Keep The Faith! - People Management

Key learnings:
Staying committed to corporate talent management in a downturn is the only way to ensure better future
In addition, setting up EAPs can help organisations address fears of lay-offs and job cuts and keep employee morale high

Premise

Hold ground and hang around! This is what Mc Donald’s, Caterpillar and Coca-Coal HR chiefs are telling their people. The three giants are not giving up yet on their talent management initiatives. When other corporate houses are packing up their talent plans, the trio is going all out to give their talent management initiatives a facelift.

According to Cynthia McCague, HR chief at Coca-Cola, there has been no change at all in their hiring intent. The company plans to stay course and do everything it can to hold and attract talent for future business needs. The soft drinks giant employs more than 90,000 employees and has a focused framework for employee development.

Ditto at McDonald’s. The company is going ahead with its million dollars programme for talent management. At Caterpillar too economic downturn has done little to dampen its talent plans The Company plans to spend a whopping USD1.5 billion for its training and talent management initiatives. The figures are staggering because of the changes happening around.

Lessons from corporate Gullivers

The talent management story at the world’s most celebrated corporations is surely worth admiring. However it is also worthwhile to spend time and mind in understanding how and what is it the companies are doing differently that is shielding them from the economic wrath.

An analysis of the talent management practices at the three corporations revealed that the three of them were doing the same. The little differences that figured were mainly because of the differences in their industry practices.

At McDonald’s...

McDonalds’ has had a cushy time despite the downturn, since the footfalls in the restaurants‘ global locations have only increased with recession; considering that restaurants offer affordable fast foods. Thus the rod was spared for restaurateurs. This apart the company stands out because of its relentless efforts to boost its workforce abilities, providing the best possible growth opportunities by aiming for talent management initiatives that strengthen employee engagement and also build commitment and loyalty. Further the company has also started certain talent management programmes at the stores with competent training and development initiatives. The Company has also started commitment surveys at the stores including the franchisee stores. This has helped the company learn about the way employees feel about serving for the fast food giant.

An interesting change witnessed by the McDonalds store managers is that since recession set in, the number of job applications at McDonalds has doubled. People are pouring in with their resumes like never before. “This is a mark of the relationship quality that we share with our employees,“ says Floersch, the HR chief at McDonalds.

At Coca-Cola...

Coca-Cola is shielded from the rough weather like McDonald’s.The company is doing rather well for itself while giving others “simple moments of pleasure”! Apart from the regular talent management initiatives, Coca-Cola has set up employee assistance posts (EAPs) to help employees address their fears and concerns about the future of the company and their growth in it. According to McCague, family and friends of employees talk about their concerns and help address their fears about people lain-off around them. The EAPs aim to ease the fears and concerns of the employees and their families by spending time with them and letting them know with exactness the real picture.

At Caterpillar. ..

No shield, yet there! Manufacturers of earth movers are not shaken by the tremours around it. The giant continues to stand tall and how! The company plans to infuse USD 1.5 billion in its talent management drive. The company is clear about keeping its workforce intact. Caterpillar announced a 35 per cent pay cut for senior executives and 15 percent pay cut for other employees but they discussed with the employees about pay cut before communicating their purpose to them.. According to Sid Banwart, the firm’s chief HR officer taking employees into confidence is the only way to move forward in a crisis.

The company has also rebuffed its internal employee development programme. When asked about poaching competitor talent Sid was blatant in stating the organisation relies heavily on its internal talent pool and therefore does not feel the need to look outside.

Final thoughts

The common denominator underlying the three success stories is their commitment to nurturing talent and believing in spirit that man and not machine is supreme. Leaders of the three corporations have also showed that talent management and employee recognition are not mechanical that can be turned on or off based on the external environment. Following it with great seriousness and sincerity since corporate success is all about winning people and not robots. Thus, organisations irrespective of the external environment should hold stead and stay committed to its people and make the most from the crisis!

Reference: TheManageMentor.

To Tell or Not to Tell: Grooming High Potentials

"To tell or not to tell, that is the question; Whether 'tis better to be forthright And tell high potentials of their status, Or to be silent and let them know nothing."

Just as Hamlet faced a critical decision, this parody on his soliloquy illustrates that talent managers do, too. The state of the economy has made organizations more introspective as they look for ways to develop and retain top talent. Informing - or not informing - high potentials of their status can impact whether they stay or go. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this controversial question: Tell or don't tell?"

This notion of transparency continues to be a complicated issue," said Lynne Morton, co-founder and chief operating office of TalentScope, a provider of talent management solutions. "It is important to tell people they have been identified as high potentials. However, it requires a corporate culture that supports and manages the expectations of people."

A lot of [companies] have said to me, 'It's opening up Pandora's Box; we don't want to do it.' The reason is because they're afraid of their inability to manage the expectation[ s]," she explained.

If it's not done right, telling can be harmful to an organization's health. But if talent managers can manage the expectations that come along with telling, the end result is not only better retention of top talent, it also sends a clear message to the workforce about which qualities make good leaders."

When you're looking to identify and develop high-potential employees, you're [letting those] individual[s] know how important they are to the organization, how you recognize their unique abilities [and how] you want them stay and grow with the company," said Patrick Sweeney, executive vice president of Caliper, an international management consulting firm that developed the Caliper Profile, a personality assessment tool."

It also allows the rest of the individuals in the organization to see not just the individual you value but the qualities you value. It really brings to life the values of the organization and what you stand for when you identify and recognize people."

Should Every Organization Tell?

Telling is not the right decision for every organization, as doing so depends on corporate culture.

