Talent Management Assignment: Talent Strategies in Companies to Attract & Retain People

Question

Task: Talent Management AssignmentScenario and activity:
You are employed as an assistant within the professional development team of an organisation of your choice or you can choose your own place of work (if appropriate). You have been asked to conduct a small-scale project, in the form of an investigative case study, into the “talent management” within the organisation which is to be presented as a business case for management on “What talent strategies do the best companies use to attract and retain people?” The project will involve investigating how the organisation manages talents, investigating good practice within other businesses and collating employee feedback. This will be presented to your line manager as a business case with proposals to implement talent management scheme, followed by a performance review in which you will need to reflect upon the project in relation to your own personal and professional development. To ensure the project is managed effectively, you will complete an online project logbook as you progress through the project.

In order to conduct you project successfully to produce your business case you will need to take the following steps:

Step 1 – Project planning
1. Devise a project management plan to map out how you intend to meet the project objectives:

• Begin with the scope. What activities and tasks as defined in your project must be done in order to make the project a success?
• Note the milestones or major events or phases in your project.
• Provide details of activities to be carried out initiation, planning and execution of the project.
• Create a work break down structure using a Gantt chart to track the activities to be undertaken.

Step 2 – Conduct primary and secondary research
1. Devise a short questionnaire/ or interview questions to complete with employees within the organisation. Include questions on how they define talent management, what the organisation currently has in place to manage internal talents and what they feel could be done better for talent management.

2. Research at least two other organisations to see what type of talent management initiatives they have.

3. Research the value and benefits of talent management addressing wellbeing in terms of improving employee motivation and retention.

4. Focus on areas of good practice to build and support your business case.

Step 3 – Present Findings
1. Collate your research and analyse your findings.
2. Produce and present the business case including an evaluation of tools used to gather research and data to justify your recommendations for implementing talent management initiatives.

Step 4 – Reflective Practice
1. Complete a performance review with your line manager to critically reflect upon the project plan, process and outcomes in terms of your own personal and professional development. Think about how well you have performed and achieved your project objectives, what obstacles did you have to overcome What worked well or not well What have you learnt from completing this project?

Answer

1. Introduction
The present talent management assignmentendeavours to develop a business case on how the best companies use talent management strategies to attract and retain people. For contextualising this, global retail pharmaceutical health and wellness Boots has been taken as the case study company wherein its talent management strategy has been explored through delineation of the positive and negative outcomes for effective and ineffective talent management strategies respectively. Therefore, to help the company with proper recommendations to incorporate appropriate and sound talent management strategies, small-scale research has been undertaken both through primary data collection method in the form of survey and secondary data collection that involved exploration of the efficient talent management initiatives of other two global retail brands namely Nestle and Marks & Spencer. In addition to this, the report would also engage in meticulous details of the project planning activities in the first portion and terminate with a reflective assessment of own performance review in the last portion.

2. Project planning
2.1 Background to the project
In the words of Oladapo(2014), Talent management is the reiterative process of attracting, developing, and retaining highly skilled employees through catering to their needs, demands, and expectations as well as empowering them to grow in their professional career through effective assistance to improve their performances. This implies that effective talent management ought to sway a positive influence on the employee retention rate and motivate them to work with diligence, sincerity, and spontaneous commitments along with possessing a skilled workforce. However, the failure of incorporating efficient talent management strategies could lead to dissent in the employees, deterioration in the workplace productivity, and lowers down the employee morale and motivation level as becoming incompetent to deliver good serviceability thereby gets impeded from perceiving jobs satisfaction. These negative indications of ineffective talent management strategies and detrimental implications of the same could be contextualised in the largest pharmacy chain of the UK, Boots. This necessitates the present research project to be undertaken to achieve the project objectives which would be done through primary and secondary data collection.

