02.TALENT MANAGEMENT TO FACE DIGITALIZATION IN BANKING

What is Talent Management?

Talent management is defined as the methodically organized, strategic process of getting the right talent onboard and helping them grow to their optimal capabilities keeping organizational objectives in mind.

 

The process thus involves identifying talent gaps and vacant positions, sourcing for and onboarding the suitable candidates, growing them within the system and developing needed skills, training for expertise with a future-focus and effectively engaging, retaining and motivating them to achieve long-term business goals. The definition brings to light the overarching nature of talent management – how it permeates all aspects pertaining to the human resources at work while ensuring that the organization attains its objectives. It is thus the process of getting the right people onboard and enabling them to enable the business at large.

Under the umbrella of talent management, there are a string of elements and sub-processes that need to work in unison to ensure the success of the organization. For example, analyzing the right talent gaps for the present and the future, identifying the right talent pools and best-fit candidates, getting them to join and then optimizing their existing skills and strengths while helping them grow are touch-points that are all equally important. They support each other and the whole structure would crumble even if one sub-process fell out of sync.

 

                                                                        

Talent Management Process

 

While often cyclical rather than a generic linear progression of events, the process of talent management could be considered, to begin with acknowledging the need for talent and leads to filling that gap and ultimately growing and optimizing the skills, traits, and expertise of employees, new and old.

 

The following image depicts the key points of the talent management process:

Let’s get into these key steps in the process of managing talent effectively:

 

1. Planning: 

Like in any process with a set outcome, planning is the first step in the process of talent management. It involves the following identifying where the gaps lie – the human capital requirement, formulating job descriptions for the necessary key roles to help guide sourcing and selection and developing a workforce plan for recruitment initiatives.

2. Attracting: 

Based on the plan, the natural next step is to decide whether the talent requirements should be filled in from within the organization or from external sources. Either way, the process would involve attracting a healthy flow of applicants. The usual external sources include job portals, social network, and referrals. The talent pools that need to be tapped into must be identified in advance to keep the process as smooth and efficient as possible. This is where the kind of employer brand that the organization has built for itself, comes into play because that decides the quality of applications that come in.

3. Selecting: 

This involves using a string of tests and checks to find the right match for the job – the ideal person-organization fit. Written tests, interviews, group discussions and psychometric testing along with an in-depth analysis of all available information on the candidate on public access platforms help in gauging an all-rounded picture of the person. Today there are software and AI-enabled solutions that recruiters can use to skim through a vast population of CVs to focus on the most suitable options and to find the ideal match.

4. Developing: 

Quite a few organizations today operate on the idea of hiring for attitude and training for skills. This makes sense because while you would want a predisposition to certain skill-sets, it is the person that you are hiring and not the CV. Developing employees to help them grow with the organization and training them for the expertise needed to contribute to business success also builds loyalty and improves employee engagement. This begins with an effective onboarding program to help the employee settle into the new role, followed by providing ample opportunities for enhancing the skills, aptitude and proficiency while also enabling growth through counseling, coaching, mentoring and job-rotation schemes.

5. Retaining: 

For any organization to be truly successful, sustainably, talent needs to be retained effectively. Most organizations try to retain their best talent through promotions and increments, offering opportunities for growth, encouraging involvement in special projects and decision-making, training for more evolved roles and rewards and recognition programs.

6. Transitioning: 

Effective talent management focuses on a collective transformation and evolution of the organization through the growth of individual employees. This involves making each employee feel that they are a part of a bigger whole. Providing retirement benefits, conducting exit interviews and effective succession planning might seem like unrelated career points but they are all transition tools that enable the shared journey.

Digitalization Aspects of Talent Management in

 Banking Sector

Banking is a vast area which begins with the basic concept of accepting money and lending it back and it flows to the extent of global money exchange transfers. Digitalization has become a revolutionary topic in the banking industry by affecting the Talent Management process of the Human Resources who are engaged in day to day banking functions.

 Bank Branch was considered as one of the most important channels of communication from the customers’ point of view as customers can personally visit and interact with branch officials to obtain banking services. But today this concept is drastically changing as customers prefer time saving rather than communicating. Accordingly, The Banking industry has adopted certain changes which embrace severe technological interventions including ATMs (Automated Teller Machines), CDMs (Cash Deposit Machines) and CRMs (Cash Recycling Machines). Once cash is handled by machines, banks can achieve a step-change reduction in security costs, compliance costs, and staffing requirements. Banks also omitted their manual systems and upgraded their servers and processors to provide speed and reliable customer service. As banking field is now running under technological base it is prominent to develop and upgrade their personnel to achieve organizational goals by providing superior customer service.

As I have mentioned earlier Talent Management basically includes, Employee Resourcing, Attraction and Retention, Development, Performance Management and Succession Planning. Those fundamentals need to be changed accordingly to cope with digital transformed systems. The physical network can still play a critical role in building trust and credibility, providing financial advisory services, offering convenience, and assisting in the transition to digital channels.

Employee Recruitment function needs to perform in a manner where it detects highly enthusiastic and technological savvy applicants who will make outstanding performance in assisting customers in digital transition. Attraction and Retention function also needs to be changed accordingly as branch personnel’s primary focus has changed from basic banking functions to offering quality financial advice. Retention will depend on their ability to change under any challenging situation which is backed by technology. Development projects need to be carryout to motivate the staff while providing required knowledge so as to reduce the burden of employees. Otherwise who couldn’t adopt will get demotivated and the end result will be resignation. Performance Management is a crucial area under technology as employees have to act differently as the required skills has been changed. Appraisal processes needs to be amended which will highlight innovative and integrated employees.

As the conclusion,

Although, Basic Branch Banking is diminishing around the world it cannot be fully eliminated. Changes done in Talent Management can be used in a positive manner to enhance the functionality of personnel in the banking sector while coping with technological interventions.

References

Talent Management - What is Talent Management? Definition,Strategy,Process & Modules. Human Resource[Online]. Available at https://www.toolbox.com/hr/talent-management/articles/what-is-talent-management/  .Accessed on 23rd December 2021.

 

Armstrong.M,(2006)A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice(10th Ed) Kogan Page[Online]. Available at http://103.38.12.142:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/71/1/A%20Handbook%20of%20Human%20Resource%20Management%20Practice.pdf . Accessed on 23rd December 2021.