Foundations and Themes & Theories I/O_WK2

Week 2. Assignment. Individual Differences. Assessment. Job Analysis. Selection.and Staffing

Talent Management Plan – Selecting and Identifying Talented Employees

Often there is an external catalyst that forces an organization to adopt a talent management plan; therefore, the process is reactive (i.e., responding to a crisis) rather than proactive (i.e., continually building a pipeline of talented employees). For example, the U.S. government relied on traditional hiring practices for years before facing the urgent need to hire cybersecurity professionals to address the rapidly growing threats of cybercrime and cyberterrorism. When faced with this challenge, the government had no pipeline of talented candidates in place, nor any strategic or ongoing processes for recruiting the best cybersecurity professionals away from private organizations that could pay more and offer more upward mobility. Consequently, the government has recently made a concerted effort to implement a talent management plan designed to attract and retain cybersecurity professionals.

In this week’s media, you learn about Webuttik, a fictional online retail organization that also faces a crisis of sorts, for which a talent management plan is appropriate. For the following Assignment, you will reflect on how you might apply what you learned this week to help the organization identify, assess, and select the best and brightest employees.

This week, you will explore topics related to candidate selection and identifying talented employees based on the knowledge, skills, and abilities derived from a job analysis. You also will apply what you have learned this week to your Talent Management Plan, which is due by Day 7 of Week 4.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. 

WEEKLY RESOURCES

Required Readings

Job Analysis and Selection

· Beier, M., Young, C., & Villado, A. (2018). Job knowledge: its definition, development, and measurement. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 279-298). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

·

· Note: Chapter 10

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Viswesvaran, C., & Ones, D. (2018). Non-test methods and techniques used in employee selection. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 451-473). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

· Note: Chapter 15

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Schmidt, N. (2014). Personality and cognitive ability as predictors of effective performance at work.  Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational BehaviorLinks to an external site. , 1(1), 45–65.

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

Talent Management

· Cappelli, P., & Keller, J. K. (2014). Talent management: Conceptual approaches and practical challenges.  Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational BehaviorLinks to an external site. , 1(1), 305–331.

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Meyers, M., & Paauwe, J. (2018). Talent management. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 517-544). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

· Note: Chapter 23

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· McKinsey & Company. (2024, April 15).  Increasing your return on talent: The moves and metrics that matter Links to an external site. . https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/increasing-your-return-on-talent-the-moves-and-metrics-that-matter

· Time Estimate: 15 minutes

Required Media

· Walden University, LLC. (2019).  Talent management plan: Webbutik Links to an external site.  [CDN media file]. Walden University Blackboard. https://waldenu.instructure.com

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 20 minutes.

Instructions

Webbutik is an online retailer specializing in women’s and men’s apparel and shoes.

Webbutik is an online retailer specializing in women’s and men’s apparel and shoes. Webbutik’s leadership have decided to invest resources to improve the online retail experience for customers in order to stay competitive in the online retail marketplace. Before leaders can invest necessary resources into fixing the company website, they have to address the immediate problem of poor customer service and the impending mass exodus of customer service reps before the holiday season.

The leaders decide to hire a consultant (YOU) to develop a Talent Management Plan for customer service representatives and customer service managers. The Talent Management Plan would detail strategies and approaches to address the following goals:

· Identification and selection of external job candidates for the customer service representative position

· Identification of internal customer service representatives who are high performers and could be developed for managerial positions

· Onboarding new hires

· Training and developing existing customer service representatives

· Improving recruitment and retention of customer service representatives

To Prepare for this Assignment:

· Read the articles, “Talent Management: Conceptual Approaches and Practice Challenges” and “Increasing Your Return on Talent: The Moves and Metrics That Matter.” Focus on the history and contemporary use of talent management in organizations.

· Read Chapter 23 in  The SAGE Handbook. Review the definitions of talent and  talent management, identify talent management drivers (Table 23.3), and consider the importance of aligning talent management to the organization’s overall business strategy and strategic goals. In addition, focus on the considerations for selecting and identifying talented employees.

· Review the media about Webuttik. Pay particular attention to the strengths and limitations of the organization’s current selection process.

· Think about how you might apply what you have learned about job analysis, KSAs, and assessments to help the organization select and identify talented employees.

By Day 7 of Week 2

INSTRUCTIONS: Submit a 2–3-page paper that addresses the following questions. Your paper should follow APA7 style, be double-spaced with one-inch margins, and include a title page and reference list.

· What insights have you gained this week about job analysis, assessment, and selection that could contribute to a comprehensive talent management plan?

· What two theories, principles, models, or themes related to job analysis, assessment, and selection seem relevant to the task of developing a talent management plan?

· How might these theories, principles, models, or themes inform or guide an approach to selecting and identifying talented employees for the retail organization Webuttik, presented in this week’s media?

Note:  You will use this Assignment, as well as feedback you receive from your Instructor, to complete a Talent Management Plan that is due by Day 7 of Week 4.