Stopping May Not Be an Option

People live a lot longer than they used to. If you leave a CEO or other senior management role in your 60s, as most do - if your finances permit it in our current economy - you may have 20 or more good years ahead of you. Today, when people have the ambition, drive and energy to achieve great success in any field, it is unlikely that it will just stop when they change or leave a job.

I have never in my life met a successful CEO who was lazy. CEOs, like you, are incredibly hard-working and ambitious. And in spite some grumbling about how tough the job is, the great chief executives I know love their work. Thus, it stands to reason that unless you are about to die or you are infirm, when you make a career transition, your drive is not going to just go away.

You may even think you want to rest and relax, but according to the "retired" CEOs I have met, that desire won't last long. You will need an outlet to express yourself. The prospects of sleeping late, living on the beach, improving golf scores, going on cruises and playing all day hold almost no allure for the great leaders I have known.

Along with rest and relaxation, another favorite myth for the retiree is the ability to spend lots of quality time with the family. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, senior leaders likely have been working continuously for years, usually for decades. For better or worse, their families have been able to survive without them at home. It's a mistake to delude oneself into believing family members now want you around all of the time. For those who are married, retirement may be the spouse's greatest nightmare!

One top military officer shared his experience. "My wife said that she was looking forward to spending lots of time with me. One day, after a few months of retirement, I was in the kitchen alphabetizing the cans. To my amazement, she didn't really seem to care if baked beans should be filed under BA for baked or BE for beans. On the contrary, she reminded me that this was not the military, that I was not her officer and that it was time for me to find something else to do since I was driving her crazy."

Another former CEO laughed as he remembered his retirement. "My kids were grown up and living their own lives. They quickly grew tired of my visits. My wife got so tired of me she got a job in a dress store, just to get out of the house. One day I was watching TV by myself, and a delivery guy came to drop off a package. It was his last stop, so I invited him in for a cup of coffee, and we had a very interesting conversation about life."

After he left I thought, 'What a great conversation. That was the highlight of my week.' Then I looked into the mirror. I hadn't shaved for three days. I had been watching junk on TV. Then I realized what I had just said: 'The highlight of my week was having a cup of coffee with the delivery guy.' As a CEO, I may have had some bad weeks, but I never had a week so boring that coffee with delivery people was a highlight. I got a job the next day."

As you slow down to hand off the baton of leadership to your successor, whether you are the CEO or the executive vice president of human resources, you should have less to do at work. Let your successor start running the place. And I have an important suggestion: Use this time to start planning something exciting to do with the rest of your life. You will probably have too much drive and ambition to be a successful retiree.

You may be thinking: "If I announce my successor in advance, isn't there a danger that I will just become a lame duck?" Almost every executive goes through this dialogue as part of the challenge of slowing down. This fear often results from postponement of the announcement until the last minute, and inhibits what could otherwise be a much smoother transition process.

When it is approaching time to leave, face reality. You will become a lame duck! Attention will shift to your successor. His or her vision for the future of the company will mean more than yours. If you disapprove of executive team members' ideas, they will just wait it our and resell the same ideas to your successor. People will start sucking up to him or her in the same way they used to suck up to you.

Make peace with being a lame duck before it actually happens. Be a happy and productive lame duck. Coach your successor behind the scenes. Build that person's confidence, and begin the transfer of power before you have to. Your life, your successors' life and the lives of the executive team members will be a lot better.

[About the Author: Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including The Wall Street Journal No. 1 business best-seller What Got You Here Won't Get You There.]

Include Employees in Leadership Transition Conversations

"Uncertainty" is a common word these days, used to describe everything from the economy to the future for America's businesses and workers. Having a succession plan for key management positions is one of the most valuable HR initiatives a company can leverage. During uncertain times, it's imperative for businesses to make sure employees have as much job certainty as possible, but succession planning often is neglected for more immediate concerns.

Just as the country had two and a half months to transition into Barack Obama's administration after eight years of Bush leadership, companies benefit greatly from a planned transition between incoming and outgoing top-level management.

But it's not always that easy. Generally, there are three kinds of transition:

1. An internal candidate's successful transition. This is only possible when a company knows the executive is leaving and has identified a likely successor. It eliminates surprise and enables a smooth, transition with the least amount of distraction and lost productivity.

2. An executive leaves unexpectedly. This is a good opportunity for companies to promote from within, but the news can lead to power jockeying and interpersonal struggles.

3. A company brings in an external candidate. When companies go outside for a new leader, they are implicitly saying to current employees: "You're not good enough to lead," or "Whatever you have been doing in the past, it is not what we need you to do in the future."

Planning is the lynchpin to ensure organizational stability during a change of power. For example, Hilton Hotel Corp. identified succession planning as a top company priority and emphasized this by creating a separate, dedicated succession planning department within the company's corporate structure. Hilton is able to identify different competencies for the most critical management positions company-wide, while highlighting employees with the appropriate competencies who are on track to succeed in different divisions. The company can identify successors for every executive position and ensure minimal confusion and uncertainty in the midst of change.

People likely do not fear change as much as they fear uncertainty. Uncertainty over leadership creates anxiety which leads to decreased productivity and increased turnover. Further, the more uncertain people are about the potential actions of a new leader, the more they may view that person as a threat.

Further, when there is change at top, employees naturally wonder what's next. Defining roles in advance of succession can set employees' expectations and allow them see where they fit into the organizational picture. Transparency and communication before, during and after transition reduce uncertainty and keep performance high.