Even though Ken Driscoll, the director of the talent management group at Navistar Inc., an international truck and engine corporation, believes high potentials should be told, his organization does not embrace the practice, and some employees have quit without knowing they were identified as high potential.

Because there are differences of opinion across the four business units, the leaders of each unit make their own decisions about whether to tell or not, which Driscoll said can lead to problems."

As people transfer from one business unit to another, it can create confusion," he explained. "But for us, to mandate that in our organization or say we're going to adopt that [wouldn't] be wise either. Leadership has to believe that's the right approach.

Driscoll said if there is a policy to tell, there must be buy-in from the organization at-large, and the organization should prepare the employees for the change."

It's something that has to grow organically in an organization," he said. "You can't say, 'We're going to be a transparent organization' if you don't help people understand why it's important, why we communicate it and then give them tools to actually carry it out."

If Navistar ever implements this policy, Driscoll said his organization would be carefull how it constructed and voiced that message."

People need to understand how the organization views them," he said. "But you can't set up any kind of expectation or imply promise. Once you work through all of that, you sit down with someone and just tell them, 'Based on the evidence, we believe you have the potential to step into some higher leadership roles, and we want to provide you with some development opportunities.' That's a powerful message to send to people."

Morton said there are two challenges in telling high potentials of their status, how to manage their expectations once identified and how to manage those who are not identified. These challenges often are a deterrent to telling, she said.

To manage a high potential's expectations, organizations first need to define what a high potential is before informing an employee he or she is one. Does it mean the employee is going to assume a leadership position within the next two years? Does it means he or she will receive more development? Or does it mean something entirely different?"

Everyone likes to be praised," Morton said. "But in a business context, I want to know what does it mean to me? Otherwise, it could just be thanks for a job well done. But if it means I'm on the road toward something or I'm going to fit into the organization in a different way, it becomes important."

To determine what high potential means at your organization, talent managers should sit down and discuss it in terms of the organization's business strategy, culture and leadership model, Morton said. Once the definition is crafted, it can be a guiding principle in what managers tell employees, thereby avoiding any implied promise."

You're not high potential forever," Morton said. "The potential has to materialize. You could be considered a high potential, the company works with you and tries to develop you, but you're not getting there. Then you fall out of the high-potential pool."

Part of being clear is to tell people, 'You're not in this forever, and you need to maintain standards and the quality of work to remain in our high-potential group.' You have to be up-front. This is why it's complicated and some companies don't want to tell because then you get into this challenge of managing expectation and managing the dilemma of someone [who] falls out of the group. It's not easy."

If it's not handled right, telling high potentials also can create a negative dynamic in the workforce, as some people are highlighted and others are not."

If you have good data to support how you make your decisions, you should be able to say, 'Jane, you didn't make the cut this year, but as you can see from this information, here are the things you need to do. And we will help you work on those. We expect that if you continue the way you have been and you work a little harder, you'll make it,'" Morton said. "You need to show people that you have made informed decisions, and you are supporting and helping them."

Telling Is Central at Central Maine Medical Family

The leaders at Central Maine Medical Family recently created the Accelerated Development Group, a pool of talent that will be readied to assume key leadership roles in the future. The organization and its top leaders made the strategic decision to tell these employees they are high potential to set an example for the rest of the organization as to what a leader should be."

We see them as the people with whom and for whom we'd like to provide future challenges that are growth-oriented and rewarding career opportunities," said Joyce McPhetres, vice president of HR and organizational development. "Our identification of the group is our opportunity to say, 'These are the people with the qualities and practices of leaders who will help us get to our future.'"

Central Maine began the Accelerated Development Group by developing key leadership competencies critical to organizational success. When selecting the first group of individuals, Central Maine looked at the competencies, performance assessments, patient satisfaction surveys, employee engagement surveys and the Caliper Profile to determine which of the organization's 125 managers fit the bill. In the end, nine were chosen."

I strongly believe they should be made aware of the role they're going to play," McPhetres said. "By notifying them and others of their role, you create a standard, and you set a standard for development of other people within the organization."It's important for both the group and [the] larger organization to understand that we will not be operating as usual. It's very important that we're holding up a new model [and] new ways of behavior. And it's important others understand that alignment with that model and those behaviors are critical."

The way Central Maine tells the Accelerated Development Group is significant because the CEO, COO and president of the organization are the ones to do it."

I work in an exemplary environment, somewhat of a dream environment, in that each of the leaders of our organization are critically involved in defining and structuring the future success of this organization. And they would have had it be no one else who would inform these people than themselves," McPhetres said."

We look to our leaders to understand the next step, to understand how we might be moving toward particular goals and toward our future, and it's very key for the top leaders to be intricately involved and actually communicate the programs and the developmental opportunities for the leaders within an organization."

Telling high potentials of their status can set an example for others that there are specific values an organization embraces."

The organization has to live and breathe these values," Sweeney said. "It's not like you can send out an e-mail and say 'OK, here are our three high potentials this year.' It has to be very thorough, very comprehensive, recognized at the highest levels within the organization, and it has to permeate the organization so the people who are identified are recognized in very real and meaningful ways."

[About the Author: Lindsay Edmonds Wickman is an associate editor for Talent Management magazine.]

Hiring Practices During a Recession

During a Recession, hiring practices generally don’t change, but companies are much more careful in evaluating the need for additional staff — be it executive or otherwise. When possible, they tend to look more closely before adding outside hires. In many cases, companies consolidate responsibilities and do more with less staff. Early signals of this are when companies don’t replace positions left vacant by normal attrition. As business trends continue in the manner that they have during the last two quarters of this year, and into 2009, companies feel the pressure to reduce overhead expenses. This could be reduction in facilities (more virtual employees), reduction in workforce, accompanied by increased responsibilities and reduction in compensation packages. Of course, companies still seek the right executive talent to manage “the new order” going forward.

