“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” – Henry Ford
In fast-paced business environments, developing talent has become essential for organisations seeking to secure their future success.
In this article we explore the importance of talent development, how businesses can minimise risk and examine how companies – like luxury British retail brand Joseph – are identifying the leaders of tomorrow from within.
Why is it important to nurture talent?
“Investing in talent development not only benefits the employees but also the organisation.”
Time and time again we hear about the difficulties organisations are having attracting new talent. This trend is set to continue with the increase of hybrid working and the range of employee incentives making it tougher than ever to hold onto your most valuable team members.
Although this has sent a lot of companies into panic mode, forward-thinking organisations are using this as an opportunity to get ahead of the curve and invest substantially into developing internal talent.
Investing in talent development not only benefits the employees but also the organisation. By offering targeted training and development programmes, companies can increase employee engagement and retention rates.
In fact, a recent ‘Talent Mobility Report’ by PwC highlighted that employers with strong talent development programmes are 20% more likely to retain staff than those that don’t.
These learning and development programmes help employees acquire new skills and knowledge which ensures the entire workforce has the talent and expertise to adapt to change, stay innovative and remain competitive.
How to implementing talent development programmes
The task of rolling out a development programme can be daunting but it’s an essential part of establishing a culture of growth. A well-thought-out approach starts with a few key steps.
- Identify Organisational Goals – Consider the overall objectives of the organisation as well as the specific skills, competencies, and leadership qualities required to achieve those goals.
- Assess Your Current Talent – Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the existing talent within the business to identify high-potential employees who will benefit from development opportunities.
- Create Personal Development Plans – Work with employees to create PDPs that align with their career aspirations, strengths, and areas for improvement.
- Foster a Learning Culture – Embed learning and development into the culture of a company by investing into resources, conducting regular evaluations, and encouraging senior leaders to approach L&D with open minds.
The role learning & development plays in talent development
“Working with an experienced people development partner can greatly improve the effectiveness of your upskilling process…”
Learning and development takes various forms, including on-the-job training, e-learning courses, workshops as well as coaching and mentoring.
We believe that investing in learning and development is a crucial part of talent development. By providing your employees with the opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge, you can not only increase their engagement and retention rates, but also equip them with the expertise to adapt to change and remain competitive.
Working with an experienced people development partner will greatly improve the effectiveness of your upskilling process, by ensuring the right methods are used at the most appropriate times.
Our expertise bestow confidence, boldness and a sense of ownership on to both leaders and their teams.
Here are some of the ways our services will support your talent development programme:
- Training and Coaching – Our expert trainers and coaches can provide tailored learning experiences to help your employees develop the skills and competencies needed to succeed in their roles. We offer training in areas such as leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, and change management, to name a few.
- Team Development – By facilitating team-building workshops and activities, we encourage collaboration, communication, and innovation. By creating a positive team dynamic, you boost morale, productivity, and autonomy.
- Strategic Development Plans – Our plans help you identify high-potential employees and their individual strengths, areas for improvement, and career aspirations. By using tools such as the Insights Discovery personality profiling system, we can provide valuable insights that inform the creation of personalised development plans that meet both individual and organisational goals.
- Leadership Development – We specialise in leadership development and helping your high-potential employees develop the skills and competencies needed to become effective leaders. We also provide coaching, training, and assessment tools that help your employees identify and work on areas for improvement, as well as opportunities to practice and develop their leadership skills in real-life scenarios.
By effectively identifying high-potential employees and offering them development opportunities, organisations can develop their talent pipeline and ensure they have the right people in the right roles to achieve their strategic goals.
Ultimately, a robust learning and development process is a powerful tool for driving talent development, enabling organisations to build a skilled and motivated workforce that delivers sustained success.
Tools that help with internal talent development
As well as the key steps we’ve discussed that go into implementing and actioning an internal development strategy, it is important that your business has the correct tools in place to get the best out of each stage of the process.
Insights Discovery
Insights Discovery is a powerful tool used by organisations to enhance self-awareness and improve communication and relationships in the workplace.
Change Formation are experts at applying Insights Discovery to businesses and providing valuable insights into how individuals perceive and interact with the world around them, their communication styles, decision-making processes, strengths, and areas for development.
This process helps employees understand their own preferences and those of others, fostering better teamwork, collaboration, and productivity.
As individuals progress through the management ranks, they need to develop a range of skills, from strategic thinking to effective decision-making and people management. Insights Discovery helps them to understand their own preferences, areas for development, and identify how they can work with others to achieve the best results.