2.2 Problem statement
Boots has been accused of incompetent talent management at several points in time. As per the documentation of Chakrabortty (2016), the working culture of Boots is not catering to the expectations of the employees that not only threaten the productivity of the employees but also propelling the employees to offer unreliable services. It has been ascertained that the management of Boots is so engrossed to seek profit-oriented goals that they exert considerable and relentless pressure upon the employees to accomplish targets like providing an unrealistic number of medicine-use reviews (MURs). Even the store managers would discourage the employees if the targets were not met which subsequently deteriorated their morale and motivation that shows how the concerned HRM stripped out of the professional discretion and not followed any kind of effective talent management.

Furthermore, it has been also observed that the burnt-out employees would often unconsciously prescribed wrong medications leading to unfortunate fatalities that implied no proper training and development and proper HR measures have been often overlooked resulting in incapability in the employees. In addition to this, the employee motivation got also reportedly down after in one of the Boot’s branch, the manager eliminated the two 15-minutes tea breaks leading to continuous working to the point of exhaustion. The manager not even took into consideration the disability of some employees who couldn’t stand for long hours that resulted in health deterioration (Webber, 2020). All these factors propelled this research study to be undertaken to uphold researched and evidential data regarding the quintessential importance of incorporating effective talent management strategy to drive employee retention and motivation.

2.3 Project aim and objectives
The project aims to explore and analyse how the talent management strategies of a company could induce both positive and negative implications depending on the strategy facilitated by basing the study on real companies

Based on this aim, the objectives of the project are:

• To recognise and analyse what loopholes in the talent management strategy in Boots led to demotivated workforce
• To recognise and analyse what measures do Boots incorporates to drive efficient talent management strategy
• To identify and analyse how the effective talent management strategy at Nestle and Marks induced positive outcomes
• To recommend reliable and needful talent management strategy to Boots to help the company enhance its existing talent management strategy.

2.4 Scope of the project
The scope of the project has been delineated through the activities and the major milestones that need to be achieved to obtain the desired project outcomes. Therefore, the action plan with the timescales, the Gantt chart and the WBS with the milestones meant for the initiation, planning, execution, and closure of the project have been put forth.

2.4.1 Action plan

Table 1: Activities and timescales
(Source: Created by the learner)

2.4.2 Gantt chart

Figure 2: Gantt chart
(Source: Created by the learner)

2.4.3 WBS

Figure 3: Work breakdown structure
(Source: Created by the learner)

3. Conducting primary and secondary research
3.1 Primary Research
3.1.1The questionnaire used to survey the employees of Boots
Q1. How do you like to define talent management?
A. It’s a strategy to manage the workforce efficiently
B.Managerial strategy for nurturing, and developing the human resources

C.Implementation of the measures to ensure motivation and workplace satisfaction
D. Retention of the highly-skilled employees through constant training and development
E. Strategy of taking every measure into count that enhances professional competencies of the employees.
F. Strategy of getting the right talents on-board and develop them in a proper working culture.
G. Strategy of retaining the skilled workforce by catering to all of their needs, demands and offering opportunities.
H. All of the above.

Q2. Do you think that talent management is essential for an organisation to nurture, develop, and retain the workforce?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I don’t have any idea

Q3. In what ways does your company manage the talent of the workforce?
A. Propagating a healthy and inclusive workforce
B. Engaging in effective hiring, training, developing and retention of the workforce
C. Caters to your workplace needs and promptly addresses your concerns with required steps
D. Offers you adequate training and development programmes and equal opportunities for all
E. Motivates you through different workplace measures and endearing workplace environment
F. Implements measures to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of the employees
G. Offers you a comprehensive package, benefits, and rewards to drive retention

H. All of the above
I. None of the above

Q4. Do you agree with the fact that your company is proficient in facilitating effective talent management strategy?
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Neutral
D. Disagree
E. Strongly disagree

Q5. How you have been benefitted from the talent management initiatives of your organisation?
A.I felt motivated to work for the company that accentuated my capabilities
B. I feltenthusiasticand abided by the organisational duties diligently
C. I perceived personal, professional, and financial security
D.I could grow professionally by enhancing my skills and competencies
E. I haven’t been benefitted at all because my store didn’t incorporate talent management
F. None of the above

