Do You Have a Talent Development Plan?

Do you have and follow a Talent Development Plan? Whether you are thinking about your business, your staff, or yourself, a Talent Development Plan insures learning, improving skills and expanding perspectives, rather than leaving development up to chance.

Creating a Talent Development Plan doesn’t have to be a huge production or wreck the bottom line. You don’t have to wait until you have a comprehensive program in place, although that’s a goal to work toward. Small measures make a difference. Use this framework to get started.

1. Set a clear vision of a specific desired outcome. Do you want everyone in your company to infuse all of their work with the company’s mission and values? Do you want the team to work better together? Do you need to resist the urge to be in the weeds and devote more time to strategic planning?

2. Assess reality. Half of the staff knows what the mission statement is, but they have no idea what it means. The team seems like a dog chasing its tail. You know you should be focused on that business development initiative, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

3. Determine what needs to happen between today and where you want to be in the future. Everyone at the company needs to know what the mission and values are and what they look like in action. The team needs to share a common goal and have a framework for communicating and acting. You need to trust that others will do their jobs well so that you can shift your focus.

4. Identify resources to bridge the gap. Create a Mission Immersion program for the company to bring everyone up to speed and make it part of your on-boarding for all new hires. Equip the team with training on communication styles and bring in a facilitator to work on improving group dynamics. Work on your management, delegation and leadership skills by reading, attending workshops and using a mentor or coach.

By tapping internal resources (surely the staff has ideas and talents that can be put to use!) and layering on carefully chosen external resources, you can implement a Talent Development Plan that closes the gap. Some examples of resources are assessments, coaching, training, group exercises, seminars, mentoring, and ongoing courses. Start by creating plans that address pressing needs, then build out your Talent Development Plan over time. Imagine the profits being squandered due to ill-equipped people. When planned and executed thoughtfully, a Talent Development Plan will deliver a return on the investment many times over.

Sarah Jack coaches business owners, executives and their staff to polish their professional skills. Visit https://coachsj.com. To receive a daily dose of coaching, follow Sarah on twitter @CoachSJ.