Talent Hoarding is Not a Hobby; It’s a Bad Habit!

Ever seen a manager, or worked for one, who held onto their top talent for dear life? This is known as talent hoarding, and while it might seem harmless, it’s a huge problem. It hampers growth, stifles innovation, and leaves employees feeling undervalued. So, let’s talk about why sharing talent across teams is the way to go. We need leaders to foster a collaborative vibe and use practical tips like making career paths clear, pushing for cross-functional projects, and rewarding teamwork. Basically, if we move from keeping talent locked up to sharing it, we’ll see better engagement, more skills development, and overall business success.

What is Talent Hoarding?  

We often associate hoarding with clutter and messy apartments, but it doesn’t just apply to household objects.  

Talent hoarding in workplaces occurs when managers have trouble sharing their team’s skills and experience, often keeping them longer than is beneficial for the company or the employee. This practice can hurt someone’s career and damage an entire organisation. Some managers even attempt to offload poor performers onto other teams! 

Someone I knew used to work for a manager at a logistics company. The manager had a peculiar way of handling talent. He was like a collector (and not the kind you’d have as a hobby), hoarding and discarding employees based on his whims. His team was full of young, bright, and eager individuals, but none of them ever seemed to grow beyond his shadow. If anyone on his team wanted to move to another department, he wouldn’t let it happen. But he was more than happy to let the employee leave the company. If he couldn’t have them, then no one else can. It was a never-ending cycle of use and discard, and it stunted not only the team’s growth, but it also affected the company’s image, reputation, and potential. 

According to Gallup, one of the main reasons employees leave their jobs is because of a lack of career development. When they don’t see a clear path for growth, they look for companies where they can. This issue is even bigger for millennials, who prioritise rapid career advancement as a key part of their job expectations. 

But here’s the twist: Managers often miss the warning signs, intentionally or not. Why does this happen? 

It all comes down to talent hoarding, which Nobel Laureate Professor Daniel Kahneman calls “loss aversion.” Basically, we’re more afraid of losing something than we are excited about gaining something new. This aversion leads managers to hold onto their team members, fearing the loss of their skills and contributions. 

In other words, it’s like saying, “If I can’t have them, then neither can you.” Feels a bit like a Hollywood plot, doesn’t it? 

The Dangers of Talent Hoarding 

Holding onto employees too tightly can be detrimental in the long run. Your company could face: 

1. Increased Turnover: A lack of internal mobility is the second most common reason employees look for jobs elsewhere. When managers hold their employees back, they’re more likely to seek new opportunities outside the organisation. 

2. Decreased Productivity and Capacity: When talent hoarding is prevalent, employees cannot be used to their full potential. This prevents the business from achieving its full potential and makes it difficult to compete in the market. 

3. An Increase in Silos: Silos hinder innovation, halt productivity, and leave managers incapable of executing strategic priorities. When employees are unable to see beyond the opportunities and projects within their teams, silos and communication breakdowns arise. 

4. Sluggish Career Development: Skill-building efforts become stagnant, causing employees to find it difficult to participate in projects and other experiences crucial for their learning curve. Without these opportunities, they’re unable to develop new skills at a competitive speed. 

Employees who want to advance are often the ones who contribute the most to company growth. However, when employers fail to help their employees learn and develop, they stagnate, and their professional careers suffer. 

RolePoint, a talent acquisition software company, looked at why employers should care about the pitfalls of talent hoarding. Here’s what they discovered: 

A Common (and Costly) Mistake 

If you were a leader, would you rather hold onto the bird in hand than to go for two in the bush? The unknown can be intimidating, and often replacing talent takes a lot of energy, work, and time. 

But then you need to understand why you’re holding onto someone versus letting them go when they’re ready. Contrary to what you believe, holding onto the employees you have and making sure they enjoy their work experience is not the best way to recruit and retain. 

Talent hoarding can result in so much more than a frustrated employee. The more a manager holds their talent back, the more damage it does. It can even hurt the manager and the company.

