Memory Nguwi

Let’s start by defining talent to put context into this discussion. I know most HR people want to look at talent as every employee in their organisation. That approach to talent management does not have the maximum impact on your business.

Talent represents those people who have exceptional ability, potential and performance. They make a massive difference to your business now. They have the potential to significantly change the game for your business in a positive way. They represent a small group of roughly 20%, but they give your business 80% value. Talented people can achieve the same or better than average performers even by exerting less effort. Theirs is effortless performance; how Messi used to do it for Barcelona.

Talent is what Cristiano Ronaldo is to Portugal and what Lionel Messi used to be to Barcelona. Others that represent exceptional talent include Serena Williams, Rodger Federa, Usain Bolt etc. In politics, you are looking at Barack Obama, Paul Kagame etc. That is what is called talent. Such people depend on their exceptional ability to win and not luck.

While most businesses evaluate talent by focusing on qualification, the proper identification comes from spotting people with exceptional cognitive ability plus the right personality and values. Focusing your talent efforts on those with a list of academic achievements will not lead you anywhere. While there is a relationship between academic achievement and cognitive ability, you get better results by using cognitive ability as the criteria, as its predictive power is supported by research.

You need to get such people into key roles regardless of level in the business world. In most organisations, this job of identifying exceptional talent, nurturing and retaining them is poorly done. Because people are rarely elevated to a higher level on merit, in some organisations, you may end up with junior staff being more capable than the leadership. Still, they will never be allowed to go up into leadership roles. It happens in business, and it happens in politics as well. The result is poor performance.

The choice of where to get talent is crucial in talent management. If you decide to look internally, which most organisations do, please make sure you put more resources into that group with exceptional ability and potential. Do not ignore your average employees. Give them the support so that their performance does not go below where they are. Unfortunately, we want to train every employee and hope to get maximum benefits in practice.

Training every employee spreads your resources thin, depriving you of the benefit that accrues from having top talent. Sometimes, organisations sometimes waste resources sending people for training when such individuals cannot transfer what they have leant to the workplace due to limited cognitive ability.

Another pitfall to talent identification is that you risk misclassifying people if you factor in current performance in talent identification. This is because the individual effort is poorly related to performance outcomes in most roles. In most roles, luck plays a big role. Some people perform because they are looking after a good territory, others because they look after a superior brand than others in similar roles.

When performance assessment is being done properly you can use statistical methods to separate performance due to individual effort and that which is due to other factors that have nothing to do with individual efforts.
Besides getting talent from your internal people, you can also source talent from outside. The best strategy is not to rush to take the best people in the market into your business.

The best strategy is to have a list of such individuals and monitor their progress from where they are without bringing them into your business for two reasons. The first reason is that let others develop that talent, and when it’s mature to fit into a role that you want, you can bring them in. This reduces your talent management costs as you will get the best talent when it’s already developed.

The second reason is that it brings fewer disruptions. It allows you to properly assess that individual without the pressure to get them into the organisation immediately.

The big challenge in sourcing talent from outside; how portable is their talent and performance from where they are working in your organisation. Lionel Messi struggled in the Argentine national team but gave exceptional value to Barcelona.

Similar instances in soccer are available where people at the peak of their game are transferred to an equally successful club but do not realise the same success. The reason is that culture differs from organisation to organisation.

Moving from a very supportive culture to a dysfunctional culture can make people fail. Every talent you hire from outside must be assessed for culture fit before you waste money. Others cultures promote collaborative working while others are individualistic. The non-availability of resources can be an obstacle regardless of their talent.
Irrespective of how gifted someone is, they may fail if they are not supported with resources. Policies and systems also prevent people from reaching their potential.

To manage talent with a massive impact on your business, be rigorous and scientific when identifying who is talented and who is not. A seamless development program must be put together, and this must include both classroom-type of development, secondment to superior players outside the country and coaching. Locally I have not seen a serious talent management program.

Memory Nguwi is an Occupational Psychologist, Data Scientist, Speaker, & Managing Consultant- Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and human resources consulting firm. https://www.thehumancapitalhub.com email: [email protected]  or visit our website at www.ipcconsultants.com>