Q6. Do you agree that your company has some loopholes and shortcomings in their strategy of talent management?
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree
C. Neutral
D. Disagree
E. Strongly disagree

Q7. From the following provisions which one do you think your HR department should adopt to enhance the talent management strategy of your company?
A. Catering to our workplace need and demands more across each store
B. Take into consideration our workload and ensure measures of allocating the responsibilities equality
C.Incorporate more training and development programmes to skilling and rescaling the employees
D.Incorporate more performance appraisal, reward mechanisms, and workplace recognition

E. Work for fostering higher mental, physical and financial well-being
F.Eliminate or terminate store managers who are rude to us without reasons and dismiss our grievances

3.2 Secondary Research
3.2.1 Exploring the talent management initiatives of two other companies namely Nestle and Mark & Spencer
Nestle
The HR initiatives of Nestle about talent management include highly efficient techniques of attracting, retaining, and developing talented people. Moreover, training and development programmes are offered to the employees to enhance the leadership and technical skills of the employees and build positive workplace relationships along with succession planning to help the employees across all the parts of the employees climb their career graph steadily and reliably. Moreover, with the in-house recruitment model, Nestle is hiring skilled talents and offering them mentoring sessions to instigate them to achieve their career aspirations. In addition to this, the company also offers substantial recognition to forge an encouraging and positive work culture and rewards to celebrate the achievements of the workforce and thereby, motivate them to attain newer heights. Furthermore, Nestle also fosters the well-being of the employees as part of its retention strategy (nestle,2021).

Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer is following more proficient talent management strategies by implementing appropriate HR policies and procedures in compliance with the legal framework of the nation within which the company operates. Furthermore, the company believes in employee engagement through consistent and increased participation which imbues in the employees a sense of belongingness that gradually offers them job satisfaction and motivates them. This coupled with transparent communication, M&S provides opportunities to the employees to freely exchange their opinions, feedback, ideas, and concerns that help the HR department to effectively and contingently implement measures in the best interests of the employees to address growth and development for all (marksandspencer, 2021).

Moreover, to attract the right talent from the pool of human resources, M&S punctuates its talent management strategy with inclusive and diversified recruitment opportunities and eradicates discrimination of every kind through disciplinary procedures. Besides this, M&S ensures safe and healthy working condition to retain workplace satisfaction and thereby the workforce as a whole along with offering rewards and other facilities and benefits to encourage individual performance. Talent management strategy also further encompasses training and development underpinned with continuous development to nurture the professional proficiencies of the employees (marksandspencer, 2021).

3.2.2 Demonstrating the value and benefits of talent management in terms of employee motivation and retention
According to the report documented by Mckinsey Global, it has been ascertained that proficient and effective talent management strategy ought to sway a benign influence on the business outcomes(Andrianovaet al., 2018).One of the core, valuable, and dispensable outcomes generated with the help of effective talent management is the accentuation of the organisational performance with the help of the highly skilled and motivated workforce who not only performs with sheer diligence and motivation but also collectively contribute to accomplishing the organisational objectives. This increases the organisational outcomes by heightening the internal pace of the organisation (Andrianovaet al., 2018). Moreover, as per the observations of Alias et al.(2014), attracting the right talent and retention of the same consistently assist the organisation in fostering quality serviceability and enrich the productivity of the organisational as a whole.

Figure 4: Correlation between effective talent management and increased organisational performance
(Source: Andrianovaet al., 2018)

Therefore, as stated the overall efficacies and benefits induced by effective talent management empowers the company to increase the competitive precedence as well. In addition to this, Dhanabhakyam and Kokilambal(2014), opines that the increased harnessing of the talents in the organisational culture stimulates the employees to usher and exploit the talents to the best possible means out of self-actualisation of their potentialities and capabilities as good working culture and management system induced in them the highest level of motivation. Eventually, the motivated employees are easier to retain implying thatcompanies with effective and sound talent management strategies foster higher staff attrition rate.

