The 5 Top Talent Management Posts of 2014

Has 2014 been as crazy for you as it has for me? This year seemed to be marked by a lot of interesting twists and turns. On one hand we heard stories of talent shortages making it difficult fill positions, while other indicators pointed to a glut of candidates unable to find work.

The quest to attract and retain A-level talent seemed to intensify for everyone as we all sought to find those future leaders and top performers.

Throughout the year, we shared what we learned from working with clients and watching market trends here on this blog, in order to help you make the most of your talent management efforts. Looking back at the posts that got the most attention from readers like you, they weren’t necessarily the ones I thought they would be. I thought at this time of year, when we typically reflect on the past 12 months, it would fun to share these top posts with you to see if they help in any way as you contemplate what next year will bring.

Here’s our list, in order, of the five most popular blog posts of 2014:

1. Managing “Invisibles”

Many of your best people aren’t seeking status. Coaching and developing them can be a challenge. In this post, we explore how to create a culture that engages them. Read the post.

2. 12 Things You Should Know About Succession Planning

Succession planning is something many of us lost sleep over this year. In this post we summarize research by  Stanford University and the Institute for Executive Development that provides five key reasons companies struggle with succession planning and seven steps to create a successful program. Read the post.

3. Coaching Cheat Sheet for Managers

This short post provides a link to download a really useful cheat sheet that gives managers an at-a-glance view of how to identify different personality types and how to adapt their coaching approach to be more successful. Read the post. 

4. Why Hiring Sales People is So Hard

Sales people are consistently one of the most difficult roles to hire for. In part because they have such a direct impact on revenue. This is the first in an eye-opening, two-part series that explores research suggesting that most of us are looking for the wrong traits, and suggests what we should be looking for. Read the post.

5. 4 Tips to Help Hiring Managers Develop Interview Skills

In research we conducted this year, we learned that 45% of HR professionals feel their hiring managers are lacking interview skills. That’s concerning when you consider that they play such a critical role in interviewing and selecting candidates. That’s probably why this post was so well received. Read the post.

How satisfied with how the year went are you? Any surprises? Let us know what your big challenges or triumphs were this year in the comments section. I hope you enjoy these posts and, while it’s not our final post of the year, I wish you all the best for the holidays and a great start to 2015!