Non-standard ways to develop talent in an organization
Attracting, developing and retaining talents currently seems to be one of the biggest challenges that many organizations are facing. No wonder – on the one hand, everyone wants to hire the best of the best, on the other – in the face of dynamic market changes – effective talent management is becoming an indispensable factor in building competitive advantage.
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According to the Deloitte 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report, organizations that invest in the development of their employees perform significantly better. This is confirmed by the fact that 84% of employees in high-performing organizations say they receive the training they need to perform their jobs at the highest level. However, the key to success is not only the right selection of development areas, but also the right techniques for implementing training programs. This is particularly important in the context of hiring neuroatypical individuals. As a result, it turns out that employee development becomes not only part of L&D policy, but also an integral part of diversity management. Thus, it is worth including modern development methods in talent programs in addition to standard techniques.
When master becomes the student
What if the roles were reversed and the mentor was a less experienced employee? That’s the idea behind reverse mentoring. In the reverse mentoring concept, a given employee may be less senior in terms of seniority or traditional industry skills, but have an edge in other areas, such as new technologies, social media, digital tools or modern work methods. Thus, he or she can bring a fresh perspective and help more experienced employees better understand new trends and changing market expectations. Such a process can bring many benefits to both the mentors and the mentored (a.k.a. “mentee”). The concept of reverse mentoring in human resource management therefore changes previously established thinking patterns and training models and makes it possible to impart up-to-date knowledge on the latest technologies, market trends and modern work methods.
Thanks to reverse mentoring, older employees can better understand the perspective of younger generations and their professional expectations and needs. This strengthens intergenerational communication within the organization, resulting in better cooperation and understanding. Reverse mentoring can also help reduce organizational silos and technology gaps, supporting employees in adapting to modern tools and solutions. Additionally, junior mentors gain a sense of value and impact on the organization, which increases their engagement and job satisfaction. As a result, reverse mentoring contributes to building an organizational culture based on continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
Cyberloafing – threat or opportunity?
Cyberloafing, the use of the Internet for private purposes during working hours, is a common phenomenon in today’s digital work environment. While naturally viewed as a waste of time and a drag on productivity, cyberloafing can also have positive aspects, if only in the context of microlearning playing an unexpected role in employee development. After all, short breaks for surfing the Internet can be used to “serve” short, quickly digestible information and expand skills. Employees, having access to concise and engaging educational content, can thus gain useful knowledge at work over time. Cyberloafing can thus become an essential part of everyday learning, supporting the development of digital and professional skills. What form can cyberloafing take? These can include, for example:
- short instructional videos,
- concise industry articles, infographics, summaries and comparisons,
- condensed e-learning modules.
These “knowledge pills” can be presented and consumed at times of declining activity or productivity, while contributing to the ongoing development of employees without interfering with their core responsibilities. As a result, the organization gains better-informed, relaxed and more engaged employees who perform their tasks more effectively.
Talent mobility – a cure for monotony
An interesting element of many organizations’ HR strategies is talent mobility. This approach involves effectively moving employees between different roles, departments or locations to maximize their potential. Thanks to such actions, organizations can react faster to changing market needs and internally fill competency gaps. Employees, in turn, gain the opportunity to grow professionally and acquire new skills, which also makes them more motivated. The implementation of talent mobility also supports diversity and inclusion management, enabling a wide spectrum of talent to advance and develop their careers. For this reason, talent mobility contributes to building a flexible and agile organization that is ready for future challenges. This method is used successfully to a large extent by multinational corporations, such as Google, Mars, or General Electric.
Educational partnerships
Peer-to-peer learning can play an important role in organizations and become an effective strategy for employee development. A prime example is peer-to-peer learning, a form of learning through which employees share knowledge, skills and experiences with other colleagues, creating an atmosphere of collaboration and mutual support. This type of learning enables employees to gain practical knowledge and skills in a more engaging and authentic way than traditional training methods. Peer-to-peer learning can take various forms, such as collaborative projects, mentoring, coaching, group discussions or workshops. Through such a learning model, employees can not only grow in the professional area, but also build social relationships and strengthen team bonds. The key to the success of peer-to-peer learning is to create an environment that fosters open communication, trust between employees and promotes the value of knowledge sharing. As a result, it becomes an integral part of the organization’s development, supporting the development of employees’ competencies and increasing their efficiency at work.