The fewer surprises a company has, the better it is for employees and the organization as a whole. Creating a robust and active succession plan not only safeguards against surprise, it can contribute to higher productivity and employee satisfaction. Successful succession plans are the byproduct of a smart performance and talent management program that gives companies a clear window into its workforce's skills, strengths, competencies and goals.

Strategic succession plans engage employees at all levels in a dialogue about their company and the future of its workforce. They also empower executives to build the company's bench strength, improve individual employees' career development plans and save time and money.

Nothing communicates the employee's value in a company more than programs that actively seek to develop and advance careers within the organization. The key to succession planning is not to go into the process blind. Using the right tools, including a performance and talent management system, companies can plan for most contingencies in C-level exits. All they need is a little planning.

[About the Author: Steven T. Hunt, Ph.D., SPHR, is the chief scientist at Kronos Inc., a company that empowers organizations to effectively manage their workforce.]

Integration Key to Effective Succession Planning

Whether attempting to crown the next CEO or determine which workers to tap for promotion to the company's managerial ranks, an organization needs a comprehensive view into the workforce's skills and talent in order to make the best talent and business decisions. Integrating learning, performance management, compensation management and career planning can facilitate effective succession planning.

A successful succession plan should answer the following questions for each candidate:

a) Learning: What does the candidate know (knowledge)? What is he or she qualified to do (skills)? What training has the candidate completed?

b) Performance and competency management: How well has the candidate performed in the past? What does past performance indicate about areas of strength and/or weakness? Which competencies have the candidate attained or still need to ascend to the next level? Which positions in the organization map to the competencies demonstrated by this candidate?

c) Compensation management: What is the candidate's compensation history? How does the candidate's compensation map to his or her performance and achievement of corporate goals?

d) Career planning and development: What are the candidate's future career goals? Where does the person see him or herself professionally, one, three, even 10 years down the road? Is the candidate willing to relocate in order to accept a new or existing position? How much is he or she willing to travel?

To answer these questions, organizations must have insight and visibility into organizational talent. By integrating and aggregating information about an employee's learning, performance management, compensation, career-planning activities and history, organizations can generate a comprehensive snapshot of each employee or of an organization's entire workforce.

Further, this integrated approach serves to match employee career goals with organizational staffing needs, allowing companies to more effectively leverage existing talent.

Historically, the enterprise-technology platforms available to manage this employee data have been largely cut off from one another, each confined to its own silo of functionality. Traditional learning management systems (LMS), for example, automate the delivery and management of training and, in some instances, competencies. Traditional employee performance management systems (EPM) automate performance management administration and, in some instances, career planning.

This siloed approach has made it nearly impossible to integrate the information necessary for effective succession planning. But talent managers now are driving the evolution of a new class of enterprise software.

According to a June 2007 research report titled "Learning Management Systems 2008: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles" from research firm Bersin & Associates, the integration revolution already has begun.

The report said the "convergence of learning and performance management systems is still in its early stages," but LMS features are evolving and "continue to snowball at an incredible rate." Further, in response to customer demand, nearly every major LMS vendor "has developed a new set of capabilities for performance management, succession planning, and competency management."

According to Gartner Inc. the same phenomenon is occurring in the EPM market. When Gartner Research Vice President James Holincheck wrote the update to the research firm's "MarketScope for Employee Performance Management Software" in late 2007, he said EPM systems are no longer being evaluated on their own, and customers are increasingly selecting EPM solutions that are "more integrated with compensation and succession management."

In response, Gartner not only broadened the scope of its research to include all three areas, it expanded the very definition of EPM, from focusing only on performance management to include succession management and compensation management.

With succession planning moving to the forefront of the corporate agenda, the time has come for stakeholders to evaluate their succession planning strategies and solutions in the context of broader talent management capabilities and goals.

References: Shelly Heiden[About the Author: Shelly Heiden is executive vice president for Global Field Operations at Plateau Systems.]

Recruitment & Retention- Behavioural Interviews

Recruiting is a crucial task for any Human Resource department. Especially for the senior management positions, unless an appropriate succession planning is implemented, HR will need to screen a number of prospective candidates before short-listing the appropriate ones. Understanding a candidate's attitude and behaviour is very important, as it determines his approach to the organisation.

An interview is the only means of investigating and finding valuable information about a candidate. No other process of assessment can give a better insight than the interview process. An effective interview is a process of understanding the unspoken and requires the skill of deciphering verbal signs of deception to gain vital information. The best method of gaining information is when the prospect is unaware of the process, since the scope of tampering is minimal here.

A structured and methodical interview helps uncover the known and - obvious aspects of a prospect's personality. To gain deeper insight into the unknown and understand the candidate completely, HR relies on behavioural interviews.

Behavioural interviewing is a technique that uses a structured set of questions aimed and designed to determine a candidate's attitude. This interview technique is based on the paradigm that, when a person makes a conscious effort to act against his natural instinct to respond to the situation, an increased tension and anxiety is displayed. As connecting situations are posed, he loses control due to increased anxiety and fails to keep track of his answers, thus bringing out his true behaviour. More importantly the interviewer understands the body language of the candidate. Such a technique is particularly useful to determine if a candidate is editing information or fabricating responses. This technique of interviewing is generally applied while selecting candidates for crucial management positions in the organisation.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Suggested HR Strategies to Reduce Effects of the Crisis.

Communication.

