Talent Management: How to Harness the Talent in Your Organization to Achieve Your Business Goals

By Rebecca Heaslip.

Organizations that understand how to maximize the unique talents and skills of their employees achieve significant success and often make the lists of the ‘best companies to work for’. The leaders of these organizations use defined performance management processes to identify, develop, reward and harness individual talents. Employees who benefit from personal development opportunities and are rewarded for their unique talents and contributions are, in turn, more likely to reward their organizations with superior performance and increased loyalty.

To transform talent into performance, companies should follow the following 4 steps:

Step 1: The leadership team needs to define, review and reach consensus on the organization’s vision of success, goals and strategic plan, the essential groundwork for any successful talent management program.

Step 2: For each position in the company, define 4-6 succinct, measurable accountabilities that support achievement of the organization’s goals. This can be accomplished through a job benchmarking process that also defines the key competencies, behaviours and motivators required to achieve a position’s accountabilities. Defined objectives for each position also allow for more meaningful performance reviews.

Step 3: Match the right person to the right job using assessments to evaluate an incumbent’s (or candidate’s) skills and behaviours in relation to the benchmark established for the job. This step will tell you if you have inadvertently put ‘square pegs into round holes’. The right ‘fit’ leads to increased job satisfaction, improved morale, enhanced individual and organizational performance and increased employee retention.

Step 4: Implement an ongoing review, recognition and rewards plan and provide regular coaching to continuously develop and leverage the talents and skills of your workforce. Studies show that employees seek rewards not only from their salary, but from personal recognition for their performance. A personal development plan linked to performance carries the message that the organization truly values the individual and is investing in his or her growth.

Business succeeds (or not) based on the level of performance the capable talent in its workforce can and will achieve. A planned program for managing talent in your organization will help to ensure a pipeline of skilled employees to fill present and future leadership roles.
Rebecca Heaslip is President of LEADERSHIP INSIGHT, Consultants in Talent Management… helping companies transform talent into performance through effective employee selection and development programs, coaching and team-building programs and assessment services. For more information, visit www.leadership-insight.com.