Talent Management (TM) - another relatively new sub-function or discipline of HR that has taken shape in the past five years. Again the application, definition and scope of Talent Management varies by country and company. The term Talent has often meant those people who we consider as ‘special’, those with special or above average abilities or skills, e.g. Talent show. However, the broader definition of Talent in this context means all employees are a Talent, when we say all that includes (for me!) external parties who are considered essential to the delivery of our organisation’s aspiration. Some organisations consider external parties (e.g. subcontractor, outsource, remote workers) as not in scope - for me this approach has potential implications if they are key to delivery. The traditional thinking that they are not “employees” defined as full-time permanent employees is antiquated. I remember having to tell the 40 hour a week outsourced staff they could not attend the annual festive party - really! The process breadth of TM varies, however a good starting point is Attract - Induct - Onboard - Align - Engage - Perform - Reward - Develop - Retain, in summary you want to bring on board, motivate and retain the ‘right’ talent.