Companies Hiring Right now

Currently, we are seeing some hiring in the public sector, technology, alternative/green energy and life sciences/medical sectors. To a lesser extent, there are some midcap companies in the industrial sector that are continuing to grow as larger concerns exit markets, leaving a void for lower cost, higher value options. Indicators also point to a resurgence in finance & accounting roles across industries.

From Entry-Level to Executive

Right now, it’s tough for both executives and entry-level employees, but particularly challenging for executives to match employment opportunities that exist in better times. Generally speaking, the higher the price tag, the longer the job search. Revenue producers, at all levels, are highly coveted in this business environment. As for entry-level job seekers, there are still opportunities for the determined.

Strategies

Flexibility to the needs of the prospective employer would be advised. What the prospective employee can contribute to the bottom line is the key to success in a job search during these times. The use of one’s business and personal network should be a vital strategy—get the word out. Be aware of current events in the industry or sector being sought—the volatility of business is at a high point. There is no excuse to be unaware with so many communication tools at one’s disposal.

Trends in the Current Employment Markets

Retention of current, valued employees has taken a greater importance. In many companies downsizing has already occurred. As business units operate with leaner teams, every member of the team takes on a more important role in the organization. The loss of top performers is highlighted even more in tough times, as productivity could experience a decline, along with adding the cost of replacement. Some might say that with crisis comes opportunity.

(About the Author: Juan Morales is managing director of the Miami office of Stanton Chase International. The 450-member organization conducts local, regional and international executive search campaigns for many top companies worldwide. Stanton Chase currently has 66 offices in 41 countries. There are 12 offices in North America. For more information, visit www.stantonchase.com)

Attracting Top Talent: Do You Have What It Takes?

Today's employees are attracted by a hiring package with both extrinsic (pay and benefits) and intrinsic (motivation, training opportunities, etc.) elements. But does your organization have the right mix?

There's really only one way to find out: Ask them. Hold focus groups or distribute questionnaires to your employees with the purpose of determining what they think of your present pay and benefits program and also the work environment. Which benefits do they rate the highest? Which are least important to them? What do they find most and least desirable about their jobs and the workplace?

Studies have been done by numerous compensation organizations and they have identified the following as the most important benefits:

• RRSP or other matched employee retirement plans
• Dental plan
• Pension plan
• Pay for performance compensation
• Flexible working hours
• Childcare
• Tuition reimbursement

Ideally, say the experts, you should be offering each of these. But if you can't offer them all, determine which you should be offering based upon your employee focus groups and survey findings.

Likewise, examine employees' opinions about their jobs and the workplace. The ideal company offers:

• Job security
• Employee participation in decision-making
• Work/family balance
• Increased employability through training and development opportunities

Of the elements above, which are missing in your organization? If they aren't there, they should be. Whereas the elements in your benefits package most important to your workforce will vary with the nature of the group (e.g., younger employees will be interested in childcare or tuition reimbursement, or funds to finance a new home), all, regardless of their place in their careers, want job security, involvement in decision-making, training opportunities, and time to enjoy their families along with their jobs.

Once you have retooled your package to attract those employees your firm needs, your next step is to determine how to market your revised package. If you have a website, and you are looking for technical people, make sure that you advertise on it. Visit the websites of competitive firms to determine how they use their site to prospect for job candidates. Job search sites should be part of your marketing plans, of course. But you shouldn't limit yourself to them. Don't forget newspaper classifieds.

Classifieds aren't as effective as they once were, especially if you are recruiting from among those who are still employed. But you can increase their usefulness if you highlight in the ad what candidates would find most attractive about the job (e.g., good pay, great benefits, childcare, and employability). Actually, you should do this in all ads you run.

Here's another avenue for marketing your job openings: direct mail.

Send out mailings to those individuals who match the profile of recruits you want. Associations or magazines targeted to your industry or the necessary discipline can provide the mailing list and names of candidates with the general background you want.This provides a new avenue for the top talent you want.

Ref: http://www.hr.com

Understanding the New Leadership Model

Global service-based and team-oriented businesses are expanding rapidly, four generations are now in the workplace and social networks are ubiquitous in business and personal life. These modern facts of talent management life - among others - mean one of talent managers' most critical tasks is to ensure their organizations can successfully identify and integrate new leaders and unleash their potential.

Further, today's top-performing leaders need to add some new skills to their portfolios for long-term success. To promote the dynamic leadership development required to drive business results, talent managers need to understand the new trends in leadership and be proactive and focused when taking steps to attract, retain and develop strong and effective business leaders.

The Successful Leaders Makeup

In May, professional services firm Epoch partnered with talent management firm Focus Insights to conduct the "Epoch Financial Services Leadership Study" that included behavioral and motivational assessments of 200 financial services executives across various disciplines.

Study results revealed that strong leaders continue to score highly in their utilitarian motivation - the need to have every investment they make have a greater return in time or resources - and their high results-driven orientation. They also exhibit individualistic motivation - the need to advance to higher positions in life and to gain power by leading and directing others. According to Eduard Spranger, author of Types of Man, these two traits always have been present in successful business leaders.

However, the Epoch study shows an important and significant new trend. The social motivator, defined as a willingness invest one's own time and resources in helping others achieve their potential, is significantly higher than it used to be and is now common among almost all leaders surveyed. Further, leaders' proficiency in social motivation is significantly higher today than in surveys of the past 50 years.

