Talent management embodies different verticals of human resources functions, such as payroll management, performance appraisals, recruitment, and learning and development.
For an organisation to succeed, a robust talent management strategy is a must-have. Likewise, for the overall success of a business, we need torchbearers of ultimate work ethics and professionalism who could make up the talent management team of a company.
But the role of talent management is fraught with many challenges, especially for someone who is trying to move up the corporate ladder. We are trying to bring home the significance of the transition phase in an HR professional’s career while moving from a comparatively small to a large company.
While navigating through all this whirlwind of new-found responsibilities, people moving from a small institution to a large one often find themselves feeling confused and unprepared. We list certain steps below to help one find his feet and ace talent management game at a large organisation as easily as possible.
Here’s How to Make a Quick Impact While Taking over Talent Management in a Large Organisation
Starting a new job can come with its own set of hiccups, such as acclimatizing to the new company culture, meeting demands and expectations of the new role, and getting used to the new routine and the way things work. Add to that the excitement and nervousness that unconsciously creeps in even amongst the most experienced of workers.
The Initial Friction:
There is a stark contrast between the way a small and big organisation executes its talent management strategies. In a scenario where someone has recently moved from a small organisation to a large one, a person can face two kinds of extreme situations:
The Game-Changer:
In this situation, the person in question tries to change each and everything about the talent management policies of the company. He is so keen to prove his competencies and skills that he ends up making radical changes at the very structure level, which may invariably hurt the whole talent management pipeline in the long run.
For a talent management professional, this may not be an ideal approach. It would not only hinder the company’s stability but also hugely affect his own future career prospects.
The Onlooker:
Here, the new joinee is a mere onlooker, who is too afraid to suggest or bring about any changes. He chooses to go with the flow and assumes that people are reluctant to change. Eventually, he builds up a feeling of resentment and finds himself feeling unwanted, unable to contribute or have a say in the overall scheme of things.
Both the above approaches are too extreme and can possibly lead to an early disappointment in a new job.
Ways to Make a Quick Impact While Taking Over Talent Management in a Large Organisation
As seen above, opting for any of the above paths can lead to confusion or even attract negativity from co-workers, which especially the talent management team would want to keep away from.
So, how does one test the waters while also maintaining his/her professional status and still make a significant impact on the process of transitioning from a small to a large company?
Generally, there’s a significant difference between the operations of a small and that of a large organisation. Therefore, one needs to realise that such a big change in the setup also calls for a change in one’s mindset. For example, before diving deep into the workings of the new company, consider these three steps to alleviate any discomforts:
- Understanding organisational differences
- Thinking globally
- Marketing yourself at a large scale
Let’s look at each of these in detail:
Understanding organisational differences:
One of the most significant changes one can encounter upon switching to a larger organisation is the way different HR roles are executed and how various departments are organised. In a small company, the agenda is to work on a minimum workforce and extract a profit with limited resources, but the functioning of a large company may be significantly different.
A small company may entail the HR to don many hats and supervise everything from payroll to disciplinary policies.
On the contrary, a large company considers the talent management team to constitute various departments and sub-departments, for there are numerous employees completing day-to-day operations at multiple levels. This could also be the reason why the role and title of an HR manager in a small company may not align with that of his/her counterpart from a large company.
However, this is not a reason to fret, as it does not translate to a demotion but denotes the complexity of working between a small and a large company. The new entrant transitioning from a small to a large institution needs to be able to distinguish between the two setups and work logically.
Think Globally:
A large company may operate on a global level with multiple offices spread across the same city, country, or world. This will obviously call for a shift in the way things are communicated across departments, or the way problems are solved. In a small company setup, an HR manager may be used to coordinate or work in close proximity with colleagues, but in a large company, the same discussions can take place moreover video conferences than over a cup of coffee.
A small company works like a close-knit family where everybody is entrusted with overlapping tasks, and a quick huddle meeting may do the job. A large company, contrarily, requires working on a global scale and, therefore, any new entrant should be prepared to adopt the same style of working.
Market Yourself on a Large Scale:
Once you gather the above information and understand the internal working of a large organisation, it should be quite easy to then think of marketing and positioning oneself in the right manner. The following steps should help you perform the task well:
- Instead of fretting over the size of the company, stress on the size of your achievements. Market whatever you have learnt over the years at the small institution and think about how that can help you at the large setup.
- Do not get lost in job titles, job roles, or other terminologies; instead, focus on what is important to you, such as career growth and opportunities, for your own good.
- Ask sensible questions, propose possibilities, and maintain a balance between sounding over-preachy or bossy and coming across as too low-key and underconfident. Assess each situation keeping in mind the higher magnitude of the problems in a large company in contrast to a small company, and then suggest changes.
- Finally, as they say, learn, unlearn, and relearn. Every organization has a unique style of working, which depends on a lot of factors, like the nature of the business, company culture, mission, and vision. Hold on through the transition and work your way up the corporate ladder steadily!
Taking over talent management in a large organisation may come with its set of challenges but may also be full of opportunities. It may take some time for you to get accustomed to it, but as long as you remain confident through this ride, the possibilities to grow would be boundaryless!
