Effective Talent Management in Healthcare Organizations Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of talent management (TM) within healthcare organizations, emphasizing its significance in optimizing workforce quality and performance. It begins by defining talent and TM in the health sector, highlighting the shift from general workforce management to a focus on employee capacity for competitive advantage. The essay then delves into various TM practices, including the application process, performance appraisal (PA), and learning and teaching. It discusses the importance of attracting the right talent through effective application processes and the role of PAs in evaluating employee performance and identifying high-potential individuals. Furthermore, the essay explores the integration of learning and training in talent development, emphasizing the need for continuous skill enhancement. Finally, it examines the link between strategic and operational planning with TM, particularly in the context of human resource planning, ensuring a balance between required and available labor to achieve organizational goals. The application process, performance appraisals, and learning and teaching all contribute to the strategic and operational objectives of healthcare organizations. Desklib provides study tools and resources for students.

Running head: TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
Talent management in Healthcare organizations
Author Name(s)
Institution
Author Note

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 1
Talent management in Healthcare organizations
There is a general recognition of the significance of talent and talent management in
modern organizations. Whereas most of them have different approaches to dealing with the rising
demands for the talents, they accept that talents are the main components of organizational
success. Due to these, there have been various studies in the talent management processes. The
aim of this paper is to discuss the concept of talent management. The paper will start by giving a
general overview of talent management and discuss individual concepts such as the application
process, performance appraisal, learning, and training. The paper will also discuss the concept of
strategic and operational planning in the context of talent management.
Talent management overview
Talent management (TM) has received increased attention recently (Coulson-Thomas,
2012). In healthcare, getting people-centered towards providing efficient services will depend on
the optimization of their quality, performance, and their impact on health workforce. This also
requires a proper definition of both talent and TM within the health sector (Schiemann, 2014). It
is through a holistic definition by which health organizations can effectively allocate resources
towards TM. The new definition should understand talent as the core factor in a competitive
health sector and in organization development. According to Martin (2015) understanding talents
in this approach will see it as the main pole in enterprise success. The work of McDonnell,
Gunnigle, Lavelle, and Lamare (2016) also states that understanding talents in this way would
help organizations to move from concentrating on huge workforce management and reach a
differentiated emphasis on the capacity of the employees to enhance their competitive power.

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 2
Essentially, there have been various debates about the proper definition of effective talent
management (Collings, Scullion, & Vaiman, 2015). The human capital method seeks to define
TM as a way of finding people who can satisfy the organizational needs and where these people
would be given roles or placed in a talent pool for future appointment (Nijs, Gallardo-Gallardo,
Dries, & Sels, 2014). This approach sees TM as finding resources for organization growth. Yet,
while analyzing different studies in talent management, the work of Powell, Duberley, Exworthy,
Macfarlane, and Moss (2013) concluded that there was no clarity or consensus in the definition
of talent or TM. Dries (2013) also viewed that talent is viewed in terms of individual differences,
human capital, giftedness, strength or identity. Healthcare organizations must rethink about TM
in a quantitative approach that looks at getting enough health professionals, and in a qualitative
approach of getting the right level of skills (Meyers & van Woerkom, 2014).
Application process
TM involves various practices and activities. The complexity in TM is compounded by
the concept of the ‘best fit’ when looking for talents. The achievement of the best fit starts with
the organization attracting people to the application. The best approach is where the organization
gives more information regarding the sort talent to help the applicants self-select themselves
(Elton & O’Riordan, 2016). The validity of this process also depends on the way the
organization attracts people who have the right skills to apply. This means that when an
organization is considering to engage recruitment, they also need to ensure that their process
allow people with the right competence to apply.
Whereas talent acquisition is important to an organization, they also need to understand
that it is not just about selecting the applicants. They need to understand that the process requires
them to also win and retain the best candidates. Many organizations begin their application

