The concepts of ‘talent’ and ‘talent management’ have been deliberated throughout the history of mankind. Consistent with the spiritual perspective, talent is defined as the ability to use natural aptitude and experience to perform certain tasks. These talents are God-given abilities for every individual to contribute to kingdom work in a special way. That is why AfCAA’s third standard – Talent Management – focuses on the need for the Church and Christian institutions to manage the talents bestowed upon their personnel to enable them to fulfil their life’s purpose and at the same time contribute to ministry or business success.
Talent management plays an important role in your ministry, organizational or business strategy. It should take in to account the person, incorporating all dimensions of the professional, intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual.
Daniel 1:3-20 gives an account as to how top talent is specifically sourced. The king ordered his chief of staff Ashpenaz to recruit young men without any physical defect, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. They were to be trained in Babylonian language and literature for three years before entering the king’s service.
God gave four among the young men – Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. After the training period, the four exhibited outstanding abilities in all areas of their training.
The above account indicates that the emphasis on the value attached to skilled workers dates to ancient times. The importance of skilled workers as key in executing given assignments cannot be over-emphasized. We can deduce that it takes a skilled worker in a relationship with the employer to be recognized for greater assignments, to accelerate and progress and subsequently take higher responsibilities.
The AfCAA Standard encourages the church and Christian organizations and businesses to lay down policies and structures to guide their workforce planning, talent acquisition and leadership training, development and succession planning. They are also to create an environment that promotes a learning culture and gives employees a clear indication of their career path as a form of motivation.