Combine business and pleasure
Project-based learning is another interesting method of employee development that engages employees in tasks related to the actual challenges of the organization. During project-based learning, employees learn through practical action – solving problems and implementing specific business projects. This form of learning stimulates employees’ creativity, innovation and independent thinking, as it requires them to make decisions and act in a changing project environment. Project-based learning also enables team integration and the development of collaboration and communication skills. The basis of this type of learning is a clear definition of project goals, regular evaluation of progress and the opportunity to learn lessons and improve activities for the future.
Organization ready for the future
The implementation of a variety of employee development techniques can significantly contribute to improving the competence and effectiveness of the team in the organization. It also supports a culture of continuous learning and stimulates innovation through active involvement of employees in development processes. It is worth noting that personalizing training and taking into account the individual needs of employees can promote more effective knowledge acquisition and motivation to learn. A key element in the effectiveness of these techniques is also the proper support and management of the employee development process, which allows monitoring progress and adjusting activities to meet the changing needs of the organization. Consequently, the conscious use of a variety of development techniques can contribute to building a more flexible, efficient and innovative organization that is ready for the challenges of the future.
How to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of
talent management?
Talent management affects almost every stage of an organization’s employee lifecycle. From identifying and attracting potential candidates, to developing and motivating them, to succession planning – each of these activities is crucial to maintaining a company’s competitiveness and long-term success. That’s why a strategic approach to talent development is increasingly becoming an indispensable part of modern organizations. To this end, they are increasingly reaching for out-of-the-box techniques or innovative tools to support them in this process.
However, working on many different applications can prove problematic and inefficient. This is mainly due to large volumes of data and the lack of linkage between them, e.g., using modules to monitor progress and performance, you can regularly monitor employee performance and provide constructive feedback at the right time. This approach fosters talent development by enabling continuous improvement of skills. A convenient option, then, is a solution that accompanies the employee at almost every step of his or her development, monitoring his or her progress in both the execution of daily duties and the acquisition of new skills – right from the moment of employment.
Productive24 supports talent programs
HRM Productive24 will excel in this role, as it comprehensively automates the human resources and human capital management processes of the entire organization. From a business perspective, its use brings a number of benefits, including:
- Integrating data for all talent management activities,
- building recruitment strategies in accordance with established hiring policies,
- differentiated and interactive process of induction of new employees,
- creation of development paths in accordance with individual career goals,
- effective cooperation between managers and recruiters.
The solution can also facilitate measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of talent management and collecting feedback from employees on development programs and HR policies so that they can be adjusted to meet the current needs and expectations of the team and make appropriate adjustments and improvements. The system can aggregate and present various metrics and indicators, such as employee retention rates, engagement levels, employee evaluation results, and success in achieving their business goals. It also allows you to conduct regular employee satisfaction surveys and analyze the results of periodic appraisals, thus allowing you to monitor the status of talent management on an ongoing basis.
What’s more, Productive24 offers not only a HRM system, but also a number of other predefined applications for managing projects, group work, tasks, customer relations and more. As a result – digitizing more areas of the organization’s operations – the HR department can gain access to key data that is relevant to the talent management process and base it on concrete numbers. Talent programs based on such hard information will not be a sham or a mere design of promotion paths, as they can be based on objective data, and exactly the kind of data an organization wants to measure and monitor. The consolidation of all relevant information in a single ecosystem of applications based on the Productive24 platform therefore provides a comprehensive approach and efficiency in talent management, allowing well-founded decisions to be made and realistically supporting the achievement of the organization’s goals. Sound too ideal to be true? We invite you to have a conversation with us!
