Today’s post comes courtesy of Ian Forrest, Account Manager at MindLeaders ThirdForce

I must admit that I was a little sceptical about the impact that Talent Management would have on a business and its employees. In the world I know, deploying elearning courses and learning support services bring an immediately obvious value to both stakeholders and users. So far we’ve heard plenty about the why Talent Management platforms are being adopted from the top, but what exactly would the new technology mean for me? How would it motivate me to improve my own performance, and my paycheck?

Now I realise that I was a laggard, perhaps even a bit of a luddite. Since MindLeaders ThirdForce launched the system internally, I have been completely converted to the benefits of Talent Management. I now know precisely what I need to do within certain time-frames to do my job in the most efficient way possible.

My KPI’s and goals have been cascaded right from the very top of the organisation, which supports the overall company strategy. In my appraisal my line manager and I agreed exactly what my KPI’s and Goals would be for the next twelve months. Once logged on to the online appraisal module of the Talent Management platform, I confirmed what is expected of me this year.  So far it’s gone well. Out of eight KPI’s I have already completed three, and the remaining five are close to being achieved. I can log into the system at any moment to remind myself of exactly what I have left to do and update the status of the KPI’s on the system to confirm how far I have progressed.

The Talent Management platform motivates me to get things done. Instead of simply parking KPI’s which won’t be reviewed for twelve months, the ability to measure where I am against the expectation of the business keeps me focused on achieving what was discussed in the appraisal. Logging in and steadily changing KPI’s from ‘Not Started’ to ‘On Track’ and then finally ‘Completed’ gives me a real sense of progress.

I will be much better prepared to deliver on my KPI’s this year than I ever have been and I’m looking forward to a much more productive appraisal next year. The business can easily see who is performing well and when a role becomes available, I can ensure I’m at the top of the list!