“Demystifying Talent Management” Looks at Unleashing Employee Potential


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“Demystifying Talent Management” will enlighten all employees in a business or organization to the purpose, and correct practices to use with regard to staff development. It makes clear that with a little time and effort, proper planning and follow-up, any business should benefit through the implementation of a well planned and managed process.

Demystifying Talent Management

How many times have you heard it said that the most important asset in any business is its staff?

Yet, many businesses either fail to make an effort to identify and nurture the talent of employees, or simply do not have the leadership to do so.

The book “Demystifying Talent Management: Unleash People’s Potential to Deliver Superior Results” outlines why it is so crucial for any business or organization to get this process correct and how to achieve it.

While doing so, author Kimberly Janson takes no prisoners when recounting the successes and abject failures she has witnessed during her time working in the field of leadership development.

“Demystifying Talent Management” highlights the need for a business to invest time and money in its staff. Often businesses omit doing this because they are more focused on getting the job done and making money. Time spent appraising and carrying out other talent management activities is regarded as lost time.

Yet, any business which fails to implement a formal staff management review and development process is missing the opportunity to actually increase revenue and grow the business. After all, a better trained and more productive workforce leads to a more efficient and profitable business.

Managing the performance and development of employees is the main topic of the book. With reference to incidents witnessed, and through her years of experience working as a Talent Management Officer, Janson passes on the key skills and methods to use in the management and development of employees.

She explains that while many companies do have processes in place, they are often ineffective. This is frequently due to the managers appointed to the task not having the skills or the training to perform this function.

Failure to invest the time, poor goal setting, unclear expectations and failure to follow up are seen to be the most common problems.

The steps of setting smart goals, checking on progress and carrying out a meaningful performance review are each covered and broken down into a manageable process.

Staff evaluations at many companies frequently come in the form of a perfunctory annual appraisal. The author points out that staff evaluation, monitoring, and feedback should take place throughout the year, not just at the end of it.

Staff compensation and rewards, career development and succession and coaching techniques are some of the other personnel issues discussed in the book.

Having previously worked in corporate London for 15 years, it was easy to identify with the points made by the author.

“Demystifying Talent Management” is written with clarity and with an exceptional understanding of the skills required to manage people. Furthermore, it really does highlight the importance of regularly appraising and following up with your employees.

Many businesses do underestimate the abilities of the staff. This is a fact emphasized in the book as are the consequences of failing to do so.

Proper personnel management is a skill and takes time and effort, and I was happy to see that the author does not try to disguise these facts. Hopefully, by reading this book, employers and those in the position to promote staff to management positions will understand that not all great staff members will naturally become good managers.

Due to the author’s background of working with large businesses and corporations, most of the examples are related to these kinds of situations. Perhaps a few illustrations geared towards the small business owner with few staff could have been included.

If you or your company fails to do performance reviews and regular appraisals of your staff or treats them in a perfunctory and half-hearted manner, then you should read this book.

“Demystifying Talent Management” will be especially beneficial for managers and HR staff, but will also be useful to senior executives and small business owners looking to maximize the potential of the staff in their business or organization.

The book should inspire anyone in such a position and motivate them to put in place these simple but necessary processes. Not only will it benefit the business and its staff, but it should also provide those implementing these processes with a sense of pride and satisfaction when they see the rewards that they reap.

For more than 20 years, Janson has worked with leadership teams throughout the world and is now President and CEO of her own company, Janson Associates. In addition to her passion for getting people to reach their maximum potential, Janson also has passion for training of another kind. An avid horsewoman, she and her husband operate a stable where they breed and train champion hunters and jumpers.

2 Comments ▼

John Blunden John Blunden is a Book Reviewer for Small Business Trends. He is a British writer now living in South Africa where he successfully owned and ran a variety of businesses for several years before deciding to take up his passion for writing.

2 Reactions
  1. It’s the technology infrastructure that throttles many businesses and employee capabilities. The processes of “time is money” still works.

  2. The thing with talent is not just know how to use it but know how to retain an employee so that the person stays in the long run.