Another characteristic of highly socially motivated individuals is their desire to eliminate hate and conflict in the world. That is more important than ever before in today's highly globalized marketplace. Modern leaders must manage resources in all parts of the world and be able to lead multiple generations in the workplace. For the first time in history, there are four - some say five - generations in the workforce with just as many different value systems, and all need to work collectively.

Understanding how to lead, manage and help these different groups achieve their full potential requires skills that were not necessary when only one or two generations worked together. Further, these larger and more diverse groups require that leaders possess far greater understanding on how to best manage and inspire them.

The study also revealed that gender is not a factor when evaluating a leader's social competency. Effective leaders, regardless of gender, all require demonstration of some level of competency in this new skill, and the range of proficiency is consistent across both genders. The business disciplines practiced by leaders also are not a factor; the presence of social motivation is consistent across all disciplines at the leadership level.

What It Takes

Effective leadership has as much to do with the presence of the right behaviors and motivators as it does with skills and experience. In other words, often leaders can transcend disciplines to effectively lead if they possess a combination of top motivators such as utilitarianism, individualism and social acumen.

These revelations can have a profound impact on the way companies identify employees' proclivity to demonstrate these behaviors. Recognition and identification of these behaviors in future leaders is the talent manager's first step in any effort to unleash new leaders' potential or to create the appropriate development opportunities to boost an organization's existing leaders.

There are many assessment tools in the marketplace that can help evaluate these motivators within an organization's hiring and development practices. These motivators affect an employee's entire life cycle, from recruiting - either internally or externally - to developing or integrating them and ultimately to retaining them.

From a recruiting standpoint, it is now more clear what a successful leader looks like. But assessment tools, when combined with traditional interview techniques, can help an organization evaluate a candidate's ability to demonstrate effective leadership attributes.Once on-board, the talent manager's understanding of an individual's and an organization's leadership motivators can significantly improve the chances a leader will be fully engaged and successful. Further, for a leader to thrive and realize his or her full potential, an organization must develop on-boarding protocols and development plans to help that person. These plans must work within the organization's culture and support consolidation of three primary kinds of motivators that make successful leaders:

a) Individualistic: The desire to direct and control, where individual advancement may be more important than other people.

b) Utilitarian: Rewards return on investment, talent and time - where wasted time, materials and resources create stress.

c) Social: A humanitarian drive and the desire to reduce pain and conflict, where too much emphasis on bottom-line results and an insensitivity to people will cause frustration in this leader.

This is a new leadership paradigm, and the individualistic and utilitarian motivators may seem to conflict with the social motivators at times. Understanding how to manage this in an organization is imperative to talent managers' success.

According to a recent study by Camdem Associates, 60 percent of new executives fail within 16 months. Organizations often don't understand how to integrate a successful leader or how to maximize his or her full potential. But when these two activities are combined successfully, great leadership potential can be unleashed.

Leadership Is Not a Skill One of the most profound and potentially controversial things revealed in the Epoch study is that organizations should focus less on skill sets and more on identifying great leaders and moving them around the organization. Promoting talent mobility enables high-potential leaders to experience challenges in related or perhaps completely different areas of the business, broadening their perspectives and expertise, and thereby increasing the value they can bring to an organization.

Great leaders can transcend disciplines. Some top performers have led a number of disciplines within their organizations because they have great leadership skills, not because they understood the skills required of any one particular group or role. A great leader can surround him or herself with talented direct reports who possess the right skills, but leadership itself is not necessarily a skill. Leadership is a combination of key behaviors and motivators inherent to an individual.

Some successful executives surveyed were in operations or marketing roles before moving into senior-level HR or talent management positions. Some began their careers in HR and then moved into line business roles. Development opportunities can help, but again, their success likely transcended their disciplines because they were great leaders to begin with.

The progressive organizations that recognize that successful leaders are transferable will create great companies and be able to successfully motivate and retain great leaders. Further, the trickle-down effect in the organization will act as an effective performance motivator and retention tool for these leaders.

Modern business leaders not only seek their own success but increasingly want to invest time and resources to help others - especially members of their own teams - to achieve their potential, as well. Since the newest generation in today's workforce is actively looking for mentors to help them achieve their full potential, they too will thrive working with these new leaders.

Managing talent with this new leader in mind helps promote fully engaged work teams and unleash any group's full potential to drive business results. And at the end of the day, that is what talent managers are responsible for doing: driving business results and increasing shareholder value.

Further, if talent leaders can do that and motivate individuals to seek out ways to accelerate their leadership savvy, they can create highly dynamic and highly functioning organizations to which great talent will be drawn. At a time when it is anticipated that all organizations will be facing tremendous talent gaps - the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a labor shortfall of 10 millions people during the next two to three years - the ability to acquire and develop great leaders will be an important differentiator for organizations looking to attract and retain the best talent.

What's Next?

First, for organizations seeking to hire great leaders externally, talent managers should embrace the tools available in today's marketplace to help identify the presence of key leadership behaviors and motivators. Combine those tools with traditional interview practices to help ensure the acquisition of great leaders.

If, on the other hand, it is more effective and efficient for an organization to look internally to identify individuals with great leadership power and potential, consider two things. First, organizations should use some of the tools available to evaluate leadership potential. Second, once the assessments are done, if great leaders are available, an organization should start moving them around. Their natural behaviors and motivators will transcend disciplines and the organization's culture, and more importantly, the organization's business results will benefit enormously.

Business leaders are evolving. They are not abandoning successful leadership criteria that worked in the past, but the requirements for success have become far more complex in today's global, multigenerational environment. Talent managers' ability to seek out these new leaders and integrate them effectively into an organization can have tremendous value and help organizations realize their strategic business goals.

