Talent Management and Acquisition Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Talent Acquisition Managers, HR Business Partners and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-TPM-069

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with HR processes and at least some exposure to recruitment, performance management, people management or HR business partnering.

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

Talent acquisition and talent management are often treated as separate HR processes, creating gaps between workforce plans, hiring decisions, onboarding, performance expectations, development and succession. Managers may fill vacancies quickly but struggle to assess future capability, retain scarce talent or identify credible successors. This course addresses the full employee lifecycle as an integrated set of decisions supported by clear criteria, evidence and accountable governance.

Participants learn to translate business priorities into workforce and capability requirements; define roles, competencies and employee value propositions; and build practical sourcing and selection processes. The course covers structured interviews, candidate assessment, fair hiring controls, onboarding, performance management, talent reviews, succession planning, internal mobility and development pathways. Participants also examine people analytics measures that help HR teams and business leaders assess quality of hire, retention, performance distribution, bench strength and hiring effectiveness.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with sector-based cases, group analysis, selection simulations and practical design work. Cases reflect common challenges in banks, public agencies, NGOs, professional services and large corporate employers, including hiring for scarce skills, managing performance consistency and planning successors for critical roles. Participants leave with a reusable talent management operating plan, structured selection toolkit, workforce planning template, talent review framework and measures dashboard specification suitable for adaptation to their organisation.

The course is suited to HR professionals, talent acquisition specialists, HR business partners and line managers with responsibility for hiring, performance or people development. It is also relevant to leaders redesigning talent processes following growth, restructuring, digital transformation or persistent recruitment difficulties.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a workforce plan linking business demand, capacity assumptions and critical roles
  • Define role profiles and competency frameworks for consistent talent decisions
  • Design sourcing strategies using candidate personas, channels and recruitment funnel measures
  • Apply structured interviews and evidence-based scoring to selection decisions
  • Create onboarding plans that connect early performance, belonging and retention
  • Run calibrated performance and talent review discussions using the nine-box grid
  • Produce succession plans for critical roles using readiness and risk criteria
  • Specify talent metrics and governance controls for workforce and hiring decisions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Conduct more consistent, evidence-based hiring and promotion decisions
  • Build credible workforce and succession plans for business stakeholders
  • Use structured interview methods with clear scoring and decision records
  • Facilitate talent reviews with calibrated performance and potential criteria
  • Present talent metrics that support practical management action

For your organisation

  • Improved alignment between workforce demand, hiring plans and business priorities
  • More defensible selection decisions through structured assessment and documented criteria
  • Reduced early attrition through stronger onboarding and role expectation setting
  • Greater visibility of successor readiness for critical and scarce-skill roles
  • Better talent investment decisions using quality, retention and bench-strength measures

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can convert business priorities into a practical workforce and talent planning approach.

  • Business strategy translated into capability, capacity and critical-role workforce requirements
  • Strategic workforce planning cycle: demand, supply, gap analysis and actions
  • Scenario planning using growth, attrition, productivity and skills assumptions
  • Critical-role identification through value impact, scarcity and replacement risk
  • Build-versus-buy-versus-borrow decisions for priority capability gaps
  • Workforce segmentation using pivotal roles and differentiated talent approaches

Participants can define roles and attraction messages that support targeted recruitment and development.

  • Job analysis through task, responsibility, decision-right and stakeholder mapping
  • Competency frameworks distinguishing technical, behavioural and leadership requirements
  • Behavioural indicators written at observable proficiency levels for assessment
  • Candidate personas built from motivations, skills, barriers and channel preferences
  • Employee value proposition aligned with role realities and workforce segments
  • Inclusive job descriptions using essential criteria and accessible language

Participants can design sourcing campaigns matched to talent markets and role requirements.

  • Recruitment funnel design from awareness through offer acceptance and onboarding
  • Sourcing-channel selection using candidate availability, cost, speed and quality
  • Passive-candidate outreach based on role evidence and candidate motivations
  • Talent pools segmented by skills, readiness, location and engagement status
  • Recruitment marketing messages tested against candidate persona priorities
  • Service-level agreements defining recruiter, hiring-manager and candidate responsibilities

Participants can run structured, fair and evidence-based selection processes.

  • Structured interview design using job-related questions and anchored rating scales
  • STAR questioning technique used to obtain specific behavioural evidence
  • Work-sample tests matched to essential tasks and performance standards
  • Assessment matrices weighting selection criteria before candidate interviews begin
  • Panel calibration reduces inconsistent scoring and undocumented hiring preferences
  • Reference checks focused on verified responsibilities, performance and conduct
  • Selection records maintained for auditability, fairness and decision quality

Participants can improve candidate transitions from application through early-role contribution.

  • Candidate journey mapping identifies friction, uncertainty and communication gaps
  • Recruitment communications set realistic expectations about role and selection stages
  • Preboarding plans cover documentation, equipment, contacts and first-day logistics
  • Thirty-sixty-ninety-day plans define priorities, learning and performance checkpoints
  • Manager-led onboarding combines role clarity, relationships and early feedback
  • Early-tenure retention reviews identify preventable causes of new-hire departure

Participants can design performance practices that produce clear expectations and useful development conversations.

