Companies undertake "talent audit" to stay afloat

MUMBAI: After layoffs and salary cuts, companies have undertaken "talent audit" among its higher executives to align with current business needs to stay afloat in these troubled times.

The talent audit is a systematic review of organization approach to retain, perform and develop the higher executives.
Mutual fund house UTI mutual fund has put 50 of its higher executives under the talent audit scanner in sensitive department like fund management, marketing and research.

Radhakrishnan, Human resource head of the UTI Mutual Fund told ET, "The difficult times are the best to assess the talent and it gives you a clear cut picture who is adding to the value of the organization".

Depending on the results of the audit which will evaluate the consistency, criticality and hierarchy in the organization the fund house will put its higher executives under two heads inclusion and exclusion according to the results of the mapping test.

Whereas the mid sized bank Developmental Credit Bank (DCB) has just completed the process of talent audit among 100 higher executives across various divisions such as retail,wholesale, treasury, SME.

The bank has already started mobilising 20 of its higher executives on the basis of the mapping of their talent who are found in the lower ranks in the audit to adjust them in other roles in the bank.

R Venkatesh, EVP and head human capital of DCB, told ET," We have now started the most difficult part of mobilizing talent after carrying out the mapping process and are correcting the talent profile of these higher executives to suit the company���s needs to combat the difficult times".

The higher executives in the bank who falls in the pay bracket of Rs 5 to 20 lakh has been put through this process.

Explaining the trend Howard P Stevens, CEO of leading global talent management firm told ET "given the current state of affairs of the economy, there is an ever increasing need to manage talent scientifically and companies are looking at all options to redistribute their talents at different segments without actually laying off its staff."

While the private life insurance company ICICI prudential has carried out the talent assessment of 450 of its executives who were rated in three categories.