How To Align Talent, Careers And Performance
David Shindler
Writer. Mainly. Coach. Often. Volunteer. Sometimes. Learning to Leap. Always.
ALIGNING TALENT, CAREERS AND PERFORMANCE INVOLVES FOCUSING ON FOUR CORE AREAS FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE.
In my previous article, I explored how talent liberation relates to career development and management, rather than being treated separately. In this article, I want to show how aligning talent, careers and performance involve focusing on the following four core areas for the benefit of both employer and employee.
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
The following four areas provide the review platform for different stages in a person’s working life and need to take account of the past (career lifeline), the present (current competence and talent) and the future (potential).
AN ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE
Those companies that have an organisational development perspective benefit most when they align their talent and career approaches with the wider systems, processes, strategies and learning pathways.
For example, a typical employee development system covers other related areas such as personal development planning, performance appraisal, the promotion process and opportunities, the recruitment pipeline, competency framework, demographic profile, flexible working policies and so on.
Talent and careers link with other development approaches such as mentoring, coaching, induction, training, shadowing, challenging assignments inside the organisation, postings to different countries and cultures, temporary secondments to other organisations or ventilation (leaving the organisation to get broader or different experience for a few years then returning).
Increasingly, the notion of a career ladder is being challenged. Alternative metaphors like lattice or carousel are being used to reflect the flexibility required when upward mobility is constrained by cost, flatter structures or a shift toward different work-life patterns.
Therefore, preparing and equipping people to deal with change and learning how to learn in a constantly changing world are pre-requisites for talent and career development and management. It provides the foundation for the three-way conversation between the employee, their manager and the company.
JOINING IT ALL TOGETHER
With a nod to Einstein, the problems of attracting, engaging and retaining people so they deliver prime performance cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that they were created.
Liberating the talent of all your employees by focusing on strengths, aligned to personal career aspirations and supported by development of the relevant soft and hard skills, will increase motivation and capability which in turn drives performance.
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David Shindler (@David_Shindler) is an independent coach, associate with several consultancies, founder of The Employability Hub (resources for students and graduates), author of Learning to Leap: a guide to being more employable and co-author with Mark Babbitt of 21 Century Internships. My commitment and energy is in promoting lifelong personal and professional development and in tackling youth unemployment. I work with young people and professionals in education and business.
To read more of my work - visit the Learning to Leap blog.
And check out my other published articles on LinkedIn, including:
Liberating The Talents Of All Your Employees
6 Professional Practices for Job And Career Searching
6 Warning Signs Of Risking Your Well Being With An Employer