The New Dictionary of Hiring

Talent-Limited Growth

/TAL-UHNT LIM-I-TID GROHTH/

NOUN

Talent-Limited Growth is the condition in which demand and opportunity exceed what the business can deliver with the people it has.

MEANING

Sometimes demand isn't the problem. Neither is money. Customers are ready, work is available and the business has room to grow. It just doesn't have enough of the people who can deliver.

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That is Talent-Limited Growth. Raising the sales target won't fix it. Finding, developing or retaining the necessary capability might. Hiring belongs in the growth conversation because the business can only sell what it can eventually deliver.

Defined by:
James Ellis,
Employer Brand Labs

Category:

Strategy

Related Terms:

MAKE THE CHANGE

Instead of:

Calling every hiring shortage a recruiting problem.

Ask:

Where could the business grow faster if it had access to more of the right capability?

EXAMPLE

Demand is healthy and the pipeline is growing. The company keeps turning away work because it can't build the team required to deliver more.

HOW TO USE IT

Pair missed or deferred business opportunities with the capabilities that would make them possible. Use that evidence to show where talent access, development or retention is the binding growth constraint.

SAY IT TO LEADERSHIP

We're not short of demand. We're short of the capability to serve it. If growth is the priority, these hires deserve to be discussed as part of the growth plan.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH

Capability Ceiling: the Capability Ceiling is the limit itself; Talent-Limited Growth is the condition of hitting that limit while demand is still there.