Talent can be an elusive quality to pin down, never mind attract and retain, but the benefits of doing so can be pivotal to any business.

According to Learnfast,  one definition of talent is “a capacity for achievement or success.” The company explained that increased competitive landscapes require that businesses focus their efforts on bottom-line building by means of reduced costs, increased profitability and a customer centric approach that sets them apart from their competitors. Learnfast asserted that organisations with the deepest talent banks are positioned to be the most competitive, and stressed that the effort is now needed to be shared not only with finding a talented workforce, but also retaining this talent within the organisation. 

People power

Learnfast elaborated that dynamic skill requirements and emergent technologies are two of the main factors that have lead human resource professionals to rethink the way they align their efforts to the overall company strategies and how they add value in the fight to remain competitive and profitable. In most organisations, competitive advantage is created by the value that people in the business add. It has been proposed that people are the one asset that employers can expend copious amounts of energy and money on developing to gain competitive advantage purely because of the impossibility of competitors to imitate people.

Retaining and attracting talented individuals into an organisation has numerous contributors such as organisational design and leadership, but the attribute that remains most appealing to the right human assets, is the one in which their personal and professional development is highly valued. Via properly formulated personal development plans (PDPs), individuals can be empowered to add further value to their organisations through better efficiency (hard skills) and better interpersonal interaction (soft skills). 

Valuable advice

Sourcing reputable, accredited training providers that can partner with companies to assist in the development and execution of these plans could save you or your HR practitioner valuable time and money. The right advice is critical to successful employee development, so explore your options and make the call today.

For more information on Learnfast’s computer- and soft skill courses, visit www.learnfast.co.za or call 011-262-2054 in Johannesburg or 012-643-1409 in Pretoria.

Article first appearead in TechSmart 130, July 2014.