Is your talent latent? Staying ahead with talent management

Citation

Robinson, E. (2009), "Is your talent latent? Staying ahead with talent management", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2009.37208dab.001

Is your talent latent? Staying ahead with talent management

Article Type: Strategic commentary From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 8, Issue 4

Thought leaders share their views on the HR profession and its direction for the future

The world is brimming with talent; global management consultancy, McKinsey, even warns that there is a war for talent. Organizations are highly populated with talented individuals but sometimes talent remains untapped. There is frequently failure to identify, engage and reward organizational talent, mainly due to old style HR practices and possibly a fear of legislation, and this can lead to the suppression and inhibition of latent talent.

Once the talent of individuals is identified and the drivers of their engagement are discovered, progress can be made towards producing high performing contributions from motivated individuals, at any and every level of the organization.

Helping people express their talent in positive ways

Talent management can be achieved through the enlightened systematic process of “attracting, developing, engaging/retention and deployment of those individuals with high potential who are of particular value to an organization” (CIPD, 2008). The proactive management of integrating new and existing highly skilled staff will enable the realization of individual and organizational goals. Indeed, integration and alignment of talent management to other organizational processes is a critical success factor (Tansley et al., 2007). The policies and practices of HR professionals can create value to an organization by integrating, analyzing, measuring and evaluating human capital; indeed the field of HR itself has talent aplenty.

For the HR specialist, one challenge may be their attitude to themselves and their own talents, not least to acknowledge and be confident about their own strengths and to approach talent management with inspired enthusiasm for change. Professional HR specialists are uniquely placed to do this because their role requires a deep understanding of the business and its operating environment; they know how to ask good consultancy questions, they possess the skills to conduct diagnostics, they can design and implement a strategy that incorporates organization and individual development and they grasp the need for regular reviews and evaluation. The trick is to apply these existing skills and tools to the identification and management of talent so that individuals can express their talent in positive ways – to the mutual advantage of the individuals and the business.

Co-ordinating an organizational approach to talent

HR also needs to be able to support line managers in recognizing the high potential indicators of talent, which may include high levels of competency in an existing role, a 360-degree respect of others, being a proactive catalyst for change, being a creative problem-solver, showing devotion to learning, having a desire to receive feedback, responsiveness and resilience, and a preference for self-management. Some of these indicators are not readily identified through conventional methods and may even be overlooked by line managers preoccupied with operations.

In research undertaken by Nottingham Business School’s International Centre for Talent Management, the instigation of talent review panels has been found to be an excellent method of drawing together expertise and knowledge. A blending of a variety of talents has been found to be successful in some case study organizations. Similar to, and including, aspects of diversity, talent management should be embedded within an organization and led and supported from the top.

HR professionals as stewards of the talent pipeline

HR professionals become involved as stewards of the talent pipeline and that means entry at any point along the talent “supply chain”. For example, strategically achieving and advancing organization goals and business growth, during mergers and acquisitions, supporting change and transition, addressing skills shortages, meeting future requirements, attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining key staff, developing high potential, succession planning and nurturing future leaders and managers.

It is also critical for the HR professional to know when to make timely interventions, such as the provision of coaching for staff at any level, as well as to understand when non-interference is the best policy. Human capital data should be collected, matrices constructed and job analysis and roles regularly updated. Line managers should be trained and supported in talent assessment. HR can also research and evaluate alternatives, advise, support and monitor interventions, track progress and support both the talent panel and line managers.

The lexicon of talent is burgeoning, from high flyers and executive talent to rising stars, emerging talent and entry-level talent, but where is the latent untapped talent in organizations? Latent is an anagram of talent, so it is there, it just needs to be put in the right order – enter the HR professional.

Elaine RobinsonBased at Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.

About the author

Elaine Robinson MA PhD PGDipTM FILM Chartered FCIPD is a senior principal lecturer in commercial and a program leader for executive education at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University. She teaches and supervises on a wide variety of Nottingham Business School programs, including the executive MBA. Robinson is an established expert in coaching, organizational development, leadership and personal development and leads coaching provision from the International Centre of Talent Management and Development in Nottingham Business School. Elaine Robinson can be contacted at: elaine.robinson@ntu.ac.uk