Dedicate time to positive reasoning. Hold town hall meetings involving staff and management on ways to tackle the challenges of the downturn. Hear the staff out. Take time to listen to the employees for confidence building. During such engagement, declare immunity to cover all staff, in which any staff that offers to critique the organization is insulated from witch-hunting sanctions and victimization. This gives room for sincere invectives and inputs, which may turn the organization around for good. Staff should be encouraged to objectively give their assessment of where the organization was, where it is and where they believe the organization should be and what should be done to survive the recession. After listening to the staff, thank them for valued contributions and promise to work with their inputs. Reiterate the vision and mission statements of the organization. Appeal to staff to do everything possible to actualize the goals and objectives of the organization. They should show more personal and collective commitment, loyalty and dedication to the organization for improved productivity. Seek their support for the strategic action plans. At the same time, strengthen the two ways communication process and dedicate time to feed backs.

Positive team culture.

Stress shared vision, strategies and belief in team culture, improved symbiotic team spirit because of the positive value addition of synergy. HR Managers should at this time radiate and give hope and lift their staff from negativity to positivity. A positive team culture stresses collectivism, and symbiosis. Do well to stress the importance of every team member.

Learning.

Learning is the key that opens the individual employee to knowledge beyond his/her immediate reach. It helps to bring a strong barrier against failures and landmines that may bomb the organization out of existence. It assists the worker to open up to new initiatives, ideas and best practices. Design programmes that put the organization on top of the pack and enable the organization have a competitive edge. Staff may not necessarily be moved from their places of work because of the innovations in as e-learning and intranet services are becoming a way of life. Encourage staff to participate in workshops and conferences to enable them compare notes on experiences and learn from others. Where only a few staff can attend, those who attended should be given an opportunity to share their learning experiences with their colleagues at a forum.

Leadership focus during the downturn.

1. Transparency.

2. Accountability.

3. Courage to effect necessary changes.

4. Training.

5. Proactive strategy.

6. Sacrifice.

7. Incremental changes.

8. Address issues of insecurity.

9. Credible leadership.

10. Mentoring.

11. Coaching.

12. Nurturing.

13. Sifting down process between the effective staff.

14. Walk-the-talk.

Performance incentives..

General Motivation techniques: Positive and negative sanctions.

Performance Incentive Bonus (PIB)

Review of organizational structure and procedures.

1. Reduce complex structure to a simple structure.

2. Increased autonomy to improve decision making process.

3. Concentration on core areas.

4. Elimination of tribal, political and racial considerations in the appointments of chief executives and recruitment processes.

5. Review of recruitment policies. It is a well known fact that in most parastatals of government in Nigeria, there are periods of employment freeze, unfreeze, refreeze and retrenchment at the fiat of the executive arm of government.

6. Review financial management procedures to optimize profitability.

7. Improve cost culture and asset utilization.

Redefinition of business value system.

This is a moment to re-examine the organization’s business value system, goals, roadmaps, strategies and practices to align with the anatomy and physiology of the organization. The vision of the organization should be cascaded down the ladder so that there will be a total buy-in; into the new ways of achieving the vision even at these difficult times. A shared vision sets the tone for the conscious will power to achieve the impossible.

Succession planning.

The chief executives of many parastatals of government are removed and replaced at will. The high turnover of the top management is the bane of poor performance of some organizations. It makes planning difficult, truncates strategic plans processes and kills any organization’s initiatives to achieve a well tailored succession plan, which is a Sequa-non for organizational success. There should be a reversal of this unwholesome process.

Attitudinal change..

Paradigm shift in work culture and values.. Stop the attitudes of being busy doing the wrong things. The aim is to change from busyness to effectiveness as being busy does not connote effectiveness. Being busy and working hard without focus does not translate to results the organization needs to be effective.

Job rotation.

Temporary postings to areas of unsaturated staff.

Equal opportunities.

Redeployment.

Pre-retirement seminars.

Pre retirement workshop.

Incentives for early retirement (discourages swearing affidavits to cheat on age).

Personal income management.

Almost all staff are now very heavily indebted to the banks with slimmer income. It is often said that the “take home pay of workers no longer take them home”. Staff of various organizations have found themselves in this conundrum in Abuja because of the need to purchase personal houses in other to avoid the cut throat high rents in the FCT.Engage external consultants to talk to staff on personal income management and the need to prepare for retirement. HR managers should help enforce the one-third rule of loans over which a staff cannot approach the organization for loans so that staff will be able to maintain and cater for their immediate families at this critical time.

Proactive HRM.

1. Application of emotional intelligence strategies.

2. Fair HR practice in the use of the carrot and stick approach.

3. Assessment of the competencies of employees and productivity level. Do not wait for the end of year.

4. In-plant knowledge sharing forum should be enthroned to encourage staff to share their knowledge in an in plant workshop. This will assist the organization to source for and maintain a knowledge pool in the organization.

5. Change management. Change will be effected in bits and not radically so as not to further stress the staff.

6. Review the organization’s customer management processes.

7. Enthrone an integrated research and development processes.

Performance evaluation.

Enthrone an effective performance management system.Performance evaluation should focus on:

1. The organization.

2. Departments.

3. Customer service.

4. Teams’ performance.

5. Processes.

6. Individuals. .

• Solutions to challenges rather than sanctions, condemnation and the blame trade..
• Seek to be understood before seeking others’ understanding..
• Expectations should be mutually agreed using basic standard benchmarks..
• Consider individual strengths, experience, priorities, inner motivation (is he a loner, extrovert) and confidence in assigning tasks..
• Acquire the skills to align the staff skills and competency to align with the organizational objectives..
• Monitor performance (don’t wait until the end of the year).. Reward top performers and ascertain collateral damage if any.. Investigate and sanction poor performance.. Watch out for the aftershocks of performance evaluation.

Any of the following models could be used to address the performance challenges that organizations may face during the periods of financial crisis:. between short, medium and long-term objectives. The BSC is a tested tool change processes..

