The five key principles for talent development

Purpose – In this socio‐economic climate there may still be budget for talent development, but it might not be as much as we have grown accustomed to. There is a growing need for effective, sustainable and prudent programs: the question is “how?” This paper aims to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Through the author's work with clients in industry, services and government, five key talent development principles are distilled, tested and evaluated. Findings – There are various, sometimes conflicting, ways to determine who is of value within an organisation. HR departments are unlikely to address talent management as an integrated process. The form and purpose of talent development efforts are frequently mismatched. Preferred learning styles and the design of talent programs are often at odds. Talents have the potential to be much more engaged in and meaningful to their organisation. Practical implications – Clarify what “talent” means in your organisation by formulating a crystal clear policy. Perceive talent management as an integrated process and start organising it as a coherent effort, involving all human resource departments. Fulfil a clear and present organisational need with your talent development efforts. Offer mentoring by true role models and thus enhance the talent's organisational “know‐how” and business insight and accelerate their development. Harness the power of the talent pool, because talents working in teams could offer your company a huge and largely untapped cognitive surplus. Originality/value – The five key principles of talent development and the 25 decisions will aid human resource professionals in assessing or designing their own talent, leadership and career development trajectories.