Ref: Linda Stewart

[About the Author: Linda Stewart is CEO, president and founder of Epoch LLC, a provider of independently employed financial service executives and professionals. ]

Recruitment Management System

Recruitment management system is the comprehensive tool to manage the entire recruitment processes of an organisation. It is one of the technological tools facilitated by the information management systems to the HR of organisations. Just like performance management, payroll and other systems, Recruitment management system helps to contour the recruitment processes and effectively managing the ROI on recruitment.

The features, functions and major benefits of the recruitment management system are explained below:

• Structure and systematically organize the entire recruitment processes.
• Recruitment management system facilitates faster, unbiased, accurate and reliable processing of applications from various applications.
• Helps to reduce the time-per-hire and cost-per-hire.
• Recruitment management system helps to incorporate and integrate the various links like the application system on the official website of the company, the unsolicited applications, outsourcing recruitment, the final decision making to the main recruitment process.
• Recruitment management system maintains an automated active database of the applicants facilitating the talent management and increasing the efficiency of the recruitment processes.
• Recruitment management system provides and a flexible, automated and interactive interface between the online application system, the recruitment department of the company and the job seeker.
• Offers tolls and support to enhance productivity, solutions and optimizing the recruitment processes to ensure improved ROI.
• Recruitment management system helps to communicate and create healthy relationships with the candidates through the entire recruitment process.

The Recruitment Management System (RMS) is an innovative information system tool which helps to sane the time and costs of the recruiters and improving the recruitment processes.

Economic Slowdown: An opportunity

Economic slowdown is bound to pose some major challenges for corporates, but it does provide some interesting opportunities too, especially from an HR perspective.

Post the meltdown, employee expectations with regards to salary hikes during job changes are bound to mellow down. We already have reports that the average salary jumps during job changes are lowering to levels of 20-25%, down from 35-40%. While salary used to be the key factor for job changes, post the downturn, employees are likely to become wiser and take a more long term perspective when changing jobs. One can sense that job security will hold a more premium position, in the list of priorities, than it has done in the past.

Long Term View

Another fact that the downturn has highlighted is the importance of working in a reputed, professional and values based firm. There are organisations that at the very first hint of hard-ship will retrench employees and we already have enough examples of that. However, in the past, since the economy was booming and nearly all sectors were doing extremely well, even a remote thought to downsize hardly arose in the minds of most companies. More importantly it didn’t occur in the minds of the employees or prospective employees. Hence, since the industry was too bullish, job security was never a key deciding factor for employees when they went looking out for a job.

However, the current situation has made retrenchments a real possibility and we have even had few companies showcasing the same. Hence, in future, I reckon employees are going to lay a premium on the management ethos and culture of the organisation before they make a change. Organisations which are deemed to be employee friendly and having a professional management culture will hold an advantage in hiring talent than the companies which are perceived as more cut throat having a hire and fire culture.

Employer Branding is key

The above factor is hugely advantageous to the reputed professional organisations for attracting talent and it also provides an opportunity to the rest to improve their respective employer branding by working on building a professional work culture and show-casing the same through media, industry bodies, academic institutions etc. Indeed, this provides a very exciting proposition to HR professionals across corporate India. As of now employer branding has not really taken off in corporate India but, hitherto, I do see that in the medium to long term, this aspect will gain prominence and will become a key deliverable for HR professionals.

HR taking charge

Not very long ago corporates were running from pillar to post to hire talent. A high percentage time of HR professionals was devoted to recruitment. Steep growth paths of corporates across sectors left hardly any time for management to develop leadership pipeline to sustain and manage future growth levels. However, the current scenario of lower future growth prospects does provide a good opportunity for corporates to reflect and devote more time and focus on building a healthy leadership pipeline, so come the next phase of high growth, the companies have a strong bench strength to manage the growth trajectory. Now is the time when organisations can really put their might behind developing robust talent management processes in their set-ups. The most effective talent management systems are owned by the top, ably facilitated and supported by HR. However, in the initial stages HR must take the ownership to drive the process, prepare coach and hand-hold senior leadership to lead it while HR eventually acting as a facilitator.

Another key focus area for corporates is going to be increasing employee productivity and efficiencies. The current meltdown provides an opportunity for organisations to ‘review the way they work’. In order to improve efficiencies and productivity to better their top-lines and already stretched bottom lines, companies start exploring innovative ways to improve their systems, optimise costs, decrease inventories, reduce cycle times and introduce great value innovative products. The name of the game is ‘innovation’. HR can play a key role in building an environment and culture of innovation within the organisation.

So, one can see quite a few silver linings, leave alone one, in today’s environment consumed by the dark clouds of gloom and doom. The trick is to start working on these opportunities, so when the next steep growth phase comes, you are right in front of the pack to gain competitive advantage.

Ref: Randeep Sisodia

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 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

Four Key Questions Candidates Should Ask Potential Employers

Employer-employee compatibility must be a two-way street for an appointment to be successful over the long-term. To gauge compatibility, candidates should ask potential employers four critical questions during a selection process.

A significantly shrinking talent pool worldwide means that competition is often stiff for organizations trying to identify and retain peak performers. Organizations often invest in testing and assessment programs to ensure that new hires and internal promotions have the right "fit" with the company culture. However, candidates do not always think about whether a company culture is compatible with their own values and professional needs. Employer-employee compatibility must be a two-way street for an appointment to be successful over the long term.

As such, during the selection process candidates should ask potential employers, managers, and peers the following four critical questions:

1. How does this organization listen to employee feedback?Unfortunately many organizations treat employees as nothing more than numbers -- and subservient numbers at that. Consequently, the answer to this question will reveal whether the organization values the wisdom and contributions of its talent pool, engages the employees, and/or instills a sense of company ownership.