Ulrich model.

Ref: http://louisbrownogbeifun.com/?p=55

A Culture of Learning: Turning Values Into Actions

Creating a culture of learning begins with emphasizing the value of workforce development. Sustaining it entails collaboration among learners, as well as alignment of programs to key organizational goals.

Learning cultures thrive in organizations that consistently reinforce the value of learning. These organizations encourage information- seekers, facilitate educational experiences and consistently demonstrate a commitment to learning by defining the culture in actions, not words.

Learning is not a one-time event. Effective and meaningful corporate cultures understand learning is an essential part of the fabric of the company, woven into all roles, functions, divisions and regions of the organization. Placing value on learning and creating an open environment creates an enduring organization and provides the ultimate source of sustainability.

Too often, education on corporate values and principles is addressed in silos. Corporate attitudes and behaviors are heavily influenced by an organization's culture, and the culture is shaped by the organization mission, core values and traditions. In a healthy learning culture, education is visible in all aspects of the business - so learning penetrates the entire organization to foster a culture of interactivity and engagement. In the case of a company's ethics and compliance education, a company's values come to life in actions that provide competitive advantage to the organization.

This holistic approach to learning - including the company's values, ethical decision making and business risks - is necessary in creating a learning culture. Yet, too often, education is applied to meet compliance standards or the minimums of the law and not necessarily designed to foster a values-based culture.

Evolving Into a Values-Based Learning Culture

Global businesses are faced with a number of new and more complex challenges than ever before regarding how people connect, collaborate and work cohesively and productively. Trend data from LRN's "2008 Ethics and Compliance Risk Management Practices Report," which surveyed more than 420 global companies, shows that one-quarter of organizations have a desire to engage employees in learning, but are challenged to put their corporate values and integrity into action.

When an organization seeks to transform its corporate culture through values-based learning, it is best to initiate the tone from the top and ask executives to define the overall culture to determine whether they consider it to be a learning culture. This assessment should touch a representative sample of organizational stakeholders, in addition to the leadership team - which may include customers, shareholders, suppliers, as well as employees.

Next, a thorough assessment of current programs assists in evaluating the attitudes and perceptions of the organization's learning culture. This assessment should reach employees across roles, functions and geographies to gather a balanced perspective of their educational experiences. The results should be compared to highlight any key commonalities that are important to maintain. However, it also is important to identify any discrepancies in perceptions of the overall culture, as well as the educational programs, to create an action plan that moves the company toward a truly aligned learning culture.

Shifting attitudes and transforming behavior do not happen overnight, but leveraging multiple learning channels within an organization is an excellent avenue to engage the workforce through awareness building and activities that can slowly shift the tide. The focus of any initiative cannot begin and end with awareness, but should repeat consistent bits of information, facilitate forums for informal learning and create a sandbox for learners to test and socialize information, shift attitudes and, ultimately, increase knowledge retention. This type of collaborative learning takes education from the individual development approach and creates a connected environment that builds the foundation of a learning culture.

The work of Judith Harris, author of The Nurture Assumption, challenges the whole way we look at teaching. Her work showed that, historically, the perspective on teaching overestimates the influence of parents and teachers, and underestimates the role of peer pressure. There are some real and practical steps to enhance learning by working with peers in team environments.

As companies work to create a more engaging educational program, they should not lose sight of how best to educate their workforces on mission-critical information in meaningful and sustainable ways. Organizations need to avoid implementing learning initiatives as a one-way communication, risking information overload. Pushing out content onto a corporate intranet, in the hopes that learners read and absorb the information, satisfies a "check the box" approach to education but does not represent a culture of learning.

For example, if an organization is launching a new environmental, health and safety policy, posting a set of compliance rules communicates to the enterprise that leadership is taking a passive approach to education, whereas some organizations take an additional step, requiring their workforces to electronically certify that they have read, understand and agree to abide by the policy. This sends a message that leadership deems these policies critical to the business.

Yet, posting a policy and successfully obtaining certification is only the first step to raise awareness. Where most organizations assume their work is done, a true learning culture believes the education has just begun. The next step is to ensure the workforce understands how to apply the policy in real-life situations it faces in daily work life. We know that recall is enhanced by learning in the context in which one is expected to perform. Yet, most teaching is done in alien environments such as classrooms, training centers or in bland online formats. So create an ideal blended approach that incorporates awareness building, knowledge building and skill building through peer interactions.

Enabling the workforce to translate rules into actions empower the business, mitigates risk and builds a cohesive corporate culture that ideally becomes a self-governing one. Once the awareness around a topic is achieved, it is important to foster a rich learning culture in order to educate, not just inform. This can be achieved by designing a suite of learning experiences that trigger the learner's personal relevance in the equation of the compliance topic.

Learning experiences can take on many shapes and forms, such as interactive modules that enhance the learning experience - to help the learner connect the dots from policy awareness to application. As noted by the Peer Research Laboratory at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, adults retain 10 percent of what is read, 20 percent of what is heard and 80 percent of what is experienced, so it is important to consider experiential learning, which can be facilitated through a variety of learning tools such as live workshops, virtual worlds or interactive gaming. These are all extremely effective ways to turn awareness into knowledge. In a global environment, these learning experiences should be localized to align with regional guidelines.

After awareness building, a guided application of the policies can empower learners to see their ownership in the experience and facilitate greater understanding and relevance. This results in a more compelling and meaningful learning experience and sends a message about the value the organization places on knowledge building. From William James and John Dewey through to David Kolb and Roger Schank, there has been a torrent of theory showing that we learn more by doing; yet, much teaching and training is locked into theoretical knowledge and not a skills-based model. There is hardly a training subject that would not benefit from a boost in experiential learning.

