Introduction
The crusade for talent has proven to be highly resilient to the current economic downturn.
The recession may be persistent, but the scarcity of talented employees and managers
remains. The demand for talented young recruits in the worldwide labour markets still
outstrips what the university outflow is able to supply. If this is the case, does this imply that
talent development is exempt from the tight scrutiny that all other HRD programs are under?
Is there still unlimited budget available for all talent development programs? The good news
is that there may still be budget; the bad news is, it might not be as much as we have grown
accustomed to. There is a growing need for effective, sustainable and prudent programs:
the question is ‘‘how?’’
We have worked with clients in industry, services and government, ranging from companies
such as ING Bank, Philips, Achmea Healthcare to the Amsterdam City Council. From our
past experience in the field, we have distilled, tested and evaluated five key talent
development principles. In collaboration with our clients, we have extended the principles to five key decisions per principle. These 25 decisions will aid you in assessing or designing
your own talent, leadership and career development trajectories.