2. How does your employee performance evaluation process work?It may surprise you to learn that many companies do not have a `systematic employee appraisal process in place. Therefore, the answer to this question will reveal whether the organization is structured and consistent in its performance expectations. By understanding how your work will be appraised helps to identify clear expectations, which directly feeds the notion of job security, which is a crucial factor to all employees.

3. What opportunities are there for development?Human resource is a concept that does not always have a succinct definition of renewable. By asking this question you are delving into the culture to understand if employees are viewed as investments or merely as replaceable resources. The answer to this question will help you determine if this company will provide you with the necessary tools to progress along your desired career path.

4. How does this organization reward talent?Believe it or not, some companies reward employees who simply maintain the status quo and penalize employees who show initiative and talent. For example, we know of an episode whereby an employee took much time to provide unsolicited but constructive feedback on a piece of marketing material that was full of factual and grammatical errors. Instead of appreciating the employee's efforts in trying to spare the company considerable embarrassment and potential business, the organization largely reacted defensively and stopped including this employee in key interactions. Therefore, this is a potentially challenging question to an interviewer who is also a manager at the hiring company. You will also be able to ascertain how prevalent recognition is within the organization's culture, for example does recognition occur on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. The answer will reveal whether the organization is organized and committed about employee retention and professional development, as well as how it goes about it.

It is also important to note a fifth question for possible consideration: Can employees be themselves at this organization? Sometimes organizations demand that employees conform to management's skewed - or even downright counterproductive - definition of an "ideal employee." With this in mind, the answer to this pointed question will help to reveal management's expectations for employee behavior - that is, whether employees are encouraged to act as company "drones" versus act as individuals with unique personalities and perspectives to be shared and strategically leveraged.

Again, issues with skill set and lack of fit with the company culture are among the top reasons organizations disqualify candidates. Likewise, lack of recognition, advancement and fit with a candidate's value system are among the top reasons why candidates disqualify employers. For this reason, we encourage candidates to conduct due diligence on companies just like employers do with applicants during the recruitment phase.Come to think of it, all organizations should contemplate the four questions above if increasing morale, productivity and profitability are top priorities. A shrinking talent pool means that the onus is now often on companies to convince talented individuals why their time, devotion and energies should be invested in their organization versus their competitors.

Ref: Jim Houran and Whitney Harper

The Current State of HR

Year-end 2008 is quickly approaching and all across the globe the news is dominated by negative stories about the dismal economy. We have all experienced irrational thinking and are guilty of doing it from time to time, but as we prepare to move into the New Year there is no greater threat facing global companies than irrational thinking in the HR function. Looking back, one thing was glaringly obvious more companies than ever before realized just how ill-prepared they are for the emerging labor climate. All throughout 2008 stories emerged from iconic organizations detailing just how out of touch they had become.

Moving Forward, No Reprieve
Despite night after night of negative economic news around the world, the vast majority of global companies (70% according to the most recent Gallup research) were actively trying to maintain or grow their workforce in December. Despite burgeoning unemployment, demand for top talent in skilled and professional roles is as tough as ever. Global growth combined with profound labor force demographic changes impacting more than 85% of the developed world are keeping competition for top talent fierce. While recruiters understand the challenge of recruiting today, and senior leaders understand the demand for continued investment, the vast majority of HR leaders appear to be doing business as usual.

Are You Prepared?
The near future requires robust and prescriptive action that cannot be influenced by irrational thinking. Do your measures reflect reality, or rather the perception you want others to have regarding your efforts? Are you comfortable standing up and saying the ship is already taking on water and a change in course is needed? These are the kind of questions VPs need to be asking right now. For every major strategic initiative, as well as all core deliverables, you should have objective evaluation processes in place that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that your efforts are effective.

Three Most Important Things

While every organization has different strategic priorities and will undoubtedly work to achieve them in differing ways, there are three things that every world-class HR organization should be doing, including:
1. Prioritizing mission critical and key jobs. For far too long HR professionals have equated the terms equitable and equal. All jobs do not impact the organization the same when performed well, below average, or left vacant. While politically difficult, organizations must find a practical and accepted way to define mission critical and key jobs, and then to prioritize HR deliverables towards those roles and the talent that occupy them. Once identified, its a lot easier to deliver world-class service and demonstrate a profound impact on the business.
2. Macro level workforce planning. Too many organizations that have tried to implement workforce planning programs have gotten bogged down in the complexities that arise when the focus is too granular, i.e. every role, every employee. Granular workforce planning produces too much data and makes it easy to get lost in the statistics. Workforce planning programs should be actionable in nature, they should help answer several high level questions that establish whether or not the workforce in moving in the right direction to support the future needs of the organization and at the right pace.
3. Leveraging robust analytics and process yield modeling approaches to prove impact. With mission critical and key roles identified and macro level workforce planning initiatives in place, the next practice firms must focus on is yield modeling transformative processes such as development efforts and staffing programs. HR professionals should be able to respond with precise plans that include cost, timeline, and resources needed.

Final Thoughts
A perfect storm of environmental factors is lining up to make the next ten years very difficult with regards to recruiting and retention of top talent.

Ref: HR Funda

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

Opportunity in adversity

Staying afloat
In a time when most are feeling the tremors of the global financial meltdown, there are a handful of Indian sectors that are still staying afloat. “If you look at sectors like insurance, healthcare, engineering, you will notice that they are still growing in volumes and value,” notes Ajay Soni, business leader - talent and organisation consulting, Hewitt.