Learner Expertise and Knowledge Sharing

Global audiences today thrive in forums of personalized learning and creative expression. They are self-authoring content and emerging as amateur filmmakers and photographers. Innovations to connect and build knowledge have arrived through collaborative tools such as blogs, wikis, photo streams and machinima clips (animated movies created with gaming technology).

High-impact learning cultures recognize the value in user-generated content and embrace this next generation of tools. Perhaps the easiest and simplest piece of learning theory to put into practice is chunking, which means being sensitive to the limitation of working memory.

Less is more in learning, and it is important to distill information for the adult learner, rather than enhancing, elaborating and creating distracting noise. Additionally, a lack of understanding about how memory works leads to a lack of preparation of material in terms of size of content, order and engagement, which leads to weak encoding, a lack of deep processing and, ultimately, poor retention and recall. In creating a learning culture, it is essential to engage and educate the workforce often with small interactions and incorporate peer and direct manager discussions into the program.

As the workforce continues to grow through globalization, we must remember the value of relationships and the connection between people as an essential element to consider throughout the enterprise. The fabric of any organization's culture is built upon relationships that evolve over time through communication and connections. In a global culture, the core is strengthened by fostering a learning environment that supports relationship building through activities, such as peer collaboration, or particular platforms that allow colleagues to have a dialogue around successes and failures.

Tomorrow's Leaders

Preserving a learning culture requires keeping the learner population at the forefront of the company's strategy. When there are marketplace changes or competitive challenges, it is critical that an organization's learning environment is flexible and prepared to augment its program to support the business.

Today, organizations are challenged to maximize operational performance while increasing retention and driving workforce productivity. Sustained learning cultures build strategies and processes that give them visibility into how talent allocation best aligns with organizational goals and needs. This includes alignment on the cultures, values and mission of organizations. Mature learning organizations recognize this and focus on talent-driven initiatives through performance management processes that integrate values into career development and succession planning.

Taking a strategic approach to succession planning is a powerful catalyst for organizational transformation, growth and development, and ultimately drives cultural sustainability. Developing the skills and talents of the next generation of leaders and transferring institutional knowledge into practical business applications will contribute to ongoing business success and a sustainable advantage.

Ref: Marsha Ershaghi

Accountability for Talent Management

New research finds talent-management processes are in place, but underused. Plans don't translate to reality because too few organizations hold managers or executives accountable or to compensation packages to drive the strategy.

First, the good news from a new study from Hewitt Associates and the Human Capital Institute: Most companies now have a talent-management strategy in place.

The bad news? Very few of those companies are executing that strategy successfully.

So says the newly released research that identified lack of accountability for talent management as a key reason companies have difficulty executing talent-management practices. In short, plans on paper don't translate to reality in the workplace when it comes to developing and retaining talent.

"Most organizations have the fundamentals in place," says Bob Campbell, leader of Hewitt's North American Talent Management practice in the Norwalk, Conn., office. "The question is where do we go from here?

"What we saw emerging as a key issue," he says, "is developing manager capability to carry out the practices in place. Despite the distractions, it has never been more important than in these challenging times that managers have a steady hand on the tiller to coach employees and guide brighter future prospects.

"The research, entitled The State of Talent Management: Today's Challenges, Tomorrow's Opportunities, included input from 700 senior-level talent leaders across a wide spectrum of companies.

Among the findings:

a) 92 percent of business leaders recognize superior talent as providing a vital competitive advantage.

b) Only 7 percent of organizations consistently hold managers accountable for developing their direct reports through performance- management processes.

c) Just 17 percent of respondents indicate their workforce strategy is consistently aligned with their business strategy across the organization.

d) Only 10 percent of companies consistently measure the effectiveness of talent-management programs.

The survey largely confirms the challenges that have long vexed many HR professionals, says Carl Robinson, managing principal of Advanced Leadership Consulting in Seattle.

"Even though many companies say that people are their most important asset, they often don't build in the systems and processes to develop their people," Robinson says. "While the findings here are common sense, I think they are useful. The reality is that talent management is so low on the priority list that surveys like this can remind senior executives to pay attention."

In his work with corporate leaders and companies, Robinson has found several repeating themes as to why talent-management processes are not adhered to and strategies are not executed.

Among them:

a) Not enough time.

b) Compensation systems that do not incent managers to develop people.

c) CEOs rarely model behavior consistent with talent-management strategies.

d) Inadequate funding for talent-management execution.

"The reality is that organizations have to build accountability for talent management into managers' and executives' compensation packages," Robinson said. "It has to be part of the compensation review and people need to dinged for not developing their people effectively.

"The companies Hewitt and HCI, a Washington-based membership organization focuses on talent research and strategies, found that made significant strides in managing talent have effectively institutionalized specific talent-management programs, such as conducting talent reviews, performing succession planning and improving manager ability to further develop employees, according to the researchers.

For HR leaders aiming to beef up execution of talent-management strategies, Campbell of Hewitt suggests focusing on three steps.

1. Determine the most critical areas of the business to support. Ask what aspects of talent management are most closely aligned with the company's top business priorities.

2. Position HR to be the internal experts on talent management. Present the HR department as a professional consulting team, equipped to provide guidance to managers and insights to company leaders.

3. Measure the results. Use predictive analytics and metrics to determine if talent-management initiatives are being implemented and are effective.

Katherine Jones, president of San Mateo, Calif.-based Independent Consulting Services who worked on the research with HCI, said talent-management measurement is essential particularly in "times of belt-tightening."