  • SMART objectives aligned with team outputs, service standards and priorities
  • OKRs distinguish ambitious outcomes from measurable key results
  • Performance check-ins structure progress review, feedback, support and reprioritisation
  • Behavioural feedback uses situation-behaviour-impact and agreed next actions
  • Rating-scale design separates performance evidence from manager preference
  • Calibration meetings test rating consistency across teams and managers
  • Performance improvement plans specify expectations, support, milestones and consequences

Participants can identify talent risks and build credible succession plans for critical roles.

  • Nine-box grid assesses current performance alongside future potential
  • Talent review preparation uses evidence, career aspirations and mobility information
  • Potential criteria distinguish learning agility, complexity handling and leadership capacity
  • Succession slates identify emergency, ready-now and ready-later candidates
  • Bench-strength analysis compares successor coverage against critical-role risk
  • Development actions address readiness gaps through assignments, coaching and exposure
  • Confidential talent discussions governed by clear access and documentation rules

Participants can connect development and mobility decisions to capability needs and retention risk.

  • Individual development plans link career goals, capability gaps and actions
  • 70-20-10 development model balances experience, relationships and formal learning
  • Stretch assignments selected for complexity, visibility and supported risk
  • Career pathways show lateral, specialist and leadership progression options
  • Internal mobility policies define eligibility, manager release and vacancy access
  • Stay interviews identify retention drivers before valued employees resign

Participants can specify measures, systems controls and governance for talent decisions.

  • Quality-of-hire measures combine performance, retention and hiring-manager evidence
  • Recruitment metrics track conversion, time-to-fill, cost and source effectiveness
  • Talent dashboards report turnover, mobility, readiness and diversity indicators
  • Applicant tracking systems support workflow, communications and decision records
  • Data quality controls address definitions, ownership, completeness and refresh frequency
  • Bias monitoring examines adverse impact across recruitment and talent decisions
  • ISO 30414 metrics support consistent human capital reporting definitions

Participants can assemble an actionable plan for improving talent acquisition and management processes.

  • Talent operating model defines process ownership, decision rights and escalation
  • RACI matrix clarifies accountabilities across HR, managers and senior leaders
  • Process mapping identifies handoffs, delays, duplicate work and control points
  • Policy review aligns hiring, performance, mobility and succession requirements
  • Implementation roadmap sequences quick wins, dependencies, resources and measures
  • Stakeholder engagement plan builds manager commitment and communication ownership
  • Personal application plan prioritises workplace actions within ninety days

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

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic workforce planning template
  2. Role profile and competency matrix
  3. Structured interview guide and scoring sheet
  4. Thirty-sixty-ninety-day onboarding plan
  5. Nine-box talent review framework
  6. Talent operating model implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • Talent Acquisition Managers — responsible for improving hiring quality, speed and consistency
  • HR Business Partners — align workforce and talent decisions with business plans
  • Talent Management Specialists — design performance, succession and development processes
  • Recruitment Specialists — apply structured sourcing, assessment and candidate management methods
  • Learning and Development Managers — connect development pathways with capability and succession needs
  • Line Managers — make sound hiring, performance and talent decisions for their teams

Skills and tools covered

Workforce planningStructured selectionPerformance calibrationSuccession planningTalent analyticsCandidate experience

Tools and standards

STAR interview technique, Nine-box grid, RACI matrix, ISO 30414

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, group exercises, selection simulations and application planning. Participants analyse workforce scenarios, create role and competency profiles, assess candidate evidence, calibrate performance ratings and prepare succession decisions. Cases use realistic hiring and talent challenges from regulated, public-service and commercial employers. Facilitated peer review helps participants compare approaches and refine materials for their own roles. Each participant develops practical outputs that can be adapted after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with HR processes and at least some exposure to recruitment, performance management, people management or HR business partnering. They should be comfortable discussing job roles, employee data and organisational priorities. Experience of conducting interviews, managing direct reports or supporting workforce planning is useful but not essential. The course does not require prior certification, advanced knowledge of employment law, statistical modelling expertise or experience with a specific applicant tracking system or human capital management platform.

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 understand basic HR or people-management processes and be able to discuss job roles and staffing needs. Prior experience in recruitment, performance management or HR business partnering is helpful, but no specialist qualification is required.

Participants should bring examples of roles, hiring challenges, performance processes or workforce issues they want to improve. Sensitive organisational information is not required; anonymised examples are sufficient.

The course is designed for talent acquisition professionals, HR business partners, talent specialists, learning leaders and line managers. It is particularly useful for people responsible for hiring, performance, succession or workforce planning.

Recruitment-only courses focus mainly on sourcing, interviewing and hiring operations. This course includes those areas but also connects them to workforce planning, onboarding, performance, development, mobility and succession.

Participants leave with templates and plans that can be adapted to their organisation's roles, processes and policies. The final module helps them identify priority actions, stakeholders, measures and implementation dependencies.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days cover ten modules in teaching order, combining instruction, cases, group work, simulations and application planning.

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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