Talent Center

The ‘missing link’ in your Talent management mix

Attracting, directing and developing talent can (and should) be looked at from two angles. First of all, it is a good idea for organizations who want to get ahead to regularly ask themselves where they position the talent present in their organization: now, later and in the future. What talent do you need as a company and how should you develop it so that it is adjusted to ever changing circumstances and demands.
Secondly, the talent present in an organization owes it to itself to regularly evaluate which path it wants to take. Where do I want to go with my knowledge and skills? Which values drive me? What is my personal plan for the future? These questions are important to all employees.

Acerta developed the Talent Twister taking both perspectives into account. The Acerta Talent Twister looks talent management both from the organization’s and the employee’s point of view.
 

• Dual direction traffic on the Acerta Talent Twister
• The Acerta service-offering starting from the Talent Twister-model
• The Acerta Talent Center: from personal development plan to a TOP plan

Dual direction traffic on the Acerta Talent Twister

The Acerta Talent Twister‘s point of departure is essentially that which mother nature gave all of us: personality and intelligence. Both these traits are relatively stable: tomorrow we won’t be any smarter than today.

If personality and intelligence form the nucleus of our capabilities or capability-potential, talent floats around somewhere close to it. In terms of talent, people are often diamonds in the rough; we all have talents which might not yet have been discovered. Discover these talents, cut the diamond the right way and we all have the potential to shine.

Slightly further from the nucleus, values, beliefs and interests float around. These are traits gained through upbringing and life experience. Often they determine which path we take in life and in a professional context.

Finally, the most outer sphere of our being contains our competences, behavioural traits and skills which all contribute to how successfully we complete what we undertake.

As a model, the Acerta Talent Twister allows us to see these three layers from two perspectives:

• From the outside, looking in; or, in other words, form the organization’s point of view
• From the inside, looking out; or, in other words, form the employee’s point of view
   

The Acerta service-offering starting from the Talent Twister-model

Starting from the Talent Twister-model, Acerta developed a series of products to help your organization in identifying, developing and coaching talent:

The Acerta Assessment Center gives a yes /no answer to the question: does this employee fit in this particular function? Here, the focus lies on evaluating the competences necessary for successfully completing the function. After the assessment, the employee is provided with feedback on the results.

The Acerta Development Center is deployed from a development point of view in terms of a specific function or level (e.g. management level). The aim of the Development Center is to help the employee grow through a thorough analyses of his strengths as well as points that need to be worked on. With a clear perspective of what his strong points and his points of development are, the employee has the means to take the first steps in creating a personal development plan. While the methods used by a development center, are similar to those used by and assessment center, their goals and the processes by which they are executed are completely different. In the development center we continually provide the employee with feedback moments. The employee is also given a workbook in which he can note down interesting points he has picked up. A week later we look at these points again so that all new insights are thoroughly embedded.

The Acerta Talent Center aims to allow employees to map out their talents and preferences and to orientate themselves towards a future role in your organization.
 

The Acerta Talent Center: from personal development plan to a TOP plan

The Acerta Talent Center is put into practice in the following circumstance:

• You have recruited a young high potential and want to retain that talent at all costs;
• Your organization is being restructured and you want to apply certain talents continuously;
• You know there is talent in your organization that might be put to better use.

In the Talent Center we start from the employee’s talents to explain the link between what drives the employee, his professional expectations, competences and possible future roles within your organization.

By applying a set of different instruments and methods we help the employee in answering questions like:

• What do I want? What am I looking for? What do I want to achieve? Or, what are my values and interests?
• Who am I? What am I like as a person?
• What talents to I have? What are my intrinsic strengths? What talents am I using today? What talents do I have that I am not using today?

These insights help the employee determine what type of roles within your organization he might excel at but also which roles might be less appropriate for him. Different roles might include experts roles, commercial roles, leadership roles,…

A last step is a number of exercises, simulations and tests designed to assess which competences necessary for executing a certain role are all ready present and developed.

The entire Talent Center process is designed to allow the employee insight into his own profile in order to find a close as possible match with the organization’s objectives.

The end result of the Talent Center activities is a Talent Orientation Plan (TOP). This plan is drawn up by the employee and describes the potential role the employee sees for himself in the organization. A plan like this allows you to get started in designing a specific and concrete development path together with the employee by, for example, agreeing on what actions need to be taken.

This way, the needs and wishes of the organisation are in line with the needs and wishes of both the organization and the employee. This ultimately makes it possible for you, the employer, to keep your valuable talent in house.