Talent and Performance Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends HR Business Partner, Talent Management Specialist and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-TPM-032

Before you join: Participants should understand basic HR responsibilities and have some exposure to performance reviews, objective setting, employee development or line management.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Organisations need reliable ways to identify critical talent, set meaningful expectations, assess contribution fairly and prepare people for larger roles. Weak performance processes produce vague objectives, inconsistent ratings, manager avoidance of difficult conversations and limited evidence for pay, development or succession decisions. Talent processes can also become disconnected from workforce plans, leaving pivotal roles exposed and high-potential employees overlooked.

This course covers the connected practices of talent and performance management, from role architecture and competency models through goal setting, feedback, appraisal, calibration, development and succession planning. Participants learn to create SMART objectives and OKRs, use SBI feedback and BARS rating anchors, run evidence-led calibration discussions and apply the nine-box grid responsibly. They also examine critical-role identification, talent pools, internal mobility, retention risk and talent metrics for leadership decisions.

Delivered over five instructor-led days, the course combines concise briefings with realistic HR cases, manager simulations, group analysis and structured application planning. Participants work with examples drawn from corporate, public-sector, financial-services and mission-led employers. They leave with a practical talent and performance management toolkit: templates for performance agreements, calibration, development planning, succession and implementation. The course is available in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online. Participants who complete the course receive a certificate of completion.

The course suits HR professionals, people managers and business leaders who already participate in performance reviews or talent discussions and now need a consistent method for improving decisions, manager practice and workforce outcomes.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a talent management operating model with clear governance, roles and decision rights
  • Translate business priorities into SMART objectives, OKRs and measurable performance agreements
  • Conduct manager check-ins and SBI feedback conversations using documented performance evidence
  • Build appraisal criteria using competency models, rating scales and BARS behavioural anchors
  • Facilitate calibration discussions that identify bias, challenge weak evidence and improve rating consistency
  • Create individual development plans using 70-20-10, career conversations and stretch assignments
  • Develop succession plans for critical roles using talent pools, readiness categories and risk assessment
  • Produce a phased implementation roadmap for talent and performance management improvements

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Lead performance conversations with clearer evidence, structure and follow-through
  • Make more defensible appraisal and talent decisions during calibration meetings
  • Build practical development plans linked to role requirements and career goals
  • Contribute credibly to succession discussions for critical and leadership roles
  • Present talent risks and priorities using meaningful workforce measures

For your organisation

  • More consistent performance expectations and appraisal decisions between managers
  • Earlier identification of critical-role succession gaps and retention risks
  • Stronger manager accountability for feedback, development and documented performance evidence
  • Better internal mobility through clearer skills, role and career information
  • Talent decisions supported by defined governance, data checks and action tracking

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define an integrated talent and performance management operating model aligned with business priorities.

  • Talent strategy aligned to business plans, workforce risks and critical roles
  • Talent management operating model: accountabilities, governance forums and decision rights
  • Employee lifecycle mapping from attraction through development, mobility and retention
  • Segmentation of pivotal roles using value creation and scarcity criteria
  • Build-versus-buy decisions supported by internal supply and external market evidence
  • Ethical talent decisions: transparency, consistency, privacy and adverse-impact controls

Participants can define role requirements and identify positions requiring focused talent action.

  • Job analysis using interviews, observation, task inventories and incumbent questionnaires
  • Job descriptions distinguishing accountabilities, outputs, decision scope and required capabilities
  • Competency models with behavioural indicators, proficiency levels and validation evidence
  • Job families, career streams and levels structured through job architecture
  • Critical-role criteria based on strategic value, vacancy risk and replacement difficulty
  • Skills taxonomy design connecting roles, capabilities, learning and internal mobility

Participants can translate organisational priorities into clear, measurable and balanced performance expectations.

  • Performance management cycle linking expectations, feedback, review and development
  • SMART objectives translated from team priorities into individual commitments
  • OKRs used where outcomes require alignment, transparency and adaptation
  • Measures balancing results, behaviours, quality, risk and customer outcomes
  • Performance agreements documenting standards, evidence sources, checkpoints and support
  • Goal cascading without creating conflicting targets or excessive metric burden

Participants can conduct regular performance conversations that address progress, behaviour and development needs.

  • Manager check-ins structured around progress, barriers, priorities and wellbeing
  • SBI feedback model: situation, behaviour and impact stated specifically
  • Feedforward questions converting past performance into agreed future actions
  • Active listening techniques: paraphrasing, probing, summarising and testing assumptions
  • Difficult performance conversations prepared with evidence, examples and clear requests
  • Recognition practices linked to observed contribution rather than personal preference

Participants can create and apply fair appraisal criteria supported by observable evidence.

