Talent management strategy may mostly involve HR staff, hiring teams, and department heads, but it starts where all company initiatives and strategies start—in the C-suite. The best talent management strategies are not concocted by HR staff or hiring teams making decisions on their own but are closely aligned with organizational goals. If an organization does not align its talent strategy with its goals, it will not be as effective as it could be. C-suite members know the importance of a good talent management strategy; they know that talent drives their achievement and growth. However, not all C-suite members translate this knowledge to direct involvement in talent management activities. The Importance of C-suite Support Everyone in an organization knows that if major stakeholders show public support for something, it is an important priority. C-suite members need to buy into the talent management strategy being employed, and they need to demonstrate their support for it so that the rest of the organization sees that it is important, too. Getting C-suite members to buy into the talent management strategy can be done in many different ways. Some organizations are installing chief talent officers to oversee talent management, while others are sending a C-suite representative to hiring team meetings or looping them into virtual groups so they can keep up with and influence hiring information that is shared. C-suite members then need to take their direct knowledge of the talent management strategy being employed and share it with the rest of the organization. Only with top-down support and directives will the talent management strategy be taken as seriously as it should be by the organization as a whole. Providing HR Leadership is Crucial HR professionals are often given a lot of information about best practices and how to run a talent management strategy, but they need leadership in order to align that strategy with organization-specific objectives and find the best talent to meet those objectives. Without leadership from the C-suite, HR and hiring staff can easily get bogged down in their own agendas and miss the big picture of a comprehensive, end-to-end talent strategy that will move the company forward. Companies that excel at talent management earn 15 percent more than other companies against which they compete, making top-notch talent management a significant advantage in the marketplace. Talent management excellence creates value, the value that can only come from having great talent and intentionally turning it into even better talent as time goes on. Most companies will say that their strength is in their people, but are they backing up those words with the best possible talent management to make the most of those people? Top-down leadership in the area of talent management will pay dividends far beyond a few hours saved in a C-suite member’s admittedly busy schedule. Thrive TRM is a tool that can make it easier to be involved in talent management with reminders, reporting, and tracking features to see a snapshot of the process at a glance. Schedule a demo of Thrive TRM and explore all that it offers to the strategic talent manager today!