As a forward-thinking student, you have probably spent some time planning your ideal career path. Through your studies you will have discovered which aspects of accountancy interest you most, and may have identified the type of employer that matches your ambitions.

• Perhaps you want to start with a small firm and then move on to a larger practice.
• Perhaps you want to go straight into the Big Four or into industry, before setting up on your own.
• Perhaps you are already employed, but want to make sure you progress steadily up the career ladder.

Most students expect their career path to cross more than one company threshold, and perceive a value in the variety and experience that different employers will add to a CV. Employers themselves, however, are starting to see things differently.

Attracting and retaining talent

A growing body of research is now revealing the extent to which people, and their collective skills, knowledge, and experience, are a significant source of wealth, competitiveness and value creation in organisations. Research has also shown that there is a direct relationship between the recruitment, development and retention of productive individuals, and the long-term growth and performance of the organisation, as measured by profitability and shareholder return.

As a result, many organisations are now focusing their resources on ‘talent-management programmes’, in order to make sure that they attract, develop and retain the most valued and valuable employees.

Employee power

Talent management is a recent phenomenon which emerged in the late 1990s, a time when, against a background of growing economic prosperity, companies began to compete more aggressively for talented people.

This shift in recruitment strategy also reflected the diminishing importance of capital assets – associated with the decline of manufacturing in many parts of the world – and the growing importance of human capital, especially in industry sectors such as finance.

At the same time, the recruitment pool was also changing its character. The workforce was becoming more transient, more demanding, more mobile and less loyal than ever before. Whereas once the power always lay with the employer, now the employee frequently had the upper hand.

In a survey undertaken by ACCA last year, the majority of respondents – all employers of finance professionals – described talent management as ‘a means of recruiting, developing and retaining people in an organisation who have high potential’.

In its simplest form, talent management can be described as a strategy to ensure that an organisation has the appropriate people, holding the necessary skills and knowledge at the right time, and that this is aligned to achieving corporate objectives.

Talent management is not, therefore, focused exclusively on the nurture of future senior management. Instead, most talent-management programmes try to look at the workforce as a whole, developing strategies that will support and encourage every individual, while also identifying true high fliers.

A talent management programme can cover:

• recruitment – making sure it is effective
• staff retention – trying to keep staff turnover to a minimum
• developing future business leaders – identifying emerging talent and encouraging its development
• succession planning – identifying and preparing individuals who could step up to senior management roles when current incumbents move on
• preparing for future skills requirements – identifying the short- and long-term requirements for financial skills, and making sure in-house training and recruitment strategies reflect these needs
• recognising high contributing individuals and keeping them with the organisation.

A blended approach

All jobs should include an element of training – it’s essential if both the individual and the business is to progress. Talent management aims to take ‘traditional’ training and move it forward.

Conceptually, talent-management programmes may be very similar, but in practice the activities undertaken and the skills developed can vary widely. The reasons for this are that each programme is allied closely to business objectives, and that every business is different (in terms of its structure, geographical reach, the competitive climate in which it operates, and the financial resources it can allocate).

It is this strategic dynamic which sets talent management apart from ‘off-the-peg’ training; talent management is designed to reflect the specific needs of an organisation, and also has to be flexible enough to adapt quickly when these needs change.

One clear differentiator of a talent-management programme – as opposed to training – is the use of coaching and mentoring. Methods such as appraisals and face-to-face courses are still used, but the move towards a ‘blended’ approach reflects the growing opinion that these well-used training methods may not necessarily be the most effective way to nurture talent and speed its development.

Behind the strategy

ACCA’s research revealed that interest in talent management has risen significantly among finance organisations, with 75% of those interviewed believing its importance will grow.

And it’s not hard to understand why. In many parts of the world there is a growing shortage of trained finance staff and organisations are facing real difficulties in recruitment.

There is increased competition for employees with experience or expertise in a specific area, a trend which reflects the changed profile of many finance organisations, which now need to employ specialists, general managers, and business advisers all under the same roof.

Employers are also experiencing increased problems in retaining staff, especially those at the post-qualification stage when an employee suddenly becomes much more valuable. Organisational change, such as a merger or acquisition, can also affect retention, with employees choosing to leave rather than face a period of uncertainty or a new management culture.

Be ambitious

Many student accountants, especially those just starting out, may not consider talent management to be immediately relevant, when all they want is to get a job with a reputable employer, and hopefully some study and exam support. But it is important to realise that talent-management programmes – especially those run by the largest organisations – are extending their reach further than ever before, and are keen to find ambitious people no matter where they are in their career.

For example, talent managers are now building closer relationships with schools and colleges, through sponsorship, for example, or through their involvement in business games or other ‘enterprise’ activities. Although not overtly ‘recruiting’, these initiatives serve to raise the profile of a potential employer among potential employees, and create links and connections which a student can exploit in interviews or job hunting.

An understanding of talent management is also important for anyone looking for a job. When considering potential opportunities, look more closely at the training and development programmes on offer. If you already have management ambitions, then it’s never too early to make these clear to recruiters, as they can then explain the way they can develop future leaders.

And talent management is not just for the biggest players. Even the smallest organisation is keen to keep its talented employees, and wants to see them rise through the management ranks. Don’t dismiss potential employers just because they are small. Their talent management may be limited in scope, but it can lead to just as many opportunities (and possibly more) to rise to the top of the management tree.

To find out more about ACCA go to www.accaglobal.com/theview.