Talent Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Employees

This report discusses the concept and significance of talent management in improving employee retention and motivation. It explores the talent strategies used by Marks and Spencer and the challenges faced in attracting and retaining talent. The report also analyzes talent management initiatives adopted by other organizations and provides recommendations for developing better talent management strategies.

Managing a successful
business project

Table of Contents
TITLE: What talent strategies do the best companies use to attract and retain people? ................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Research aim:..............................................................................................................................3
Research objectives:....................................................................................................................3
Research question:......................................................................................................................3
Step 1: PROJECT PLANNING.......................................................................................................4
Project management plan............................................................................................................4
Work-breakdown-structure.........................................................................................................5
Gantt chart...................................................................................................................................6
Step 2: Primary and secondary research..........................................................................................8
Concept and significance of talent-management in context of improving employee retention
and motivation...........................................................................................................................10
Talent strategies used by Marks and Spencer in retaining and attracting employees of
organisation...............................................................................................................................10
Challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting and retaining talent at workplace . .11
Talent-management initiatives adopted by other organisation in acquiring and retaining talent
at workplace..............................................................................................................................11
Step 3: Present findings.................................................................................................................12
Step 4: Reflective practice.............................................................................................................19
Performance Review.................................................................................................................19
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22

TITLE: What talent strategies do the best companies use to attract and retain
people?
INTRODUCTION
Talent management referred to the procedure of attracting, retaining, developing and
maintaining talent at workplace so that the productivity and profitability is enhanced and
objectives is attained timely (Connor and Crowley-Henry, 2019. In addition to this, organisations
make use of talent management strategies with an objective to retain talented employees so that
efficiency and performance is increased. In the current project, Marks and Spencer is chosen as a
base company. It is a British multinational retailer that specialise in offering clothing, home
products and many more. This report will cover project aim, objectives & time frames with
project management plan. In addition to this, there is discussion about data collection methods
used for conducting research. In the last, performance review is given on the basis of overall
learning and experience.
Research aim:
“ To analyse the impact of talent management strategies in increasing productivity and
profitability of employees” A case study of Marks and Spencer.
Research objectives:
 To identify concept and significance of talent-management in context of improving
employee retention and motivation.
 To explore talent strategies used by Marks and Spencer in retaining and attracting
employees of organisation.
 To determine challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting and retaining talent
at workplace.
 To analyse talent-management initiatives adopted by other organisation in acquiring and
retaining talent at workplace.
Research question:
 What is the concept and significance of talent-management?

 What are the talent strategies used by Marks and Spencer in retaining and attracting
employees of organisation?
 What are the key challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting and retaining
talent at workplace?
Step 1: PROJECT PLANNING
Project management plan
It is defined as a formal document which show how a particular project is carried out. In
addition to this, it outlines timeline, scope, deliverables and budget of a project and is also
important in order make a project on track (Queirós, 2017). The project management plan of
current project is given below:
Cost- It is defined as the value in context of money required in order to implement as
well as complete all activities associated to investigation in an effective manner. The cost
structure for conducting research on talent-management strategies is given below:
Items Amount
Laptop 300
Internet 175
Stationery 120
TOTAL 595
Time: It is an effective element in planning of research that assist in gaining knowledge
about time needed for executing and completing the overall process of research. The present
project requires around 9 weeks for the completion and to achieve objectives of project.
Quality: This factor reflects about quality of information used in order to conduct
research. It is important for researcher to make use of proper evidences in order to maintain
quality in project and to attain reliable results.
Communication: This factor in project planning shows the tools which will be used in
order to communicate data and information gathered by investigator by conducting activities. In
context to this, non-verbal and verbal methods of communication will be adopted by researcher

