How should organizations develop their most talented people? Well, it starts with first recognizing that most employees have talents that should be developed.  By identifying this, companies will realize the significant benefits of optimizing employee skills. 

What Is Talent Development?

Talent development is the process by which an individual’s innate capabilities are identified and nurtured. In other words, talent development is the stage before professional skills development. First, a person’s natural talents must be understood, and only then can new skills be fostered through a talent development program.  

Some organizations see a talent development plan as applying only to “high-potential” employees, i.e., those who have already demonstrated a higher level of professional value than their peers. However, a more modern approach is to see talent development as a way to discover the greatness of every employee. This is the kind of philosophy supported by a company culture that believes in a growth mindset.   

Why Is Talent Development Important?

The concept of “high potential” employees is an offshoot of the “80/20” rule, AKA the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of productivity comes from 20% of employees. For this reason, learning and development programs are usually focused on upper management, where performance (good or bad) is highly noticeable. 

However, managers who adopt this concept face the risk of decreasing engagement levels among those who might not be as visible as those seen as top performers. In addition, looking only at “stars” means that management is failing to tap into a potential talent pool that could be extremely valuable. 

In light of this, the Pareto Principle should be interpreted to mean that managers need to identify the 20% of tasks where an employee is outstanding, and then provide the means for them to develop the talent that enhances this performance.

By doing so, companies can develop a competitive edge. This is becoming an urgent matter in almost every workplace, as one of the major challenges facing organizations today is the skills gap. According to Gartner, 64% of managers believe that workers don’t have the skills to handle future challenges, while 70% of employees claim that even their current skill levels are not sufficient. Implementing talent and professional development initiatives is an important tool for optimizing the number and quality of skills available from existing employees. Otherwise, without talent development opportunities, companies must hire from outside the organization, a strategy that is quite costly.  

The Benefits of Talent Development

The many advantages of talent development are felt by employees and employers alike. These include:

Fewer Skill Gaps

Talent development leverages things like personalized L&D programs to identify and reduce skill gaps. This strengthens both employee and organizational competencies. But closing skill gaps is not just a practice that delivers incremental benefits. Organizations that ensure optimal workplace abilities are set to reap a whole range of advantages, as we’ve listed below. 

In many ways, talent development provides a “snowball effect” as a result of synergies. For example, when employees across the board improve their leadership skills, it can result in a wave of productivity improvements. Instead of merely being proficient at their tasks, workers with a leadership mentality will take initiative, have the courage to critique processes, and support their coworkers. 

Improved Performance

Look at it this way – when employee training opportunities are not available, skill levels suffer. The alternative is to hire someone new for every new skill requirement, which is expensive. It is also unrealistic, considering the rapid change in today’s workplace skills. On the other hand, when employees’ skills are honed, it follows that they will do their jobs more efficiently and quickly, with fewer mistakes and greater results. 

Higher Morale

Few employees want to work at a job for which they are not competent. It is frustrating and embarrassing to fail, even if poor skills go unnoticed. In contrast, businesses that proactively invest in employee growth opportunities will make workers feel valued; this in turn boosts employee engagement and employee retention. Forbes explains that “when employees feel cared for by their employer, they offer greater loyalty, productivity, and engagement to their organization.”

Stronger Recruiting Abilities

Similarly, people want to work for companies that invest in their employees. By promoting their talent and leadership development programs, companies can reach and attract desirable new candidates. According to this study by IMC, 92% of job seekers put a priority on learning and development opportunities. When choosing between different offers, most people will go for a company that enables them to improve their levels of skill, all other factors being equal. 

Preparation for the Future

In keeping with the idea of changing workplace skills, talent development plans enable organizations to upskill and reskill before there is an effect on productivity and competitiveness. According to the World Economic Forum, 23% of jobs are set to demand new skills over the next five years. Companies that stay ahead of the trend by providing L&D programs today will be in a better position compared to laggards. This is even more true of organizations that implement continuous learning initiatives, which promote constant training and readiness for upcoming challenges.   

Better Compliance

Compliance issues affect many operations. Finance and IT departments must understand and abide by regulations such as GDPR. Similarly, HR teams should be aware of ESG scores that can influence shareholders and investors. However, gaining in-depth expertise in these areas requires extensive training. Talent development contributes to improved compliance by allowing employees to apply the relevant principles in their daily activities. 

Types of Talent Development

There are endless professional and workplace skills out there. But for each of them, there is an optimal training method. To simplify things, we’ve outlined the basic forms of talent development and the advantages that they provide. 

