Having an eye for the talents of employees is important for an organization. Talent development is related to the development of the organization, as it can only flourish if the staff do the same. By investing in the talent of staff, situations are created in which they do not feel overloaded but full of energy.
Where employees are vital, motivated and driven in their work. Investing in talent helps employees seek out and take on new roles and tasks in which they are productive and innovative.
Talent development focuses on every employee. After all, everyone is born with a unique talent. Talent is what people are naturally good at, enjoy and enjoy. It is a source of energy and growth. The better the match is between who someone is and what someone does, the better the performance that someone delivers. Organizations that succeed in developing the available talent can usually count on more motivation from their employees.
Why is talent development important?
There are a number of reasons why an organization can do talent development:
• Sustainable employability
Talent development contributes to the sustainable employability of personnel. Because they invest in their development, they can add value to the organization now and in the future.
• Good image on the labor market
Young starting professionals have different expectations than employees of older generations. Examples include development opportunities. Young professionals are increasingly making this a requirement when “selecting” potential employers.
• Success and innovation
Success and innovation require employees to do their best. Talent development contributes to this. We look at what everyone’s strengths are. Subsequently, the opportunity is offered to further develop this. As a result, employees grow in what they already excel at.
• Flexibility
Having talent in house is of strategic importance to organizations. The more different the talents in the workplace, the more decisive and flexible the organizations are in the face of suddenly emerging opportunities and changing market conditions.
Talent development, how does it work?
For talent development, there are several roads leading to Rome. The trick is to find the methods that work best within an organization. Examples of how talent development can be tackled:
• Which talents are present in the organization
To measure is to know and that also applies to talent development. It is therefore useful to investigate which talents are present in the organization.
These can be appointed by employees themselves, but assessments can also be used. In this way it becomes
clear which competencies, personality types and talents
the organization has.
• Work on a positive and strong learning culture
A positive and strong learning culture has many faces. An important part of this is the way in which errors are dealt with. It is important that employees can learn from mistakes when things go wrong. Another aspect is the exchange of knowledge between employees. This can be stimulated in various ways. For example, employees can train each other or rotate positions.
• Talk to each other regularly
Interviews such as performance appraisals and appraisal interviews are not very popular with managers and employees. Yet they can make an important contribution to talent development. That is especially the case if they are part of a conversation cycle.
This allows for continuous talent development and adjustments where necessary.
• Work with a personal development plan
Talent development often gets stuck in vague agreements. In order to leave nothing to be desired in terms of clarity, a personal development plan (PDP) can be used. Specific agreements are made about the employee’s career. In fact, it is a contract in which it is jointly recorded which steps the employee will take to further develop within the organization.
• Invest in (online) education and training
Education and training enable employees to take the next step in their career. Nowadays, this is increasingly possible with online education and training, also known as e-learning.
Using talent
In order to effectively deploy the talents of the employees, they can be linked to the objectives of the organization. This creates a win-win situation: better results and more job satisfaction. For example, teams or departments can clearly formulate their results and be asked how everyone can contribute to this and what talent he or she uses. So the “what” is determined, but the “how” is left to the people who have to do it.
In short: Talent development in organizations focuses on three pillars: recognizing talent, developing talent and utilizing talent. When one of the pillars within an organization is missing or is not used effectively, talent remains (partly) unused.