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Talent Management

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Talent Management
a) 'New economy' in technological advances and changes in the HR landscape
The term new economy applies to many organizational functions such as HR and IT. New
Economy refers to sectors or aspects of an economy that are intensely using or producing
innovative or novel technologies (Gutsuliak et al., 2020). From the perspective of technological
advances, this term describes several aspects of contemporary businesses and organizations in
which new technologies influence or support technological advances such as AI technologies.
On the other hand, the new economy has inspired changes in the HR landscape such as the use of
AI technologies to simplify employee management processes including learning and
development, training and compensation, and performance management. Additionally, the new
economy encourages the use of IT to facilitate various business processes. For instance, IT has
enabled the development of efficient new business processes and attractive new products.
Similarly, the new economy has made remarkable contributions to technological advancement by
informing the use of innovative technologies in commercial IT applications. Thus, the key
features of the new economy can be summarized as new knowledge and an innovation-driven
economy. These features have sparked changes in the modern business environment by
introducing knowledge, digitalizing business processes and IT functions, and driving rapid
change in the modern economy. Arguably, the term 'new economy' has a profound impact on the
advancement of technology and HR processes and is responsible for enabling organizations and
individuals to succeed through learning and adapting to dynamic business environments.
b) (i) The impact of the new economy on learning and development
In learning and development, the principle of the new economy implies dynamic learning.
Before the conjuring of this term, workplaces were strictly working zones. However, many
modern companies have integrated learning and development into their portfolio and are
increasingly assuming responsibility for educating their workers (Fuchs, 2021). Companies that
have morphed into learning organizations provide constant work-related training for all
employees and offer an array of learning resources and information, promote the exchange of
ideas, and offer rewards to workers who acquire new skills. One of the benefits of the new
economy is that it utilizes available modern technologies to facilitate organizational learning and
development. New technologies underpinned in the new economy such as high-powered desktop
or notebook computers have facilitated effective knowledge-sharing and information exchange in
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modern workplaces (Salloum et al., 2018). Local businesses can use technology to gain insights
from global conglomerates and use this knowledge to effectively compete in global industries.
Through IT-enabled knowledge-sharing and information exchange, companies are now able to
keep their employees informed with current trends and business practices that are crucial to
speedily and efficiently realizing organizational goals.
Learning and development aims at aligning employee performance and goals with those of
the organization. Using technology, modern learning organizations can identify skill gaps among
employees and their teams and deliver tailored training programs to bridge those gaps. This is
essential to employees’ career growth and development. Confidence in addressing workplace
challenges demonstrates career development and growth and paves way for on-the-job
promotions. Simply, the new economy promotes the use of technology in learning and
development for the benefit of employees and the organization.
(ii) The impact of the new economy on employee retention
Notably, workplace learning and development, underpinned in the new economy helps
organizations to retain top talent. This is achievable through increasing employee morale and job
satisfaction, which improves overall productivity. Learning imparts relevant skills and
knowledge to employees that make them more confident in handling various workplace
challenges and committed to achieving organizational goals (Battistelli et al., 2019). This makes
employees more capable, resilient and poised to deal with arising workplace challenges as
individuals and teams without creating conflicts. Conflict-free problem solving encourages
employees to remain with the organization by reducing the risk of absenteeism caused by
employees trying to avoid workplace disputes. Importantly, since the new economy supports the
recognition of the value of employees and emphasizes training and education, it enables
organizations to retain and attract rare talent for overall competitiveness, success, and
productivity.
