Every business leader wants an engaged workforce. Employees who are positive and ready to do their best work each day.
But truly engaging your team means more than implementing short term strategies to keep your staff happy. These may produce a good return in the short term, but eventually the effect of short term incentives won’t be enough to keep your employees fully engaged in their work.
What your team are really looking for is deep motivation which comes from discovering meaning, purpose and personal fulfillment in their work. Which is where talent management comes in.
What is talent management?
Imagine a scenario in which your best employees stick around and produce exceptional work year after year. Where they feel appropriately stretched and nurtured, and that their contributions are important. And where you’re able to quickly fill your organisation’s skills gaps.
Talent management is your company’s system for making that happen. You manage your financial and capital assets carefully. Talent management means putting in place an intentional way to nurture and utilise your greatest asset — your people.
What results can I expect?
Where your employees are properly equipped and motivated you can obviously expect increased productivity. But studies have shown that well managed “high potential employees” can have a radiating effect on their co-workers, resulting in greater levels of commitment and motivation.
Though it may take time, expense and some organisational change to implement a talent management system, the dividends will include a more highly skilled workforce and lower employee turnover.
Recruit, identify, develop
Recruit: The first key principle of talent management starts during the recruitment phase. Go into any recruitment process mindful of the skills you need to add to your organisation. This could require an audit of your current workforce to see what is needed.
Cultural fit is hugely important in this phase. Many skills can be learned, but if your potential employee’s values and aspirations are at odds with the business then you can expect a rocky road ahead.
Identify: Effectively identifying staff with leadership skills, or potential to upskill and excel requires intentional appraisal. If your business doesn’t have a culture of appraising and recognising talents, potential and attitudes among your teams, then this is a good time to implement systems to do so.
Develop: Once you’ve recognised potential, put in place a plan to develop their skills or to allow them to thrive even more. Is it external training, greater responsibility within the office, intentional mentoring?
Ensure that those you’ve identified and developed can share their training experiences so that the whole organisation can see what you’re doing to look after and develop your people.
Next steps
Are you ready to make the most of your staff? Want to talk through ways to identify and develop talented employees?