“Traditional” Development Programs

L&D programs that take place at work are considered “traditional”. In various ways, they are based on the learning methods that educational students use. In the workplace, these are the courses that focus on technical and other hard skills. They are provided by a technical trainer, involve the understanding of learning materials, and are often characterized by formal testing and other assessments.

However many of these program types are accompanied by other stages and processes that are not traditional. Here are some examples:

• Team workshops that use learning materials only as part of the training, and which can be supported by coaches, mentors, practical exercises, etc. 
• Modern learning methods such as gamification and microlessons that use learning materials as a starting point
• Learning management systems, multimedia, virtual presentations, and remote learning technology

In short, some skills can be taught using formats in addition to “traditional” ones, while it is up to HR to find an optimal combination. This can be accomplished with a talent development model (see below).  

External Coursework

Another learning medium that is similar to the traditional setting is external coursework. From computer programming to an MBA, many colleges and universities have both part- and full-time opportunities specifically geared toward employees. This includes paid programs and free lessons. Even Harvard University offers free online business programs. Here again, employees can usually combine formats such as remote learning with physical attendance (and often just take every lesson through distance learning). 

Apprenticeships and Internships

Apprentices are employees who are new to a professional field and need to acquire skills through hands-on instruction. Similarly, interns work for an organization over a short period of time to gain familiarity with a certain role. In both cases, a successful employee often receives an offer to continue working for that company. In this sense, these are forms of talent development because they provide a way to recognize skilled and dedicated employees. HR can get familiar with their skills before putting them on a track for upskilling and a permanent position. Large companies in particular can use these initiatives to:

• Gain access to a large pool of talent, and choose from the most skilled
• Pay low/no wages yet still receive engaged workers (who want to get employment offers)
• Promote their brand and hiring opportunities

Coaches

In contrast to “traditional” methods that cover technical skills, coaching programs tend to address soft skills. What makes soft skills different is that they are difficult to assess, have many facets, are interpreted subjectively, and connect to an employee’s personality. In light of this, a coaching engagement involves a relatively long period of assessment as the coach gets to know the employee, understands their challenges, suggests ways to improve, and monitors progress.

Many coaches use a “clean” method where they serve simply as a guide for the employee. They rely on their knowledge of talent development and not on familiarity with a particular industry as a way to avoid bias. Their role is to enable an employee to realize their own path to improvement, while the coach acts as a sounding board. Coaching engagements can even take place in a group setting when employees in the group have similar talent development needs. 

Mentors

Companies turn to mentors instead of coaches when employees need to work on a mix of professional and workplace skills. There are two types of mentors. An internal mentor works at the same organization as the employee in the talent development program, while an external mentor has experience in the same industry. Both sorts of experts use a combination of coaching abilities and company-specific knowledge to help employees improve their skill levels. Mentors can handle a range of development challenges, from leadership skills to advising employees on issues that are unique to their industry or company. 

Stretch Assignments

This talent development program type encourages workers to stretch their abilities through various kinds of temporary roles. Typical stretch assignments include job shadowing, job rotation, cross-training, and workshops such as those for building leadership skills. Larger companies might also use secondments and physical relocation programs. A stretch assignment can be provided just to give an employee an up-close look at a new type of function, and expand their awareness of more opportunities. They can also be used to prepare workers for new roles and/or assess their abilities.  

What Are Talent Development Professionals?

Talent development professionals (also called talent developers) oversee an organization’s talent development strategy. They are in charge of cultivating employees’ skills in a way that promotes the organization’s values and goals, with a special focus on retaining top talent. They often work closely together with the HR department in recruitment efforts. Talent developers typically have superb communication, leadership, and people skills.

What Does a Talent Development Professional Do?

Talent development professionals identify and address skill gaps to meet organizational goals. They evaluate employee performance and assess skill levels, and based on their analysis, draw up company-wide training and reskilling programs, seminars, and other plans to fill skill gaps and meet business aims. At the same time, they strive to align with each employee’s goals and aspirations, to ensure that these efforts are as successful and effective as possible.

How Talent Development Fits into an Organization

To be effective, talent development efforts require three basic elements:

Involvement of Management

Talent development must be a comprehensive process that occurs at all levels of a company. Upper management needs to approve and monitor talent development efforts. Direct managers must also be involved in things like:

• Setting schedules to allow for talent development
• Enabling the employee to provide feedback about talent development programs
• Ensuring that the employee actually progresses within the company according to the benefits of the talent development program

The direct manager can be directly involved by acting as a coach if they have the skills, time, and temperament. The close relationship between employee and direct manager can lead to spontaneous learning experiences that occur on the job when teaching opportunities arise.    

