Finding Talent Increasingly Difficult, Research Paper Example

Human Resource Management function involves a broad range of activities where the key aspect lies in understanding what staffing needs the company has and whether hiring personnel to fill in the needs.  The activities include recruiting and afterwards training the best candidates, making sure they are strong performers, overcoming performance issues and ensuring that the employees and management practices match with the different regulations, etc.

Nowadays term “talent management” is used to explain the activities of the HR manager such as attracting, developing and maintaining the best employees.  Usually this phrase refers to highly talented or high-potential/profile people who can become an important asset for the company.

The article that I found on the HRM Guide website titled “Finding Talent Increasingly Difficult” goes into the details on how and why it is hard to hire skillful personnel and what are the benefits of hiring a foreign worker. Susan Meisinger of SHRM comments that “human resource professionals value the local labor pool but know that sometimes the most highly qualified talent is found in the foreign workforce”.  (HRM Guide)

The article basically describes that US and Canada have been and still are looking into opportunities and possibilities of hiring foreign personnel. It is important to note upfront that giving employment to the person outside of your country bears specific labor regulations and additional aspects, such as visa, taxes, etc. But it’s interesting that the HR managers are willing to engage themselves into more bureaucratic paper work to ensure their company gets the best possible employee.

Annually Canadian and American employers hire many thousands of foreign employees in order to both address the labor and the skill shortages among the citizens. Human Resource and Skill institutions in both countries as well as the Immigration and Citizenship programs work in tandem in order to make sure that the foreign employment goes smoothly and supports the economic growth as well as creates wider opportunities.

The core HR function that is described in the article deals with the initial recruitment process of the company. The process involves successful attraction, screening and the selection of qualified employees for the job. In order to ensure the best choice, the screening and initial selection can go through an international recruitment agency that identifies best candidates. Further company’s HR manager based on the revision and suggestions of the recruitment company, conducts a telephone or a personal interview and selects the candidate.

In order to ensure smooth introduction of a new employee in the work space, HR manager should conduct careful “onboarding” procedure of the person. This means that the company helps new person to become operational promptly and ensures his or her quick integration with the new environment. Onboarding is a good practice of the recruitment process because it benefits the maintenance of the talented personnel.

Moving on to other prior HR functions such as administration, employee retention and others, it is essential to note some of the sub elements. Prior to having selected a foreign worker, HR manager must conduct an efficient manpower planning for the company. From, for instance, understanding company losses and careful predictions of sales for the next year, manager can find a better fit for the firm in the foreign work space.

Moving onto the next function of HR manager such as motivation of employees, it is vital to encourage a foreign worker through financial, physiological and psychological factors and rewards. Since needs of a foreigner might vary from native speakers, it is important to meet all expectations and even study culture and values from where the person comes.

As every employee, foreign worker will be evaluated in order for company to understand how the work is going and what needs to be changed or adapted. HR manager must address such questions as what has been already done to ensure worker’s best performance and what is yet to be improved. HR manager’s duty here involves making sure that the talent/potential and payments are equally distributed.

Addressing employee services, HR manager moves on to ensuring that all personnel stays fit and healthy. Workers are provided with health insurances. A foreign employee must be introduced to a new for him or her system of sick leaves/pays, rehabilitation programs, provision of the necessary literature on health issues, etc.

Finally when dealing with workers’ education, development and training, it is important to involve personnel into various training programs where they can benefit with new knowledge, skills and information. A conventional training can be a good idea for the new workers in order to raise their standards of performance if necessary.

HR functions are vital in hiring foreign workers because they tend to provide valued advice and support. The actual attraction, maintenance and development of the high caliber personnel are the source of a strong competitive advance for the business. Moreover, HR manager helps to make vital contributions to the strategic management and keeps on protecting the company’s most significant asset – the people.

Works Cited

“Finding Talent Increasingly Difficult”. HRM Guide Recruitment. 5 March 2008  http://www.hrmguide.com/recruitment/finding-talent.htm