Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
The Psichology of Talent Management
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Introduction
Responsible:
Ms. COLOMBO BONALDI, Valeria - hello@valeriacolombo.tech
Office hours:
Previous confirmation by email to:
Prof. COLOMBO BONALDI, Valeria - hello@valeriacolombo.tech
Prof. CLOSAS DIEZ, Sofía - sofiacd2@gmail.com
Prof. GARCÍA, Mónica - mon_nieto@hotmail.com
Prof. BARRADO, Laia - l.barrado@chiesi.com
Introduction
This course focuses on the relationship between the company and the employee, from the first contact to the end of the relationship. During this relationship, the psychology of Human Resources applies assessment and intervention techniques and procedures that facilitate the direction and management of HR based on psychosocial principles of the functioning of people as individuals, groups and organizations.
Pre-course requirements
To have taken the course Psychology of Organizations.
Objectives
- Understanding the employee's life cycle in the company: from the moment the employee is a potential candidate to join the company; his or her development, training, teams, and leadership; to the employee's disengagement (total or partial / temporary or definitive) from the company.
- Understanding the performance of the psychologist is a key tool to improve the management and development of talent in organizations.
- Learn and identify the fundamental steps of the employee journey to design an employee experience that attracts and retains talent in organizations.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CE08 - Awareness of the professional reality of psychologists in a specific field of application.
- CE16 - The ability to communicate evaluations in a critical, well-founded manner, respecting the ethical commitment involved in disseminating psychological knowledge.
- CE17 - The ability to analyse the psychological and social demands and needs of people, groups and organisations in different contexts.
- CG01 - Capacity for critical and creative thinking, and capacity to investigate and adopt a scientific and ethical approach in distinct professional settings.
- CG08 - The capacity to interpret the content and scope of the information received or requested, orally or in writing, and process it appropriately according to the nature of the matter at hand.
- CG13 - The ability to use information and communication technologies for distinct purposes.
- CT01 - The capacity to organise and plan.
- CT02 - The capacity to solve problems.
- CT05 - The ability to reason and assess situations and results from a critical, constructive point of view.
- CT09 - The ability to communicate adequately, both orally and in writing
Learning outcomes of the subject
Students will be able to:
- Explain el rol psicológico y su importancia en organizaciones.
- Describe las steps de la employee's life cycle within the company.
- Identifica las principales prácticas y procesos de atracción, selección, development, training, motivación, y liderazgo de talento.
- Analizar behaviores y decisiones de negocios y evaluarlos en el psicologista en el punto de vista y en el económico, social, y el punto de vista.
Syllabus
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Human Resources Planning
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Employer Branding: Talent Attraction, EVP and Social Media
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Recruitment: Inbound Recruiting, Headhunting, ATS and Recruitment Channels
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Selection and Assessment Process: Competencies, Values and Tests
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Onboarding: Design, Employee Journey and Follow-up
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Human Capital Department and New Roles in HR
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Strategic Talent Plan and Talent Monitoring
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Strategic Workforce Planning
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Organisational Culture and Leadership Models
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Training Techniques: Microlearning, Outdoor Training and Soft Skills
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Career Development: Individual Development Plans and Mentoring
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Team Development: Group Dynamics and High Performance
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Performance Appraisal: Feedback, KPIs and 360-Degree Assessment
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Organisational Well-being and Psychological Health
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Compensation and Benefits Strategies
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Offboarding
Teaching and learning activities
In person
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | METHODOLOGY |
| Case studies are a learning technique in which the subject is given the description of a specific situation that poses a problem, which must be understood, assessed and resolved by a group of people through discussion. Case studies are generally resolved in groups to promote student participation and develop their critical thinking skills. They also prepare students to make decisions, teaching them how to back up their arguments and contrast them with the opinions of the other group members. The guided reading of texts aims to develop the students’ critical thinking skills, which play a fundamental role in creating citizens who are both aware and responsible. | Session in which the lecturer presents and explains the course content. This learning methodology allows for the use of audiovisual methodologies that support the content description. Students may interact and actively participate in this session. Debates and discussion in large and small groups, which help develop the students’ critical thinking and judgement skills. This method encourages participation and initiative, the asking of constructive questions and the presentation of new problems that promote critical thinking. A group dynamic in which students simulate or play out typical situations in order to give those who will intervene in such situations in real life a better understanding of the procedure. |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Fully face-to-face mode in the classroom.
The evaluation of the course is based on:
- Final exam (80 %) with multiple-choice questions and development questions.
- Group work (20 %): The written work and the presentation of the project in class will be evaluated.
Important:
Plagiarism, copying, or any other action that can be considered cheating will mean a zero in this evaluation section. Doing it in the exams will mean the immediate failure of the course.
In the second call, it will not be possible to obtain the " Honours " grade so the maximum grade will be "Excellent".
Bibliography and resources
Mobiliza Academy. (2024, marzo 6). VUCA o BANI: ¿Cuál escoger?. https://mobilizaacademy.com/vuca-bani/
Steps for Talent. (2022, marzo 23). Entornos VUCA y BANI: Qué cambios conllevan en Gestión de RRHH. https://stepsfortalent.com/vuca-y-bani/
Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Meland, K. V. (2021). The impact of employer branding on employee engagement and talent attraction. Journal of Business Research, 134, 302–312.
Alnıaçık, E., & Alnıaçık, Ü. (2020). Employer brand perceptions of prospective employees: The role of social media. Human Systems Management, 39(4), 425–436.
EmployerBranding.news. (2026, abril 21). Employer branding in 2026: Strategy, data, and AI visibility. https://employerbranding.news/resources/complete-guide-to-employer-branding-in-2026/
Sánchez-Meca, J., & Marín-Martínez, F. (2021). Structured vs unstructured interviews: A meta-analytic review. Psicothema, 33(2), 251–260.
Köchling, A., & Wehner, M. C. (2020). Discriminated by an algorithm: A systematic review of discrimination and fairness by algorithmic decision-making in the context of HR recruitment and HR development. Business Research, 13, 795–848.
Lee, J., & Yu, S. (2025). Assessment of AI-enabled recruitment mechanisms for improving hiring outcomes and minimizing bias. Journal of Management and Strategy Research, 15(3), 55–78.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Frankiewicz, B. (2020). Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? (And how to fix it). Harvard Business Review Press.
Metaview. (2025, diciembre 16). The best AI recruiting tools for 2026: Smarter hiring, less admin. https://www.metaview.ai/resources/blog/best-ai-recruiting-tools-2026
Doerr, J. (2018). Measure what matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation rock the world with OKRs. Portfolio/Penguin.
Wodtke, C. (2021). Radical focus: Achieving your most important goals with objectives and key results (2nd ed.). Boxes and Arrows.
Niven, P. R., & Lamorte, B. (2016). Objectives and key results: Driving focus, alignment, and engagement with OKRs. Wiley.
Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, W., & Ulrich, M. (2012).HR from the outside in: Six competencies for the future of human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Younger, J., Nyman, M., & Allen, J. (2009). HR transformation: Building human resources from the outside in. McGraw-Hill.
Lawler, E. E., III, & Boudreau, J. W. (2018). Reinventing talent management: Principles and advances. Stanford University Press.