Strategic Factors Affecting Talent Management due to COVID-19

This article discusses the strategic factors affecting talent management due to COVID-19, including job satisfaction, proper communication, leadership, and job flexibility. It also explores the importance of re-skilling and up-skilling programs for organizations in dealing with the necessary transformation post COVID-19.

Human resource
management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. The strategic factors affecting Talent Management due to COVID-19..................................3
2. Re-skilling and up-skilling programmes to assist organisations in dealing with the
necessary transformation post COVID-19..................................................................................5
Talent management theories related to re-skilling and up-skilling.............................................6
3. New HR guideline on the re-skilling and up-skilling programmes for the staff in
organisation.................................................................................................................................8
4. Interview of various job applicants who have responded to job advertisement.....................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................13
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................14
Books and Journal.....................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is a practice that helps to effectively manage people in an
organisation. Talent management is a vital task that helps to understand the employees and
manage them. The main focus is to maximize the employee's performance to gain competitive
advantage. Talent Management is a part of Human Resource management that is an ongoing
practice which involves attracting and retaining quality and talented employees in the
organisation (Bratton and Watson, 2018). Due to COVID-19 the working of all the companies
was hampered and the employees were unable to work effectively. It not only affects the
working of companies but also put a negative impact on skills of employees. So in order to
manage the employees and focus on re-skilling and up-skilling of the employees, certain
strategies are formulated and utilised by the organisation. Along with that Malaysia Budget 2021
has allocated programmes to deal with transformation notice in post COVID-19. HR guidelines
related to up-skilling and re-skilling programmes for the staff in an organisation. In the end there
are questions that are asked from various candidates and the justification for asking such
questions.
MAIN BODY
1. The strategic factors affecting Talent Management due to COVID-19
Talent management is a process that helps to retain talented employees and make policies
to make them work comfortably in the organisation (Collings, Mellahi and Cascio, 2017). Due to
COVID-19 the working pattern of the organisation have changed and many organisations faced
challenges and opportunities due to the pandemic. Various organisations faced challenges due to
COVID-19 and formulated strategies to deal with those changes. In relation to hospitals all the
employees were scared because of the spread of virus. The employees faced various challenges
due to spread of disease. There are various challenges as well as opportunities that were faced
by hospital.
Job Satisfaction: Job Satisfaction means the extent to which employees feel motivated
and satisfied by the job. To retain the talented workforce, an organisation should take measures
to motivate them and increase the level of job satisfaction among employees. It is important for
an employee to work effectively and efficiently in an organisation. It is a challenge that is faced
by hospital at the time of COVID 19 (D’Annunzio-Green, 2018). All the workers were scared

and were not willing to work due to the pandemic. The pandemic has impact on the behaviour of
employees. To deal with the situation the hospitals used many strategies and took care of the
health and security of employees. Satisfaction is vital for an organisation as all the employees
that are satisfied will work for the benefit of the organisation and help to achieve the goals and
objectives. If the employees are satisfied with the job it automatically helps the organisation to
retain the work force. As this virus not only affect the person who is providing their service but
also to their families. Rapid increase in cases of COVID19 increase shifts of hospital employees
in hospital and also they were scared of going at their places because of spread of this virus
(Ford, 2017).
Proper Communication: Communication is the ability of a person to convey the
message effectively and efficiently. An individual can convey information to another person
through signs, symbols semiotic rules. It helps to build relations among employees and that
decreases the chances of conflict in the organisation. Good communication provides assistance to
retain employees for longer time period. As it leads to improved relations among employees and
employers. In the scenario of COVID-19 there were various challenges that were faced by
employees that were solved due to proper communication. Employees and patients all are scared
of this deadly virus and it affects not only their physical health but also their mental health. All
the decision were taken after considering the views of all the employees that are working in the
organisation. It is proper and effective communication which helps employees of hospital to deal
with these highly risky conditions. All these efforts of establishing a proper communication in an
organisation helps to create a good working environment which results in retaining talented
employees to the organisation. (Gallardo-Gallardo, Thunnissen and Scullion, 2017).
Leadership: A good leader is always required by a team as the person manages and leads
the team as per the situation. There are various uncertainties that are faced by organisations and a
good leader helps the team to cope up with all the challenges. COVID-19 causes various
challenges and there is a requirement of good leader to manage those problems. Leadership is the
ability of a person to influence the employees and help them to work effectively in different
situations. A leader has crucial role in managing the talented staff of the organisation. The person
gives direction and help the employees to work to achieve goals and objectives of the
organisation. The leader of hospital understood the problems and needs of all the employees and
suggested those ways in which they can deal with the problem. The leader in hospitals takes care

