2. The Role of HR in Developing Talent
Career Angel PA Consulting’s 2015 research ‘The Future is Fluid’ introduces the concept of a ‘career angel’, who is a specialist talent adviser who offers career support and advice to critical talent. An ideal would be to offer one-to-one career advice to all employees, but for most organisations more realistically it could be scaled according to level of seniority, criticality of role, ease of replacement and talent rating. That way, not only does this have benefits for the individual but the organisation will also reap the rewards through developing, engaging and retaining its critical talent. Career angels would not replace line managers in developing and deploying critical talent but would encourage a coaching partnership. By providing skilled career advice, the career angel could help the individual and line manager to consider all options and then facilitate different activities.
CAREER ANGEL
Talent Broker
A talent broker to encourage the movement of talented individuals across an organisation. They act as the link between the various parties that have a stake in the movement of talent, collecting and disseminating information and facilitating decision-making. Once a move has been agreed, talent brokers can help all parties involved execute the move as quickly as possible with minimal disruption to business-as-usual.
Talent Scout
A talent scout would use their network to identify people with potential to do new or bigger roles, providing input into succession management and talent mobility practices.
Talent Mentor
A talent mentor would take on a more traditional role of building relationships with high potentials and meeting with them regularly to discuss aspirations, development opportunities and potential career moves.