Talent Management software —such as employee performance management, learning management, career development and applicant tracking—empower companies to fully utilise their employees’ potential, develop their top existing talent and acquire the best available talent. Essential skills in any economic climate.

Understanding employees' motivations, strengths and qualities is vital to utilising the talent within an organisation – yet this vital process is often carried out infrequently, or overlooked altogether. To develop an effective approach requires a full understanding of the talent lifecycle, which is why talent management technologies are must-haves for organisations committed to a competitive human capital advantage.

A range of solutions are now available to HR departments to help them implement a cost-effective talent management approach. End-to-end talent management systems:

• guide organisations through every step of career planning by tracking information about staff potential, performance over time and retention risks
• help organisations build a more in-depth profile of the workforce, highlighting individual motivations and aspirations, as well as hidden flaws, whilst minimising the administrative and cost burden
• generate succession scenarios to help visualise the effects of job changes and related executive decisions within an organisation
• can be a useful tool for spotting those employees who might be best suited for a specific role
• provide a full talent review and therefore pinpoint which employees might be best suited to leadership roles in the future
• can demonstrate what HR managers need to do to ensure employees have the skills and experience they need to manage these roles

It is important that this strategy incorporates employees' views and not just the organisation's. Providing an opportunity to feedback is vital as it gives a critical insight into the aspirations and motivations of individuals so managers can tailor their approach. Web-based solutions put employees in the driving seat, allowing them to update their own information when and where appropriate.

Essentially, talent management is about identifying the key skills that are integral to the success of an organisation and mapping employees capabilities against them to ensure you can track and develop them as far as possible. An essential skill in any economic climate.