that is E-mail and direct communication in order to take respond of questionnaire (Holguín,
2018). The data collected by questionnaire were particular about talent-management strategies
used by company and how it assist in raising productivity and performance of employees.
Scope: The scope of the present investigation is wide as it an effective component that
enable researcher to deal with barriers and achieve objectives timely. In addition to this, the
investigation will enable investigator to be more effective and critical in future & to render
proper knowledge about what companies do for attracting as well as retaining talent at workplace
(Rödel, 2018). Moreover, it also help researcher in gaining insight about issues faced by
organisation while managing employees in an effective and proper manner.
Resources: It is referred as the resources or asset needed for completing the research in a
systematic and timely manner. These are laptop, internet, books and so on. The cost table is
given below:
Laptop- 300
Internet- 175
Stationery- 120
Work-breakdown-structure
It is considered as an effective project management tool which is used for categorising
the overall activities and task of investigation related to completion of project timely and
effectively. In addition to this, it assist in making project manageable due to which activities is
carried out in a systematic and easy manner. Moreover, work break down structure is developed
in a way that scope of project is understandable. It is basically in a hierarchical manner that assist
in completion of assignment in best and effective manner.

Gantt chart
It is a tool that help researcher in scheduling and planning project of all sizes in an
effective manner. In addition to this, it assist researcher to assess how long a project take,
resources required and the way in which task is completed (Wilson, 2017). This chart represent
the activities with starting and ending date that help in completion of activities effectively and
attainment of objectives as well. It is analysed that Gantt chart also assist in developing relation
and dependency among different activities & take progress of project on right direct and path as
well.

Step 2: Primary and secondary research
Quantitative research method: It involves collecting numerical information with the help
of standardised techniques and utilising statistical methods in order to gain useful insights from
the data. This research method is utilised by researchers to gain objective and conclusive results.
Quantitative research helps gain trustworthy, reliable and precise results. Interviews,
Observations and Questionnaires are types of quantitative research methods. For the present
report questionnaire is used with the sample size of 30 respondents.
Qualitative research method: It involves analysis and collection of non-numerical
information in order to gain an understanding of concepts, experiences and opinions (Alzahawi,
2021). This research method is used by the researcher to gain profound knowledge about a
subject or an issue to create new research content.
Data collection: It is the procedure of collecting and calculating data on particular
variables in an implanted system which allows the researcher to find answers of question
relevant to the data and evaluate result. Two kinds of sources of data collection are mentioned
below:
 Primary data: This type of data is generated by the researcher and is specifically
designed for solving the research problem at hand (Bhowmik, 2020). Interviews,
surveys, observations and questionnaires are used for gathering primary data.
 Secondary data: This type of data is obtained from existing information such as books,
journals and used by the researcher for completing their research.
Sampling is a research instrument and a source of gathering information which is used
for conducting research. This includes selecting a subset of individuals from a statistical
population to understand the attributes of the total population. Sampling is used in various
research methods (Kadadevaramath, 2020). For this research questionnaires are used for data
gathering for identification of effectiveness of talent management processes at Marks and
Spencer.
SAMPLE SIZE IS 30
Questionnaire:
Q1. Do you have idea about talent-management concept?
a) Yes

b) No
Q2. What is the importance of talent-management in an organisation?
a) Employee retention
b) Increase performance
c) Development of brand image
Q3. What are the talent-management strategies used by Marks and Spence for attracting and
retaining talent at workplace?
a) Effective compensation to employees
b) Performance assessment
c) Employee participation in decision making
d) Training and development
Q4. According to you, does talent-management assist Marks and Spencer in employee retention
and motivation?
a) Yes
b) No
Q5. What is the effective talent-management measurement criteria used by Marks and Spencer?
a) By potential
b) By competencies
c) By results
Q6. As per your view point, is talent-management strategies assist in raising productivity and
performance of employees working in organisation?
a) Yes
b) No
Q7. What are the challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting and retaining talent at
workplace?
a) Ineffective leadership
b) Higher compensation demand
c) Increase in employee turnover rate
Q8. What is the impact of talent management strtaegies on the productivity and profitability of
respective organisation?
a) Positive impact

