Author: Future Manager Research Center

Today’s business requires both new know-how and, above all, new skills. Thanks to his/her ability and efficiency, a talented resource brings a real added value to the company. If it is true that today’s business needs talent to grow, innovate and last over time, it is equally true that even talented people have needs that the company must recognize and nurture in order to keep these precious resources and not see them go to its direct competitor. Optimal talent management gives the company a double advantage; in fact, when you miss out a talent there is a great chance that your competitor will reap what you have sown. For this very reason, losing a talent could mean giving a resource to your opponent.

Analyzing the reasons for this flight of human capital and implementing the necessary measures for its reduction has become one of the main lines of reflection for many company departments. The first criticality is represented by the fact that a talented person in the company is not identifiable easily and quickly, since the exercise of his/her talents is not always visible to those who manage them.

Usually the real talents bring a concrete creation of added value to their corporate mission, and it is often the people in direct interaction with them who can detect it and measure the extent of this contribution. But for talents to express themselves fully, they must be welcomed into a favorable ecosystem. The specific characteristics and qualities that make an employee an irreplaceable resource are those that allow him/her to carry out the mission beyond expectations, not only in terms of exceeding the objectives, but above all in terms of “how” to achieve them.

So what are the causes that push a quality resource to leave the company? A study published by the IMF Business School of Madrid shows some of the information that has been revealed by candidates who have given up their employment. Young talents complain about companies that lack coherence between offer and contract, make use of low corporate social responsibility policies, do not demonstrate flexibility and have a lack of internal communication or, sometimes, non-existent.

Many companies also see the opportunity to acquire talent in their team fading before their eyes right from the selection process. Although the technology adopted in the recruitment of human resources manages to simplify the processes more and more, there are still companies that take too much time to decide which candidate is the ideal one. Of course, just as it is important not to overstretch the selection processes, it is also important not to rush.

This war of talents is closely related to the efficiency that a company has in recruiting and above all in retaining them: it is time to turn the concepts of trust, pride, pleasure and professionalism into the reality of daily work. It is also time to look at and share decisions with employees, so that each actor can become a real contributor to collective success, thanks to the space dedicated to the expression of their talents.