Organizations with an active interest in their employees’ welfare can significantly reduce
absenteeism rates and increase productivity. According to Ottawa University (2021), businesses
that have actively interested and committed workers experience 41% lower absenteeism rates
and 17% higher productivity. Organizations with high absenteeism and low productivity rates
have minimal to no chance of retaining employees. Thus such organizations are likely to lose
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talent because the working environment reflects poor management, lack of commitment, and no
opportunities for growth and development.
c) Challenges facing organizations in this new economy
Despite the numerous benefits of the new economy to HR processes and technological
advances, it poses some challenges to organizations and their workers. Foremost, jobs in this
economy can be performed more efficiently and cost-effectively using technology than through
human labor (Hirvonen et al., 2022). Organizations that heavily rely on technology can become
more competitive and increase their productivity in the global marketplace. Nonetheless,
increased productivity through technology renders some jobs and skills obsolete. This is
evidenced by the use of computerized robots and other AI technologies such as chatbots in
building automobiles and interacting with customers respectively. This reduces the demand for
traditional human skills, consequently causing unemployment.
Secondly, advancing technology has a negative impact on non-technical job roles such as
marketing and management. Employees in these job functions must learn about the technical
aspects of their field if they are to remain relevant in the workplace. Additional training imposes
additional training costs on the organization and sometimes the individual worker where the
respective organization does not offer training programs. In the current job market, many
employees are recognizing the need to broaden and enhance their skills to remain employable (to
compete with technology) (Mendling et al., 2018). However, given the option to train their
employees or to employ technology, many companies choose to invest in technology due to its
capacity to reduce labor costs and multitask.
Lastly, by promoting technology as an effective tool for communication, information
exchange, and knowledge-sharing, the new economy cripples personalized interactions between
workers. Modern-day technological applications such as social media platforms, learning
databases and portals, and communication tools have destroyed the meaningfulness of personal
interactions at the workplace thereby disconnecting employees from the world around them.
Technology promotes isolation and loneliness in the workplace thereby increasing the risk of
psychological conditions such as stress, depression, and anxiety (Ibarra et al., 2020). It destroys
personal connections between employees, which makes the workplace dull and unfulfilling. This
has a negative impact on employee job satisfaction and may affect job performance.
Additionally, frequent exchange through technology-based platforms causes the erosion of social
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skills and sociability. Therefore, employees become less confident in using verbal and non-
verbal communication, which may deter them from raising workplace issues affecting their job
performance with their superiors. Again, lack of intimacy is a precursor for premature employee
resignations from the job, which leads to loss of productivity due to lost talent. Therefore, while
the new economy seemingly improves organizational productivity through using technology, it
can affect job satisfaction, and workplace interactions, leading to unemployment.
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References
Battistelli, A., Odoardi, C., Vandenberghe, C., Di Napoli, G., & Piccione, L. J. H. R. D. Q.
(2019). Information sharing and innovative work behavior: The role of work‐based
learning, challenging tasks, and organizational commitment. Human Resource
Development Quarterly, 30(3), 361-381. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21344
Fuchs, M. L. (2021). Decision making in the modern workplace: The impact of team and
knowledge structure (Doctoral dissertation). http://doi.org/10.5283/epub.44256
Gutsuliak, N., Tomchuk, O., Shcherb, I., & Vronska, S. (2020). Modernization of approaches to
human potential management in the digital economy. Journal Economics and
Finance, 8(1), 80-91. https://economics-and-finance.com/files/archive/EF_2020_1.pdf
Hirvonen, J., Stenhammar, A., & Tuhkuri, J. (2022). New evidence on the effect of technology
on employment and skill demand. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4081625
Ibarra, F., Baez, M., Cernuzzi, L., & Casati, F. (2020). A systematic review on technology-
supported interventions to improve old-age social wellbeing: Loneliness, social isolation,
and connectedness. Journal of Healthcare Engineering.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2036842
Mendling, J., Decker, G., Hull, R., Reijers, H. A., & Weber, I. (2018). How do machine learning,
robotic process automation, and blockchains affect the human factor in business process
management?. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 43(1), 19.
https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.04319
Ottawa University. (2021, January). Why is training and development important?
https://www.ottawa.edu/online-and-evening/blog/january-2021/5-benefits-of-training-
and-development
Salloum, S. A., Al-Emran, M., & Shaalan, K. (2018, August). The impact of knowledge sharing
on information systems: a review. In International Conference on Knowledge
Management in Organizations (pp. 94-106). Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95204-8_9