When an employee isn’t given a clear career path, it affects their loyalty, performance, and skills. It can even impact their mental health and self-confidence, along with: 

• Quiet quitting and employee burnout 
• Reduced company loyalty 
• Falling behind their peers 

It could look as if the manager is the only one who gets something positive out of this, but talent hoarding only amounts to you shooting yourself in the foot. You’ll also face: 

• Reduced productivity 
• Decreased employee morale 
• Damaged relationships with your employee 
• Damaged managerial reputation 
• Unpreparedness in filling a role 

If you think that the harm stops at you and your employee, think again. Your company will suffer as well. If multiple managers are doing this to multiple employees, it damages the company continually over years from multiple channels. You’d face: 

• An increase in turnover 
• Limited innovation 
• Damage to your company brand 
• Risks and damage increase involving multiple managers 

Is Your Company a Victim of Talent Hoarding? 

A startling 50% of employers report that their managers are guilty of hoarding their talent. Here are some signs that your company might be practising this undesirable habit: 

1. High Turnover Rates: If you notice a high turnover rate, especially among your top performers, it could be a sign that your employees feel stifled and are seeking growth opportunities elsewhere. 

2. Limited Internal Mobility: If employees rarely move between departments or take on cross-functional roles, this could indicate that you or your managers are reluctant to share talent. 

3. Employee Dissatisfaction: Frequent complaints about lack of career progression or development opportunities can be a red flag. Keep an eye (or ear) out on it! 

4. Managerial Control: If your managers are excessively contributing and unwilling to let team members participate in projects outside their direct supervision, talent hoarding may already be brewing. 

Moving from Talent Hoarding to Talent Sharing 

When your best employees believe that the only way UP is OUT, my friend, you have a serious retention issue on your hands. One way to combat this is through talent sharing.  

Talent sharing is all about spreading the wealth of skills and expertise by sharing your employees and their talents across different teams and departments. No one wants to be that manager who hoards and discards employees. So, think of it as a savvy strategy that everyone can lean on to keep things running smoothly during tough times. Here’s how it plays out: 

Skill Gap Filling

Your Marketing team is swamped with a new campaign, but you’re short on graphic designers. Meanwhile, the IT department has a talented designer who isn’t fully booked. By temporarily shifting the designer to help with your team, the campaign gets the creative boost it needs, and the designer stays engaged and productive. It’s a win-win!

Cost Offset

A department in a large tech company experienced a temporary slowdown in projects, but instead of laying off employees, they were reassigned to a busy customer service team in another department. This cost-effective move kept employees engaged and productive, avoided the costs associated with layoffs and rehiring, and ensured that the customer service team could handle increased demand without needing to hire temporary staff.

To make this work, you must push for teamwork across departments within the company: 

1. Start with getting buy-in from your leadership team. Get them on board to make talent sharing part of the company culture. 

2. Next, develop policies that allow employees to take on temporary roles in different teams. 

3. Finally, leverage technology to make talent sharing seamless and keep track of your employees’ skills.  

Talent sharing isn’t just about plugging gaps. It’s also about promoting internal mobility and crafting Individual Development Plans (IDPs).  

Internal Mobility	This is about moving employees within your company – across roles, departments, or even locations. Doing this means you’re encouraging and facilitating the movement of employees between departments and roles to enhance their skills and experiences.
Individual Development Plans (IDPs)	IDPs are tailored plans for an employee’s career growth, outlining goals, development activities, and timelines. Doing this means you’re creating clear and accessible career development plans that show employees how they can grow within your company.

Talent sharing isn’t just about filling gaps. It’s about creating opportunities and ensuring everyone wins. It’s a good habit to have for any growth-oriented company. Ready to give it a go? Accendo Technologies provides tools that facilitate these processes, supporting automated and personalised IDPs that bridge talent gaps and track development progress. Want to know more? Send us an email and we’ll tell you all about it!