Introduction
The globalizing world is compelling companies to identify and implement evidence-based approaches that have the potential to maximize organizational efficiency. Firms need to rely on this knowledge to transform their managerial and human resources (HR) practices to ensure that they remain sustainable. In the international market, organizations tend to encounter cultural, economic, and social shocks that might disorient performance. This predicament arises from the diverse needs of both employees and customers in every specific region. Companies intending to remain profitable and maneuver all key stages of organizational growth need to take the issues of succession planning and talent management seriously. Talent management has become a common practice for attracting, retaining, and developing individuals capable of delivering much-needed value to organizations. Similarly, HR leaders combine the strategy with succession planning to equip the right candidates with the best skills and ensure that they assume specific positions. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the selected company has competent employees capable of promoting continuous performance. This paper focuses on both domestic and multinational organizations to evaluate the nature and effectiveness of these strategies toward supporting organizational profitability.
Succession Planning and Talent Management: Importance and Contributions in Multinational and Domestic Organizations
Organizational change remains an ongoing practice aimed at aligning activities to the outlined mission statements and objectives. Managers apply a wide range of models to achieve this goal. For instance, Kurt Lewin’s change theory stands out as a powerful framework for introducing new practices and initiatives that have the potential to deliver positive results (Saleem et al., 2019). One of the best practices capable of guiding companies to achieve their aims in the future and tackle emerging challenges is of succession planning. According to Tanno and Banner (2018), this concept helps business firms streamline initiatives revolving around leadership transformation. While relying on the power of an effective change model, companies can identify the strengths and skill sets of their internal workers and enroll them for career advancement programs. The process of training has the potential to equip them with the relevant competencies and ensure that they are prepared for more complex or unfamiliar responsibilities at the organization. Proper preparations would always be recommendable to help support the change and make it easier for the company to achieve its goals in the near future.
Various theories exist that can guide leaders empower their followers when focusing on the idea of succession planning. For instance, Verawati and Hartono (2020) identify trait theory as a superior model that helps managers identify individuals possessing specific characteristics. The professionals will go further to equip them with the necessary resources, equipment, and support to ensure that desirable results are recorded. Path-goal theory emerges as another powerful model capable of allowing leaders to exhibit behaviors that maximize performance, motivation, and satisfaction among the intended employees (Njeri, Ngui and Mathenge, 2019). The manager will apply his or her competencies to guide the followers and identify approved action plans that can help deliver future goals. The adoption of these insights can create an enabling environment for promoting and pursuing succession planning.
The leadership model is another framework capable of guiding companies to implement succession planning more effectively and achieve the intended goals. Zafar and Hummayun (2020) argue that such a strategy could help organizational managers to identify some of the existing critical issues and the anticipated goals. Those in senior positions will develop appropriate action plans for specific workers who possess desirable skills. The assumption of such positions will make it possible for the company to remain prepared and engage in evidence-based approaches that can deliver desirable outcomes (Daft, Murphy and Willmott, 2017). The competence of the identified individuals can help different followers to engage in the best actions that can eventually promote the sustainability of activities.
Talent management has emerged as a powerful strategy for guiding companies to remain prepared for changing business environments and consumer demands. Daft, Murphy and Willmott (2017) define the process as the systematic identification, attraction, analysis, engagement, and continued deployment of workers who can help improve organizational performance. This practice helps match employees’ skill sets with emerging organizational needs and the desire for improved profitability. In most cases, most of the individuals targeted through talent management are the ones who have a history of effective performance and those who complete roles that are critical in nature. Suddaby and Foster (2017) reveal that such targeted individuals are the ones whose contributions are essential for delivering much-needed organizational results. When done properly, such an approach will play a positive role in supporting the sustainability of the specific company.
The resource-based view (RBV) remains a powerful theory that guides companies to engage in actions and decisions that can deliver sustainable outcomes. According to Tetik (2017), the RBV theory holds that business firms have the potential to gain an increased competitive advantage when they utilize the available resources more efficiently. This approach must be pursued so that they resonate with the goals of the HR department and the demands of the key stakeholders. From a theoretical perspective, the RBV model guides managers to consider an evidence-based approach to identify the existing talent and consider how it could be applied to improve future performance (Tetik, 2017). Under this model, the involved professionals will identify the required human resources and skills, improve their competencies, and retain them accordingly.
The talent management concept is implementable using specific ways. Some of the common ones include attracting competent individuals and developing a pool of the required skills. Workers possessing specific abilities will be selected and empowered to ensure that they increase their performance, capabilities, and capacity (Yuniati et al., 2021). Additional training could be considered to ensure that some of the identified professionals receive new concepts and ideas that meet their career development aims and organizational goals. Personalized programs could also be designed to empower and prepare the targeted workers for more complex organizational tasks (Osborne and Hammoud, 2017). The ultimate objective should be to ensure that the company has adequate HR options for launching new projects, addressing emerging barriers, and achieving outlined goals.
