Sometimes you read a white paper and think, “That was really interesting. I DO need to think more about targeted learning plans.” And sometimes you see an infographic and suddenly realize that, of course feedback-rich technologies can better support employee engagement!
And then sometimes you read a blog post and you think about Delta Blues.
That’s what happened to me when I read Reviewsnap’s recent post, Do You Know Who Your “Top Guns” Are? I thought of Robert Johnson taking his guitar down to that fateful intersection in the deep midnight of his Mississippi. The image came to me because I realized that talent seekers are a lot like Mr. Johnson. They’re looking for a bit of magic—that special something that only happens when things come together in ways seemingly impossible at any other time or place.
Talent rarely just walks through the door out of the blue, and it’s rarely there when you go looking. But at the crossroads of instinct and analytics, you can find it: talent.
Both analytics and instincts are crucial to making sound talent-related decisions. But how do you quantify talent? And how do you translate instincts into analytics and vice versa? Believe it or not, there’s a way. It’s called a performance review.
The performance review, you say. That venerable old standard?
Venerable old standard?!? Well, that right there is the problem. Sadly, we’ve let the performance review stagnate. For most of us, it represents an obligation, not an opportunity. But this is a tragedy, and a missed opportunity beyond measure.
The performance review can be an amazingly effective tool for identifying top performers—and for nurturing and reinforcing the qualities that make these individuals so valuable. However, the post mentioned above points out:
… few employers actually bother to define what “top talent” means to them. You think it would be common practice, especially given the fact talent issues are among the most urgent for our nation’s employers. Last year, TLNT itself published research showing that HR professionals’ top three concerns are: 1) engaging and retaining employees, 2) developing leaders and managing skills gaps, and 3) recruiting the best employees.
A big part of solving all of these talent issues is knowing precisely who your top talent is and what sets them apart. Once you have clarity on these matters, you know what to look for when recruiting new talent and developing current employees.
So yes, identify your top talent. But do more than that. Define your top talent. Clarify and codify why they’re your top talent. Do so and you’ve got a roadmap for success.
Performance reviews help you focus the potential blur of subjective instinct while at the same time giving life to the lifeless anonymity of analytics.
Robert Johnson purportedly made a deal with the devil to acquire his talent. You needn’t do anything quite so extreme. You only need to see to it that successful talent management strategies become engrained in your company’s culture. Strategies such as instituting performance reviews that are meaningful to your organization and your people—from your top guns down to the rank and file. And your people practices need to be driven by insightful, thoughtful, and yes, soulful HR pros who know how to reconcile instinct and analytics in pursuit of talent. Top talent.
(About the Author: Katrina Busselle is Vice President of Client Services for fisher VISTA a marketing and media relations firm that specializes in reaching the HR marketplace.)
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