by putting together collaborative “learning events” where executives present and discuss their organizations and challenges with each other. ALL strategic issues, including talent management, should be covered as to how the entire organization can work together to improve and execute strategies.

Manager’s who aren’t interested in “development of people’s capabilities and careers” aren’t really managing at all; it’s possible that the organization has been promoting the wrong people into management positions simply because talent management is not a priority.

Do you see the same obstacles to talent management in your organization? Have you seen other obstacles? How have you overcome them?

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