Talent management encompasses the entire employee life cycle at a company. Instead of starting at the hiring process, it begins when a firm’s leadership identifies the preexisting skillsets of its workforce, evaluating any discrepancies between this and the skills the firm needs, as well as how to bridge that gap. This can involve skills training, internal recruitment (where the HR department reassigns employees to more fitting roles), or external recruitment (hiring new employees).

Creating a candidate pool and selecting the ideal candidate are part of the external recruitment process. This involves resume filtering, job interviews, and even skills tests or psychometric tests. During this time, recruiters determine which candidates hold the company’s values.

Once employees start their new roles, talent management efforts include onboarding, retention, and transition planning. Onboarding teaches new employees the most vital processes in their roles. Employee retention includes steps like professional development, mentoring, and recognition of quality work. Transition planning accounts both for employees leaving a company and retirement.