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 3
process through data gathering such as using the application forms. This is a good first step as
long as the application process is not complicated to drive best applicants away (E. E. Lawler,
2017). Increasingly, organizations are using apps as a way to make the application process more
user-friendly. For instance, Microsoft uses smartphone apps that help people fast-track the
recruitment and selection process by playing games (E. E. Lawler, 2017). This can encourage
more applicants and send positive information about the organization and its culture, thus
contributing to the efficacy of the application process (E. E. Lawler, 2017). Where there are no
forms, the application process can involve having the applicants demonstrate their skills by
executing tasks related to the job. There are different ways of providing such job-related tasks.
The most common one is temporary programs such as temporary assignments, contract hires,
and internships (E. E. Lawler, 2017). Most companies use internships as a selection device which
also helps them to attract, test, and select only those individuals who exhibit the required skills
and performance (E. E. Lawler, 2017).
Performance appraisal
Performance appraisals (PAs) are systematic tools used in the evaluation of employees’
productivity and performance within a specific period of time (Dechev, 2010). Most PAs are
concducted on annual basis to provide the most relevant information. Appraisals contain certain
criteria to be evaluated by manager/peers in accordance with organizational policies and
regulations. This feature makes PAs to be termed as formally-designed systems of measuring and
evaluating employees’ job-related outcomes and behaviors and to help in discovering how and
why they can increase their performance in future (Deepa, Palaniswamy, & Kuppusamy, 2014).
PAs are vital to effective TM. According to Lawler, Benson, and McDermott (2012), it is
hard for companies to perform well in the management of their talents without acquiring vital

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 4
information about their individuals level of performance, skills, knowledge and the delegated
responsibilities. PAs also play critical roles in helping with the identification of employees with
high potentials and first-tracking their professional development. According to Rubino, Esparza,
& Chassiakos (2018), employees and their supervisors fill out annual performance assessments,
which are collected and kept by HR. In a healthcare environment, Rubino et al. (2018) states that
there even other time where broader assessments are undertaken by other stakeholders including
their peers, vendors, and patients to provide collective PAs. In practice, these are the forms of
techniques that most organizations use for measuring the effectiveness of their high-potentials
employees who are regarded as holding superior talents for the organizations (DeNisi & Murphy,
2017). Also, when the management is measuring the effectiveness of employees’ output, most
organizations use key performance indicators (KPIs) for the assessments (Gladisa & Susanty,
2018). This is a form of PA which focuses mainly on seeing the accomplished goals, and
identification of the key competencies.
Learning and Teaching
TM is one of the organization’s priorities and most institutions perceive it as a crucial tool
for enhancing performance (Ingram, 2016). Despite that, TM is not solely about attracting and
retaining the best performers in the organization. Within the scope of TM, there are other areas
that deal with human resource development by developing the talents of the employees
(Hedayati Mehdiabadi & Li, 2016). These are areas that mainly deal with coaching, teaching and
learning new skills necessary for the growth of the organization.
The development of competency then require curriculums that embraces brainstorming,
coaching, training, problem-solving, group discussions and networking with prospects of some
of the employees become future seniors (Iyer, 2015). In this case, the concept of talent

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 5
development is intertwined within TM. There can be no talent development without learning and
training. The work Moczydlowska (2012) explains this concept by stating that TM is a set of
programs procedures and activities which the organization applies to their employees as a way or
developing them to enable them to achieve the required organization growth. The work of
Dessler (2014) further states that if an organization does not provide avenues for talented
development, it ends up losing the available talents.
A well-designed training plays an important role in continuous learning and development
of skills. In a meta-analysis that integrated various empirical studies from different training
topics, the results showed that training designed systematically focusing on the science of
training and learning yields positive outcomes in talent development (Powell & Yalcin, 2010).
Another evidence of the impact of training and teaching in talent development can be learned
from South Korean. According to Cho and McLean (2017), South Korea’s rapid developed by
investing in TD through workforce education has paid back by yielding national economic
growth. In other words, the South Korean training has helped them secure quality workforce.
Overview of strategic and operational planning
The planning process of an organization can be categorized as either strategic,
operational, and tactical. The work of Hans, Van Houdenhoven and Hulshof (2012) states that the
complexity of decisions and organization planning required in healthcare organizations demands
hierarchical approach. The hierarchical approach mainly has a strategic level which is concerned
with strategic planning, and operational level which is concerned with both tactical and
operational planning (Hans et al., 2012). Strategic planning (SP) is an organization’s approach
towards making fairly stable long-term plans which can have a timeline of above five years
(Arend, Zhao, Song, & Im, 2017). SP defines the organization's purpose and helps the

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organization to align its functions, goals, missions, and objectives. Operational planning (OP)
differs from strategic planning in various ways. Firstly, whereas SP deals with long-term goals
which have a timeline extending five years, OP deals with short term plans which are mainly
yearly focusing on specific goal (Griffin, 2017). The purpose of OP is to directly tie the
organization’s day-to-day activities to the SP (Griffin, 2017).
The relationship between SP and OP is a matter of aligning the organization's long-term
plans which are its objectives, and creating step by step plans for reaching the bigger picture
through specific goals and visions (Dessler, 2014). That is, reaching a long-term objective
requires accomplishing small multiple goals. A combination of these small goals within a time
horizon will help in the realization of the bigger picture. Since OP deals with specific processes
and procedures, these operations are mandated by the managers at the lowest ranks who answer
to those at the strategic level (Mateljak & Mihanović, 2016). The lowest-ranked managers are
entrusted with OP since they understand them better. This is because those managers area aware
of the current problems within their daily (Mateljak & Mihanović, 2016).
Describe how strategic and operational planning link with:
Application process
The interaction between SP and OP can be understood in the concept of human resource
planning. According to Jalloh, Habib, and Turay (2016), the SP process outlines the projected
changes and the activities the organization plans to carry out. While defining these processes, the
strategic management team must identify the core competencies required for the achievement of
the goals. As both SP and OP are the planning for the future, the organization must create a
balance which requires comparison of the required employees in accomplishing the

