Employers do not describe employees as 'talent'
Peter Crush, 11 June 2009
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4 comment's on this article.'Talent' may be HR's buzz word du jour but a poll conducted for Human Resources finds that only 9% of workers think their business uses this word to describe its people.
Nearly 70% of respondents to the survey, by Harris Interactive, say talent is not an expression used. Asked if they think their employers see them as talented individuals, 42% of workers say no and a further 23% are not sure. Just 16% say yes, but only as a means to an end - so employers can get more work out of them.
A mere 11% say they are personally regarded as 'the future' of their organisation, with nearly half (48%) saying 'no, not at all' to this question. Some 55% of the 1,187 employees polled say that, to their knowledge, their skills are not recorded on any talent management system.
Women are significantly more likely than men to say their organisation uses the word talent (75% vs 63%). They are also more likely to say they are not regarded as the future in their organisation (50% vs 47%).
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Chris Roebuck - 11 June 2009
This data confirms :
1. The confusion about the terminology in relation to "talent",
2. The lack of systems in most organisations to measure performance and potential accurately
3. The failure to communicate clearly to employees why and what the organisation is doing to develop people.
The use of the phrase "talent" in relation to a specific group is often counter productive, suggesting to those not in the group that the organisation thinks they have no talent. Everyone in an organisation has talent of some kind which can be develped to some degree and all should have the opportunity to do so. Otherwise the organisation can never reach its full potential. The data in the survey suggests we in HR must redouble our efforts to deal with these system and communication failures where they appear as fast as possible as they seriously damage our credibiltiy with both employess and senior management.
Diana Hogbin-Mills - 12 June 2009
Everyone has talents but not everyone can be allocated to an employer's talent pool(s) and this fact is played out in the findings. But what should cause sleepless nights for organisations is the suggestion of a lack of communication and a systematic approach to identifying and developing talent. Many organisations shy away from telling people they are in a talent pool because they are not sure what the impact will be on the morale for the rest of the organisation. The reality is that people work harder if there is an opportunity to be classified as talent (if that is important to them, remember, not everyone wants the added pressures that come with being part of a talent pool) and provided the criteria is clearly laid out, fairly followed and people are supported through the process, whether they succeed or not, then it will only create a positive environment. How many times do we have to hear talent say when they hand in their notice "I never knew you considered me as talent" in response to their company saying "why are you leaving, you are important to us and you were earmarked as a successor?"
Oscar Hernandes - 21 July 2009
It is so demotivating. Employers should make the employees realize what an important asset they are. However, to do that employers first themselves have to be convinced that the people they have are the real talent. Employers should use talent assessment tools while hiring so they not only hire the right people, but also,so that they are convinced that they have the BEST and PERFECT people. This feeling will help them treat their employees fairly!
Philip Westerman - 21 September 2009
I thought you might be interested to learn that a number of companies take "Talent Management" (and "Talent Promotion") very seriously. My company, De Leon Ltd (www.deleonprm.com) works on behalf of corporates that actively promote the skills, knowledge, experience and character of their key executives - to help them win and/or secure business for the company.
We call it Online Personal Reputation Management - and it is about personal PR for individual working in the corporate environment . We create, manage and enhance an individual's online presence. One in three of us will now do a name search (on Google) on a person - before we meet them in person and without them ever knowing.
If you truly believe in the value of "Human Capital" and that "People buy from People" then it is logical that companies should expend some effort in capitalising on the knowledge, experience and reputation of their key staff and help those individuals, and the business, be more successful.
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