This forum is designed to foster professional discussion of a critical concept: Talent Management. Whether you work for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, government, the private sector or academia, many of the principles discussed here generalize to any labor force. Some concepts to keep in mind:
TALENT.
What is it? It’s the unique intersection of skills, knowledge and behaviors in every person. Talent represents far more than the training, education and experiences provided by the Army. The fullness of each person’s life experience, to include investments they’ve made in themselves, personal and familial relationships (networks), ethnographic and demographic background, preferences, hobbies, travel, personality, learning style, education, and a myriad number of other factors better suit them to some development or employment opportunities than others.
Who has it? Talent is not some “top 10 percent” of workers. Everyone has talents that can be extended and liberated, provided those talents are recognized and cultivated. Doing so creates optimal levels of performance in a much larger segment of an organization’s workforce.
TALENT MANAGEMENT. Talent management is a deliberate and coordinated process that aligns systematic planning for the right number and type of people to meet current and future Army talent demands with integrated implementation to ensure the majority of those people are optimally employed. Talent management extracts the most productivity and value from an organization’s greatest asset – its people. Army talent management integrates people acquisition, development, employment and retention strategies. It begins with entry-level employees and aligns their talents against the demand for them during their entire careers, to include positions at the very top of the Army.