What perhaps is keeping sectors like insurance afloat is the consumer mindset and attitudes. “Unlike developed economies like the USA, savings is in our DNA. In tough times we save even more for the future,” explains N.S. Kannan, executive director, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
Industry experts are optimistic and are expecting the private life insurance industry to grow at a 30 per cent rate by FY ’09. “Since core of life insurance is long term savings and protection, these times with sensex crashing will not affect investors’ decisions,” Kannan reasons. “Customer focuses on long term objective and invests over a time period,” he adds. ICICI Prudential has reportedly witnessed 31 per cent growth in its new businesses and 90 per cent growth through renewal premium business in the last six months. “We’ve expanded phenomenally in the last 18-24 months and our bulk expansion has been in the last 6-8 months,” says Kannan.

In fact, from a branch network of 580 offices in FY’07, I-Pru now has 2,055 branches across the country. “We continue to recruit managers and advisory manpower for these new branches that we’ve set up,” Kannan adds.

Sectors galore
Insurance sector is playing an interesting role in the current downmarket scenario. The life insurance industry has pumped in a huge amount in the equity markets. “Firms like ours and other life insurers have been net buyers even in such volatile times," informs Kannan.

Then, there’s healthcare which is also reportedly doing better than most other sectors. “The global financial turmoil has not brought about any major upheavals in the biotech arena,” says Chirag Mehta, head, strategic planning and development, Intas Biopharmaceuticals. Intas Biopharmaceuticals has seen a 100 per cent growth in the FY '07-'08 and is expecting the same for the current fiscal year. “We are on track to achieve this. Our performance this year and in the remaining quarters would be in line with our expectations,” Mehta points out. “We do not see any major business plan change for the near future,” he adds.

This perhaps also implies no major change in the hiring strategy. “We have added over 15 per cent to our manpower base during the last quarter and the trend for the subsequent quarter would remain unchanged,” confirms Dr. Kashmira Pagdiwalla, director, HR operations, Intas Biopharmaceuticals. Elaborating on the areas of healthcare where major hiring is happening, Dr. Pagdiwalla says, “The talent need is growing in the areas of research, manufacturing, marketing and corporate roles.” Of course, these are sectors that aren’t connected to the meltdown. However, even the services sector which has been adversely hit by the recession has pockets of growth. “In the services sector, Telecom is adding to the customer base and reporting continual growth,” Soni points out. One such example is Airtel which has grown at a 30 per cent rate from the last quarter.The way ahead

Soni, like other industry watchers, believes that the way forward is to set the house in order and use this time to create a strong DNA of managing organisation. “This time offers an option of looking at long-term and not just quarterly performances,” asserts Soni. “Forward looking organisations would build themselves for the long term,” he adds.

To put it simply, it’s an opportunity for managers to reflect on their business strategies and plan for contingencies.

Ref: Times Ascent

The State of Talent Management- Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Opportunities

Talent Challenges of Today- Research Highlights

Companies today face formidable talent challenges. The ability to sustain a steady supply of critical talent is a challenge facing all organizations — worldwide. Among the issues impacting the “next generation” workforce are impending skill shortages, an increasingly cross-generational and diverse workforce, the need for knowledge transfer from retiring baby boomers, and significant leadership gaps. Intense cost pressure from both traditional and emerging competitors, new markets, and more demanding customers are additional elements that give a new sense of urgency to the concept of talent management. At a time when organizations need to optimize their workforces, most agree that talent management is of strategic importance. To evaluate the extent to which companies act on that belief, Hewitt Associates and the Human Capital Institute undertook a comprehensive study seeking to assess the state of talent management practices in companies today.

About the Study

The research provides results from both a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. The survey was designed to gauge the maturity level of a comprehensive set of talent practices; that is, the extent to which an organization’s practices are sophisticated, progressive, practical and well executed. This enabled us to identify strength and challenges in talent management and key areas of focus for the future. Nearly 700 senior-level talent leaders (both HR and non-HR) participated in the study. Through supplemental in-depth interviews, we captured innovative practices at select companies with more developed talent management practices. This combination of quantitative survey data and qualitative interview results helped shape a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding talent management today.

The growing recognition that the quality talent is a sustainable competitive advantage, coupled with a realistic view of the complexity and scope of changes in the global workforce, has led to a renewed focus and urgency around talent management. Based on nearly 700 responses, human resources (HR) and business leaders overwhelmingly identified “attracting and retaining skilled and professional workers” as the workforce challenge most impacting their organizational strategy. ”Developing manager capability,” ”retaining high performers,”“developing succession pool depth,” and “addressing shortages of management or leadership talent” closely followed.

In today’s uncertain economic environment, it’s important that organizations address talent issues promptly, but it’s equally important that they get them right — the first time. There’s little room for trial and error, as all initiatives are expected to produce solid financial results. Unfortunately, most companies are still struggling to institutionalize effective talent management practices and programs.

Positive Results

Based on the results of this research, our collective experience, and prior research findings, we believe that organizations are indeed improving their talent management capabilities. The skills, performance, engagement, adaptability, and continuity of an organization’s workforce are indisputably a core competitive advantage and prerequisite for sustained financial success. Increasingly, organization leaders, starting with top officers, understand the business payback of focusing on getting these things right. As a result, the advances being made in talent management can be attributed to the following:

Senior Leaders Recognize Superior Talent as a Business Advantage: Senior leaders do “get it.” In nine out of ten organizations, they believe superior talent provides a vital competitive advantage. They increasingly recognize the critical linkage between effective talent management and business success.