In addition of this, the good practices of the talent management have been enunciated which if incorporated by Boots could have been helped to revamp and restructure its talent management strategy.

• Reiteration of the organisational goals to the employees along with their responsibilities and expected performances.
• Aligning talent acquisition with the organisational goals.
• Facilitating proficient performance appraisals frequently.
• Ensuring adequate professional developmental scopes and opportunities
• Offering different training and development programmes as necessary according to the evolving demands of the customers and markets alike.
• Providing workplace recognition and rewards to motivate the employees to do their best.
• Fostering and collectively working towards developing an endearing and encouraging working culture (ainter?Morlandet al., 2019).

4. Data findings and analysis
4.1 Presentation and interpretation of the primary quantitative data

Figure of question 1: Understanding of the perception of talent management in the employee

Analysis: Over more than half of the employees (53.3%) claimed that their understanding of talent management as a strategy used to manage the workforce efficiently by getting the right talents on-board, nurturing and developing them through the implementation of the measures to ensure motivation and workplace satisfaction and facilitates training and development to retain the workforce as well as enhance their professional competencies of the employees.

The figure of question 2: Degree of the importance of talent management for the employees

Analysis: Almost 40% of the research participants agreed while another 40% strongly agreed on the importance of implementing an effective talent management strategy.

The figure of question 3: Ways in which Boots induces talent management strategies

Analysis: It has been ascertained by 20% of the employees that Boots through offering adequate training and development programmes and equal opportunities for all perpetuates thetalent management mostly. Along with this, 16.7% claimed that facilitating different workplace measures and establishing an endearing workplace environment also forms a part of the talent management, furthermore, catering to the workplace needs and promptly addressing the concerns with required steps and engaging in effective hiring, training, developing and retention of the workforce have been claimed by 10% of the employees each as talent management endeavours of Boots. While 10% of them says that none of the above strategies has been incorporated just in contrast to another 10% of the employees who claims that Boots have tried to include several measures for driving effective talent management strategies

The figure of question 4: Agreement on the proficiency of Boots' talent management

Analysis: Almost 50% of the employees agreed and 20% strongly agreed that Boots facilitates effective talent management strategy while 20% of them disagreed on the proficiency of Boots’ talent management strategies.

The figure of question 5: Benefits received by employees due to Boot’s talent management

Analysis: This research result shows that the employees are also benefitted from the talent management initiatives of Boots. While only 23.3% of them claimed to have not been benefited from any such strategies implicates that not all employees are treated equally neither all the HR manager implements the required talent management strategy. While 20% claims to not experience any benefits or non-benefits which implies that perhaps they are not aware that the company is supposed to ensure them with all kinds of facilities to motivate them. However, 23.3% of them felt enthusiastic and abided by the organisational duties diligently while 16% of them got benefited from each of the facts like growing professionally and perceiving personal, professional, and financial security.

The figure of question 6: Agreement on the inefficiencies of Boots’ talent management

Analysis: This finding wherein 36.7% of the employees agreed and 16.7% of them strongly agreed regarding the inefficient talent management strategy of Boots implicates that Boots needs to urgently address these issues. Moreover, that only 13.3% of them disagreed on this fact strengthens the needs to overcome the loopholes of talent management strategies across the different operational sphere of Boots. However, the neutrality of 33.3% implies their reluctance to acknowledge the shortcomings of Boots or their inability to understand and comprehend that whether the company is efficient in managing the workforce or not.

The figure of question 7: Ways to improve talent management strategies according to the employees

Analysis: According to the research finding almost 26.7% claimed that considering their workload and ensuring proper measures of allocating the responsibilities equality amongst the employees must be emphasized as part of the renewed talent management strategy. This implies that Boots needs to reconsider and refurbish its recruitment strategy to attract higher and skilled talents to foster effective allocation of responsibilities and thereby, retain the workforce morale and motivation. While 20% of them claimed that incorporation of performance appraisal, reward mechanisms, and workplace recognition would help them to perceive greater workplace motivation through increased understanding of their roles and getting acknowledged for the professional contribution that boosts their morale. Furthermore, 16% of employees for each of the provisions like the incorporation of training and development programmes and fostering higher mental, physical and financial well-being have deemed essential addition to the present talent management strategy of Boots to induce all-encompassing development of the workforce and organisation alike.