Talent management has remained a powerful concept for pursuing short-term goals while focusing on long-term goals or performance. The involved professionals will identify key employees who can deliver and complete a wide range of tasks in line with the outlined organizational aims. In a study by Ali and Mehreen (2018), it occurred that many companies whereby combine succession planning and talent management to formulate a superior model for supporting HR practices. These two concepts made it possible for companies to identify and position competent people in specific departments. The HR department also relies on the models to create additional job descriptions and identify the right workers who can deliver positive results.
In both multinational and domestic enterprises, talent management stands out as a powerful attribute capable of supporting organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Rybnicek et al. (2019) acknowledge that the concept seeks to identify, retain, and develop workers who possess desirable competencies in the selected organizations. The professionals find it easier to complete assignments in a timely manner while implementing workable strategies for solving the emerging problem. The ultimate aim is usually to allow companies to maneuver most of the emerging barriers while promoting the idea of innovation (Shen, Gao and Yang, 2017). The involved workers will benefit from the emerging positive attitudes and working environments. At the local level, the companies will attract the right talent and rely on it to ensure that the level of production is pegged above normal.
The concept of talent management has helped multinational companies identify competent expatriates who understand the dynamics in international markets. Such professionals rely on their understanding of the existing cultural attributes and the demands of the key stakeholders at the international level. They will consider some of the existing legal requirements and abide by them while pursuing the outlined organizational goals (Sanyal and Hisam, 2018). Such individuals can liaise with their leaders, make timely decisions, and even take the notion of sustainability to the next level. The practice increases the overall level of employee engagement, thereby setting the stage for improved organizational performance.
Companies that choose to ignore the power of talent management realize with shock that most of their operations have become ineffective and uncompetitive. Such a challenge occurs when startups disrupt their business models, thereby being unable to meet the changing demands of their former customers. Without proper talent management, managers of some companies will find it hard to support and sustain most of their business functions, including leadership, supply chain, marketing, and management (Yuniati et al., 2021). Without a proper plan for ensuring that future needs are met, many companies become obsolete or unsustainable. This predicament explains why there is a need for domestic and multinational corporations to start taking the concept of talent management seriously.
Similarly, succession planning is a tested approach for allowing companies to make deliberate efforts to ensure that there is continuity in leadership. With firms having numerous positions, the concept helps them retain and develop the much-needed knowledge for meeting future goals. Individuals are placed under different programs that can empower and take them closer to their personal goals. Companies that rely on the power of succession planning will benefit from the stability in tenure (Yuliansyah, Gurd and Mohamed, 2017). This practice makes it possible for companies to minimize the chances of leadership gaps that could eventually create room for laxity or reduced employee morale.
The presence of stable leadership presents a sense of guidance and empowerment to the followers. Merged with talent management, succession planning creates a sense of sustainability and allows all participants to be aware of the past. This knowledge guides them to stay focused and consider the best practices to deliver positive results. For domestic companies, succession planning allows leaders to have skilled individuals at the helm who understand the existing market dynamics. Such professionals will be aware of what needs to be done to deliver timely results (Tarique, 2016). They will solve challenges and consider value additions that are informed by past practices and anticipated goals. When done properly, such domestic companies will find it easier to launch superior projects, offer high-quality products, and make their business operations more sustainable.
The talent management-succession planning mix becomes the best strategy for improving the overall level of employee involvement and subsequent performance. For companies operating internationally, it becomes possible to identify emerging opportunities while ensuring that there are no gaps in leadership. The professionals will identify emerging concepts, technologies, and practices that resonate with the demands in the wider international market (Pucik, 2017). The hired expatriates who are aware of the inner workings of their companies will find it easier to attract additional talent and implement better practices to make organizational performance more sustainable.
From this analysis, it is agreeable that succession planning and talent management are effective strategies for guiding companies to achieve their goals much faster. These initiatives also present a sense of security by ensuring that there are competent workers and leaders who understand the dynamics existing internationally and locally. Such managers and employees tend to present something unique or special to the company (Warrick, 2017). The professionals will be able to analyze the current situations in the companies and prepare them for future performance. When done properly and combined with other critical strategies for supporting organizational effectiveness, these two practices will help multinational and domestic firms achieve their goals much faster.
Conclusion
Business organizations need to monitor the changes recorded in the international and local markets and respond accordingly using appropriate mechanisms. The concepts of talent management and succession planning are critical for any HR department. When done correctly, companies can guide their workers to develop the relevant competencies and liaise with the identified leaders to pursue the intended goals. The attributes help improve employee efficiency and eventually maximize organizational productivity. Companies that take these attributes seriously will overcome most of the emerging challenges, make their processes sustainable, and continuously improve their competitive advantages.
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