b) Negative impact
c) Neutral
Q9. Render some recommendations to Marks and Spencer for developing better talent-
management strategies & plans
Concept and significance of talent-management in context of improving employee retention and
motivation
According to David G. Allen, (2020), the concept of talent management is introduced in
order to hire, retain and identify right people for right job. The forward looking people
understands that it is an essential requirement for any business to hire and retain talent. He also
says that one of the most important issues that the companies are facing is to retain those
employees that are beneficial fore the organisation.
One of the most important way of retaining the employees is by providing flexible
working schedules. By offering providing daily flexible working hours also an option to work
some extra hours four days a week and take off on the fifth day (Talent-management, 2020). This
helps the organisation to retain employees for a much longer time (Berger, 2020). Motivating
the employees is very essential for an organisation in order to have high productivity. Employees
feel high motivation when their they get praise or feel valued by the employer. High motivation
helps the employee to work effectively and efficiently and helps them to increase their
performance. Talent management helps the company to find and retain good fit employees and
will also helps in saving costs related to recruitment and training of employees that will not be
required by the company (Kuntonbutr and Sangperm, 2019).
Talent strategies used by Marks and Spencer in retaining and attracting employees of
organisation
As per the view point of begie, (2019), it is stated that the strategies that are used by
Marks and Spencer for retaining and attracting new employees is to compensate employees
according to their work. By compensating employees the organisation provide motivation to
their employees and it is a way of telling employees that their hard-work is valued by the
organisation (Zahra and Aulia, 2021). Regular performance assessment also helps the company
to keep a close check at the performance of the employee. Involving employees in decision

making process can also helps the company to motivate their employees and also in
incorporating new ideas that are collected from employees. Providing training and development
to employees helps the employee in getting better understanding about the workings of the
organisation and also helps them to improve their performance (Pandita, 2021).
Challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting and retaining talent at workplace
According to LISA BODELL, (2019) Ineffective leadership is a prime factor which
hinders efforts of Marks & Spencer in attracting and retaining talented employees in the
company. Lack of organisational vision is an issue which arises as a result of poor leadership.
This discourages existing employees of the company from reaching their highest potential and
talented applicants reject offers of recruitment at the firm (Guðmundsdóttir D Aðalsteinsson and
Helgudóttir, 2017). Bad leadership of M&S has reduced employee morale and is a major barrier
in attracting and retaining talented employees.
Employees at the British retail firm Marks and Spencer demand high compensation
which has been rejected by the company. This is another reason which has reduced employee
satisfaction and is an obstacle to employee to attracting and retaining talented employees. Low
compensation de-motivates employees and they leave the company as soon as possible while
talented applicants do not see a future in the firm (Hota, 2017). This challenge needs to be
address by the company in order to construction and sustain talented workforce.
High employee turnover rates is another factor which affects efforts of the respective
organisation to attract and retail skilled employees. Many workers of Marks and Spencer quit
Aston Martin soon after their recruitment which creates difficulties in attracting and retaining
talented employees.
Talent-management initiatives adopted by other organisation in acquiring and retaining talent at
workplace
Talent management initiatives adopted by Google
Google has adopted various talent management initiatives which have helped the
company attract and retail highly skilled employees from various fields. This has made a
significant contribution to the overall development and growth of the company which has made a
high contribution to development and growth of the respective company (10 Talent Tips From
Google HR,2019). Google has created a working environment which enables each worker to
showcase their skills for the benefit of the company so that they can make career advancement.

In addition to this the company, gives their employees various perks and benefits which includes
incentives and conducts cultural activities to boost employee morale and helps the company
retail skilled employees which are committed towards working for the company (Krithika,
Greeshma and Auxilia, 2020).
Talent management initiatives adopted by TESCO
TESCO is leading British retailer and has adopted various talent management initiatives
for the growth and development of the company. The company has implemented various
colleague engagement programmes with the help of different communication channels such as
their internal company portal, TV screen emails and social media platforms (How Tesco creates
opportunities to boost employee engagement, 2021). College briefing sessions of TESCO
provide a platform in which leader and employees can directly communicate with each other and
exchange important company news. Leaders share information related to CSR activities,
company performance and financial results and workers are able to ask questions directly to the
leaders (Mego, Ysla and Mego, 2020). This creates open workplace culture and helps the
company attract and retail talented employees.
Step 3: Present findings
Present findings & data by using proper tools and techniques.
Q1. Do you have idea about talent-management concept? Frequency
a) Yes 22
b) No 8

