A recent study has shown that poor leadership and management are costing UK businesses an estimated £19 billion annually in lost working hours. Another finding revealed that just 20% of business executives believe their company manages talent effectively across all markets, and only 23% think their company is good at retaining key global talent.

With these figures in mind, Advanced has highlighted its top five tips for businesses to develop a successful "talent management" strategy:

1. It’s not always about the money – Attracting and holding onto the best staff is not just about the salary and perks. As younger generations come up through the ranks, other factors are becoming important: flexible hours, the ability to work from home, the technology they will be able to use, the formality of the workplace, the "spirit" of the company, and the level of fulfilment and personal development they will experience.
2. Empower staff to learn – Employee self-service, social media, bite-size video clips, and collaboration/knowledge-sharing forums have been shown to help employees feel more empowered and confident in their jobs and valued in the broader business.
3. Align talent management with the business strategy – Improving talent management starts with recognition of the need, then requires that the discipline is brought out of the HR department and made a strategic business priority, requiring a good process. Self-service and KPI dashboards will make employees more aware of their direct contribution to the business and empower them to develop their knowledge and skills to achieve more.
4. Have a single, unified approach – Due to the breadth of its discipline - which spans recruitment, retention, staff-development strategies, employee engagement, performance management, and succession planning - talent management should be tackled holistically, as an integrated strategy with linked processes, systems, and outcomes.
5. Adopt the right technology –The right technology can help organisations take control of their recruitment process, allowing them to reduce time-to-hire and cost-per-hire. Sophisticated solutions, such as Advanced’s OpenHR, give HR departments the tools to manage their workforce effectively and efficiently. OpenHR covers all aspects of HR, including talent management and workforce optimization, as well as managing processes such as personnel management, training, recruitment, and compensation.

Simon Fowler, Managing Director of Advanced Business Solutions (Commercial Division), says, "With resources already stretched, particularly in small and medium-size companies, employers have less to offer potential recruits, making it harder to lure talented staff onto their payrolls. This white paper gives insight into how organisations free up time to nurture their staff and manage talent within their organisation and, importantly, what the employee needs to thrive; not just what the employee brings to the company."