What baseball can teach us about talent management
As a Royals fan, I have been fascinated to watch Bobby Witt Jr. develop from a highly- touted prospect into a superstar, and it got me thinking – why don’t companies approach talent the way baseball teams do?
Let’s talk about Bobby Witt Jr. for a second. The Royals didn’t just spot him at a job fair and say, “Hey kid, want to play shortstop tomorrow?” They identified him years before he’d ever earn a major league paycheck. They drafted him, developed him, gave him time to fail in the minors where nobody was watching, and built an entire plan around his growth.
Meanwhile, at most companies, they post jobs on Indeed three days before they need someone and then wonder why they can’t find a unicorn who codes in seven languages, manages client relationships, and works for peanuts.
Scouts vs. recruiters
Baseball teams employ entire scouting departments – people whose only job is to find talent that won’t be ready for YEARS. They’re sitting in the bleachers at high school games in tiny towns, freezing their butts off to watch some kid who might, possibly, if everything goes right, help the big league club in 2028.
And what do most companies do? We hire recruiters who are measured on “time-to-fill” and then act surprised when they bring us whoever’s available right now rather than who we need long-term.
At my last company, I worked to create a future talent position focused solely on building relationships with promising people who might join us one to three years down the road. This is now an emerging role and would be helpful in more organizations.
Baseball has this wild concept called “development.” They expect players to need years of structured growth before contributing at the highest level. The Royals didn’t panic when Witt hit .247 in rookie ball. They had a plan!
Meanwhile, corporate America’s idea of development is often a two-day orientation and then throwing someone into client meetings with a cheery “sink or swim!”
What if we had actual development leagues? What if we hired promising people with the expectation that they’ll need structured growth opportunities and won’t be fully productive for a year?
If we’re serious about transforming talent management, here’s what we could steal from baseball’s playbook:
1. Create actual scout positions: Hire people whose only job is finding future talent with no immediate pressure to fill current openings.
2. Build a farm system: Develop internship and rotational programs that expect and allow for growth, with clear advancement metrics like moving from A-ball to AA.
3. Accept development timelines: Stop expecting every hire to be an immediate all-star. Budget for ramp-up time and create protected spaces for people to develop.
4. Value versatility: Reward employees for developing cross-functional skills instead of keeping everyone in rigid lanes.
5. Invest in development coaches: Hire people who are exceptional at developing others, not just managing work output.
Will this cost money up front? You bet. So does running a baseball team’s scouting and minor league operations. But the Royals saw Bobby Witt Jr. as an investment worth making, and now he’s the cornerstone of their franchise.
Instead of continuing to post last-minute job ads and complaining there’s a talent shortage, start to play the long game and create your own development system.