Talent management programmes contribute to staff engagement because personnel believe such schemes help prepare them for future roles and speed up career progression, according to a leading HR body.

But employees that do not take part in such initiatives are no less happy with their organisation and take no more pride in it than the chosen few. These are the findings of study undertaken among 300 staff and senior leaders involved in talent management initiatives undertaken by Capgemini Consulting on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The report entitled ‘The Talent Perspective: What Does it Feel Like to be Talent Managed’ indicated that 81% of respondents felt such programmes made them feel more engaged at work.

The main reason for wanting to take part, cited by 84% of those questioned, was the belief that such activities would be of use to them in future. Just over half also hoped that they would help them progress up the company career ladder more quickly.

Claire McCartney, the CIPD’s resourcing and talent planning advisor, said it was encouraging to see that the support and sponsorship of talent-based initiatives by management was “strong” across the organisations surveyed. These included Barclays, NHS East of England and Vodafone.

“Support across divisions and between line managers, however, is inconsistent, which could compromise the effectiveness of programmes. HR’s role in communication, raising awareness and educating line managers will help address this,” she said.

The study revealed that HR’s role in owning programmes was deemed important and had a positive effect on how well they were run and perceived by the business.

But McCartney warned: “HR also needs to actively support peer groups represented on talent programmes – often the highest performing employees across the business – to continue to meet and network beyond the programme. This will help organisations get the most out of groups that have participated in them, harnessing their energy and creativity for business success.”

Almost four out of five senior managers already saw the benefits of such schemes in increasing their networks, but 72% also saw them as an opportunity to develop new skills. A further 62% felt they had learned something valuable from what had been a challenging experience.