Introducing a talent development strategy in your organization

Already in 2012, a study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that by 2022 talent management will be HR’s greatest challenge.

The reasons for this are manifold, including things like employees demanding higher total compensation for their work, due to mounting pressure caused by the tightening of the talent market. When you throw high turnover and lack of leadership into the mix, you have a very volatile beast on your hands.

Facing these obstacles and possible outcomes, development planning is still frequently ignored – in a world that’s moving too fast to stay in the present moment there is a constant struggle between looking at the here and now and planning for the future.

Time is always under the microscope: most of the time there just isn’t enough time to invest in developing the talent of your team members or employees.

Successful businesses foster strong learning cultures

Cultivating a thriving learning culture is a delicate balance between formal training and supportive coaching: and employees are what make an enterprise flourish.

With this in mind, talent development may seem pretty easy: training sessions and that’s it, right? Wrong.

The one thing people forget when it comes to talent development

What’s the main thing people forget when it comes to learning and talent development? This is, of course, that everyone learns in different ways. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to training. Therefore, it’s very important to personalize your training with detailed learning paths designed to fit each individual. After all, you’re investing in the future of your team or company, and it’s vital to get it right the first time.

This means that you can’t just set and forget your development guidance: you need to foster a culture of learning. A solid learning culture will support you in the development of your team or staff so that they can not only be the best version of themselves, but they can grow into compelling leaders.

The emotional intelligence factor

Great leaders have the ability to cultivate strong personal relationships with those they work with based on their ability to relate to and empathize with others. With emotionally intelligent leaders, you can be sure that your top executives will always be looking for ways to continue learning and growing within the enterprise.

How do you begin to develop emotionally intelligent leaders? You take a long, hard look at your learning culture. Top-performing organizations are five times more likely to have learning cultures, signifying that a culture of learning is a key factor in industry success.

“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage”, according to Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric.

A quote from Steve Garguilo, speaking about Johnson & Johnson, sums it up perfectly: “ …by empowering more people in your organization, that’s where huge change happens.”

Check out his Ted Talk on corporate change, to learn more about fostering innovation and positive change in your organization.

Getting started

Talent is the most important resource you can tap into in the world of business. The key to encouraging the growth of the talent you already have is to remember that sustainable processes support the development of your staff.

Think long-term.

The first step in developing your team is to create a development plan. No surprises there, but an often overlooked part of the process involves actually sitting down with your trainee and discussing individual interests and career goals.

It is essential to set quantitative metrics to help your trainee flesh out their goals, and to realize what they can realistically achieve.

It’s not so hard to get started, once you have your plan in place. You could easily jump right in by leveraging real world problems as opportunities for learning, for example.

Go a step further by creating opportunities for your trainee to take on new responsibilities outside of their job description. This cross-training will increase their awareness and knowledge of the organization as a whole. It’s up to you to knock down silos and come up with a system that encourages different kinds of learning within the learning culture of your company.

Want to learn more?

Whether you’re looking for more in-depth, structured advice on talent development or you’re wondering what all of this means for you or your business: Get on the fast track by contacting us. We’re always ready to talk!

About Exellys

Exellys is a Tech Talent Incubator.

We bring tech talent into the daily operations of the organization of our customers and grow them for the innovations of tomorrow.

From the 1.500 tech talents we speak to annually, we select the top 8%. We intensively train and coach them on the right skills and competences. Our (scientifically based) training programs (Start Smart, Grow Smart & Lead Smart) accelerate the growth of our talents, and therefore also the growth of our customers.

We “unburden” our customers when looking for and retaining tech talent. We are committed to getting the best out of talent, while our customers can continue to focus on their core business.

We do this for clients who want to strengthen their team permanently, as well as those who are looking for a flexible, project-driven solution.

Get in touch with us today and find out how we can help.