Interpretation: From the above graph, it is interpreted that that out of total 30
participants, 22 respondents have knowledge about talent management concept. In addition to
this, the remaining 8 respondents have no idea of such point so it is important for respective
organisation to make its employees aware about talent-management concept.
Q2. What is the importance of talent-management in an organisation? Frequency
a) Employee retention 10
b) Increase performance 10
c) Development of brand image 10
22
8
a) Yes
b) No

Interpretation: By analysing the above graph, it is analysed that talent management
plays vital role as it assist in employee retention, which is said by 10 participants from the total
30. Along with this, 10 respondents perceive that talent management allow in raising
performance whereas the remaining 10 said that talent-management help in development of
brand image of an organisation.
Q3. What are the talent-management strategies used by Marks and Spence
for attracting and retaining talent at workplace?
Frequency
a) Effective compensation to employees 7
b) Performance assessment 9
c) Employee participation in decision making 6
d) Training and development 8
10
10
10
a) Employee retention
b) Increase performance
c) Development of brand image

Interpretation: There are various talent-management strategies used by respective
organisation for attracting and retaining talent at workplace. Effective compensation to
employees is the issue which is said by 7 respondents out of total 30 participants. Along with
this, there are also other issues that is Performance assessment, Employee participation in
decision making and training and development.
Q4. According to you, does talent-management assist Marks and Spencer
in employee retention and motivation?
Frequency
a) Yes 24
b) No 6
7
9 6
8
a) Effective compensation to
employees
b) Performance assessment
c) Employee participation in
decision making
d) Training and development

Interpretation: The above graph stated that 24 participants is said yes for the point that
talent-management assist Marks and Spencer in employee retention and motivation. The
remaining 6 participants is said no for the this point.
Q5. What is the effective talent-management measurement criteria used by
Marks and Spencer?
Frequency
a) By potential 12
b) By competencies 8
c) By results 10
24
6
a) Yes
b) No

Interpretation: By analysing the above graph, it is analysed that effective talent-
management measurement criteria used by Marks and Spencer is BY potential, which is said by
12 participants out of total 30 respondents. Along with this, BY competencies and By results is
also used by respective organisation as talent-management assessment criteria, which is perceive
by 8 and 10 participants respectively.
Q6. As per your view point, is talent-management strategies assist in
raising productivity and performance of employees working in
organisation?
Frequency
a) Yes 23
b) No 7
12
8
10
a) By potential
b) By competencies
c) By results

Interpretation: From the above graph, it has been analysed that from the total 30
participants, 23 respondents perceive that talent-management strategies assist in raising
productivity and performance of employees working in organisation. On the other hand, the
remaining 7 participants is not agree with the point.
Q7. What are the challenges faced by Marks and Spencer while attracting
and retaining talent at workplace?
Frequency
a) Ineffective leadership 7
b) Higher compensation demand 14
c) Increase in employee turnover rate 9
23
7
a) Yes
b) No

Interpretation: There are various challenges faced by respective company that is
ineffective leadership, which is said by 7 participants from the total 30 participants. In addition
to this, higher demand of compensation and employee turnover is also the issue faced by
respective organisation while attracting and retaining talent at workplace, which is said by 14
and 9 participants respectively.
Q8. What is the impact of talent management strategies on the
productivity and profitability of respective organisation?
Frequency
a) Positive impact 18
b) Negative impact 8
c) Neutral 4
7
14
9
a) Ineffective leadership
b) Higher compensation
demand
c) Increase in employee
turnover rate

