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Talent management strategy
In this chapter 1) talent management and the concept of talent are defined, 2)
the process of talent management is explained and 3) the approach to devel-
oping a talent management strategy is described.
TALENT MANAGEMENT DEFINED
Talent management is basically about the identification and development of
potential. It can be defined more elaborately as the process of identifying,
developing, recruiting, retaining and deploying talented people. The term
talent management may refer simply to management succession planning
and management development activities, although this notion does not
really add anything to these familiar processes except a new, although admit-
tedly quite evocative, name. It is better to regard talent management as a
more comprehensive and integrated bundle of activities, the aim of which is
to secure the flow of talent in an organization, bearing in mind that talent is a
major corporate resource. But to understand the process of talent
management it is necessary to be clear about what is meant by ‘talent’.
What is talent?
As defined by the CIPD (2007b), ‘Talent consists of those individuals who
can make a difference to organizational performance, either through their
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