For example, an individual who prefers a structured and analytical approach to work may benefit from Insights Discovery by learning to recognise and appreciate the perspectives of others who are more flexible and open-minded. This aids them in building better relationships with colleagues or direct reports, and to be more effective in their decision-making.
Insights Discovery also helps individuals to identify their strengths and improvement opportunities in specific competencies, such as communication, leadership, and teamwork. This self-awareness can be used to set development goals and create personalised development plans, which will be tracked and measured over time to ensure progress is being made.
The Talent Matrix
The Talent Matrix, also known as the 9-Box Talent Matrix, is a handy tool used by organisations to assess employees’ current performance and potential.
It’s a visual grid that helps identify high-potential employees who could be suitable for leadership roles or other key positions in the business.
One of the key benefits of the Talent Matrix is that it helps identify high-potential employees who are suitable for leadership roles or other key positions in the business. These are the individuals who fall into the top-right four boxes of the Talent Matrix, indicating they have high potential and strong current performance.
For organisations looking to develop their internal talent, it is important to focus your learning and development efforts on these high-potential individuals.
By doing so, you can ensure that you’re investing in individuals who have the capability and potential to contribute to the growth and success of the business in the long term.
However, it’s important to use the Talent Matrix in conjunction with other talent management approaches, such as coaching, mentoring, and training programmes, for a comprehensive and effective talent development strategy.
Executive Coaching
Executive Coaching involves one-on-one coaching sessions that help executives, managers, and senior leaders reach their full potential, by developing leadership skills and identifying areas for improvement.
The aim of these coaching sessions is to aid in self-awareness, promote bold thinking & decisiveness and revitalise the person’s determination to succeed.
Our executive coaching is tailored to every individual’s professional and personal situation. This allows us to create bespoke programmes that maximise the impact for each executive we work with.
Nurturing Leadership Talent at Luxury Retailer Joseph
Enterprises need leaders who drive their vision, strategy, and operations forward. Therefore, developing future managers from within the company is often the most effective way to ensure a strong leadership pipeline.
Luxury fashion retailer Joseph has shown great initiative and been proactive in identifying potential leaders within the company through their Joseph Talent Group program.
Following this, Change Formation have been working with Joseph to support the development of individuals within this program.
Using Insights Discovery, Change Formation is helping pinpoint the unique personality preferences, communication styles, and leadership traits of these individuals to create tailored personal development plans that align with their individual strengths and characteristics.
Insights Discovery is like a treasure map that helps you navigate the rich landscape of your team’s strength and areas for development. By understanding each individual’s unique traits and preferences, you can provide them with the support they need to achieve their potential.
Change Formation’s tailored development plans help ensure that potential leaders are identified early and given the support they need to succeed. By nurturing the talent of these individuals, Joseph is building a strong leadership pipeline for the future.
To learn more about how we can support your organisation in a similar way, contact us today.
Help Your Employees Bloom
In the spirit of Spring, imagine a thriving garden where seeds are nurtured with care, watered regularly, and provided with the right nutrients. Over time, these seeds grow into strong and resilient plants, blooming with vibrant colours and bearing delicious fruits.
Learning and development programmes are like the nurturing process for talent within organisations, where employees are given the tools, resources, and opportunities to grow and flourish.
Investing in learning and development is like planting the seeds of success within your business. It creates a culture where employees are empowered to seek knowledge, develop new skills, and grow both professionally and personally.
Development programmes provide employees with the exposure and experiences they need to improve their skills, broaden their perspectives, and become well-rounded professionals who navigate the ever-changing business landscape with confidence.
Just like how a garden with well-nurtured plants yields a bountiful harvest, businesses that invest in their employees’ growth and development are more likely to reap the rewards of increased employee engagement, improved performance, better retention rates and sustainable success.
Looking to Develop Your Team’s Talents?
At Change Formation, we understand that effective talent development requires a strategic approach. That’s why we work closely with you to ensure that our people development programmes are aligned with your overall strategy and specifically tailored to meet your talent development goals.
Whether it’s leadership development, team building, or effective communication, our training and coaching programmes are designed to empower individuals and teams to reach their full potential and make a positive impact on the organisation as a whole.
We use tools such as Insights Discovery to uncover hidden talents within your company’s hierarchy, and to foster better teamwork, collaboration, and productivity.
Our approach ensures that our learning and development processes fit comfortably in with your talent development programme, creating a cohesive and effective approach to developing your team’s talents.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help your organisation with talent development, give us a call on 01444 702 701, email info@changeformation.co.uk, or enquire here.