A Winning Strategy for Developing Internal Talent

A Winning Strategy for Developing Internal Talent

by | Nov 17, 2019 | Business plans, Productivity, Success, Take Action, Talent, Talent Management

By Jacqueline Knight

Years ago, a successful career usually meant achieving upward mobility. Ambitious employees climbed the corporate ladder to reach management positions. Today, fulfilling career paths run in many different directions, and fewer employees spend their entire careers at one company.

However, some things stay the same. Most workers still value career growth even more than salary and benefits. At the same time, employers depend on a staff that feels engaged in their work and uses learning and development opportunities to enhance their performance.

How can your business cultivate internal talent so that employees contribute maximum value in their individual roles?

Consider these ideas for talent attraction and retention strategies designed for today’s workforce.

Benefits of Developing Internal Talent:

  1. Save money. Filling positions with internal candidates usually costs less than external hiring. You cut down on expenses like advertising, screening, and training. Plus, new staff members might expect a higher salary than someone who is already on your payroll.
  2. Reduce turnover. High turnover can damage morale and disrupt productivity. It’s expensive too. Finding and training a replacement typically costs twice the departing employee’s salary, according to The Wall Street Journal. Retain employees longer by showing them they have a future at your company.
  3. Keep top talent. Retention is even more important when you’re talking about your high performers. Even if they’re not actively searching, they may be getting calls from recruiters, so it’s important to stay competitive.
  4. Reduce risk. What happens when a new recruit seems unable to deliver what they promised at their initial interview? You’re less likely to make an unfortunate decision when you’re dealing with staff members you know well.
  5. Achieve your goals. Most importantly, talent development enables you to build the team you need for current and future business priorities. Engaged and empowered employees are essential for success.

Implementing a Talent Development Program:

  1. Align and communicate. Ensure employees understand your business strategy. Then, you can align individual goals with your corporate priorities, so they know where to focus their efforts.
  2. Offer e-learning. Provide opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge. Technology makes education and training more affordable and accessible. Many experts recommend a blended approach of classroom lessons and workplace experiences.
  3. Coach and mentor. Create a formal mentorship program and reward employees who provide guidance and support to others. Set clear objectives and measure results.
  4. Embrace diversity. An inclusive workplace can make your business more competitive and innovative. Learn more about your employees’ backgrounds and encourage relationships based on appreciation and respect.
  5. Recognize potential. In addition to high-performers who regularly exceed expectations, identify those employees who may have the ability to shine, especially if they move into a different role that leverages their strengths. Remember that performance and potential often overlap.
  6. Encourage collaboration. Major accomplishments in most workplaces are the result of group efforts, so it makes sense to reward teams as well as individuals. Set team goals, use online collaboration tools, and build a sense of shared purpose.
  7. Pay for performance. At the same time, basing compensation on merit motivates employees to enhance their performance and helps to create a transparent and fair pay structure. Experiment with annual bonuses and other forms of incentive pay.
  8. Broaden your perspective. Overall, identifying and nurturing internal talent requires expanding your vision. Evaluate employees based on how they can serve your company in the future, as well as how well they’re performing in their current positions. Focus on organization-wide goals.

Give your employees opportunities to develop their skills and progress in their careers. An effective talent development program helps both your staff and your company to meet their goals.

You Can Do It!

 

Copyright © 2019 The Business Transformation Coach.

Increase Your Productivity: Plan at Night and Think Less During the Day

Increase Your Productivity: Plan at Night and Think Less During the Day

by | Feb 4, 2019 | Productivity, Uncategorized

Nighttime is magical. We’re all so wise at night. We can plan out the perfect day, but then our plans go awry once the day gets here. The reason for this is that we try to make decisions on the fly, and we’re too influenced by what feels good in the moment. 

Consider these ideas for effective planning at night and then following through with those plans:

  1. Know your goals. What do you want to accomplish? You can’t make effective plans until you know what you’re trying to do. If you don’t know what your goals are in the short and long term, now is the time to set them.
  2. Set aside time each night to plan the next day. Each evening, at a certain time, plan out what you’re going to do the following day. Do this with the same regularity as brushing your teeth.
  3. Be ruthless with prioritization. It’s imperative to prioritize your activity. Time is at a premium, so it’s important to maximize its utility. There’s a limit to how much you can accomplish each day. Ensure that you’re getting the most important things accomplished. You can determine the priority based upon your goals.
    • Ideally, your list will be quite short. If you have 10 things on your list, you have things that are minimally important. Stick to the most important things.
    • You can make another list for things that can be done after the items on the first list are accomplished.
  4. Make your evening decisions count.  At night, it’s easy to decide that you’re going to go to the gym the following day. It’s easy to decide that you’re going to eat in a healthy manner. It’s during the day that you struggle to make wise decisions.
    • How many times have you planned on going to the gym at a certain time, only to talk yourself out of it when the time came?
    • The solution is to make as few decisions as possible during the day. Make your decisions at night and then just focus your energy on executing during the day. Avoid giving yourself the opportunity to change your mind. Just believe that you made the right choice the night before.
  5. You can defeat procrastination. You made good decisions last night, so there’s no reason to delay beginning your day. When you prioritize your activities, you can be confident that you’re spending your time well.

Make your decisions when you’re decision-making powers are at their best – at night. It’s obvious what you should eat tomorrow to be at your best. It’s obvious that you should go to the gym, read a chapter of a certain book, or meditate for 20 minutes. It’s much harder to follow through on them when that time comes.

Make your plan at night and then focus on executing it. Avoid allowing yourself to make decisions regarding those items during the day. You already thought about them and made your decisions. There’s no reason to re-negotiate them.

Sit down and make a plan each night for the following day. Fight like mad to stick to the plan the next day. You’ll love the results!

You Can Do It!

By Dr. Jacqueline L. Knight

Copyright © 2019 The Business Transformation Coach, LLC. All Rights Reserved.