4.2 Justification of the data collection tools used
The primary data collection strategy performed with Google survey form over the online medium helped in garnering the first-hand data from the research participants and that facilitated representation of the desired data to achieve the research objectives. Moreover, the researched data holds contemporariness and authenticity due to its primary method and would help Boots in ascertaining the right talent management strategy from the recurrent views and opinions of its employees. This would empower the company to feasibly and contingently mitigate the issues and implement strategies that would motivate and retain the workforce. Furthermore, the secondary data collection helped in exploring the talentmanagementinitiatives of the other global companies as well as in determining the value of talent management strategies.Thisnonethelesshelped in strengthening the importance and necessity of inducing the right talent management strategy.

4.3 Recommendations regarding the talent management initiatives of Boots
Based on the aforementioned data findings, the following measures have been recommended to enhance the talent management strategies of Boots.

• Incorporating of efficient working hours under the legal framework of UK's employment rule and Human Rights obligation to ensure system and elimination of overworking of the employees across the different operational levels of Boots.
• Facilitates higher and advanced recruitment strategy and training and development of the employees mandatorily to make competent enough to deliver competent serviceability always without compromising at any situations
• Catering to the issues of the employees and garnering their feedbacks through establishing effective platforms to reach the higher authorities feasibly so that prompt actions could be ensured.

5. Concluding with a performance review
Therefore, from the preceding discussions, it could be evidentially stated that multiple endeavours have been put to establish the business case from problem recognition to conducting small scale research for obtaining reliable data from the research participants and analysing the same. All these efforts have been justified with the project aim and objectives and I’m satisfied with the outcomes it yielded. However, the project could have been done a little better with the help of the primary qualitative data that would have included the interview process. I think interviewing the HR manager of Boots could have opened before us the recent talent management strategies and their take on the growing grievances against the company. Despite this, I think I have adequately fulfilled the project objectives with our existing data and findings. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge that engaging with this project enriched my theoretical knowledge of the overall functionalities and responsibility of the HR department along with the knowledge of conducting a survey practically. Moreover, I also learnt to analyse and interpret the survey data that accentuated my technical skills and the Google survey went feasibly and data collection was done without any hindrance. A little obstacle was only faced during persuading the research participants to participate in the survey which however I overcame by providing them with detailed information of the project objectives and significance for their company.

6. References
Alias, N.E., Noor, N. and Hassan, R., 2014.Examining the mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between talent management practices and employee retention in the Information and Technology (IT) organizations in Malaysia. Journal of Human Resources Management and Labor Studies, 2(2), pp.227-242.

Andrianova, S., Maor, D. and Schaninger, B., 2018.Winning with your talent-management strategy.

Chakrabortty, A. 2016.How Boots went rogue | AdityaChakrabortty. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 May 2021]

Dhanabhakyam, M. and Kokilambal, K., 2014.A study on existing talent management practice and its benefits across industries. International Journal of Research in Business Management, 2(7), pp.23-36.

marksandspencer.com 2021.People [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 May 2021]

marksandspencer.com 2021. Corporate.marksandspencer.com.[Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 May 2021]

nestle.com2021.HR Initiatives [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 May 2021] Oladapo, V., 2014.The impact of talent management on retention.Talent management assignment Journal of business studies quarterly, 5(3), p.19.

Webber, A. 2020. Boots employee banned from taking breaks wins £7k at employment tribunal - Personnel Today, Personnel Today. [Online] Available at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/boots-employee-banned-from-taking-breaks-wins-7k-at-employment-tribunal/ [Accessed 14 May 2021].

Painter Morland, M., Kirk, S., Deslandes, G. and Tansley, C., 2019. Talent management: The good, the bad, and the possible. European Management Review, 16(1), pp.135-146.