Performance management and talent management Talent management relies on performance management to provide a basis for identifying and rewarding (in the broadest sense) talented people. Performance management ensures that employees develop their talent by learning from experience through constructive feedback, by coaching and by the formulation and implementation of personal development plans.

Talent management defined Talent management is the process of ensuring that the organization has the talented people it needs to attain its business goals. Talent management involves the strategic management of the flow of talent through an organization. As suggested by Younger et al (2007) the approaches required involve emphasising ‘growth from within’, regarding talent development as a key element of the business strategy, being clear about the competencies and qualities that matter, maintaining well-defined career paths, taking management development, coaching and mentoring very seriously, and demanding high performance. Younger, J, Smallwood, N and Ulrich, D (2007) Developing your organization’s brand as a talent developer, Human Resource Planning, 30 (2), pp 21–9

What is talent? Talent is what people have when they possess the skills, abilities and aptitudes which enable them to perform effectively in their roles. Talented people make a difference to organizational performance through their immediate efforts and they have the potential to make an important contribution in the future. Talent management aims to identify, obtain, keep and develop those talented people.

Performance management as the basis for talent management at Cemex (P&PA stands for Performance and Potential Assessment scheme)

Links between performance management and talent management Talent management and performance management are linked in three ways: Performance management can be used to identify talent. It provides a basis for developing talent. It helps to increase the engagement levels of talented people. The development of talent is the most important part performance management can play in talent management. The contribution made by performance management to learning and development follows the stages in the cycle as described below. At the planning stage the performance management agreement includes a role profile which defines expectations in the form of competency, knowledge and skills. Developmental plans and targets are set at this stage which may be set out in a personal development plan which spells out what an individual, the manager and the organization intends to do about talent development. This may include coaching and broadening experience self-development, e-learning as well as formal training. As a continuous process the learning and development aspects of performance management continue throughout the year as the personal development plan is implemented and coaching and formal training takes place. At the review and assessment stages of the performance management cycle the results achieved over the year are evaluated and new or revised personal development plans agreed.