What do we mean by the term “talent” in talent management?

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to consider the ways the notion of "talent" has developed over many years, both historically and linguistically, in a number of European and non-European languages and in use in organisations, and its use in talent management. Design/methodology/approach: The information was gained from a literature review of key reports on talent management and a major review often organisations across sectors and by interviewing over 100 individuals involved in talent management programmes in the UK and abroad. Holden and Tansley also conducted a philological analysis of the word "talent" from both an historical and a linguistic-comparative perspective analysing publications by consultancies and articles in the management press considering both literal (denotative) definitions and metaphoric (connotative) associations of the term talent in English, noting contrasting usages of the word in other languages. Findings: There is no single or universal contemporary definition of "talent" in any one language; there are different organisational perspectives of talent. Current meanings of talent tend to be specific to an organisation and highly influenced by the nature of the work undertaken. A shared organisational language for talent is important. There is high level of influence of management consultants in the development of the term in managing people with unique knowledge and skills. Practical Implications: Organisational talent, in order that it can be identified and developed, must be visible, stimulated and nurtured, and the first step to this is to have an agreed organisational definition of talent.Social implications: Talent management that only recognises a narrow definition of talent negatively impacts on the full utilisation of a nation's talents. Originality/value: There are no other articles currently published which attempt to define talent from such an historical, linguistic, organisational and individual perspective.

A multidisciplinary review into the definition, operationalization, and measurement of talent

“…Interestingly, however, human resource management (HRM) practitioners report great difficulty defining what talent is, let alone measuring it accurately for identification purposes (Tansley, 2011). Theoretical foundations for talentmanagement based on a clear operationalization of talent appear largely absent in the academic literature (Silzer & Church, 2009).…”

“…In general, we posit-in line with Lewis and Heckman (2006)-that the talent-management literature is characterized by a disturbing lack of lucidity regarding its definitions, scope and aims. This is partly driven by the limited clarity the human capital perspective offers about the precise meaning of the underlying construct 'talent' (Gallardo-Gallardo et al, 2013;Tansley, 2011). This leaves organizations with only minimal theoretical foundations for their talent-management decisions (Thunnissen, Boselie & Fruytier, 2013).…”

“…In the English language, talent is commonly understood as corresponding to an above-average ability that makes the individuals who possess, detect, develop, and deploy it, perform excellently in a given performance domain (Gagné, 2004;Tansley, 2011).…”

Developing Motorsports Talents towards Achieving a Successful and Sustainable Business Ventures Framework upon the Completion of an Active Motorsports Career

“…In addition, the role of human resource was the most influential factor on benchmarking adoption, followed by top management commitment [12]. There is high level of influence of management in managing people with unique knowledge and skills [13].…”

“…In motorsports, winning is the absolute aim for every racer who are diverse in age and talent. The following are the young talents in current motorsports arena representing Malaysia at international events: Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (19 years old) participates in Moto2 World Championship; Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (29) in MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship; Mohamad Zamri Baba (29) in Asia Road Race Championship, Mohd Emir Firdaus Hasan (26) in Suzuka 8-hour Endurance Road Race and Mohd. Habibullah Mohd.…”