Managing talent from the start

Managing talent from the start

We had clients discussing the challenge of talent management with us recently. The confusion is often defining what is talent, and what is the talent that the organisation needs for the future. Often organisations are planning with the existing business in mind and filling current gaps, which is understandable. However, that does not mean that today’s business as usual skills are going to be the ones that are required for tomorrow’s world. The speed of change, the use of AI, make it very difficult to predict the future with any accuracy.

What is the general definition of talent?

‘A natural aptitude or skill’

We talk about talented musicians, painters, sports people, and there may be various opinions about who is talented, according to our own personal taste. That can also be true in the workplace when you are considering who are the talented individuals. Are you bringing your own bias to the situation? We worked with an organisation who went through a talent assessment process but did not like the outcome, because some junior members scored higher over a variety of indicators that included skills, personality, and transformation targets.

It is important to remember that skills can be learnt and developed. Knowledge can be acquired but is that talent?

Acquiring talented individuals starts right at the entry level of the organisation. Attracting talented individuals means you need to be an attractive organisation to work for, particularly as the younger generations of the workforce demand more and will only stay with an organisation that provides them with meaningful work and development.

Organisations that have created graduate programmes have realised the benefit of finding talented
young people and bringing them into the fold.

What do they do to support graduates and ensure that they transition into the workplace, into teams and find a sense of belonging in the organisation?

It is easy for leaders and managers to forget what it was like to be students and having to enter the world of work. Students have developed knowledge, passed exams and are ready for the next step, however, what they are not ready for generally are the demands and expectations of the workplace.

Organisations used to give menial tasks to new recruits, so they work their way to more important tasks as they gain experience. Now we have these bright young people that we expect to be up and running. Their maturity level with technology can mislead us to believe that they are mature and capable of dealing with all aspects of the workplace.

Some of their challenges:

  • How do things work around here?
  • What is expected of me?
  • What am I allowed to do/say?

The transition from student to employee is huge! You were a big fish and now you are a small fish in
a big pond!

And the stress is greatly increased if they have relocated to join the organisation. There is then the whole issue of being alone in a new place, without a support structure. Just taking on the tasks of cooking, cleaning, and shopping or ‘adulting’ as the graduates refer to it.

If you are wanting to recruit the next generation of ‘talented’ leaders for your organisation, then you need to support their transition into your workplace. Provide them with the emotional support that will enable them to set objectives for their personal development that can progress alongside other skills they will be learning. This sounds like a huge task, and it is not one that can easily be undertaken by HR or an internal department.

Chameleon Skills have developed a graduate programme that provides coaching and mentoring to support this important transition. See what some of our graduates have said about their experience.

Testimonials from past graduates:

“The coaches are highly skilled they don’t tell you what to do but rather help you to identify the
root of the problem for yourself, and then facilitate the self-discovery of solutions to the
identified problems.”

“Being able to talk through any difficulties and struggles and finding a solution or a way to resolve it.”

“I find the help with the work problem solving and goal setting to be valuable.”

Contact us to find out how this programme can improve your graduates intake experience, enhance your talent manage and retention strategies

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