How can you align learning with talent management?

Aligning learning with talent management involves integrating the development of skills and knowledge with the strategic needs of the organization, ensuring that the learning initiatives are directly linked to the current and future requirements of the workforce and the business. This can be achieved by identifying skill gaps, creating targeted training programs, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and providing opportunities for career development and progression within the organization.

An interesting topic for me and one that I frequently ponder, because for a time, as L&D Director I reported directly into TM. Not only did I have opportunity for exposure to the machinations of TM (i.e., the performance management cycle, talent reviews, succession planning), I was also a key player in their integration with the learning function. For example - During the talent review cycle, we identified individual development needs in order to properly place key contributors and top talent within the succession planning framework. - The annual objective setting process included integration of learning resources to support goals and/or competencies during the year. These & other tactics greatly supported growth and career direction.

1. Identify Needs: Define necessary skills for organizational goals. 2. Assess Talent: Evaluate current workforce skills. 3. Plan Learning: Create individualized plans for skill development. 4. Targeted Training: Offer skill-specific programs. 5. Metrics: Measure learning impact on talent goals. 6. Career Paths: Define clear progression routes. 7. Feedback: Assess learning program effectiveness. 8. Succession: Prepare high-potential employees for leadership. 9. Tech Integration: Use software for alignment. 10. Communication: Link learning to career growth. 11. Adapt: Adjust strategies for changing needs.

Identifying talent needs is foundational for effective talent management. To align with your organization's vision, mission, values, and objectives, use techniques like competency models, gap analysis, talent reviews, and workforce planning. These approaches provide a comprehensive view of the skills, behaviors, and potential within your current and desired talent pool. By doing so, you can establish learning priorities and outcomes that are in harmony with your talent management strategy.

Since this articles is about aligning learning to talent management, it is best to tie up outcomes to talent management metrics. Will this learning increase engagement? decrease retention? improvement succession bench strength? accelerate HiPos?

I’d challenge this advice from two different angles. First, if you have a solid learning team, taking the ball this far down the field is too far. You should be focused on scoping the skill or business challenge you’re trying to overcome. Let your learning teams figure out the right means and methods for accomplishing that. While it should be a collaboration, this is why you have learning specialists in the org. Second, the recommended objective is not an effective learning objective. Completing a course is an activity, not a behavior or performance change. While the improvement in feedback scores by 10% is slightly better, it’s still far too vague. What specific feedback improvements do you want to see and why does it matter?

Empower employees to take charge of their learning journey. Support self-directed learning by providing access to learning resources, mentorship, and personalized development plans.

Promote peer-to-peer learning and collaboration within your organization. Encourage employees to share knowledge, provide feedback, and work together on projects, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Select learning methods that align with the specific learning objectives. For theoretical knowledge, reading articles or watching videos suffices. This would apply to the learning objective of "define the four parts of the coaching model". For practical application, include demonstrations and hands-on exercises with scoring and feedback for real-life scenarios. This would apply to the learning objective of "apply all parts of the coaching model to a real-life scenario with rating of at least a 4/5".

I advocate for the importance of delivering learning programs that truly make a difference. The approach should incorporate the principles of adult learning to ensure that your learners are not just passive participants but actively engaged in the learning process through simulations, application, and reflection.

When evaluating the effectiveness of learning programs, it's imperative, to begin with the end in mind. Before rolling out any learning initiative, define what success looks like for the stakeholder. Consider the case of the two managers at a tech startup, both earmarked for leadership roles. One needed to hone soft skills, while the other required deeper business acumen. Success for them wasn't just about completing a course but achieving specific, tailored outcomes that aligned with their unique needs. By understanding these end goals, the programs were designed to meet these specific objectives. This approach ensures that learning interventions are not just effective but also relevant and get 'promoters' for our learning programs!

Here I propose a 7 step approach to improve a learning process that can closely align with the Talent Management strategy: Step 1 - Deduce organizational learning goals from the strategy of the company Step 2 - Understand employee aspirations and match with organization goals Step 3 - Identify and prioritize learning gaps where the intensity of match is higher Step 4 - Categorize employee groups and learning buckets for each group Step 5 - Design interventions for the group as a whole targeting each bucket of learning individually Step 6 - Differentiate delivery methodology according to various levels of employees in a single group Step 7 - Evaluate interventions and improve learning processes

It is also important to consider negative outcomes as we must continually monitor processes and outcomes. When things do not go as well as they should, we must be prepared to continually reevaluate and reconsider our approaches. Additionally, the question of incentives and rewards must also be considered as there are individuals who will refuse to internalize and improve their performance.