  • Rating scales designed with defined anchors, evidence standards and rater guidance
  • BARS translating role-specific behaviours into observable performance level descriptions
  • Evidence collection from goals, work outputs, stakeholders and documented feedback
  • Recency, halo and similarity bias identified during appraisal decisions
  • Self-assessment and manager assessment compared using explicit evidence criteria
  • Performance documentation supporting fairness, development planning and employment decisions

Participants can facilitate consistent performance and potential decisions through structured calibration.

  • Calibration meetings compare evidence, standards and ratings across comparable roles
  • Nine-box grid combines performance evidence with assessed future potential
  • Potential indicators distinguish learning agility, aspiration, ability and engagement
  • Talent review agendas identify high potential, solid contributors and risk cases
  • Facilitator protocols challenge unsupported ratings and record agreed actions
  • Adverse-impact checks test patterns by gender, ethnicity, age and grade

Participants can turn performance and talent evidence into targeted development and mobility actions.

  • Individual development plans convert performance evidence into targeted growth actions
  • 70-20-10 development mix balances experience, relationships and formal learning
  • Career conversations explore aspirations, strengths, constraints and realistic options
  • Stretch assignments scoped with learning goals, sponsorship and risk controls
  • Coaching questions build ownership without managers prescribing every solution
  • Internal mobility processes match employee skills with vacancy requirements

Participants can build succession plans that strengthen coverage for critical roles and leadership positions.

  • Succession planning identifies successors for critical roles and leadership positions
  • Ready-now, ready-soon and ready-later categories supported by evidence
  • Succession slates assess depth, diversity, development needs and flight risk
  • Emergency replacement plans address sudden absence in business-critical positions
  • Talent pools managed through entry criteria, development actions and review dates
  • Retention risk assessments distinguish likelihood of departure from business impact

Participants can use talent data, HRIS workflows and governance controls to improve people decisions.

  • Talent dashboards combine retention, internal movement, performance and succession indicators
  • Turnover analysis separates regrettable exits, controllable causes and critical populations
  • Performance data quality checks test completeness, consistency, timeliness and audit trails
  • People analytics ethics cover purpose limitation, access controls and confidentiality
  • HRIS workflow requirements for goal setting, reviews, approvals and reporting
  • Data storytelling presents talent risks, options and decisions for senior leaders

Participants can plan a practical improvement programme for talent and performance management processes.

  • Diagnostic assessment identifies gaps in current talent and performance processes
  • Prioritisation matrix weighs business value, feasibility, risk and resource demand
  • Implementation roadmap sequences policy, system, manager capability and communications
  • RACI matrix assigns ownership for talent reviews, calibration and development
  • Change adoption measures track manager usage, employee experience and decision quality
  • Personal application plan defines first actions, stakeholders and success measures

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Talent and performance management operating model template
  2. SMART objective and performance agreement template
  3. SBI feedback and manager check-in guide
  4. Calibration meeting agenda and nine-box grid worksheet
  5. Individual development and succession planning templates
  6. Talent management implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • HR Business Partner — needs consistent talent and performance processes for business areas
  • Talent Management Specialist — designs talent reviews, succession plans and development interventions
  • Learning and Development Manager — connects capability development with performance evidence
  • People Manager — sets expectations, gives feedback and contributes to fair appraisals
  • HR Manager — governs appraisal cycles, calibration and workforce talent decisions
  • Department Head — requires credible talent data for succession and retention decisions

Skills and tools covered

Performance goal settingFeedback conversationsCalibration facilitationSuccession planningTalent analyticsManager development

Tools and standards

SMART objectives, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS), Nine-box grid

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by case work based on performance reviews, talent reviews, succession risks and manager decisions. Participants analyse role and performance evidence, practise feedback and calibration conversations, and work in groups to compare ratings, development choices and successor options. Simulations focus on realistic manager and HR interactions. Each participant builds an application plan using templates that can be adapted to their employer’s policies, systems and workforce priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic HR responsibilities and have some exposure to performance reviews, objective setting, employee development or line management. Experience as an HR adviser, HR business partner, team leader, people manager or learning professional is helpful. Participants should be comfortable discussing workplace performance examples and interpreting simple workforce data. Prior study in psychology, people analytics, employment law or HR certification is not required. The course does not assume prior experience with a specific HR information system, appraisal platform or succession-planning tool.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have basic HR or people-management experience and familiarity with performance reviews, development discussions or team objectives. No formal HR qualification, analytics background or prior experience with a talent platform is required.

Bring a laptop if attending online or if you prefer to work electronically during classroom sessions. It is useful to bring a non-confidential example of a performance process, role profile or talent challenge from your workplace.

The course is designed for HR business partners, talent specialists, HR managers, learning professionals and people managers. It is particularly useful for those who contribute to appraisal, calibration, development or succession decisions.

This course focuses on managing existing employees: performance expectations, feedback, assessment, development, mobility and succession. Recruitment and people analytics are addressed only where they support talent decisions and workforce evidence.

Participants leave with reusable templates for performance agreements, feedback, calibration, development and succession planning. The final module helps them identify a priority process improvement, stakeholders and first actions for their own setting.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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