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The deliberate identification of talent is a critical process in most organizations. Performance ratings and senior management recommendations are its main sources, revealing the importance of line managers in the process. Nevertheless, some managers do have a talent for talent spotting and little is known about their behaviours as effective talent...
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Context 1
... senior and middle managers participated in the study (see Table 1). Standard practices regarding the maintenance of the anonymity of the participants and the confidentiality of the information were used (Merriam 1998). ...Context 2
... even with a university education or more books read, you will find people that will never get it, I believe. (Participant 13) The role of intuition, understood as non-sequential information processing 'which comprises both cognitive and affective elements and results in direct knowing without any use of conscious reasoning' (Sinclair and Ashkanasy 2005, 357), was mentioned by several interviewees (30 codes and 14 out of 21 participants). Interviewee 9 describes this non-sequential identification process: ...Context 3
... that, you can place him into a more exposed time shift, like week-end mornings, where he receives more feedback from the audience, he has to start brushing up on other things after having learned the basics. (Participant 15) When designing developmental challenges, talent spotters should also consider the exposure to a variety of leadership styles to confirm that potential, as stated by interviewee 19: ...Context 4
... consider that it is useless to identify talented people and then leave them alone, you need to commit yourself to them. (Participant 14) These results stress the relevance of the line managers' supporting process. All the efforts and investments made during the identification and developmental assignments would be lost if the talent spotter was not close to the candidate to offer feedback and guide him during the process. ...Citations
... Even though extant literature recommends assessing potential through an objective approach integrating multiple methods and tools (Finkelstein 198 (Golik et al, 2018;Kabalina & Osipova, 2022). Indeed, the majority rely on an overall designation of potential based on the judgments of managers participating in the talent-review process (Kehoe et al, 2023). ...
... The line managers' view is relevant since the TI process is subjective by nature (Wiblen et al, 2012). Line managers are key actors of the TI process, representing a main influence upon its outcomes (Golik et al, 2018). Their narratives will let us to understand their experiences, and the assigned meanings to the requirements as talent spotters. ...
... Talent spotters observe multiple aspects of their employees' behaviours and they do it daily and constantly (Golik et al, 2018;Blanco & Golik, 2021). In so doing, they retain all kinds of information about candidates in different work situations. ...
Identification is a key step in the organizational talent management process. Even though evaluating potential through an objective approach, integrating multiple methods, is recommended, many organizations rely upon line manager nominations as their main sources of identification. Given their central role, this study analyses the line managers’ attributes required to carry out an effective talent identification process. This qualitative study was drawn upon social cognition (social psychology framework) and talent identification literature with a sample of 20 managers, belonging to a multinational of Argentine origin, who described their experiences and requirements as talent spotters through semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that observation skills, listening and communication skills, cognitive skills, intuition, empathy, identification as part of the managerial role, low aversion to risk, vocation, predisposition to learn, resilience, and commitment are important attributes in the identification process. The present study provides a map of the talent spotter´s attributes that are necessary to assess employees´ potential.
... Christensen (2009) states that individuals who engage in player identification possess an eye for talent where scouting is a visual experience, a gut feeling, something seen with the mind's eye (Christensen, 2009). The scout is neither rational, nor objective in their selections which are governed by 'what feels right in the heart and stomach' (Lund and Söderström, 2017:248) where existing beliefs, assumptions, values, knowledge, and past experiences all affect the way in which talent spotters observe performance (Golik, Blanco and Czikk, 2017). In popular culture, the 2001 film Mike Bassett England Manager (Barron, 2001) did little to promote player identification and selection as a systematic, error-free process, where the clichéd 'names on the back of a cigarette packet' leads to the inadvertent selection of unknown, out of shape, and past-their-best 'Ron Benson' and 'Tony Hedges' for the England National Team. ...
For the scout, the heady responsibility for recognising footballing talent in young players is melded with the promise of their potential success, or even greatness in the game. However, implicit of the scout’s role and duty, once talent is spotted, is to pass that talent on to others to nurture, for example, by coaching staff at clubs or academies. This common obligation in scouts for ‘letting go’ characterises their existence, often in want of recognition for their claims-to-fame, for success stemming from their wisdom and insight to the game. Therefore, ironically, a scout’s actions seem to be underwritten by a sense of loss, apart from the brief claim that ‘I discovered genius’. This paper reveals aspects of this vicarious lived experience by means of data presented in story and song, collected through a phenomenological lens. The stage is set first by an exposition of the scout’s magical [under]world and working conditions, followed by a methodological synthesis of the phenomenon itself, scouting, with relevant theory. Then the story: Taking in a game: a glimpse through the lens of a Nowhere Man is followed immediately by the song: 40p a Mile and a Sausage Roll. These refined presentations of data invite the reader onto the terraces alongside the researcher, and then to participate in the reflection of ‘being there’, as a researcher engaged in ‘scout-ology’. In conclusion, the paper highlights how from the moment of the highly prized discovery the scout seems committed to live in the shadows, understood only by their own community, to continue their vigil, constantly scoping for talent on the football horizon, for glimmers of hope.
... Consistent with the claim Mansor et al (2011Mansor et al ( :2350 suggested that such problems could be overcome by capacitating LMs with TM expertise as evidenced by the claim in his study that LMs training empowered them to undertake talent development responsibilities effectively. Several studies established LMs' involvement in the acquisition of TM expertise (Golik et al., 2018;Trullen et al., 2016:456). Yet, the progress on LMs' involvement in the acquisition of TM expertise has not been promising as typified by research findings that LMs were either provided with inadequate TM training or were completely denied the opportunity of TM training (Hutchinson and Purcell 2010:367;Cunningham et al., 2004;284; Cascon-Pereira and Valverde 2014). ...
