Process model (Talent Management is not an isolated process but works within the framework of an organizations Human Capital and Knowledge Management Strategy).

Talent Management (TM) refers to the process of developing and integrating new workers, developing and retaining current workers, and attracting highly skilled workers to work for your company. Talent management in this context does not refer to the management of entertainers. The term was coined by David Watkins of Softscape published in an article in 1998. The process of attracting and retaining profitable employees, as it is increasingly more competitive between firms and of strategic importance, has come to be known as "the war for talent."

Talent Management is a process that emerged in the 1990s and continues to be adopted, as more companies come to realize that their employees’ talents and skills drive their business success. Companies that have put into practice talent management have done so to solve an employee retention problem. The issue with many companies today is that many organizations put tremendous effort into attracting employees to their company, but spend little time into retaining and developing talent.

Knowledge Management (KM) is a field which originally developed in the mid to late 90s which often is understood in different ways by managers and organisations trying to understand its value and relevance for them in improving their organisational performance and effectiveness.

Our Understanding of Knowledge is that it includes individual and social human capital, in addition to structural capital. Although knowledge can be explicit, as captured for example in patents, documented procedures, and product descriptions, much knowledge remains in the heads of our knowledge workers as tacit knowledge, which involves the individual and collective understanding gained from their experience. If those workers leave the organisation, much knowledge simply walks out the door.

Our Practice therefore Defines KM as an ongoing strategic program of knowledge based processes and enriched practices for achieving organisational objectives through the creation, acquisition, sharing and utilisation of knowledge and the cultural and technical systems that support such processes. Successful KM programs and practices much therefore address issues related to human capital development, working culture and trust, leadership and collaboration readiness, in addition to the use of any supporting technology supporting the knowledge processes of the workforce.

Knowledge Flow Describes the transfer of knowledge between individuals and different groups which may take place by both explicit and tacit knowledge transfer. Knowledge flow may for example take place through sharing a useful document or report with another group, participation in a community of practice, or simply through a conversation over coffee at the morning break.

Knowledge Assessment Approaches can be applied to the organisation to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of current KM practices, knowledge resources and flows, to identify prioritised areas for performance improvement, e.g., that would impact the company scorecard, and to monitor the outcomes in areas where interventions are subsequently introduced.

Knowledge Management Systems involve the cross-disciplinary, enterprise-wide management (creation, storing, disseminating, etc) of knowledge processes, aligned with strategic objectives to support and improve performance and productivity. Knowledge Management Systems are the starting point in which other structures, assessment of knowledge, competence management and talent management form a base component in performance improvement both personally and organisationally. The starting point should therefore begin with Knowledge Management in the context of forming a Human Capital Strategy from which other important elements and activities could flow. More on KM

Talent Management and Knowledge Management should be Intrinsically Linked. In our experience again and again we have seen the former driving investment in people (process) with little attention paid to the later the Intellectual and Social Capital of the Company.