Proper Setting

The most common medium for talent development is a group setting such as a forum, course, workshop, or seminar. Unfortunately, these settings are not the best for individual focus, which is central to nurturing personal aptitudes.

Instead, wherever possible, one-on-one meetings are preferable. This environment is the most advantageous for direct teaching and immediate, honest feedback. In this setting, it is much easier for the coach, mentor, or trainer to become familiar with the employee, build a productive relationship, and track their progress. 

Flexibility

Once underway, a talent development program requires assessment and adaptation. Both the manager and the employee should acknowledge the amount of progress that has been achieved. If this is not satisfactory, then the program needs to be altered. Again, a one-on-one setting and close employee-manager relationship are important ingredients for ensuring that talent development is moving ahead smoothly. 

What Is the Difference Between Talent Development and Talent Management?

These terms are often used interchangeably but have important distinctions. Talent development is focused on just that: developing, motivating, and retaining employees. This is done through personalized learning and growth plans, to not only boost professional performance, but also employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Talent development utilizes on-the-job learning opportunities, such as job shadowing and taking on new responsibilities, with the goal of helping employees advance in their career paths. 

Talent management, on the other hand, is a higher-level organizational strategy for recruiting top talent. Talent management always has an eye on succession planning, workforce planning, and the bigger picture; the aim is to build a “talent pipeline” so the company can find and retain strategic talent to meet their long-term goals. One of the ways this is done is through reskilling and upskilling. Efforts are focused on identifying, maximizing, and leveraging hidden talents of employees to create a high-performance organization.

Talent Development Models

Talent development can be a difficult HR area to control, especially for large companies. With dozens of employees and skills to cover, it is definitely a challenge to decide which courses to provide and then supervise. Talent development models such as the ones mentioned below provide a guideline for easy and effective administration.

The ATD Talent Development Capability Model 

This framework from the Association for Talent Development is based on research that asked over 3,000 L&D professionals about the skills they find most valuable in the workplace. The result is a grouping of three areas – personal, organizational, and professional – and the skills that are essential for success in each. ATD’s model is a great starting point for building essential skills in critical areas. Companies that want a more customized list can perform a skills gap analysis. However, ATD updates its model frequently and it can be a good way of keeping track of L&D trends.

70-20-10 

One way to find the optimal mix of settings is with the 70-20-10 model. According to this framework, employees should spend: 

• 70% of learning hours on experiences such as those covered in stretch assignments 
• 20% in social situations, which includes workshops and engagements with coaches and mentors 
• 10% in structured learning arrangements like “traditional” development programs

ADDIE

ATD can tell you what courses to supply, with 70-20-10 advising you about where to supply them. ADDIE – analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation – tells you how. With ADDIE, HR teams can build an end-to-end process for every employee. The primary strength of ADDIE is also considered (by some) to be a weakness. The model is very detailed and can take a while to understand and apply. However, it provides a wealth of information to stakeholders and clearly defines the steps to be taken at each phase of a talent development course. 

The 9-Box Grid

The final piece of the talent development puzzle covers “who?”. A 9-Box grid is a common method to categorize employees according to skill level. It can be used to determine “high-performance” employees as a way to choose candidates for talent development programs. However, companies with a growth mindset will use it more as a guide to assess skill gaps, with low scorers being sent to L&D courses to boost those particular abilities. 

Talent Development with Growthspace

Despite the importance of talent development, few organizations implement the kind of process that will maximize the skills of their workforce. This is reflected in the skills gap mentioned above. 

One of the barriers to efficient talent development is scalability. It is simple to recognize the talent of an individual employee and build an L&D program for them. However, repeating these steps for hundreds of workers is beyond the capabilities of most organizations. 

Growthspace responds to this challenge with a technology-based system that can be scaled to support the talent development goals of any organization. It uses a proprietary technique to separate L&D program requirements into elements and then identify highly graded experts to provide instruction in the associated skills. Using this method, Growthspace can uncover the employee development needs of an entire organization. Through a global network of experts, it will also source the right coach, mentor, or trainer to enhance those talents.  

About Growthspace

Growthspace’s precision skill development platform is changing the world of employee learning and development with a scalable, technology-based approach unlike any other. If you want to finally see what employee L&D programs can really do for your organization, contact us.