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Britain’s Got Wasted Talent

Those who know me will know that I am a huge Arsenal fan.  This month, I’m annoyed.  Annoyed by wasted talent.  Lukas Podolski has over 100 cups for Germany, helped them win the World Cup in 2014 and has a stunning left foot shot.  For some strange reason, he has spent much of his Arsenal career sitting on the bench and taking selfies.  Sadly, his left foot and camera phone have now moved to Inter Milan.

I cannot blame Lukas Podolski for leaving.  I cannot blame any employee for leaving if they feel their talents are being wasted.  So ask yourself, are you about to lose your Lukas Podolski?  Are you using your employees’ talents to their full potential?

Finding Hidden Talent

It may be some time since you’ve seen their CV.  Maybe you don’t get to hear about their interests away from work.  You may not realise that they enjoy computer coding in their spare time, have been taking a college course or had some great experience from a previous employer.  Why not ask?

Appraisals are a great way to find out more about your team, their skills, ambitions and frustrations.  Perhaps they would jump at the opportunity to take on a new project or move their career in a different direction.

Alternatively, why not conduct a short survey?  You can create your own simple survey using Survey Monkey.

Finding Opportunities

A vacancy has arisen.  You have decided on the knowledge, skills and attitude you need to fill it.  Have you advertised internally?  You may be pleasantly surprised to find you already employ the ideal candidate.  Not only will you have someone who already knows your business, you also give your employees the opportunity to develop.  Others will see that there could be real opportunities for them too.

Alternatively, the next time you have something new, ask for volunteers.  Percentage wise, Lukas Podolski converted more chances than anyone else in the Premier League over 5 years.  Your employees may thrive at the opportunity to “get off the bench”.

They’re Great Already

Just because they are doing a great job for you, it does not mean they don’t want greater challenges.  If you can’t offer that, you may well lose your best talent anyway.

Talk to them about what challenges they would like to take on and opportunities you see for the future.  They may have even more to offer you.  In turn, you could also be creating opportunities for others to grow.

No one wants to lose their talented players to the opposition.  Make sure you are not wasting the talents of your team.  Otherwise, you could find yourself scrabbling around in the January transfer window.