So, it's not good enough to win the 'talent wars'. Its also not enough to try solutions (like Business Process Reengineering, Employee Stock Options, Assessment Centers and 360-degree appraisals) in a piece-meal manner. Instead, the need of the hour is to take a holistic view of the organization's business, culture, technology and talent needs. And adapt solutions based on an integrated and proactive approach towards developing & engaging talent, growing the business and delighting the customers and all stakeholders of the organization.

The strategic objectives of the industry should include:

• Improve the capability of the organizations by increasing the capability of the workforce
• Ensure that process capability is an attribute of the organization rather than of few individuals
• Align the motivation of individuals with that of the organization
• Retain human assets (i.e. people with critical knowledge and skills) within the organization

By aligning the above core elements, organizations will get enabled to gain insight into its capability for managing and developing its workforce. Retail organizations need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their current human resource management practices in order to understand what steps should be taken to improve them. The organization can then relate its strengths and weaknesses of its practices with the best practices indicated in the model, which helps the organization to prioritize their improvement actions and focus on changes that are most beneficial in the near term while having a roadmap for the long term objective.

About the Author:

The author is the Founder and Managing Director of Dynamic Vertical Solutions.