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organization’s objectives with the current number of employees (Aslam, Aslam, Ali, Habib, &
Jabeen, 2013). The balance requires the attraction and maintenance of the best fit between the job
and employee for the accomplishment of both SP and OP goals (Aslam et al., 2013).
The three main components of HR in the application processes is looking at both SP and
OP and conduct an analysis of the available labor, and balance the results with the required
operational labor (Aslam et al., 2013). In order to meet both strategic and operational objectives,
the application process should also be conducted from strategic and operational perspectives
keeping in mind the need to create a talent pool from different sources (Ulferts, Wirtz, &
Peterson, 2009). As can be seen, the application process can greatly affect both SP and OP in that
the organization must only take people with the right talents to accomplish organizational goals
and objectives.
Performance appraisal
As discussed above, organizations use PAs to measure their employees’ efficiency and
effectiveness. Other than measuring their work, PA seems to improve employees’ performance
and determine the right counseling they should be given to boost their performance in the
realization of the organization SP and OP (Aggarwal & Mitra Thakur, 2013). Effective
performance of SP and OP usually result from an effective commitment to reaching difficult and
specific goals as opposed to when there is lack of committed towards organization goals (Miles,
2012). In this way, PA acts as a tool for linking individual performance to organizational goals
which are contained within SP and OP. The work of Andrews, Boyne, Meier, O’Toole Jr and
Walker (2012) refers to this linkage as the goal alignment, which a key to increasing
organizational performance.

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Goal alignment is part of PA. In the concept of PA, goal alignment occurs when the
organization aligns its purposes and objectives with specific individuals. PA is later conducted on
the performance of these goals. There is a general acceptance of the importance of this linking of
the employees PA with organizational goals. According to Ayers (2015), the enhancement of the
performance of the organization goals begins with an alignment of individual performance to
those goals. In this way, PA demonstrates the employees’ accountability in the achievement of
the organization goals. The work of Ayers (2015) has further stated that when performance
requirements of employee flow from organizational strategic plans, the same enhance
organizational performance.
Learning and Teaching
Learning and training are systematic approaches to the familiarization with concepts,
rules, and acquisition of competence required for the accomplishment of organization goals
(Terzic-Supic et al., 2015). Learning does not only focus on enhancing employee’s skills and
knowledge, but it also develops the organization by building a flexible dynamic workforce
(Saadat & Saadat, 2016). Considering the strategic role played by the organizational learning in
the establishment of knowledge management, learning becomes the main pillar of the
organization success in the accomplishment of its goals as set in OP and SP (Saadat & Saadat,
2016).
The work of Kim, Hahn, and Lee (2015) explains two forms of training. The first one is
training in an organization focusing on employees’ personal development. The second one is
training is designed to directly address organization’s problems such as helping the organization
succeed within the competitive environment which mainly requires the efforts of all the
employees in general (Kim et al., 2015). This form of training involves training that is focused

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS 9
on core values of the organization which steers it towards its strategic and operational goals.
Similarly, the work of Elnaga and Imran (2013) stated that training enhances the quality of
employees’ performance. Considering that performance is the main factor towards organization
success, it thus shows that learning and training have direct impact on both SP and OP.
Conclusion
Successful talent management, particularly in health sectors, requires a combination of
different strategies which include acquisition process, performance appraisal, and continuous
talent development. Talents are important tools for effective deliverance of services, proving
organization values, and ensuring the success of stakeholders in general. Effective management
of the talented employees is important especially on the implementation of the organization
policies and realization of the objectives. In addition, it is only through effective talent
management can the organization succeed in a competitive environment as best talents are the
turning point for the organization management when there are challenging work requirements.
Whereas different organizations have various approaches to the management of talents, it is
worth considering that best practices attract new talents, and retains them. It is also worth
recognizing the importance of learning and training as they are key to talent development. Lack
of talent development leads to loss of the best talents that the organization had.

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