of every employee to prevent them from infection and also provide for various guidelines to be
followed in order to treat employees.
Job Flexibility: All the employees require freedom while they work. Good working
environment that helps the employees to work with motivation. Due to COVID-19 hospitals
faced many problems and the employees were given flexibility to work. Along with that their
contribution was required to deal with patients as per the requirement. If employees get freedom
and flexibility to work the become loyal towards the organisation. Loyal employees are
considered as asset for the organisation and that leads to retain the talented staff in the
organisation.
2. Re-skilling and up-skilling programmes to assist organisations in dealing with the necessary
transformation post COVID-19
Various programmes were launched by government of Malaysia to re-skills and up skill
the employees as due to COVID 19 the working pattern is changed. Employees were working
from home due to which the productivity of employees is impacted. The employees are feeling
emotional stress and there is requirement of training to help them work in an effective way. The
skills of employees have come down due to the pandemic and there is requirement of such skills.
Importance of re-skilling and up-skilling from the perspective of employers
These programmes will help the employees and employer to improve the skills of
employees (Hafez, AbouelNeel and Elsaid, 2017). As during COVID 19 the people were
working from home due to which the skills of employees needs to be polished. The working
condition of have changed drastically that has created impact on the mental health of employees.
All this is a challenge for the employers as the reduction in capacity of employees will impact
the productivity of the organisation. If the employees will not work with full capacity, then the
organisation will not be able to achieve the goals and objectives on time. Re-skilling is important
in this situation as it helps the employer to get better production from their employees.
The employer will be able manage the employees in a better manner due to re-skilling.
Up-skilling means enhancing the skills of employees so that they can perform the work assigned
to them in effective and efficient manner. It is important for employer as it enhance the
capability of employees which provides better productivity. The better the employees are able to
perform, the more is organisation successful. As the skills of employees are developed they will

be motivated. All the employees that are motivated are able to work effectively for the
organisation. The confidence of employees is also high if they have good skills and knowledge
of the work they are doing. The confidence and motivation help them to work effectively and
make the organisation successful. Upskilling and Reskilling helps to attain innovative ideas from
the employees as they work with full motivation and dedication. That motivation helps them to
give their innovative ideas to the employer which brings innovation in the organisation and
promote their success. Along with that these programmes have helped employers to retain the
talent in the organisation as it has reduced the employee turnover in the business. Every
organisation wants to retain the employees (Hughes, C, 2018). It is responsibility of the
employer to take proper care of all the employees that are working in the organisation. In case of
hospitals there are regular updates about treatment, precautions and disease which needs proper
training to be provided to employees to overcome all the problems faced by organisation.
Talent management theories related to re-skilling and up-skilling
Planning: It is the first step of talent management model. First task is to do a proper
planning for the up-skilling and re-skilling of employees. The employers should know about the
various problems that are faced by employees and understand them. It is important to identify
the number of employees to whom training will be provided. This is the first step in the model
and the most important one as the success of a plan depends on the planning and policies made
by the management (Krishnan & Scullion, 2017).
Attracting: In talent management it is important to attract the employees to retain them in
the organisation. It is vital to have good quality wok forcethat can perform the activities in the
organization. Due to COVID 19 the capacity and skills of working personnel have come down
and now it is time attract those individuals and create a positive experience. The management
team should make attractive policies that help them to engage the human resource.
Developing: This part part of talent management focuses on formulating development
plan for employees. It helps the work force to develop strategies that will help them to move
towards the future. It is vital for every organisation to take care of future of employees and make
their future secure. With the help of up-skill and re-skill strategies made by the organisation the
workers are able to develop new skill that will help them to have a good future. These skills will
help them to learn new things and perform the already know skills in an effective manner. The