"In the past, many company had no way to assess where there top talent was," Jones says. "Today, in the current economic environment, it becomes incumbent for a company to look closely at the talent they have now what they will need in a year or two years.

"When dealing with turbulent times you can't have a slash-and-burn mentality," she says. "You have to know who your top talent is and keep those people."

Ref: Scott Westcott

The Benefits of Talent-Pool Succession Plans

In most organizations, HR professionals and executives readily admit they need to better understand the potential talent in their companies and do a better job of rewarding competent, loyal leaders. Succession planning, when integrated into the overall employee performance and talent management strategy, can provide organizations with valuable insight into their leadership pipelines. But a well-managed succession planning process should seek to not only prime leaders for the future, but reward them today as part of a bigger drive for retention.

There are many approaches to succession planning. One of the more common has been the org-chart replacement model in which employees are groomed for a specific position. Ideally, however, succession planning should focus on developing people rather than merely naming them as replacements.

With this premise at its core, the talent-pool approach to succession planning recently has emerged as a best practice that establishes a larger number of employees for promotion. This larger group is more likely to stay loyal and possess skills that are easily aligned with the organization's strategic plan.

In this model, high-potential candidates are placed in talent pools and then receive development -which may include specific types of training and education - in preparation for possible promotion. The organization commits to helping these individuals prepare to qualify for greater responsibilities, but ultimately, it is up to the individuals to perform well in their jobs while simultaneously equipping themselves to meet the new challenges of more senior positions.

The talent-pool approach to succession planning can be a great first step in rewarding loyal leaders, as they are not promised a specific position, but rather are recognized over time for their skills development, day-to-day performance and ongoing achievements. This approach provides a powerful tool set talent managers can use to recognize key leadership candidates and plan long-term bench strength.

Further, with talent pool-based succession planning, organizations are better able to get an ongoing snapshot of their workforces' potential and areas of retention risk while creating a larger pool of capable employees poised to take on leadership positions.

Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP) - an Albany-based, nonprofit, individual practice association HMO - introduced talent pool - based succession planning linked to its employee performance management to better address its strategic plans. With this approach, CDPHP can cultivate the necessary skills and competencies in high-potential employees by focusing on career and development planning.

The organization began the process by asking five questions to gauge which of their managers were at high risk to leave the organization and which were high potential. Of the organization's 100 managers, approximately 77 were rated as high potential. From there, three talent pools within management levels - entry, mid and executive - were identified. CDPHP is taking steps to reward the 77 high potentials by building a customized development plan for each manager.

As in the CDPHP example, by moving beyond the org-chart replacement methodology and working closely with high-potential leaders, talent managers can take development and succession planning to the next level. Organizations also are better equipped to manage retention risk and build employee loyalty.

For future leaders and the organizations that need them, opportunities that go beyond regular succession planning processes - such as highly individualized leadership training geared to their specific competencies or interests - will go a long way to build a robust, long-term talent pipeline.

Ref: Sean Conrad

The Four-Step Talent Management Road Map

Despite the increasing pervasiveness of talent management, most organizations have only slight knowledge of how to evaluate the effectiveness of their talent management practices, determine their capabilities or develop a strategic road map for the evolution of their processes. Yet, understanding such factors is critical to drive greater measurable and perceived value in an organization's talent management function.

The key to improving an organization's talent management processes lies in evaluating them according to a talent management capability continuum, a graphical progression of talent management capabilities within an organization. The four steps outlined below will help talent managers create a road map to lead an organization toward best talent management processes.

1. Evaluate the status of your talent management strategy.Begin by assessing the state of the organization's talent management processes. Talk with each process owner to ascertain how each process is designed to be executed, as well as how it is actually executed. A process defines how things are supposed to be done. The practice is how they are actually carried out.The process designed by HR, training or organizational development may be different across functions. Seek information from organization's division heads, as they know their talent management processes best, and they also should have a sense of how those processes are put into practice.

For example, to determine the state of an organization's succession planning process, first talk with HR, training or organizational development staff to determine how that process is designed. Then talk with each division head to learn how he or she actually engages in succession planning. This will provide critical information about current successes, disconnects or company-specific succession planning challenges: What processes are at work in the organization? How is each talent management process carried out (or not) by each business function? What process disconnects and differences exists across your organization? Once you have the answer to these primary questions, you are ready to move on to step two.

2. Find out where the organization lines up on the talent management capability continuum.The talent management capability continuum should provide talent managers with the big picture. It can show where an organization ranks on a scale of worst-to-best talent management practices. While evaluating the talent management processes' different capabilities, methodologies and systems will emerge. Some potentially beneficial processes may have been overlooked, some may need improvement, and others may qualify as best practices.

Organizations that fall to the far left of the continuum have not started to develop their talent management capabilities. They have not formalized practices or centralized processes, do not track most talent-related metrics, nor have they created a culture that supports talent management.

As organizations improve their capabilities, they likely will formalize practices in certain areas of the business. These organizations fall in the middle of the continuum. They track key talent-related metrics and have foster a culture that accepts those talent processes, but may lack consistency.

At the far right of the continuum are those organizations that consistently follow best practices in their talent management methodologies - at every level of the organization - using the most up-to- date technology systems as support. They track metrics that are tied to talent management process effectiveness frequently. And these organizations have created a culture that supports talent management processes and requires leaders to regularly engage in their design.

Note, while the term "best practice" is used to denote a practice generally accepted as highly effective, the level of effectiveness depends on many factors. What works in one organization may not yield positive results in another.

3. Prioritize talent management processes.The next step is to rank each process according to importance and the expected impact of improvement. Talent managers can judge importance by how critical the process is to the execution of organizational strategy. Then evaluate the expected impact of improvement by measuring the difference between the current process state versus the preferred future state, and determine the value of closing that gap.Senior leaders can be helpful during this step, and their participation will generate buy-in and reinforce that talent managers are working cooperatively toward the organization's desired outcomes.

4. Create a talent management road map.Once the talent manager determines where the organization falls on the continuum and has established priority for each talent process, he or she must develop a strategic talent management road map. This road map may span years because improvements to talent management processes can not happen in one month, one quarter or even one year.

Consider using a three-pronged approach to create the road map: Develop a framework of important criteria, establish a timeline, and communicate the road map to senior leadership.

Understand the importance of each process, the budget available for strategic talent imperatives and the organization's business environment. Then prioritize data for each process and order them according to company-specific criteria.

For example, for the first six months, there may not be enough money to invest in a complete talent management process overhaul. So focus on small improvements to one of the organization's current processes that will produce even a modest financial impact. Later, when there is more funding, budget more resources for large-scale process improvements that have greater strategic importance.

Determine how long each process will take to refine the organization's critical business needs. Then map out improvement plans across a specific timeline. Keep in mind talent managers may be able to work on more than one process during a given period. And some processes are linked to or are dependent on others.

Finally, communicate the talent management road map to the leaders who helped during the prioritization stage: step three. Provide them a copy of the road map along with the data used to create it, and celebrate the work they did to help produce it. Be prepared to answer specific questions. Even though these leaders should have contributed the data on which the road map is based, there could still be some push back. Focus on the business imperatives and help them understand how the road map will impact execution of company strategy.

Many organizations would benefit from a planned and strategic approach to improving talent management capabilities. A recent Learn.com survey showed 248 leaders in the field of HR, training and organizational development rated their organizations' overall talent management practices an average of 1.9 on a scale of 0 to 4, with 4 representing best practices. This level demonstrates their practices are only somewhat effective and yield results that often - but not always - meet objectives.

In order to be competitive in the changing business landscape and achieve measurable and meaningful results, organizations must constantly move toward the right of the continuum through carefully planned and strategically designed improvement of their talent management capabilities. Somewhat effective talent management practices are nowhere near good enough.

Ref: Michael Sabbag

Creative Alternatives to downsizing

News of downsizing spreads like wild fire and organisational mercury levels rise with the apprehensions that abound. It definitely is bad news for employees. Though downsizing is a common strategy adopted by organisations to cut costs, during recession it becomes a requirement. Research proves that the primary objective of downsizing, of cutting costs, is not met often, since most companies rehire.

To keep an organisation afloat managements either have to cut costs or increase revenues. They choose the easy way and downsizing happens. But there are organisations that think otherwise. They use some creative ideas instead of downsizing to cut costs. HR should be aware of the alternatives to apply them to their company.

Silver lining

Some organisations claim to have adopted techniques that could cut costs without resorting to downsizing. At Charles Schwab the top management took a 50% pay cut as an example to the other employees.

Rhino Foods, an ice cream manufacturing company in Vermont, sought employees' suggestions on the issue. One strategy that proved successful was to lend employees to their suppliers and other companies during off seasons. This way they cut costs without downsizing their employee strength.

Cisco is another company that does not believe in downsizing. During the depression its employees are allowed to work with non -profit organisations for 20-30% of their actual salary. Called the ' warehousing strategy ', it helps retain employees even during tough times.

Similarly Lincoln Electrical, Ohio, has not laid off any employees since 1930. During a sales slump they retrained their shop floor employees who were not more than high school graduates. They were expected to identify unexploited markets so that the company could leverage it. This done now Lincoln gets $800 million as revenue from the market the employees identify.

A drizzle

Organisations must realise that the alternatives should be developed keeping in view the present and the future needs, which are changing rapidly. The success of options are based on the fact that

• Everyone has to go through cost cutting strategies
• HR plays an important role in easing the strategies

Respite from the heat

Hiring for the future

Organisations should hire its employees with its vision and objectives in mind. HR should design interviews and assess based on their present and future skill requirements. Recruiting people who can meet future challenges will help the organisation in the long run.

Skill mix

An assessment of the skills available in the organisation and future needs will help employees to know skills they need to acquire and those that need sharpening. This also helps HR to identify training needs and provide for them accordingly.

Succession planning

Assessing the skill mix of the organisation helps in succession planning. The organisation can prepare probable candidates for the position and then appoint them when the position falls vacant. Employees need not thus be hired and laid off during recessions.

Opportunities that enhance overall development

Organisations sometimes create opportunities that help employees to innovate and add value to the organisation. Employees create a new line of business or identify untapped markets and help the organisation to exploit the area. However, organisations rarely adopt such options. Ford has done something similar to this. When they planned to sell the name Mustang to another company their engineers wanted to launch a Ford version of the car. The leaders accepted the proposal, on the condition that the new launch meets the quality specifications of Ford. What transpired is history. A cult was created by the Ford Mustang.

Working hours and wages

Sometimes organisations resort to reducing work hours by placing all the employees in flexible work arrangement. Others allow employees to share jobs and the benefits thereof.

Wage reduction is strategy where employees face wage reduction irrespective of their position in the organisation structure. The top management has the highest reduction followed by middle managers and lower level employees.

Alternative placements

When all the other alternatives fail to give expected returns organisations can find an alternative job for the laid off employees. AT&T adopted this option with a difference. The organisation advertised the availability of employees for other organisations. It paid off. Requests from various companies poured in to recruit the employees.

