Talent Development

North Star Communications Consulting works with global and regional companies and agencies to deliver real solutions that develop world-class talent.

Growing and Retaining the Top Communications Talent

Talent Development: Unlock Your Team’s Full Potential

In today’s dynamic workplace, success isn’t just about strategy or technology—it’s about your people. Your entire organization thrives when your team has the skills, confidence, and leadership capabilities to excel.

Why Talent Development is Your Secret to Success

say they’d stay longer at a company that invests in their growth (LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report). Yet too many organizations overlook the potential of their own workforce, prioritizing daily demands while letting development take a back seat.

94%

• Stronger Retention: Employees stay when they feel valued.
• Higher Engagement: Growth opportunities energize teams and foster loyalty.
• Greater Results: Well-trained teams deliver exceptional outcomes, directly impacting your bottom line.

But growth doesn’t happen on its own. North Star bridges the gap, offering communications and marketing talent development solutions tailored to your unique needs.

Our Talent Development Solutions

We create programs that don’t just teach skills—they transform potential into performance.

1. Competency Identification and Progression
What do “good,” “better” and “great” look like for strategy, planning, writing measurement and more than 40 other marketing and communications competencies? The answer is constantly changing, as the bar gets higher every year, new competencies emerge and the maturity and sophistication of any communications and marketing function evolves.

At North Star, we:

• Identify: Working with leadership and our benchmarking, we articulate the critical competencies that will move the needle the fastest for any communications and marketing function.
• Articulate progress: We further articulate what progression looks like in the technical communications and marketing competencies from entry level to mid-career and advanced or expert level.
• Align: With clearly identified and articulated technical competencies in hand, we align the outputs with Communications, Marketing and HR/Human Capital leadership, and further connect them to organizational values, leadership competencies and culture.

2. Assessing talent

Words on paper are a start, but they don’t mean much until they’re put into play with teams and talent. This isn’t about evaluating talent for the purpose of promoting or terminating. This is about fostering meaningful conversations and action plans for career growth, illustrating runways for development and advancement and looking at talent through a common lens.

• Self reflection: Individual team members review competencies and share where they believe they are in their journeys.
• Managers focus: Looking through a common lens, managers reflect on identified competencies for themselves and team members they lead.
• Dialogue: Managers have one-on-one dialogues with team members to better understand strengths and the application of identified competencies, leading to personalized action plans to demonstrate, acquire or adjust competency proficiencies.

3. Customized Employee and Team Development Pathways
North Star not only looks at individual competency applications; we look at the “big picture” and share a holistic view of where the full team can be strengthened. From team or small-group training to stretch assignments, mentoring opportunities and other actions, we support clients with both individual and team solutions to accelerate talent growth.

• Mentorship Programs: Foster growth and connection between employees and leaders.
• Cross-Functional Projects: Encourage innovation and broaden skill sets.
• Step-by-Step Learning Modules: Build expertise and confidence, creating a culture of continuous improvement.

What Sets North Star Apart

At North Star Communications Consulting, we believe that with the right support, every person has the potential to lead, innovate and thrive.

Here’s why organizations trust us to develop their talent:

• Deep Expertise: With decades of experience in communications and marketing, we understand your industry’s unique challenges.
• Custom Solutions: No cookie-cutter approaches here. Every program is tailored to meet your communication and marketing organization’s goals, culture, and workforce needs.
• Lasting Impact: We don’t just train for today’s challenges—we prepare your team for the future, ensuring sustainable growth and success.

The ROI of Talent Development

Talent development isn’t an expense—it’s a strategic investment with measurable returns.

Organizations that prioritize growth see:

• Reduced Turnover: Retain top talent and build a loyal, committed workforce.
• Increased Engagement: Energized employees are more productive, innovative, and collaborative.
• Improved Performance: Aligning skills with business goals drives measurable results and competitive advantages.

Our clients—including Xerox, Visa, Toyota, Keep America Beautiful, and Mercy College, among others—have experienced the transformative power of our programs. They’ve seen firsthand how investing in people leads to exceptional outcomes.

North Star Communications Consulting works with global and regional companies and agencies to deliver real solutions that develop world-class talent. We work not only on the technical competencies required, but the behavioral priorities that will enable success. Partnering with our clients, we:

• Identify core technical and behavioral competencies that drive greater capabilities for their people and their functions’ contribution to the business, and articulate progression through those competencies.
• Introduce tools to assess talent and chart courses for their development, allowing managers and their employees to have robust discussions about individual career growth.
• Deliver training and development programming that lines up against those competency development priorities with specific deliverables and well-articulated returns on investment.
• Support both Communications/Marketing teams and their internal HR partners on everything from change management to established people processes.

Ready to Unlock Your Team's Full Potential?

Your organization is only as strong as the people who power it. Investing in their growth creates a motivated, engaged workforce ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

At North Star Communications Consulting, we specialize in tailoring talent development programs that transform potential into performance. Whether you’re building future leaders, enhancing communication skills, or fostering a culture of growth, we have the solutions you need to succeed.

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