A Talent Review Meeting is a powerful meeting to gain insight into talent, succession planning and development needs. In practice, however, I often find that these sessions are still run like a classic meeting, leaving their full potential untapped. The result? Discussions without focus, lack of objectivity, limited involvement of managers and, above all, missed opportunities to really use talent strategically.
The key to success? Strong facilitation. With the right approach, you increase both the quality of the conversation and the impact for your organisation. After all, only with strong performers in the right place can an organisation fulfil its strategy and objectives. The more high-performing the employees, the more high-performing the organisation.
I am Ingrid De Backer of HR Wheelworks and I guide business leaders, executives and HR professionals in the strategic deployment of talent. In this article, I want to share three practical tips that you can immediately apply to take your Talent Review Meeting to the next level.
Tip 1: Place ownership with the business leader
Avoid having HR or the facilitator kick off the Talent Review Meeting.
Have the business leader:
- outline the framework
- explain why Talent Review is important (strategy)
- indicate what he or she expects from each participant
This way, the meeting is seen as a strategic business process that is supported by management.
Tip 2: Keep the discussion focuses and relevant
A Talent Review Meeting often gets bogged down in long discussions, with everyone wanting to give their opinion on each employee. This is not only time-consuming, but also of little value. Focus the discussion more efficiently:
- The manager provides input about the employee (strengths, ambitions, development points)
- As a facilitator, you ask which colleagues have worked closely with this employee over the past year
- Only those colleagues provide additional feedback
This way, you keep the discussion compact and qualitative, within the allotted time.
Tip 3: Let the manager summarise
As a facilitator, it is tempting to formulate the conclusions yourself. Don’t.
- As a facilitator, ask the manager this question: “What feedback do you give your employee(s)?”
This way, the manager takes ownership of the message, and you can be sure that it is conveyed clearly and correctly. As a facilitator, you can supplement or clarify what is missing, but ownership remains with the manager.
Training: strangthen your role as facilitator
These three tips will immediately boost your Talent Review Meeting for more impact.
Would you like to further professionalise your role as facilitator and practice practical methodologies?
➡️ Then be sure to sign up for the training:
“Strengthen your skills as facilitator of the Talent Review Meeting”: