{"id":9557,"date":"2026-05-21T09:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/besthrpractices.org\/?p=9557"},"modified":"2026-05-21T10:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T10:32:37","slug":"who-stays-here-talent-management-in-an-exhausted-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/besthrpractices.org\/sk\/who-stays-here-talent-management-in-an-exhausted-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Kto tu zost\u00e1va? - Riadenie talentov vo vy\u010derpanom regi\u00f3ne"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Who Stays Here? <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Talent Management in an Exhausted Region<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Brain drain, labour shortages and wage inflation: how can large Central European companies respond to labour market challenges with a conscious, skills-focused talent strategy?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Corporate talent management in Central Europe is no longer an HR luxury, but a hard-core competitiveness issue. Millions have left the Visegr\u00e1d countries for Western Europe, labour shortages have become permanent, and wage inflation has spiralled out of control \u2013 while many companies still think in terms of annual \u201ctalent lists\u201d checked off once a year. The companies that remain competitive are those that treat talent management not as an administrative exercise, but as a data-driven business strategy focused on skills and capabilities \u2013 and reorganise their entire talent pipeline accordingly.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Corporate talent management today is no longer a \u201cnice-to-have\u201d function, but a matter of survival: the entire business model of global companies may depend on whether they are able to systematically attract, develop and retain key employees, especially here in Central Europe.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What do we mean by corporate talent management?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In a corporate environment, talent management is an integrated strategic framework covering the entire chain of workforce planning, recruitment, development, performance management and succession planning.<\/p>

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Within this framework, talent refers to employees who possess critical expertise for the organisation, deliver above-average performance and demonstrate strong commitment, while being expected to create consistently high added value within the company\u2019s key processes. In large corporations, they typically represent around 5\u201310% of the total workforce, depending on the industry and business model.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why is talent management a business issue for large companies?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Today, it is difficult to question the business impact of talent management without numerical evidence: according to international comparisons, organisations with mature talent management systems achieve a two- to threefold increase in the proportion of leadership positions filled internally, while turnover in critical roles is 20\u201330% lower. Translated into practice: in a large company with one hundred leadership positions, a mature talent management system may allow 60\u201370 positions to be filled entirely through internal succession, while in critical roles only 7\u20138 employees leave annually instead of 10.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In the Visegr\u00e1d countries (including Hungary), labour shortages peaked around 2018, dramatically increasing labour costs and recruitment cost-per-position indicators for large companies. Structured talent programmes (such as internal mobility and targeted succession pipelines) measurably improved time-to-fill positions and onboarding indicators.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The evolution of talent management in Central Europe<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The development of talent management in the Visegr\u00e1d region can be divided into several clearly distinguishable eras, from the centrally planned \u201ccadre policy\u201d period before the political transition (where \u201ctalent\u201d essentially meant political loyalty), through the post-transition shock therapy period, to the emergence of structured talent management frameworks after EU accession in 2004.<\/p>

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In the years following EU accession, approximately seven million employees moved from Central and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, triggering an unprecedented wave of brain drain and a tangible talent war among large corporations. It was during this period that formally operated graduate programmes, serious leadership succession pipelines and officially documented regional talent management strategies began to appear on a large scale.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The basic framework of corporate talent management<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If we were to model it, corporate talent management would be built on four main pillars:<\/p>

  1. Strategic workforce planning, which forms the foundation of the programme<\/li>
  2. Talent identification and segmentation<\/li>
  3. An integrated development and career-path system<\/li>
  4. And conscious succession planning combined with risk management.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    This framework is specifically adapted to the realities of large corporations: it assumes multinational structures, combinations of service centres and manufacturing hubs, as well as complex matrix organisations where talent pipelines extend across regions and functions.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Talent management maturity levels \u2013 where are we as a corporation?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    A corporate HR team may reasonably ask: \u201cFine, but where do we stand in this area?\u201d Research and case studies identify different levels of maturity in talent management, ranging from occasional, ad hoc, project-based initiatives to integrated, data-driven and business-sponsored systems.<\/p>

    Among large corporations operating in the Visegr\u00e1d region, it is common for the global headquarters to have an advanced talent framework (such as nine-box assessment grids, regular talent review meetings and leadership succession pipelines), while local implementation often fails to reach even a medium level of maturity. Despite strong programme portfolios for talents (internship and succession programmes, leadership academies), these programmes are often not parts of an integrated system, but merely scattered initiatives. Strategic workforce planning, data analysis and succession focus are frequently missing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Five persistent HR weaknesses hindering talent management<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Regional research has identified five recurring weaknesses continuously holding talent management back:<\/p>

    1. The frequent exclusion of HR from strategic decision-making<\/li>
    2. Outdated job structures<\/li>
    3. Weak performance management practices<\/li>
    4. Low levels of HR digitalisation<\/li>
    5. And underfunded talent development.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      This combination often results in talent management becoming campaign-like within large corporations, lacking updated competency frameworks, skills-based job structures and managerial accountability. As a result, programmes struggle to translate into measurable business outcomes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      What is changing now? Artificial intelligence, skills-focused development and sustainability pressure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      According to the latest trends, three major forces are shaping corporate talent management today: the rise of artificial intelligence and automation within HR functions; the shift towards skills development instead of task-centred approaches, both in recruitment and promotion decisions; and employer branding pressure linked to sustainability and diversity expectations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      For example, the shift towards skills development instead of task-centred thinking means that talent management is moving away from position-based hierarchies towards broadly transferable competencies (digital skills, adaptability, stakeholder management capabilities). Meanwhile, AI-based tools are increasingly used for talent mapping, supporting internal mobility and predicting turnover at the corporate level.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Typical corporate talent programmes \u2013 what does it look like in practice?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Based on the case studies of the Best HR Solutions in V4 Countries international project, a more advanced corporate talent programme portfolio usually includes multi-level elements such as:<\/p>