WorldAtWork
February 27, 2008

For many years, academics and practitioners have recognized the influence of talent management (e.g., career path programs, goal development and monitoring, regular feedback sessions with managers, tracking progress) on employee execution and motivation to complete a task.

What might have been overlooked is the positive effect that an organization's talent management practices have on how an employee feels about the capabilities of their manager, their job satisfaction and their intent to stay with the organization.

The results from Kenexa Research Institute’s latest cross-culture study indicate that among the six countries surveyed, only 25% of workers believe their organizations provide strong guidance in terms of goal setting, managerial feedback and career development. Workers in the United States are more likely (53%) to indicate their organizations invest in and regularly practice talent management, compared to approximately 10% of surveyed workers in Germany and China.

Across all six countries, organizations with a focus on talent management have employees who are more engaged, and who are more satisfied with their job and the company overall. Having a strong talent management culture also favorably impacts how workers rate their pride in their organization and willingness to recommend it as a place to work. Additionally, if employees have favorable views of the organization's talent management practices, they are more likely to have confidence in the future of the organization.

Employees who believe in their company's talent management efforts also have more favorable opinions of their management. These employees believe their manager effectively manages the workload and that senior management demonstrates employees are important to the success of the company. They are also more likely to feel a sense of job security, be satisfied with on-the-job training, feel that performance is evaluated fairly and experience greater feelings of personal accomplishment.

[www.kenexa.com