pandemic has made the workforce less effective and they have developed a comfort zone due to
work from home.
Retaining: Another purpose of talent management is to retain employees. Retaining
refers to keep workforce of organisation for long period of time within an organisation. It is
important to engage as it helps to retain them in the business. It necessary to provide proper
training and development as it is beneficial for the organisation as well. Due to COVID 19 the
skills of staff have come down and that is the reason they are unable to perform the task
effectively (Lesenyeho, Barkhuize and Schutte, 2018). Good working environment where the
employees are able to learn and develop new skills and the retaining rate is more in the
organisation.
Transitioning: In this part the aim is to manage the knowledge of individuals working in
organisation. A proper training should be provided to the employees in order to up-skill and re-
skill them and this task is to check their knowledge. As the workers of organisation have
developed new skills it is important to plan transitions of workforce. (Malik & Singh 2020).
`
Is the right time for both individuals and organisations to start thinking of re-skilling and up-
skilling?
The pandemic faced by whole world affect every business in different ways. The labour
or workers who are working in organisations are laid off from their jobs or allotted work from
home. Some people use this period of sitting idle at their places to increase their skills and
knowledge in different fields. Due to large period of idle time the employees of organisation are
in high need of Up-skilling as well as Reskilling. The programmes related to up-skilling and re-
skilling would benefit the employees as there will be enhancement in their capabilities. The
workers feel motivated and confident when they learn new skills and there is enhancement in
their skills. From organisational point of view, the main task is to enhance profitability and to
serve the customers and their workforce are the human resource for them and it is important to
enhance their skills and knowledge. Their performance will be better if they are provided a
proper and efficient up-skilling and re-skilling and they are able to perform various tasks in
favour of the organisation. Till the situations gets normal it is advisable to have precautions from
the same. In case of hospitals they need to provide proper as well as timely training as this
pandemic requires lots of efforts of staff of hospitals to provide safety to the employees

(McDonnell & et. Al, (2017). This pandemic also requires extra knowledge in order to treat
patients of COVID19. That is why there was high need of upskilling and reskilling for the
employees of hospitals.
3. New HR guideline on the re-skilling and up-skilling programmes for the staff in organisation.
It is important to set guidelines and the take measures to fulfil those guidelines. As it is
the duty of HR department to provide training and development to all the employees in the
organisation. As COVID 19 has impacted the work culture of the organisation there is need to
make new guidelines that are in favour of the organisation and the employees working. Talent
management is a process that helps the organisation to understand the employees and provide
them environment where they can work effectively for longer time period. The basic training
related to work is important and along with that it is time to take measures related to safety and
hygiene of all the employees that are working. It is time to make the health of employees as
priority and provide proper sanitising facility in the office (Mohammed, Baig & Gururajan,
(2019)). Also there should be availability of proper leaves to employees as they feel sick or have
any symptom related to the disease.
The employer should support the employees and understand the problems. As the
employees were provided work from facility it is time to work on h skills of employees. Re-skill
is a process of developing new skills in employees so they can perform the tasks assigned to
them. Up-skilling means polishing the already existing skills of employees so they can work with
efficiency as that will contribute to success of the organisation. All the problems of employees
are properly addressed and they should be personally asked if they are facing any problem. The
task is to take a test of all the employees and analyse the skills that are required by them.
Employees are considered as asset for an organisation and various measures are taken by
management team to retain the workforce.
Job rotation is practice of moving the employees between jobs. This should be included
in the guidelines as this practice makes the staff multi tasking. It leads to reduce the pressure and
stress that is caused due to same work done by them. Along with that job rotation will help the
organisation to identify where the employee can perform best. It makes the work easier in case of
emergencies. As job rotation helps an employee to develop new skills. Making it part of
guideline would help the organisation to encourage development in the organisation. The main
reason of job rotation is it encourages the staff to work. As due to COVID-19 the morale of

employees have come down and they need motivation and encouragement to work. The
motivated employees work more effectively for the organisation and help to achieve success.
Training and development is a process that is used by organisations to enhance the skills
and knowledge of individuals in a particular field. It is a necessary process that is used by
organisations to motivate the employees so that they can work in the favour of the organisation.
Effective training and development is a tool that helps to enhance the productivity of the
employees. It is important to proper training to deal with the patients. As there is requirement of
training at the time because no one has faced situation like this before-wards. Many actions were
taken by the hospital to train the employees and make them feel safe and secure so that they can
work efficiently in the organization. They provide PPE kit to their employees in order to protect
them from this deadly virus. Proper training is provided to employees in order to treat and
provide care to patients of COVID-19. It is essential for an organisation to provide proper
training to all the employees as it is one of the way to retain them. Also they feel motivated when
they have proper skills and knowledge and they are able to perform all the tasks of time. If they
are given proper training it helps them to enhance the skills, then the employees feel motivated.
Due to COVID-19 the skills of employees have reduces so it is important to make
measures to uplift them. The team leader should take a proper feedback and a test so that the
skills that are lacking can be identified and proper training can be provided for the same. Also it
is important to categorise the employees so that the training programme for re-skilling and up-
skilling can be provided in groups. It helps the organisation to achieve the goals and objectives
effectively and with the help of skilled staff. All the employees will be provided training related
to enhancement of skills so they can work for the benefit of the organisation. As the pandemic
has caused problems and the working environment is also modified there is requirement of a
training secession that will enhance the skills of employees.
Also after providing the training it is important to take a test again to know he
effectiveness of the up-skilling and re-skilling programme. It can be done by team leaders as
there should be regular monitoring of the work assigned to employees. It will help them to boost
the skills and the organisation will have talented staff. The profitability position of the
organisation is improved when the employees are motivated. It increases the confidence level of
employees and makes the employees more productive It can be analysed that the up-skilling and
re-skilling helps the employers to retain the talented staff in the organisation. The organisation

