Practical tools for creating a talent pool.

A talent pool is a group of talented and promising employees who can replace current managers and key staff if they leave the company or are needed for other projects. These employees should be ready for promotion and must have the necessary skills and experience to successfully perform the tasks required for higher positions. In this article, we will look at several practical tools for implementing a company’s talent pool.

Having an internal talent pool is a critical strategic objective for companies.

The absence of such a reserve and an employee development system can lead to a number of negative consequences, including:

• burnout of key employees;
• decreased loyalty, engagement, and staff motivation;
• loss of talented employees;
• increased staff turnover and vacancies;
• increased financial costs for hiring new employees;
• increased financial costs for the adaptation of newcomers.

In this article, we will consider:

• the goals and objectives of the Company’s Internal Talent Pool Programme;
• the stages of forming the Internal Talent Pool Programme;
• the problems of forming the Internal Talent Pool;
• practical tools for forming the Internal Talent Pool;
• a ready-made plan that we use to implement the Internal Talent Pool Programme.

Goals and Objectives of the Company’s Internal Talent Pool Programme

The Company’s Internal Talent Pool Programme performs several important HR functions at once:

• Provides the company with highly qualified personnel to fill open vacancies promptly with internally trained candidates.
• Reduces personnel risks, contributing to the smooth functioning of the company and the development of the business in the face of labour market shortages.
• Cuts the cost of hiring new employees. It also helps improve candidate quality when employees move to higher positions, as they already have experience in the company and understand its business processes.
• Shortens the adaptation period for employees who transition to a new position.
• Increases employee loyalty and motivation by offering development opportunities within the company and raising their status within the organisation.
• Promotes leadership and management skill development among employees included in the Internal Talent Pool Programme.
• Expands opportunities for professional and career growth.
• Provides the company with a competitive advantage in the labour market by offering employees a unique opportunity to grow and develop internally, which can be appealing to potential candidates.

It is advisable that 80% of key vacancies be filled through promotion and rotation within the internal talent pool, and 20% through hiring new employees. This ratio helps maintain corporate values, transfer knowledge and experience from current employees to new ones, and ensure continuous team renewal, attracting promising candidates for further development within the company.

Stages of Forming a Talent Pool

Determining the Company’s Personnel Needs and Selection Criteria:

• Identify key positions that require a talent pool.
• Develop selection criteria.

Identifying Employee Potential and Selecting Candidates for the Internal Talent Pool:

• Determine employees’ current skills and knowledge, as well as their potential, through testing.
• Analyse opportunities for skill development and gaining experience.
• Identify personal qualities required for managerial roles (e.g. leadership, communication skills, etc.).

Developing an Employee Development Plan:

• Create individual development plans for each employee in the Internal Talent Pool.
• Develop training and education programmes to strengthen skills and address any weak personal qualities identified by personality tests.

Training and Motivation of Talent Pool Candidates. Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Regularly track employees’ progress in the Internal Talent Pool.
• Evaluate and update development plans in accordance with changing company needs.
• Determine the effectiveness of development programmes and training, making adjustments as necessary.

Creating a Culture of Development and Growth:

• Establish reward and incentive programmes for employees who show progress in the Internal Talent Pool.
• Organise feedback for employees in the Internal Talent Pool to help them improve their skills and qualities.

Determining the Company’s Staffing Needs and Selection Criteria.

The formation of a talent pool begins by identifying key positions that have a significant impact on the company’s business results. Employees in these positions possess valuable competencies and significantly contribute to the company’s success. It is often difficult or even impossible to replace such employees quickly via the labour market.

At this stage, it is necessary to determine:

• Which positions require the Internal Talent Pool.
• The plan for how many candidates per position (and per region/division/department) will be trained in the Internal Talent Pool.
• The criteria used to assess candidates’ potential. This involves creating a competency model for each position, which serves as a basis for selecting candidates for the Internal Talent Pool.
• The competency model should include an assessment of an employee’s personal qualities, motivation, and burnout level (evaluated through psychological tests), as well as professional knowledge (assessed through an online testing system).

Identifying Employee Potential and Selecting Candidates for the Internal Talent Pool

The most crucial stage of building the Internal Talent Pool Programme is properly assessing candidates’ personal qualities.

Without high-quality personnel assessment, you may face numerous problems and risks, for example:

• A candidate in the Internal Talent Pool completes training and assessment but struggles in the new role due to a mismatch in personal qualities.
• An employee who begins training opts out because they lack the desire or ability to develop further.
• You lose an employee after investing in training, knowledge assessment, and offering them a promotion to a key position because they refuse the increased responsibility. This is especially critical for managerial roles.

These are just a few examples of the problems and risks that arise without a robust personnel assessment system. Poor-quality evaluation of staff and a poorly formed talent pool can lead to significant losses of time and effort—both for the company and its HR specialists. Repeated selection and training of candidates also increases training costs.

For effective personnel assessment when selecting candidates for the Internal Talent Pool at Miraton, we use the Smart Way automated online testing platform, which already includes professional psychological tests for assessing personal qualities and a test builder for evaluating the level of professional knowledge.

Using psychological tests, we assess:

• candidates’ personal qualities (strengths and weaknesses);
• motivation;
• desire and ability to develop;
• organisational skills;
• communication skills;
• conflict style;
• level of burnout.

The test results show each employee’s potential, what you can reasonably expect from them, and what you cannot. The system also generates a separate section with recommendations for addressing any weak points. This helps us create an individual development plan for every candidate in the Internal Talent Pool.

Developing an Employee Development Plan.

At this stage, we create a training programme divided into four main blocks:

Basic Training Programme. This covers the essential knowledge required to fill a specific position.

Practical Tasks with a Mentor. For each core topic, practical assignments are selected in collaboration with a mentor. Knowledge must be practised, or it will diminish over time—leading to the need for retraining.

Self-study. Necessary for developing personal qualities and skills (e.g. customer focus, leadership), especially for managerial candidates.

Mentorship. A mentor is assigned to every candidate in the Internal Talent Pool, responsible for guiding and supporting their development.

Training and Motivation of Talent Pool Candidates.

At this stage, the following steps are required:

1. Regular Progress Tracking. Determine checkpoints and knowledge assessments for each candidate. Important: establish intermediate checkpoints to evaluate training outcomes and identify weaknesses in time to adjust learning.
2. Evaluating and Updating Development Plans. If company needs change, additional training materials or adjustments to the current programme may be necessary.
3. Measuring Training Effectiveness. Define clear evaluation criteria—such as the level of knowledge acquired or how newly gained expertise affects both individual and departmental performance.

We have a ready-made plan for implementing the Internal Talent Pool Programme, which we use in our own company:

In conclusion, establishing a talent pool is a crucial tool for ensuring a company’s readiness for staff-related changes. To successfully implement an Internal Talent Pool Programme, you need to define selection criteria, assess employee potential, develop individual growth plans, and consistently monitor and evaluate progress.

Selection criteria must be clearly defined and aligned with the company’s needs. The assessment of employees’ potential and personal qualities should be objective, based on their professional and personal attributes, as well as their ability to work within a team.

Overall, implementing a talent pool programme is a responsible and time-consuming process that demands both effort and resources. However, a properly executed Internal Talent Pool Programme will provide the company with the readiness to adapt and a high-quality human resource base for further growth and development.