Talent Management
Core concepts
Talent Management covers job requisitions, candidate records, job applications, offer business processes, performance reviews, goals, feedback, and succession/talent review. A requisition defines an open role; candidates apply and move through stages in a job application pipeline. Competencies and skills are reusable definitions referenced by job profiles and reviews. Performance cycles include self-review, manager review, and calibration. Talent pools and succession plans track readiness.
Traps
- Confusing candidate (a person in the recruiting system) with worker (an employee) - a candidate becomes a worker only after hire.
- Assuming a requisition and a position are the same - requisitions can exist without positions, depending on configuration.
- Mixing goal (individual objective) with competency (a defined capability).
- Forgetting that calibration adjusts ratings across a population, not individual reviews.
Rule of thumb
Ask "is this pre-hire or post-hire?" Recruiting objects (requisition, candidate, application, offer) are pre-hire; performance, goals, and succession are post-hire.
Worked example
A hiring manager wants to see all applicants for a role. The correct object is the job requisition, which links to job applications; each application links to a candidate. If the question asks "where do you see the pipeline?" the answer is the requisition's applications, not the candidate record alone.