34 Tyre Asia April/May 2018
MANAGEMENT
There is a dearth of talent worldwide. Recruiting
talented workforce and retaining them are
challenges that CEOs face constantly. The situation
is particularly grave in small and medium
enterprises. Dr TN Krishnan, Associate Professor
in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
(OB&HR) Area and Chairperson, Research
Committee, at the Indian Institute of Management,
Kozhikode (India), has done considerable research
in talent management which has become one
of the key strategic issues for leaders in global
organizations. Although a majority of research on
TM focuses on the large multinational enterprise
(MNE), not much work has been done in the context
of small and medium enterprises. It is here that he
has done intensive study on talent management
practices in SMEs. They are different from major
organisations because of their distinct institutional
and structural factors. In this interview, Dr Krishnan
explains to Tyre Asia his research and elaborates
on the challenges being faced by small and medium
enterprises in evolving good TM practicesRecruitment and
retaining talent
T
alent Management (TM) is a key strategic issue
before corporate leaders who always try to get the
best talent and then struggle hard to retain them.
This issue is particularly severe in small and medium
enterprises.
Attracting and retaining talent is a key concern for most
organizations, says Dr TN Krishnan, Associate Professor in
Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources (OB&HR)
Area and Chairperson, Research Committee, at the Indian
Institute of Management, Kozhikode (India).
“We start with the uncomfortable truth that there is no
universal definition of talent across organizations,” he told
Tyre Asia in an interview.
“While Talent Shows are popular contests across the
world, most of these are skill-based shows. While skill and/
or knowledge are valuable assets to possess, it should get
translated to performance in an organizational context,” he
points out.TA News Bureau
Boris Groysberg and his colleagues at Harvard University
through their research have shown how even in the role
of security analysts, where individual skills and knowledge
matter a lot in exhibiting performance, star analysts who
switched employers experienced an immediate decline in
performance that persisted for at least five years.
“So talent should possess skills and knowledge that translate
to performance in a given firm. We also know that not every
good engineer becomes a good manager.”
When organizations visit management campuses, they do
not just hire a good marketer or a finance expert, they
expect that this functional expert becomes a good leader
over time. Hence, the potential to reach higher level
management positions is another element that most good
organizations that are rated as ‘talent nurturers’ screen for
and identify early on in their employees.Talent could also be in certain niche or technical areas
where the passion and learning agility in a particular domain
could be key indicators of potential talent.“Once we have the right talent in the organization,
engagement and retention become a key concern,” asserts
Dr Krishnan.Talented employees look for three fundamental features in
the work environment — purpose, autonomy, and learning
opportunities. Talented employees try to constantly reflect
on how their work aligns with the larger purpose of the
organization. This helps them carve out the actions bestDr TN Krishnan