Talent Scouting Employees' hidden star qualities might be just the thing to put your business's name in lights.
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Do you know how talented your employees really are? Everyemployee has hidden talents that could take your company from goodto great. "People come with more talent than the jobthey're hired for," says Robert Kelley, a professor ofmanagement at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Tapping the talent zeitgeist is more important than ever before.Employees want their hidden talents to be recognized and developed:When Indianapolis loyalty research firm Walker Information Inc.surveyed 2,400 employees last year, it found two-thirds wanted toleave their companies because there weren't enough developmentopportunities.
While skills and knowledge can be learned, talent isinstinctive. An administrative assistant could have a knack fornegotiation, or an accountant a penchant for spotting industrytrends. Employees may also have "black market"talents-like photography or musical ability-that don't seemrelevant to the workplace but can "make new thingshappen" if used strategically, says David Magellan Horth,program manager and a senior faculty member at the Center forCreative Leadership, a leadership training and research firm inGreensboro, North Carolina. He points to one manager who opened ameeting by playing his cello to get employees thinking. Itworked.
Employees rise above the rest once they harness their naturaltalents, says Kenneth A. Tucker, seminar leader and managingconsultant for The Gallup Organization in Washington, DC, andco-author of Animals, Inc.: A Business Parable for the 21stCentury (Warner Books). His research has found that anemployee using his or her true talents has more than twice theproductivity of a person who doesn't have a natural talent fordoing the same job. And a company rockets to the next level onceeach employee applies his or her talents. "Tiger Woodsredefined our reality of what great golf looks like," Tuckersays. "Talent will redefine the reality of yourorganization."
As an entrepreneurial company, you have a size advantage inunleashing talent. But it's hard for most managers to thinkbeyond meeting quarterly projections and enforcing jobdescriptions. "It's not that they tell [employees] theycan't use their talents," Kelley says. "[Managers]don't even think of it as a possibility."
You and your managers can master the possibilities withstrategic thinking. Start by making sure your recruiting tools arecentered on developing talent. "When you sit down for aninterview, is the discussion and conversation about talent?"Tucker says. "It has to come down to individual employeeperformance."
Use one-on-ones to find out what drives each employee. What aretheir hobbies and interests, and how do they feel they're beingunderutilized at work? Contemplate how you can incorporate theirhidden talents, and phase in change slowly. You might let thereceptionist spend two hours a week on a marketing project, forexample, or allow a software engineer interested in sales to sit inon an occasional sales meeting.
Alliant Technologies LLC, a 5-year-old IT engineering andconsulting company in Morristown, New Jersey, uses a survey toolcalled the Predictive Index (published by PI Worldwide ofWellesley, Massachusetts) to assess employee workstyles. When the80-employee company tested workers in 2003, it found some peopleweren't using their true talents. One engineer had an abilityfor sales, and another entry-level employee had a gift fordetail-oriented projects. The company is having the engineerresearch market trends, and the entry-level employee is now in anadministrative function. "We identified strengths and wereable to move people into more effective positions," saysfounder and CEO Bruce Flitcroft, 38. Developing talent isn'thurting Alliant: Sales grew 34 percent in 2003 to $25 million.
Company meetings can also unearth hidden talents. Begin adiscussion where employees can offer solutions to problems. Youmight be surprised what people know. "It's an opportunityfor employees to unleash their talents," Kelley says.
What you do now will put your company ahead as talent wars heatup again, because the best firms will be consistent aboutidentifying talent and putting it in the right place. "This isnot a quick fix," says Tucker. "It's a culturalrevamping."
Flitcroft's advice? Developing hidden talent takes time, butthe results can be dramatic. "Of our 20 original [employees],18 are still here," he says. "That's a damn goodsign."
