The development of a model for the identification of high-potential talent

Abstract

Organisations have, at their core, the drive to improve their performance and increase their financial gain. This drive relates to talent management, in that organisations strive to identify and develop those employees who will benefit them the most, referred to as ‘high-potential’ talent. Academic literature on the identification and development of high-potential talent, also referred to as ‘HiPo’ talent, remains limited, notwithstanding strong interest from practitioners and consultants. Despite substantial investment in HiPo programmes, research reveals high failure rates and low confidence in the success of the programmes amongst HR professionals. The aim of this study was to address these gaps by expanding the theoretical knowledge on high-potential talent, with a specific focus on an African context, and developing an empirically grounded model for the identification of high-potential talent. This mixed-methods study used qualitative and quantitative methodologies to realise the research objectives. Following an in-depth literature review of the talent management landscape, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to develop a set of behavioural items to measure high-potential talent in employees. The resulting HiPo Scale was tested through a rigorous statistical process utilising structural equation modelling. Five statistically significant constructs indicating HiPo talent were identified, and a comprehensive model for the identification of high-potential talent was subsequently developed. This model incorporates a cultural contextual perspective of high-potential talent. It provides organisations and academics with a comprehensive structure with which to conceptualise and identify HiPo talent.

Organisasies het as kernstrewe om hul prestasie te verbeter en hul finansiële wins te verhoog. Hierdie strewe hou verband met talentbestuur, aangesien organisasies daarna streef om daardie werknemers te identifiseer en te ontwikkel wat die meeste waarde vir hulle sal toevoeg, bekend as hoë-potensiaal talent. Akademiese literatuur oor die identifisering en ontwikkeling van hoë-potensiaal talent bly beperk, ten spyte van ’n sterk belangstelling van praktisyns en konsultante. Ten spyte van aansienlike beleggings in HiPo-programme, toon navorsing hoë mislukkingsyfers en lae vertroue in die sukses van hierdie programme onder menslike hulpbronpraktisyns. Hierdie studie het gepoog om hierdie leemtes aan te spreek deur die teoretiese kennis oor hoë-potensiaal talent uit te brei, met ’n spesifieke fokus op ’n Afrika-konteks, en deur ’n empiries gefundeerde model vir die identifisering van hoë-potensiaal talent te ontwikkel. Hierdie gemengde-metode studie het kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodologieë gebruik om die navorsingsdoelwitte te bereik. Na ’n deeglike literatuuroorsig van die talentbestuurslandskap is semi-gestruktureerde, in-diepte onderhoude gevoer om ’n stel gedragsvrae te ontwikkel om hoë-potensiaal talent in werknemers te meet. Die HiPo-skaal is getoets deur middel van ’n streng statistiese proses wat strukturele vergelykingsmodellering gebruik het. Vyf statisties beduidende konstrukte wat op hoë-potensiaal talent dui, is geïdentifiseer. Daarna is ’n omvattende model vir die identifisering van hoë-potensiaal talent ontwikkel. Hierdie model sluit ’n kulturele kontekstuele perspektief van hoë-potensiaal talent in. Dit bied aan organisasies en akademici ’n omvattende struktuur wat hulle in staat stel om hoë-potensiaal talent te konseptualiseer en te identifiseer

Mekgatlho e na le, mo moding wa yona, maikaelelo a go tokafatsa tiragatso le go godisa poelo ya matlole. Maikaelelo ano a amana thata le taolo ya ditalente, mo e leng gore mekgatlho e leka ka natla go supa le go tlhabolola badiri ba ba tlileng go e tswela mosola thata, ba gantsi ba bidiwang ditalente tsa ‘bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo’ (HiPo). Dikwalo tsa thuto tse di ka ga temogo le tlhabololo ya ditalente ya bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo (HiPo) di sa ntse di lekanyeditswe, le fa go na le kgatlhego e kgolo go tswa mo baitseanapeng le mo bagakoloding. Le fa go beeleditswe madi a mantsi mo mananeong a HiPo, dipatlisiso di bontsha dikelo tse di kwa godimo tsa go retelewa le tshepo e e kwa tlase mo katlegong ya tsone mo baitseanapeng ba Metswedithuso ya Setho (HR). Maikaelelo a thutopatlisiso eno e ne e le go rarabolola diphatlha tseno ka go atolosa kitso ya tiori ka ga talente e e nang le bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo, ka tsepamo e e rileng mo bokaong jwa Aforika, le ka go tlhama sekao se se theilweng mo maitemogelong sa go supa talente e e nang le bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo. Go ne ga dirisiwa ka bobedi mekgwa ya khwantitafi le ya khwalitatifi go fitlhelela maitlhomo a patlisiso. Morago ga tshekatsheko e e tseneletseng ya dikwalo tsa seemo sa taolo ya ditalente, go ne ga dirwa dipotsolotso tse di rulagantsweng ka bontlhabongwe go tlhama sete ya dintlha tsa boitshwaro tsa go lekanya ditalente tse di nang le bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo mo badiring. Sekale sa HiPo se se bonweng se ne sa lekwa ka thulaganyo e e gagametseng ya dipalopalo go dirisiwa popo ya tekatekanyo ya popego. Dikago tse tlhano tse di botlhokwa go ya ka dipalopalo tse di supang talente ya HiPo di ne tsa supiwa, mme morago ga moo go ne ga tlhamiwa sekao se se akaretsang sa go supa talente e e nang le bokgoni jo bo kwa godimo. Sekao seno se akaretsa pono ya setso le ya bokao, e e tlamelang mekgatlho le barutegi ka letlhomeso le le nonofileng la go tlhama dikgopolo le go supa talente ya HiPo