Role of HR in Developing Talent at Work Literature review

Role of HR in Developing Talent at Work - Literature review Example Hence the role and responsibility of HR as facilitator and developer of talent of its workforce with a view to achieve its overall business objective has assumed key significance over the years. The recent decades has seen a drastic change in demographic patterns, along with significant transformation in the political, economic as well as corporate fields. This has largely contributed to the changing perceptions of the way in which HR addresses issues related to hiring and training of employees (Gandossy & Kao, 2004). Such changes in almost all factors external to the organization are shifting the trends of corporate world, whereby there is a change in negotiation of power as well as the relationship between employers and employees. Talent management and development is being touted as one of the most significant and crucial aspects within the corporate world, today, as established and confirmed by various researchers (Gutheridge, Dommm & Lawson, 2006; Sandler, 2006; Handfield-Jones, Michaels, & Axelrod, 2001). Such studies indicate that effective development and management of talent by the HR has significant impact on the finances of the firm, i.e. there is a direct relationship between talent development and financial returns of the company. The better the talent development and management the higher the profits and returns. The concept of talent management was first conceptualized during the second World War (Capelli, 2008) and assumed greater significance during the late 1990s (Scullion and Collings, 2010). The twentieth century saw a sudden change in the attitudes of the HR management team, whereby the focus was shifted to developing, managing and retaining talent in the workforce. It was during this time that the need and realization for a talented workforce was on the rise and the significance of a talented workforce became one of the crucial aspects of organizations worldwide (Makela et al., 2010). It was established through various studies that the key to maximizing productivity and ultimately profitability was through adoption of a systematic and effective strategy aimed at developing talent at work and through hiring, selecting, developing and retaining a talented pool of employees (Huselid et al., 2005). Developing talent at work has increasingly been accepted as one of the key strategic functions of the HR, in most of the organizations globally. The development of talent, however is not restricted to merely hiring of talented workforce but also includes incorporating development programs with a view to sharpening the skills of the current pool of employees. According to the ex-CEO pf Procter and Gamble - the world's largest consumer groups, their company spends half of their time in developing talent (Holstein, 2005), thus re-affirming the significance of talent development as a key HR function. In the most broadest term, the concept of talent management / development indicates developing a wide range of strategies and policie s aimed at enhancing and developing the skills of employees at the workplace and includes attracting, hiring, developing, utilizing as well as retaining the skills crucial to the organizations and using the abilities and skills of the employees in an optimum manner, for the benefit of the organizat