In a new study sponsored the HR Certification Institute, C-suite executives agreed that talent management is a top-5 priority for them in order to get the talent their organizations need to be competitive in their fields. The study, which was conducted by Dow Jones Customer Intelligence, studied the top concerns of executives for their organizations. Ninety-five percent of executives studied said that hiring and retaining the right people has a direct impact on a company’s bottom line, and 8 out of 10 said that HR professionals were integral to the talent management process. In terms of talent management, attracting and retaining talent was ranked fourth after financial growth, customer experience, and new technology adoption and before cybersecurity as part of the top five concerns listed by the executives studied. While executives considered talent management important, only 59 percent of those who saw themselves as industry leaders thought their organizations were above average or industry leaders in attracting and retaining talent. Getting Talent Management Right Executives who understand the importance of talent management are intentionally investing in resources and tools that can give their talent management efforts the boost they need to attract and retain top talent. These resources can be found in well-trained HR departments, in-house hiring teams, outside recruiters, and in technology tools that can help the process work better and move forward in talent acquisition and retention. Having well-trained HR professionals is one step in the process of talent management. The talent management process as a whole should be aligned with the organization’s goals and be able to demonstrate in tangible ways that top talent is being acquired and retained. “When you hire someone, you plant a seed,” relocation specialist Kay Kutt said when commenting on the study’s findings. “You need to continue giving the plant food and water—training and knowledge—in order for it to bloom. And then you have to keep watering it to keep it thriving. Too frequently, we let the flower wilt.” Technology Tools Help Achieve Goals Even the best the hiring and recruiting practices will be less than effective, however, without the necessary tools to accomplish goals in a timely manner while keeping everyone in the loop about the process and updating all the principals in real time. Thrive TRM is a technology tool that offers just such capabilities, along with the ability to collect data about the process and candidates and deliver this data in easy-to-use reports to all relevant parties from executives to recruiters and HR professionals. If your talent management process seems one-dimensional or is not producing the results you desire, Thrive TRM can show your organization where gaps may exist or how to identify top candidates in an objective and collaborative way that can speed up hiring time and increase the effectiveness of those hires. Contact us at Thrive TRM for more information about how our tools can streamline your organization’s talent management process.