How to Conduct a Talent Review
Posted by Jamie Resker on Tue, May 04, 2010 @ 03:58 PM
There are many ways to conduct a talent review. Performance reviews, the 9 box (measuring performance and potential) and forced rankings to name a few. I like using the Employee Performance Continuum because it represents a visual model for assessing talent and the brain prefers to think in pictures.
How is this different from the 9 box?
I address this because many in the HR and Organizational Development space are familiar with the 9 box which measures both Performance and Potential. The Employee Performance Continuum which is 4 boxes breaks Performance down into two components: the WHAT and the HOW.
Measure the What and the How
The Performance Continuum allows you to measure both Job Competence which represents what gets done (job responsibilities, skills and goal attainment) alongside Behaviors which represent how the person conducts themselves in your work environment. Ideally we want to attract and retain team members who are both highly accomplished in terms of their ability to do the work plus exhibit the right behaviors.
Plot the Employee
With a dot or initial indicate where each employee on your team is on the model. Unsure? Ask another trusted advisor, a peer or someone at a more senior level, where they see the employee. People experience others in various ways. For example, an internal customer might have an entirely different view of the individual. Talk it through by having a conversation about how the employee's performance contributions are viewed.
Current and Planned Positions
To maximize a review of your talent indicate where employees are currently and where you need them to be. The key is to then figure out what it will take for the employee to reach the new level of performance. In our work we find it's usually one thing the person needs to start or stop doing to become more effective. Then you'll want to provide feedback and coaching to help the employee make progress.
The One Thing...
Ask yourself, "What one thing would help this person be more effective? People can only work on one or two things at a time. Choose the highest payoff issue that would make the greatest difference in the employee's performance and choose words that describe what you want them to do (as opposed to having a conversation around the deficiency). Don't forget to provide feedback when you see the individual making progress on the area for development. They will know they've been able to meet the expectations and their efforts have been noticed. While it's important to provide feedback on areas for development it's equally critical to provide timely reinforcing feedback.
Keep Measuring
Reassess the employee's performance after feedback and coaching has been provided. Re-plot them to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. Access the free talent review tool with instructions at http://www.employeeperformancesolutions.com/resources/talent-review-tool/
If you are looking for an outside organization to conduct a talent review in your organization contact us.
There are also some great online performance management systems that provide managers with simple tools to help assess the both the competence and describe the associated behaviours. This supports the ongoing measurement of the competence and provides a benchmark that can be effectively tracked online to monitor progress, identify gaps etc.