What is talent?
It is becoming more and more common to hear about talent in any conversation, regardless of who the sender of the message is and the context in which it is produced. Just yesterday, in the elevator, a neighbor told me that one of his grandchildren had an exceptional talent for mathematics (it seems that the time for conversation in the elevator about the weather conditions is over). Then I go to my daughter’s school and the tutor tells me about his concern for excellence and the development of the talent of his students. I arrive at work and start working on a project on talent identification… The examples could go on.
This leads me to reflect on the importance of knowing what talent really is. Do we mean the same thing when we talk about talent?
If you type the word talent into Google, 98,600,000.- results appear. Perhaps overwhelming, right? But it is clear that it is a topic of interest. I then continue: “It comes from the Latin Talentum, a term born from the parable of the talents to signify an outstanding level in the intellectual faculty.” At that time, I find 4 meanings: (1) Currency of account of the Greeks and Romans. (2) Intelligence (ability to understand). (3) Aptitude (ability to perform or exercise an occupation). (4) A person who is intelligent or suitable for a certain occupation.
And in the organization?
Sternberg tells us about its clear link with positive results such as greater efficiency, less abandonment or greater retention and an increase in success intelligence (1999).
According to Prahalad and Hamel, the key employees of the organization are those who have unique competencies of great value to the organization and that, if applied in an appropriate organizational context, generate key organizational competencies for a sustained competitive advantage (1990).
Master Ulrich, with his inspiring speech, speaks of talent as the function of competition for commitment, requiring both factors (year 2001).
Lewis and Heckman coined the term “talent banks” that allow, under the theory of resources and capabilities, to propose competitive advantages to companies that generate profits and that these are lasting (2006).
It seems essential, therefore, to add critical value to the business. Employee capabilities and power aligned with business needs. Do we know what the business needs? Let’s then extract the business indicators and establish what knowledge, competencies, skills, personality, aptitudes, etc. we need in our employees. And with this cocktail, we already have our particular definition of talent!
And this is the pillar on which, to date, I have been working in the talent management systems in which I collaborate. I remember marathon days with various professionals in the field of HR analysing spectacularly presented talent identification and/or development systems with which, however, the desired result was not achieved. What was wrong? Well, precisely that, the pillar, the definition.
According to a recent McKinsey study carried out worldwide, only 36% of companies carry out a comprehensive definition of talent prior to implementing a talent management system. Of this group, 95% obtain successful results, compared to 40% success in companies that do not reach a consensus on what talent is in their organizations (November, 2011)
So let’s talk about talent knowing what we mean and always keep in mind, as Peter Drucker says, that “the basis of any system is the beginning of a path to success or failure”. Let’s work for the first option!
Later we will be in a position to develop the system itself, but that is another story…
María Luisa Riobóo
General Director of Psicotec