Businesses across Africa are starting to focus on the selection, development and retention of skilled employees in the light of increasing competition for skilled resources across the continent. Talent management technologies are not only automating the talent process but also driving talent management practices to support business operations. Talent management is becoming a competitive advantage which is enabled through new technologies available to business.
The growth in African economies and demand for highly skilled employees are driving the demand for talent management technology across the continent. The demand and interest is driven by the need for African corporates and government institutions to manage and grow their talent in the face of strong competition for skilled resources. The expat model is not always available or a sustainable solution for local businesses which necessitate a focused approach on developing local skills for sustainable economic growth.
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Talent management has been primarily driven as a manual skill development process but with limited success, as business often looked at human resources to own and drive people development. Talent management is however a more comprehensive process that starts with the definition of an appropriate talent strategy aligned to the overall business strategy and then cascading the strategy through a talent model into jobs.
With new talent technologies, the cascading of strategies become a business function which creates an understanding of how talent supports the delivery of business objectives. Once talent requirements for the organisation and at job level are understood, new technologies allow for online employee assessments to define employee potential and assist with successful selection and placements. With talent management technologies, the delta between employee potential and job requirements help drive effective and successful talent development. Talent management also looks at linking performance management with employee potential to help with skills development, succession planning and employee retention activities.
Latest talent management technologies based on cloud computing is driving cost down as the need for expensive infrastructure is reduced. Most providers can render cloud solutions as public or private cloud, based on business requirements. Cloud computing is further more driving HR mobility, as an operational manager can now access talent solutions using smart devices such as tablets in or outside the office. The mobility of talent solutions are contributing significantly to the success of talent management in business, as it can be access 24×7 at any place by managers and employees.
Talent management technologies are also providing executives with more robust business intelligence to make accurate operational decisions. These technologies provide executives with the ability to assess employee contribution against their remuneration. Reporting is now focused on enabling business decision making rather than displaying generic human resources metrics.
Talent management technologies are paving the way for increased levels of skills development and retention across the continent. Business and government institutions are embracing these technologies as key enablers of talent management within their organisations. This is in line with global trends where talent management technologies are simplifying talent processes while embedding robust practices for business success.
