Ask top companies what their HR discussions are focused around today, and you will most likely be told 'talent development'. It is quickly becoming a non-negotiable in an organisation's business strategy. In fact, research from the Association for Talent Development found that four in five organisations now have a designated talent development leader.
But while organisations may understand the importance of talent development for the future of their business, they have not enabled their teams with the right tools to have development conversations. Managers simply are not equipped to discuss development - they are out of practice, and do not always have the right words to use to guide a conversation with employees.
Step 1: Pick a conversation context
The best way to start a conversation is to make sure everyone involved understands its context. They need to be aware of the overarching theme of the discussion, so they are not confused about what the conversation will entail. Picking a context creates purpose.
Choose from: performance conversations, difficult conversations, business conversations, inspiring conversations, leadership conversations, or career conversations.
Step 2: Pick a conversation topic
Once you have selected an overarching theme, get more specific by choosing an exact conversation topic within that context. If you do not know specifically what you are there to talk about, you will end up repeating information, talking in circles, or veering off topic.
For example, if you selected performance conversations, you could choose from topics such as: improving processes, improving customer service, delivering work on time, increasing motivation and drive, fostering collaboration, improving responsiveness, or delivering high-quality work.
Within each selection, you can get even more specific by choosing a real challenge or opportunity to focus on. For example, if you have selected 'delivering work on time', you could select a specific challenge such as planning work, focusing on priorities, or managing time.
Step 3: Personalise the conversation
Once the conversation topic has been selected, dive even deeper by exploring a reason for the challenge that is specific to the employee you are talking to. While two employees might need help managing their time, one might find it difficult to say 'no' to people, while the other tends to act quickly without proper planning.
In this step, the manager personalises the conversation topic per employee by selecting the ineffective behaviour or underlying pattern that is preventing the employee from moving up. For instance, if the employee needs to manage their time better, they may choose from reasons such as: 'I delay doing unpleasant tasks', 'I act quickly and spend more time doing and less time planning', or 'I find it difficult to say no to people'.
Step 4: Take action
Once the manager and employee have spent time selecting and discussing the employee's challenges and reasons behind them, they are guided to the next step - the action. For every reason, there is a defined, outlined way to adapt and adjust the behaviour.
The approach uses the R2 principle - Rethink and then React. The conversation guides the employee through how they can rethink their behaviour and its effects on their work, and then offers practical, actionable steps to react differently in the future. By doing so, the employee can commit to change - because they now understand what that change looks like.
Talentprint - Built-In Development Conversation Guidance
Talentprint includes structured development conversation guidance built directly into the platform. Managers can follow the four-step approach for every team member, every time - making development conversations a consistent practice across your organisation.