Abstract

OLIVEIRA, Manoela Ziebell de; NATIVIDADE, Jean Carlos  and  GOMES, William Barbosa. The measure of talent: evidence of the validity of a scale to measure talent in organizations. Temas psicol. [online]. 2013, vol.21, n.2, pp. 419-437. ISSN 1413-389X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.9788/TP2013.2-10.

A great competitiveness in business has led organizations to an aggressive race for top talent professionals. This dispute has generated debates, in both the organizational, and the academic field, about how to define the phenomenon and how to assess its occurrence in the general population. This study reviewed the literature about talent, and proposed a measurable definition of the construct, which can be extended to various organizational contexts. We developed a set of items related to three dimensions of talent: quality, speed and autonomy when performing the work. We then searched for evidence of validity and reliability of the measure. Participants on the empirical test of the instrument were 308 professionals active in the labor market, 61% men, mean age 35.1 years. The participants answered a questionnaire containing 20 items related to talent, a personality scale based on the Big Five factors and questions about employment history. Exploratory and confirmatory analyzes, in accordance with the definition of the construct, supported the three-factor structure of the instrument. Reliability indexes of all dimensions were satisfactory, showing alpha coefficients above .80. The observed correlations between talent and personality factors and professional experience provide adequate evidence of validity of the instrument. Individuals with high levels of talent scored high in conscientiousness, received promotions more often and had job offers from other companies. We discuss the possibilities of using the instrument in academic and applied situations

Keywords : Talent; job performance; personnel evaluation; performance.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )