A talent transformation involves developing, nurturing, and deploying your people’s talent toward a clear and compelling vision. While there are many tactics that can be deployed to discover untapped talent resources externally, talent transformation focuses on nurturing the talent within an organisation to become more agile, efficient and resilient in the face of change.
Today’s organisations face a unique set of challenges, a tight talent market, increased candidate expectations, squeezed talent acquisition budgets and a widening gap between the skills needed to optimise technology and the talent available to do so. One example of this is in digital transformation, where efforts are stalling due to a lack of talent and technologies under-utilised due to a shortage of skills. With 80% of over 5,000 businesses surveyed by the British Chamber of Commerce facing difficulties recruiting, it’s clear a new approach to talent is needed.
Financial capital isn’t the main limiting factor in rising to today’s challenges – talent is. The key to success is a talent-first mindset. McKinsey
To combat this, a complete transformation in the approach to the talent lifecycle is needed, which requires an agreement on the skills needed to accelerate growth and investment in internal talent development to meet these challenges. A full talent transformation is a long term strategy which requires a complete culture change to embed a new continuous approach to learning and workforce planning.
The reward for those who succeed is substantial. Ranging from cost-effective access to skills, and increased employee engagement and productivity to the creation of a more resilient and agile ‘antifragile’ workforce that is able to continue to create value in uncertain times. Research indicates that companies that put talent at the centre of their business strategy realize higher total shareholder returns than their competitors and are more resilient during economic downturns.
Beyond creating the skills your organisation needs to accelerate growth and innovation, embedding a culture of continuous learning in your workplace is an excellent way to retain talent and stay competitive in the modern world of work.
However, this is not a one-off programme but rather a systemic, continuous and sustainable change in an organisation’s culture which creates an agile workforce with the confidence and skills to adapt to change.
For guidance on how to implement a talent transformation in your business, download our complimentary guide on accelerating growth through talent transformation.