Purpose - Line Managers (LMs) are a critical stakeholder in the success of talent management (TM ) activities due to the frequent and close interactions that they have with employees (Blanco and Golik 2021; Cooke et al., 2014:226; Blass and Maxwell 2012:256). However, little is known about how LMs are involved in TM. This paper aims to examine the involvement of LMs in TM at a Case Study Organisation.
Design/methodology/approach - Our findings draw on an embedded single case study using 47 in-depth semi-structured interviews with multi-stakeholders (e.g., LMs, Human Resources Department (HRD) staff, senior management, and the Staff Representative Council (SRC), Supervisors, officers). The interviews were supported by the analysis of secondary data, for example, documentation.
Findings - The study found that the Case Study Organisation managed its talent using a hybrid TM philosophy comprising an exclusive strategic position TM philosophy and an inclusive self-initiated talent development TM philosophy. Consistent with the hybrid TM philosophy, LMs initiated TM processes, proposed TM decisions, implemented TM decisions, and acquired TM expertise. In terms of coverage, LMs were more involved in TM since they performed several operational tasks (e.g., initiating TM processes and implementing TM decisions) in several TM practices such as talent acquisition and identification, talent development, performance management, and merit pay. In terms of depth, the involvement of LMs in TM was moderate because their involvement was limited to proposing decisions across TM practices. This was supported by a moderate acquisition of TM expertise as the LMs’ TM training had mixed reviews.
Limitation - The findings are limited to the Case Study Organisation as the study adopted a single case study.
Originality/value - Theoretical - We respond to calls by several scholars for an in-depth study on LMs’ involvement in TM within different national and industrial contexts (Gallardo-Gallardo and Thunnissen 2016; Gallardo-Gallardo et al., 2020; Kravariti et al., 2022). We attained this by providing insight on the coverage and depth of LMs’ involvement in TM in a Case Study Organisation.
Methodology – By drawing our findings on an embedded single case study, we respond to the call by Cooke (2018:11) and Cooke et al., (2022) for in-depth human-centered qualitative research. Finally, we respond to the call by Gallardo- Gallardo et al., (2020:463) for multi-stakeholders perspectives studies on LMs’ involvement in TM.
Keywords: Line Managers (LM), Talent Management (TM), Human Resource Management (HRM), Banking, Malawi.
... Identification involves choosing the best candidates to be included in the talent pool and/or in the succession plan and consequently be considered for future strategic roles of the organisation (Evans et al., 2011). Notwithstanding the recommendation that potential should be assessed through a multi-method approach, many firms count upon supervisor nominations and performance appraisals as their main identification sources (Pepermans et al., 2003;Rothwell, 2010;Golik et al., 2018). ...
Purpose – This empirical study aims to analyse the talent spotters’ perception of their tendency to be homophilic in the talent identification process and their stance on it. Besides, this article examines the type of homophily and the homophily attributes involved.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on a qualitative design, 37 middle and senior line managers, working for two Argentine conglomerates in six Latin American countries, participated in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews.
Findings – Homophily was perceived by most of talent spotters, who judged it as natural, while it was not perceived by a small group of the interviewees. In addition, among those who recognized its presence, another group advocated the homophilic advantages, while a final one admitted the presence of homophily and its negative implications. In addition, a variety of homophily attributes were identified; most of them within the value category. We posit that if homophily attributes are, at the same time, components of high potential
models, homophily will constitute a functional bias to the talent identification process.
Originality/value – This is the first study that explores the talent spotters’ perception of their homophily bias as well as the diversity of homophily attributes present in the talent identification process. This research highlights the relevance of the homophily attributes’ analysis, taking into account its alignment to the potential model in order to improve the talent identification process.
Due to the centrality of line managers’ role in the talent identification process, this qualitative study aims to determine what effective and non‐effective talent spotters do differently from one another in relation with an ‘ideal’ talent identification model offered by the literature. A double‐blind design was applied to the sample designated by the Corporate Talent Management Director of a Latin American multinational firm. 20 senior and middle managers, some effective and some others non‐effective, who work in different countries, participated in the study. Findings show that effective talent spotters perform three key stages of the talent identification model and they do it extremely well: differentiation of potential from performance, matching process and design of developmental challenges. The clear differentiation of potential from performance constitutes the crucial stage since a fuzzy differentiation taints the following stages. Not only is it necessary to perform these key stages but they should be executed in line with the principles of the talent management literature. Recommendations for practice, including specific guidelines for Talent Managers are proposed.
Although talent pools are utilized by human resource development (HRD) practitioners to develop employees for future roles, their effectiveness is not guaranteed as individual differences may not be accounted for. To further understand why some individuals benefit more from talent development programmes than others, this study examines whether the positive effects of being in a talent pool on commitment and extra-role performance are mediated by organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), and to what extent these mediation paths are moderated by narcissism. Using a naturally occurring talent development initiative, 100 employees (N = 50 talent pool, N = 50 non-talent pool) in a UK bank were surveyed. An online questionnaire measured narcissism, OBSE, affective commitment, and extra-role performance. The results of the path analysis showed: a) talent pool employees had higher levels of OBSE, b) OBSE mediated the relationships between talent pool membership and outcomes, and c) narcissism weakened the relationship between talent pool membership and OBSE, such that it reduced the effect of the mediation pathways. Overall the findings suggest the need for differentiated talent strategies in organizations, particularly for those high in narcissism, and provides further avenues to examine the dark triad of personality traits in the field of HRD.
