Talent Management Vs Quality Customer Service

 


Talent Management (TM)

Talent Management refers to the strategic approach to attracting, developing, retaining, and utilizing individuals with the required skills and potential to meet organizational goals (Collings & Mellahi, 2009). It includes recruitment, performance management, learning and development, succession planning, and employee engagement.

“Talent management includes all activities to attract, develop, motivate, and retain high-performing employees” (Armstrong, 2020, p. 257).

Quality Customer Service (QCS)

Quality Customer Service involves delivering services that consistently meet or exceed customer expectations, often judged by responsiveness, empathy, reliability, and service personalization (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988).

“Customer service quality is a perception formed through the customer’s experience with a service provider” (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2018, p. 105).

🧩 Key Differences

Aspect

Talent Management

Quality Customer Service

Focus

Internal – employees

External – customers

Objective

Develop and retain talent for organizational growth

Enhance satisfaction, loyalty, and retention

Key Metrics

Turnover rate, engagement, productivity

CSAT, NPS, complaint resolution time

Strategic Role

Workforce planning, leadership development

Brand perception, competitive advantage

Ownership

HR and leadership teams

Customer service, sales, and operations teams

🔗 Relationship Between Talent Management and Customer Service

Talent management plays a critical role in enabling high-quality customer service by ensuring frontline employees are well-trained, motivated, and aligned with customer-centric goals.

  • Employee engagement and training, key components of TM, are directly linked to service quality (Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1994).
  • Research by Gallup (2021) shows that highly engaged employees deliver 21% higher customer ratings.
  • Poor talent practices (e.g. high turnover, lack of training) often result in poor service experiences (Kusluvan et al., 2010).

📚 Supporting Theoretical Models

  1. Service-Profit Chain Model
    • Suggests that internal service quality (enabled by talent management) affects employee satisfaction, which impacts customer satisfaction and profitability (Heskett et al., 1994).
  2. SERVQUAL Model (Parasuraman et al., 1988)
    • Emphasizes reliability, assurance, and empathy—qualities that depend heavily on talent capabilities and soft skills developed through structured TM programs.
  3. Resource-Based View (RBV)
    • Employees are strategic assets. Companies that manage talent effectively build competitive advantage through better service delivery (Barney, 1991).

✅ Practical Example

Case: Ritz-Carlton Hotels

  • Ritz-Carlton’s emphasis on talent acquisition and empowerment is a foundational part of their award-winning service culture.
  • Employees are trained and entrusted to resolve guest issues autonomously—highlighting the interdependency of talent and service quality (Solnet, Kralj & Kandampully, 2012).

 

📚 References

  • Armstrong, M. (2020). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 15th ed. London: Kogan Page.
  • Barney, J.B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), pp.99-120.
  • Collings, D.G. and Mellahi, K. (2009). Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 19(4), pp.304-313.
  • Gallup (2021). State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report. [online] Available at: https://www.gallup.com
  • Heskett, J.L., Jones, T.O., Loveman, G.W., Sasser, W.E. and Schlesinger, L.A. (1994). Putting the service-profit chain to work. Harvard Business Review, 72(2), pp.164-174.
  • Kusluvan, S., Kusluvan, Z., Ilhan, I. and Buyruk, L. (2010). The human dimension: A review of human resources management issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51(2), pp.171–214.
  • Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), pp.12-40.
  • Solnet, D., Kralj, A. and Kandampully, J. (2012). Generation Y employees: An examination of work attitude differences. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 17(3), pp.36-54.
  • Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D. (2018). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Practices for Talent Management in Banking

Image
  Best Practices for Talent Management in Banking To realize the maximum benefits of the Talent Management, the professionals in the management should adopt the following best practices. Monitoring of Individualized Talents The HR management of the bank should keep on touch with the behavioral patterns of the employees to identify their individualized talents. Arranging of Training & Learning Sessions It is mandatory to o ffer continuous training programs focused on both technical and soft skills. Use Data-Driven Recruitment Leverage analytics to identify the best talent and match them to roles that fit their strengths. Diversity of Duties Encourage employees to explore different roles and departments to foster growth and retain institutional knowledge. Performance Management Regular feedback, goal-setting, and recognition are key to keeping employees aligned and motivated.                     ...
Read more

The Importance of Talent Management in the Banking Industry

Image
Talent Management in the Banking Industry   It can be observed in the financial platforms that the industry is under constant pressure to adapt, innovate, and stay competitive. With the involvement of digital transformation and regulatory shifts to increasing customer expectations, banks face numerous challenges. At the heart of navigating these challenges lies a critical success factor— Talent Management .   Legal governance implements specific technology with good skills, using nurturing, stabilization, and sharing as the fundamental elements of that distribution. It is also a foundational element for bank operations and long-term effectiveness. In a structured banking resolution environment with strong skills, those skills are highly precious assets that are approached as signatures. Strong skills need to be managed, but they also need to be developed primarily for the bank's quality of life. To invest in individuals, banks invest according to their preferences. htt...
Read more

Effective Talent Management

Image
  Effective Talent Management Effective talent management refers to a strategic approach to attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining employees to enhance organizational performance. In industries like banking, where customer trust, compliance, and innovation are critical, effective talent management serves as a vital driver of success. 1. Strategic Workforce Planning Strategic workforce planning involves aligning the talent strategy with the long-term goals of the organization. This process includes forecasting future talent needs, identifying gaps, and developing action plans to bridge those gaps (CIPD, 2021). It ensures that banks have the right people in the right roles at the right time. 2. Attracting and Acquiring the Right Talent Effective talent acquisition goes beyond filling vacancies; it focuses on hiring individuals who align with the organization’s values and long-term vision. Leading banks are increasingly using employer branding, data-driven recrui...
Read more