Last week we talked about ways to recruit and select employees as step four in a talent management process. Today, we shift our focus to evaluating performance and analyzing work and people needed in the future.
Performance management is the process of planning, managing and appraising worker performance over time. This step is important in a good talent management program for the simple reason that organizational leaders do not want to promote people who are not performing their current jobs effectively. To do so spoils the credibility of any promotion system.
On the other hand, success in a current job is no guarantee that an individual will perform well in a future job at a higher level of responsibility with different work expectations. If this step is to be effective in a talent program, workers must be evaluated based on the results they achieve (current productivity) and on the competencies and behaviors they demonstrate. In that way, step 4 is integrated with step 3.
It hardly needs to be said that the business world is a dynamic place. Change is the only constant. For this reason, the job descriptions and competency models prepared today do not necessarily indicate what work requirements and competencies will be needed in the future, if the organization is to achieve its strategic objectives.
In step 5, organizational leaders take the time to forecast work requirements and the competencies that will be needed in the future, if the talent management program is to align with the organization’s strategic objectives. Indeed, an organization’s strategic objectives imply the kind of work to be performed, the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be required in the future, and the kind of personal characteristics (competencies) essential to success.
This post is brought to you by Dale Carnegie Training Benelux, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in the Netherlands. Please connect with us on Facebook.
Good