As the year comes to an end, it's worth looking ahead to upcoming trends.
I wanted to share these talent management insights for 2016 with you from the HR Trend Institute, founded by Tom Haak.
To a broader definition of talent
Many organisations have very specific definitions of talent.
The notion of more diverse talent groups is slowly entering organisations. The wishes and expectations of talent differ, and also change over time. Some people are looking for a career in one organisation; some people are looking for a couple of years experience, and their plan is to move on afterwards (although they might not express this when you interview them). Some people are not looking forward to be employed by a big employer, but they like to be involved in challenging complex projects.
Organisations that define talent too narrow might miss opportunities to connect talent to their organisation.
More customised programmes
There will be a move towards more customised programmes in 2016.
The question is: how can you tailor what you want to offer to the talent with individual needs in the market?
For some an attractive well-planned trainee programme might be a very good solution. For others the opportunity to work in Asia for a couple of years.
Less standardisation, more customisation will be the credo.
Looking for general profiles
Scientific knowledge is slowly entering the HR arena. Gut feel is no longer trusted. Organisations are looking for people who have traits that have a proven correlation to success in organisations i.e. intelligence and learning agility.
From secret to transparent
This is often a delicate issue. Do we spoil people if we let them know they are considered high potential? Do we disengage the people who are not part of the talent pool? The overall trend seems to be to more transparency. It certainly helps to have a broader definition of talent and to be clearer about expectations and commitment. If you have a pool with talent for future general management positions, being part of this pool comes with obligations like: high performance and international mobility.
Sometimes assumptions are not tested, as the conversations with the talent in the pool are too limited and not explicit enough. The message about engagement must be explicit.
From general training to very specific skill training
We all know the general management programmes, where you have to learn everything you will ever need to know or need to master in one or two weeks: international collaboration, personal effectiveness, business strategy, intercultural differences, conflict management, team engagement etc. The (slow) trend is in the direction to more specific skill training, as close as possible to the real work of people. In a certain way going back to old-school training.
The HR Trend Institute recommends the following model:
Define very clearly what skill people have to learn to be successful, and then train, observe, feedback, train, observe, feedback and so on until the skill becomes an acquired skill.
The growing importance of HR analytics
According to Tom Haak, this trend should be number one.
2015 has been described as a breakthrough year for HR analytics and more specifically talent analytics. Today's technology and increased opportunities for big data analysis are important drivers for more objective and scientific research and talent discovery.
From annual to regular maybe even real time feedback
It seems that performance management is changing. Organisations are looking for possibilities to give more regular and more objective feedback to people.
The Harvard Business Review recently published an enlightening article on how Deloitte is changing their global performance management process. Very practical and inspirational for other organisations.
People who are very good always want to become better.
Most performance management systems today provide helpful feedback for people who are average or below average, but the feedback for top talent is often not so helpful. If you are very good you need more granular feedback than just a subjective rating on a 5-point scale.
Gamification everywhere
Gamification is entering the talent management world. In selection where simple games can be used to test cognitive and social capabilities. In recruitment where candidates are able to experience what life is like in an organisation by participating in a simulation. Games and simulations are often far more effective than traditional classroom training.
From 1:1 succession management to broad talent pools
According to the HR Trend Institute, HR departments spend a lot of time making the lists of potential successors for key positions, but when the time comes a position needs to be filled, the organisation has changed, the information is outdated and the requirements for the positions have changed as well. Instead of the lists, it makes sense to have a good view on the different talent pools, inside- and outside the organisation. More importantly: to have fast processes to be able to mobilise talent quickly when you need it, even if it is not in your database.
These are the key talent management trends for 2016 presented by the HR Trend Institute. Not all trends will be visible or applicable everywhere. And some organisations are trying to create or nurture counter trend like all our talent should be inside the organisation...
Tom Haak is the founder of the HR Trend Institute
