What exactly is talent management

Anuradha was recently visiting us in Hyderabad, and she regaled us with stories of how she went to one of the top HR institutes of India and during campus interviews asked the graduating students "So what do you want to do in HR?"

And the majority answered "Talent Management", and when she asked them what that meant, nobody could explain that to her.

Er, I must confess, I still don't understand what Talent Management means.

I mean, on the one hand there are stories like this, which says that Talent Management tops the list of HR issues faced by corporates, and a European study which says that Talent Management is the HR activity that has most impact on the performance of a firm. That makes me feel quite a nincompoop, since I don't know what it means.

So what is Talent Management? Getting the right people in the right job? Helping them deliver the right performance by giving them the right developmental input? Having a great succession and business continuity plan for emergencies? Staffing and Resourcing? Recruiting?

I'm lost.

Do you know what this beast called Talent Management is?