Leaders Must Identify, Recruit and Develop Talent

The process of identifying, recruiting, and developing talent creates great value within your organization. First, it creates a viable talent pool - a group of leaders and future leaders that you can rely on to share your vision and values and move the organization forward. On the personal side, the process gives you the ability sharpen your skills in identifying exactly what kind of talent you want to see in the organization. If you are in a constant talent identification mode, you’re going to be ready for the workforce and also keeping up with changing environments.

First, you must identify talent - but the identification starts before you look for the actual people. You must take the time to identify the competencies you’re looking for in potential talent. For example, you can look at competencies that are behavioral, attitudinal, and personal. Behavioral competencies are those that demonstrate the skill and knowledge you’re looking for - they could be skills or knowledge in certain areas that are common to your organization. Attitude and value competencies show a person’s self concept and self-perception, as well as the kind of work each person enjoys or thrives upon. Personal competencies are the traits and motivations that drive each person - these are internal factors that drive outward behavior. Look at all of the competencies shared in your organization - between yourself, your leadership team, and down the line. Once you’ve decided on the common competencies, you’ll be able to readily identify individuals who share them.

But now that you know what you’re looking for, where do you go to find it? The first place is your own network, both personal and business. You probably know people who you’ve thought of as possibilities to bring into your own organization. With your identified competencies, look at these people again and evaluate them. Believe it or not, just living your life can bring you to the identification of potential talent. When you’re interacting in the community, from the local shops and restaurants to community events, look for talent you identify with. Some organizations even provide cards telling a person that they’ve been identified as someone you want to work with. Campus recruiting is also a good way to go - you can always farm talent from the growing number of new graduates.

Recruiting is the most difficult part of the process. Your organization must be competitive in its offerings, so you have to find out what motivates your target population. You’ve identified your competencies, so which of those can be translated into a benefit of working for your organization? Money is always important, so be sure to look for industry wide salary trends and try to compete with them. But recruiting goes far beyond money - does your organization offer a flexible schedule, a relaxed working environment, or other non-tangible benefits? Think about the people with the competencies you’ve identified - and make your organization competitive by putting yourself in potential talent’s shoes.

Development is probably the most overlooked part of the process - never assume that you can keep your talent simply by bringing them in. Newer generations of workers are on the constant lookout for something better - for advancement and new skills. So this makes your development of talent extremely important. For starters, be sure that there is functional development - every person should have the tools and knowledge to do his or her job. Whether it’s classroom, online, on the job, or a combination, be sure that you’ve got this piece. Offer management training such as coaching and human resources management as a way to keep talent interested. In addition, you should be ready to assess potential leaders based on your identified competencies - find out where each person is in relation to the competencies. Once you’ve done that, you can offer leadership training as a way of enhancing your talent pool - and making sure that your talent is not walking out the door.

When looking at identifying, recruiting, and developing talent from the leadership standpoint, there are a few things to avoid. If you have a recruitment team, be sure each person is aware of these things to avoid - it’s not only your responsibility to recruit but also your responsibility to ensure that recruiters are all on the same page. First, avoid what’s known as “central tendency”, which is basically hiring talent down the middle. You want to look for talent that falls on both sides of the medium for your competencies - in other words, even though a person may not seem to be high in X Competency but is very talented in the Y competency, don’t discount them. By doing this, you’re ensuring a wide variety of talent. Avoid stereotyping. It’s a very simple command, but many people involved in recruiting may have unconscious stereotypes based on age, race, or gender. It’s illegal, yes, but nonetheless be aware of tendency in this area. Another thing to avoid is the “halo or horns” effect, which takes one item or action a person does or says and turns it into an extreme.

For example, a potential talent may say that he or she went to the same school as you -and you may unconsciously award them a “halo” that doesn’t allow you to see the true depth of his or her competency. On the other hand, a person may say something about a bad habit or weakness that causes you to brand them with “horns”. Finally, avoid the “similar to me” syndrome - you do not want leaders in your organization who are just like you - variety in leadership style and competencies will go a long way.

Be aware of the difficulties and benefits of identifying, recruiting, and developing talent in your organization - when you are, you’ll have a constant pool of talent as well as a highly competent recruiting team.

Copyright 2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson - Managing Director and National Sales Trainer - assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

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September 3, 2008 | Filed Under Employer 

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