Journal of Human Resource Management

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The Principle of ‘Self-Control’ in the Design of Instruments, Processes and Procedures: True Success Factors of Talent Management

Received: 31 October 2016    Accepted: 18 November 2016    Published: 21 December 2016
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Abstract

There seems to be a lack of clarity both in research and practice as to what makes talent management instruments and processes truly successful. This study shows, HR organizations and talent managers in many German organizations prefer more traditional over innovative procedures and instruments, even if latter instruments are empirically linked to more success as shown by our research. Furthermore, this paper makes a contribution to the question what makes talent management processes, procedures and instruments truly more successful than others. Based on the responses of 125 participants of an online survey–talent managers and other HR professionals responsible for talent management-we linked the success of certain talent management instruments to specific ingredients which appear to be the differentiators of successful talent instruments and procedures. We found that what we label ‘organization centric’ talent management instruments driven by the language of corporate requirements and personnel needs often lead to lower levels of talent management success. On the other hand, ‘employee centric’ talent management instruments and processes, which take an employee’s self-efficacy, initiative, skills, and personality as starting point resulting in what we call a ‘pull dynamic’ of employee engagement, are significantly more associated with perceived talent management success. We also found that these instruments tend to be associated with lower levels of fluctuation and external recruiting rates. Furthermore, we found that the professionalization of talent management has a positive effect on the relationship described. The study results have important implications on the design, activities and branding of talent management in organizations.

DOI 10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11
Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 4, Issue 6, December 2016)
Page(s) 65-76
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Talent Management, Success Factors, Pull Dynamic, Push Dynamic, Self-Control, Self-Management, Employee Centric, Organization Centric

References
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Author Information
  • Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, Seminar of Personnel Economics and HRM, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

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  • APA Style

    Jens Landwehr. (2016). The Principle of ‘Self-Control’ in the Design of Instruments, Processes and Procedures: True Success Factors of Talent Management. Journal of Human Resource Management, 4(6), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11

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    ACS Style

    Jens Landwehr. The Principle of ‘Self-Control’ in the Design of Instruments, Processes and Procedures: True Success Factors of Talent Management. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2016, 4(6), 65-76. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11

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    AMA Style

    Jens Landwehr. The Principle of ‘Self-Control’ in the Design of Instruments, Processes and Procedures: True Success Factors of Talent Management. J Hum Resour Manag. 2016;4(6):65-76. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11,
      author = {Jens Landwehr},
      title = {The Principle of ‘Self-Control’ in the Design of Instruments, Processes and Procedures: True Success Factors of Talent Management},
      journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {65-76},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20160406.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.20160406.11},
      abstract = {There seems to be a lack of clarity both in research and practice as to what makes talent management instruments and processes truly successful. This study shows, HR organizations and talent managers in many German organizations prefer more traditional over innovative procedures and instruments, even if latter instruments are empirically linked to more success as shown by our research. Furthermore, this paper makes a contribution to the question what makes talent management processes, procedures and instruments truly more successful than others. Based on the responses of 125 participants of an online survey–talent managers and other HR professionals responsible for talent management-we linked the success of certain talent management instruments to specific ingredients which appear to be the differentiators of successful talent instruments and procedures. We found that what we label ‘organization centric’ talent management instruments driven by the language of corporate requirements and personnel needs often lead to lower levels of talent management success. On the other hand, ‘employee centric’ talent management instruments and processes, which take an employee’s self-efficacy, initiative, skills, and personality as starting point resulting in what we call a ‘pull dynamic’ of employee engagement, are significantly more associated with perceived talent management success. We also found that these instruments tend to be associated with lower levels of fluctuation and external recruiting rates. Furthermore, we found that the professionalization of talent management has a positive effect on the relationship described. The study results have important implications on the design, activities and branding of talent management in organizations.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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