HR & People Jargon · Vice President level

"Top talent"

"Top talent" is a corporate phrase for the best or highest-performing employees, used in recruiting and retention conversations.

Say this instead: the best people

How "Top talent" shows up at work

The phrase HR reaches for when writing job postings or justifying compensation decisions. It does real rhetorical work: calling someone top talent implies you're competing for them, which makes the conversation feel more urgent.

Buzzword

We need to move fast if we want to attract top talent in this market.

Plain English

We need to move fast if we want to hire the best people in this market.

Corporate Rank: Vice President · Category: HR & People Jargon

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