Interpretation: It has been analysed from the given graph that there is positive impact
of talent management strategies on the productivity and profitability of an organisation and is
said by 18 participants out of total 30 respondents. Along with this, 8 respondents perceive that
there is negative impact whereas the left over 4 participants said that there is no impact of talent
management strategies on the productivity and profitability of an organisation.
Communicate appropriate recommendations as an outcome of findings and data analysis
There are some of the recommendations that are mentioned below:
 It is recommended that for marks and Spencer there must be offering of career and
development opportunities so that employees are able to have their professional and
personal development simultaneously in the organisation.
 It is suggested that that in marks and Spencer every employee must be offered with
opportunity to share their view points with respect to different decisions that have to be
taken in the organisation.
 It is advisable that employees must be offered with competitive pay and financial rewards
for high level of contribution that is being done towards their existing roles and
responsibilities. It will assist in the process of achieving the individual goals in alignment
with the organisational vision and mission statements.
18
8
4
a) Positive impact
b) Negative impact
c) Neutral

Reflect on the value of undertaking the project to meet stated objectives and own learning &
performance
It is analysed from the study that talent management plays a very important role in the
organisation for the purpose of enhancing overall employee productivity. In the present report I
learnt skills of collecting data that helped in the process of having sufficient base of information.
I have learnt skills of data analysis, communication skills, data interpretation and time
management skills. One of the issue associated with the process of collecting data as there was
some difficulty in the course of extracting information from sufficient sources. But with the
application of my researching and communication skills I focussed on collection of relevant data
that lead to systematic completion of the research.

Step 4: Reflective practice
Performance Review
1. What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
Identification of talent management strategies that help in acquiring and
retaining talent and also assist in enhancing productivity of employees.
2. Did the project succeed in its aims/ how do you know? Specifically, please
outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes. Because it is accomplished on set time period.
3. What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of
the project (e.g initial inception, project activities and project outcomes)
from a range of perspectives.
Data collection of this research is easy as I have knowledge about using
of primary & secondary sources for collecting information as well as
knowledge.
4. What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled?
Was there timely identification of issues and resolution during the project
process?
The problems arise because of time and funds as well. With the assistance of
Gantt chart, time management skills, it is resolved properly.
5. What did you learn from undertaking the project?
I learnt about talent management strategies and the issues faced by companies
when they retain employees. In addition to this, I learnt about various skills
such as data analysis, data interpretation, communication skills and so on.
6. How would you rate your performance as a management consultant
leading the project?
I would rate 8 out of 10.
7. What strengths and weakness of your performance did you identify?
The strength identified is data collection related to the topic that assist to draw
valid and reliable conclusion. In context to weaknesses, lack of money and
resources arise issue in conducting study.

8. How will this inform and support your continuous professional
development?
The present investigation topic is as per my interest area so in future, when I will conduct
any investigation related to this topic then I can do it in more effective and proper manner.
Along with this, now I gained knowledge about data collection and analysis about topics that
assist me in continuous professional development.
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Marks and Spencer needs to provide their employees various perks and benefits which
includes incentives and other fringe benefits in order to attract the most talented
applicants available. In addition to this the company needs to develop a workplace culture
which promotes equal treatment of each employee (Mujtaba and barik, 2021). This will
enhance employee satisfaction and encourage to stay with the company for a longer time
period.
 In addition to this the, Marks and Spencer needs to focus on improving career
development opportunities of various employees. This will not only motivate existing
employees to reach their highest capabilities but also attract skilled applicants as they will
see future growth in the firm. Marks and Spencer needs to start initiatives which
encourage and enhances employee engagement. Such initiatives need to facilitate direct
interaction between leaders and employees (Thunnissen and Buttiens, 2017). This will
attract skilled and talented employees for the company and help the firm retain skilled
employees for a long time period.
CONCLUSION
From the above research project, it is clearly understood that the performance of an
employee and their contribution in the company is a significant resource in the development of
the company. It is concluded that practices related to talent management is a necessity for the
growth of the company. In accordance with the research, it is determined that there are number
of approaches that are used by hospitality sector in order to increase the productivity of the
organisation regarding talent management. Other than that, in order to develop better

environment within the organisation so that employee turnover get minimised, several techniques
and approaches are determined in the project.

REFERENCES
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