3 Key Questions to Integrate Talent Management into the Business

If you are a talent development (TD) professional, the role you play in your organization may be changing significantly to become more strategic and business oriented. Most HR departments are undergoing a similar transformation, which makes sense. Whether or not TD is part of HR in your organization, both teams are crucial in helping organizations remain agile, develop and optimize their talent, and retain and engage their employees.

To achieve organizational goals, traditionally separate TD and HR processes have become more integrated to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Often, integration begins with TD processes, such as performance management, succession management, and onboarding, combining with HR processes such as talent acquisition and rewards and recognition.

It’s important meet with your colleagues in non-TD functions to ensure your processes are optimized. Use the following questions to help guide your integration efforts:

• Question #1: How often do you meet to discuss what people the HR team is hiring, if they are hiring internally or externally for a position, salary ranges, and start dates?

• Question #2: How are you “connecting the dots” and finding points of integration in your functions?

• Question #3: How do you measure the success of your collaboration?

If you like thinking strategically and want to collaborate with others in your organization, the ATD Integrated Talent Management Certificate program is for you. This program describes what you can do at your level to integrate TD and HR processes and align them with organizational strategy. Learning from others who face similar challenges, helps bring real-world experiences into the program. Peer coaching and consulting also help participants apply what they learn in the program back at work.

Bottom line: Integrating processes and functions can be a challenge, but understanding these efforts in the context of organizational objectives can help you chart a path to success.