Here is a brief excerpt from an article by John Hagel for Deloitte University Press. In it, he explains why management needs a more effective way to attract and retain talent by creating an environment within which talented people are most likely to develop. To read the complete article and check out others, please click here.

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In today’s knowledge economy, talent is not only critical, it’s also scarce. Although many executives say finding and retaining talent is a top priority, companies still struggle to fill skilled positions. Management should consider that an effective way to attract and retain talent is to create an environment where talented people can develop.

Talented people seek out opportunities to grow, and they will flock to organizations that provide ample opportunities to do so. Retention also becomes a non-issue; if people are developing more rapidly than they could anywhere else, why would they leave? If companies are truly serious about attracting, retaining, and developing high-quality talent, they need to view themselves as growth platforms for talent where people can develop themselves faster than they could elsewhere. This, in turn, can create a self-reinforcing cycle as talent creates more opportunities for growth.

To become a platform for talent development, companies should think holistically about the integration of physical and virtual environments as well as the management systems that help to motivate, measure, and develop talent. Many people assume talent development is only about training programs. Training programs are a good way to help people develop a specific skill or knowledge set, but as the pace of change increases, it can become increasingly difficult to predict what skills people will need, and the half-life of trainings may get shorter and shorter. No matter how effective training programs are, imagine the added benefit that comes from finding ways to help people learn faster every day in their work environments.

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Here’s a direct link to the complete article.

John Hagel, director of Deloitte Consulting LLP, has nearly 30 years of experience as a management consultant, author, speaker and entrepreneur. John has helped companies improve their performance by effectively applying information technology to reshape business strategies.