should formulate a proper plan to retain those employees by providing them proper training
related to the skills that are required. (Nagi and Mohammed Ali, 2020).
All these guidelines will have influence on the profit and growth of the organisation. Re-
skilling is a process whereby the focus is on development of new skills that is beneficial for
company and that will help the employees to work according to their skills. An employee is able
to work more efficiently if provided with proper training and development. Re-skilling will help
the employees to develop more skills so they can work better for the organisation. If all the
guidelines are followed by the organisation, it is beneficial and helps to achieve targets. As it is
the time when employees need support from management team. HR policy will help to enhance
the skills and will provide them a positive working environment in which they can work
effectively and efficiently.
4. Interview of various job applicants who have responded to job advertisement
No Candidate Type Interview Question Justification
1 Marketing manager
Candidate
Can you tell me about
marketing plans you
develop in previous
company?
This question helps to understand
skills the candidate learn during
preparation of a marketing plan. It
also shows the learning ability of
employee from various factors. This
question will explain the loyalty of
candidate towards the company as it
is secret of previous company which
should not be shared and if candidate
is not loyal for previous position
how it would be loyal for this one.
This question also helps to know
candidate in a better manner to judge
them from their skills, knowledge
and strengths points with level of
effectiveness of their
communication.

2 Customer service
representative candidate
Explain one
experience of your
which explains your
dedication towards
your work?
In order to select a customer service
representative, it is essential to get a
person having effective
communication, good patience
capacity as well as good
interpersonal relations and this
question provides for all this
question and shows ability of
candidate to provide service for
required post. This question shows
dedication of employee and extent
they can cross limits in order to
satisfy customer’s needs and wants.
Rules are not the major point but an
extent candidate can cross is major
point to be considered. This question
also helps to learn more about
experience of candidate and skill of
being polite and generous to
customer is present in candidate or
not (Olufemi, Afegbua and Etim,
2020).
3 Supervisor Candidate Explain your
supervisory or
leadership style you
apply in you apply in
your previous skills
This question helps to ascertain
motivation skills present in candidate
and also shows candidate's
knowledge in same field. It helps to
observe various points such as
management and leadership style to
be followed by candidate, quality to
accept and implement changes and
various experience as well as

challenges candidate face in duration
of their work. This question helps to
assess and analyse the skills of
candidate which is required for
desirable post.
4 Financial Analyst Candidates What do you know
about company's
financial success, its
initiatives and business
strategies? And your
recent strategy you
provide to your
preview company?
This question shows the preparation
of candidate for post. This post is
related to finance and require a deep
research of market and also a pre-
prepared plan. This question helps
management to judge research
quality of candidates and level of
pre-preparation for interview. It also
helps interviewer to judge
confidence, communication skills,
various qualification as well as
management experience of
candidate. This question is sufficient
enough to judge the candidate for
this role.
5 Data Scientist Candidates Can you explain
various tools you used
in your recent project
and why? And
mention some which
were new for you.
It shows various skills of candidate
learned from previous projects like
new tools and techniques to be
implemented in further projects. This
question shows communication
skills, ability of team work,
enthusiasm and confidence of
candidate which helps an
organisation to get a talented
candidate. It also helps to judge

knowledge, skills and experience
candidate has regarding post which
has been offered through this
interview. It shows knowledge of
various tools candidate should
possess in order to be selected for
such position. These questions also
set base for further questions to be
asked from candidates based on their
reply.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it can be concluded that COVID 19 has impacted the operations of
all the organisations. There was both negative and positive impact of the pandemic on the
business. At the same time, it is important for organisations to retain talented staff and provide
then proper training as it will help the organisation to retain them. There is discussion related to
strategic factors that have impact on the organisation. Hospitals faced many problems and it was
essential to manage the staff at the time. Also Malaysia Budget 2021 there is allocation for
programs that were related to up-skilling and re-skilling the employees. The benefit of these on
the employer and organization is also discussed. HR guidelines in relation to post COVID-19
measures that is important to be implemented. In the end there are some interview questions that
are asked to the candidate and the reason for asking those questions.

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Books and Journal
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