Managing Top Young Talent

Wednesday 29 November, 2006

by Kelly Services

Successful companies know that the young talent of today determines their direction tomorrow. Your company must be skilled at finding talented young managers, then nurturing them into the executives of the future.

Talent spotting

The first part of managing top young talent is sourcing it. This process is similar to talent scouting in the sporting arena. Most of the time the talent won't come to you - you must go to it.  This is especially so when recruiting straight from university. Employers must identify talent early in the school year to get the best candidates. This is faster and cheaper than waiting to select students who sign up for an interview or submit a resume.  In fact, recruiting potential management talent in this manner can keep your company in front of the competition.
Recruiting top young talent, of itself, doesn't guarantee you will have a deep pool of management talent to draw from. Research shows that reliance on buying-in top talent is usually unsuccessful. On average, more than 20% of such recruits leave the company within three years. It is suggested that this is because the star performer brought in may have come from of a `champion team', rather than be the `champion of the team,' to use sporting parlance.
It follows then that better long-term results come from investing in the development of your young talent internally.

Managing young talent - some strategies

The two most important things you need to do to retain young talent involve developing their careers and compensating them well.
Young talent want challenges and career development. If they aren't getting it, they become less productive, and will possibly leave.
Some strategies your company should consider are:
Career development programs

These programs should provide young managers with assessment, feedback, support planning and coaching.
New job assimilation programs

The first three months in a job are crucial for new managers. Coaching and assessment will help them to gain confidence quickly and will prevent them from making common mistakes.
Executive coaching

This process uses assessments, detailed feedback and coaching to help managers improve their leadership skills
Leadership development

These programs are great for developing your talent. They typically include training to improve decision-making, delegating, conflict management and motivating others.
Mentoring

A mentoring program is a proven way to develop management talent. It enhances your manager's ability to perform at a top level.
Mentoring has many benefits - for the company, the mentor and the `mentee'.  It can:

• Integrate managers into new work environments;
  
• Enhances the leadership and coaching skills of all parties;
  
• Demonstrates the commitment of your company to its professional development programs; and
  
• Encourages loyalty of the talent through the close personal contact with the mentor.

Attracting, retaining and developing your young performers is crucial to your company's success. It's important that you have a relevant strategy for getting the results you want. In formulating an effective strategy some of the questions to ask include:

• Have you identified who you believe to be your top talent?
  
• Are there any talented performers you think are likely to leave your company soon?
  
• Do you have in place a succession plan?
  
• Do all your managers know who can take over important roles if people leave? 

Source:ceoonline.com