Talent Pipeline

A talent pipeline is a strategic workforce planning approach that deals with sourcing and grooming candidates with appropriate skills to fill crucial positions within a firm. A talent pipeline is about the various steps of talent acquisition and development; starting from sourcing and recruiting candidates to onboarding, training, and succession planning. Through purposefully creating and sustaining a talent pipeline, companies guarantee a smooth and steady flow of adequately skilled workers that will support the existing and the future needs of the organization and minimize turnover or skill shortage related disruption.

Example

A financial services company starts a talent supply program to grow leaders and successors to key roles in the organization. Through talent assessments, performance reviews, and leadership potential evaluations, the program finds high-potential employees and then trains them for promotion through targeted development activities. Students in the talent pipeline program get mentoring, coaching and exposure into cross-functional projects and leadership opportunities which add to their skills as well as experience. Moreover, the company offers formal training and educational services such as tuition reimbursement in the quest for career advancement. Investment in a talent pipeline guarantees an inflow of competent personnel so that the organization does not rely on outsourcing to fill vacant positions and improves its plan for succession as well as resilience.