Others

Organisations can explore various other ways to resolve the problem. Some organisations do not downsize but wait for their employees to leave on their own. These positions are not filled immediately so existing employees can be placed there.

Some others offer leave with benefits or part benefits to their employees. When they return from the leave they might be given the same or a different job position. Organisations also use employee buy-outs. The employees buy a business unit that is on the verge of closure and try to revive it on their own.

Few organisations offer the company's equity in lieu of the salary cuts. Although this decision needs strong employee participation the reality is far from it. Employees are hardly involved in any kind of decision- making.

Some of the Japanese companies use all the above alternatives. If one fails they use the next one.

Precision

Organisations should first check the appropriateness of the option chosen. They should visualise future needs and the options available. Organisations should assess their vision and determine whether they have the expertise to realise their vision.

The alternatives should be analysed individually using the questions and then the right mix of skills should be determined. Some questions to be asked before adopting the alternatives:

• The alternative's scope of achieving the vision
• The suitability of the alternative to the company's value
• The costs and risks in using the alternatives
• The impact of the alternatives on the people, their morale and productivity
  

Top managements often forget to recognise the trauma employees undergo when they are laid off. Management must place themselves in the employees' shoes to be able to relate with their distress.

Finally, when the alternatives are being implemented HR should first research the industry and see what competitors have been doing. Involvement of employees and the top management in the implementation of the alternatives eases the process.

Reference:The ManageMentor

Planning for Success!

Succession planning assumes a strategic role as recession hits talent supply...

Tough economic times are not about financial meltdown alone. There is also the collateral damage that comes with it. Economic downturn brings different challenges for different functions. For the human resources function, the challenge lies in the ability of the organisation to maintain a healthy and competent bench strength without digging into the corporate wallet. HR leaders have to try and prevent holes from forming in the talent bench.

Succession planning gains a whole new meaning in recessionary times. Experts say that organisations need to have a robust succession planning strategy so that they are prepared adequately to combat recessionary blues. Succession planning should ideally begin in the hay days when the economy is booming and things are looking good. It is in such times that HR leaders, along with functional heads, can pursue their succession ideas since both the risks and gains are limited. What's more, recruitment managers have the luxury of 'buying' talent when the going is good, while in a downturn it is more about 'growing' talent. A strong succession pipeline makes all the difference here.

Toning talent muscle

Why should organisations focus on succession planning in a downturn? The reasons are many. The most evident and convincing of them is that in a downturn organisations have little to spare and turning inwards for help will be the only option. This, however, would help only if succession planning was tended to as a critical strategic function in good times.

Financial crisis always pushes employees to do a bit more than what they could. Hence, having a competent bench strength can help organisations produce more without pulling purse strings. Despite awareness about the importance of succession planning and its role in a downturn most organisations have a weak succession plan. Organisations pay little attention to their succession strategy and only prepare a vacancy chart to show how one moves up the ladder. Such apathy towards the critical function can spell disaster for organisations in times of recession. .

Organisations, therefore, should analyse closely the need, purpose, objective, process and the desired output encompassing a succession planning programme. The best way to begin working on a function like succession planning is to work backwards from the outcome to the purpose. This is because only when HR leaders are clear about what they expect from their succession planning will they be able to chart out a plan to achieve it. Without a clear understanding about the outcome leaders may fail to do the right things and therefore may not produce the desired results.

A clearly defined purpose will help leaders define parameters to measure their success and will also help in letting others know about the validity and reliability of the exercise.


Defining points

The success of a succession planning programme can be measured by using a scale that assesses the programme on a number of parameters ranging from usage and design to output. To begin the succession planning drive, it is important that the programme has maximum reach and easy accessibility. For this, the succession plan has to be written down and distributed among the people covered by the programme, and also those sitting on the decision making bench. In addition, the plan must have the following attributes:

The succession plan should be more of a 'progression plan', where the emphasis is on an individual's growth and career progression, and not promotion

• Every succession plan should have an individualised career graph that would help employees keep a track of their progress
• Leaders and managers should be open about people who are included in the plan. Clarifying about individual status will help employees get a better perspective to the entire exercise
• The plan should include appropriate rewards for managers following the plan. Managers who help their subordinates make smooth transitions that are in line with the chalked out plan should be rewarded suitably
• Succession planning should be articulate and must ensure that the right job moves are made

Succession planning should not lead to crisis. It should be integral to corporate management and save organisations caught in a downward spiral. However, this is possible only if organisations invest adequately in succession planning and build a robust talent pipeline that can be relied upon in times of need.

Reference:TheManageMentor

Aligning Human Resources and Business

Attracting the best and brightest employees, developing them and retaining them is a challenge for any organization. The role of the Human Resources function has changed dramatically over the past few decades and will become increasingly more strategic in nature in the future. With the changing landscape of Human Resources management in the years to come, strategic planning will be the key for HR to meet those needs and to succeed.

It seems that finally CEO’s are willing to give HR Managers a significant role in strategic decisions. To gain a stake as “Strategic Partners”, HR professionals should focus on two major issues- Return & Growth. Hr professionals can create economic value from these sources:

Employee turnover and retention
Revenue Vs Employee Costs
Expenditure on the HR function and related activities

These three factors relate to three important HR goals:

Attracting, developing and retaining staff
Aligning, engaging, measuring and rewarding performance
Controlling or reducing HR costs

HR related measures for growth needs to be handled with care and should be tailored to the organizations' goals. HR measures should be devised keeping in mind increase in performance & profitability. Following can be attributed as growth related HR measures:

Leadership Development
Increased employee engagement
Diversity in work force
Work-Life balance