Focus on Talent Management: The pressure to attract and retain key talent has led organizations to expend increased energy and resources on talent-related initiatives over the past half-decade. Significant progress has been made on a variety of talent management fronts — from getting foundational programs in place to creating and deploying new programs, such as high potential development, leadership development, and succession planning. However, most of the progress has been made in the executive ranks, with less focus beyond the highest management levels.

Leadership Involvement: The need for more leadership involvement in talent management is driven by the criticality of talent strategy development, articulation, and execution. Some business leaders are starting to play an increasingly visible and active role in talent management, understanding that their practices must be aligned with these talent strategies in order to have a direct impact on workforce engagement and performance.

Opportunities for Improvement

Although organizations have made significant progress raising awareness and attention to talent management and implementing foundational programs, these efforts have not led to well- executed talent management programs that are aligned with business priorities. Organizations still lag in their ability to integrate talent management programs and evaluate the return on their talent investments. The reasons are many, including:

Human Capital is Not Sufficiently Aligned With Business Strategy: While senior leaders clearly recognize the importance of human capital, a number of companies struggle to connect their people practices with their business imperatives. Only 17% of respondents say their workforce strategy is consistently aligned with their business strategy across the organization, while even fewer (7%) report consistently utilizing a specific quantitative framework in which investments in talent management are aligned with business results.

Lack of Accountability and Capability for Talent Development: While most organizations hold their executives and managers accountable for achieving business results, they are not being held accountable for talent development. Few organizations consistently hold managers (7%) or senior executives (10%) accountable for developing their direct reports. Furthermore, most managers lack the basic capability to develop talent effectively. Just 5% of organizations say their managers have the skills to grow people in their jobs or to provide the constructive feedback that supports and encourages employee development consistently across the organization.

Inconsistent Execution and Integration of Talent Programs: The majority of companies report having fundamental processes for talent management in place, such as basic workforce planning, development programs for high potential employees, and succession planning. However, few consistently execute these programs across the entire organization. While slightly more than two-thirds (69%) of companies say they conduct workforce planning across all divisions and business units, fewer than one-fifth (15%) do so consistently. Furthermore, only 21% of companies consistently integrate talent practices across the organization (e.g., rewards are tied to performance; performance is tied to development).

Limited Use of Meaningful Talent Analytics: Data and analysis have long played a role in driving business decisions; yet when it comes to talent analytics, most organizations have a long way to go. Mired in tracking traditional workforce measures, such as headcount, turnover, and cost-based metrics, few have graduated to tracking the metrics that matter. Fewer than 10% of responding companies measure the effectiveness of talent management programs, track the quality of talent, or use specific quantitative frameworks to align human capital investments with their business strategy.

Select Companies are Leading the Way

There are exceptions, of course. Despite the monumental challenges facing organizations, a few select companies have made significant strides in managing talent. What sets them apart is their dedication and commitment to talent management and the creative, comprehensive approach they take to developing their people in the following ways:

Depth and Consistency of Practices: Talent management is given top priority at these companies — and it shows. Specific programs, such as talent reviews and succession planning, are institutionalized throughout the organization, ensuring they are implemented and integrated consistently across businesses, geographies, and employee segments. Managers are taught how to develop employees, and talent programs are pushed deeper into the organization to reach a broader group of employees.

Higher Commitment and Accountability for Talent Development: Abandoning the belief that talent management is solely HR’s domain, these organizations consider it a shared business and HR responsibility requiring active engagement, commitment, and accountability from leaders and managers. From the CEO down, these business leaders not only emphasize the importance of talent management, but are also actively engaged in the processes. Additionally, they hold themselves responsible and accountable in tangible ways for developing the next generation of talent across the entire organization — not just at the leadership level.

Progressive and Innovative Practices: Never satisfied with the status quo, these organizations are consistently investing in new ways to manage talent. Approaches vary widely, but examples include progressive approaches to workforce planning, innovative employer branding strategies, and more comprehensive efforts related to onboarding and development of high potential employees. Some leading organizations are using sophisticated predictive analytics to help drive strategic human capital decisions and ensure that those decisions are aligned with the business strategy.

While most organizations still struggle to manage their talent effectively, select employers are leading the way. They serve as role models to those who are struggling to build core talent management capability by holding leaders and managers accountable for talent initiatives, driving greater consistency in talent programs globally, and continually seeking new and progressive ways to manage talent. The increased adoption of these approaches to talent management point to an evolutionary trend toward better practices overall. This report identifies the talent challenges that exist today, summarizes key findings from the research, and draws examples of innovative talent practices from select companies. Recommendations based on the research provide a foundation upon which companies can build and strengthen their talent management capability to meet the business challenges of the future.

*Ref: Hewitt State of Talent Management Oct 08

The New Realities of Talent Development

Knowledge has become very much like the technology products we rely on: once counted on to retain value for five or more years, it now becomes out of date in less than two. What’s worse, the rate at which knowledge becomes obsolete is likely to increase over the coming years. More employees are gaining access to massive, computer-aided knowledge bases. Meanwhile, globalization and offshore outsourcing practices are diversifying our employee population. What does all this mean for the development function and everyone involved? Current processes and programs must be redesigned to account for rapid obsolescence.

Organizations must develop processes to learn faster, share ideas more quickly, and increase the speed at which individuals update their capabilities. This task is made even more daunting by the environment created by downsizing, mergers, and economic pressures. No one has time to learn, and development budgets have been cut to the bone.

Are training and development obsolete?
Many experts now agree that the corporate training department as we know it is fast becoming obsolete. For too long organizations have accepted putting together a catalog of classes, providing facilitators, and implementing every fad from emotional intelligence to exercises in the woods as the equivalent of developing individuals and producing business results. What senior executives want now is a radical new approach. They want to see a direct connection between development activities and increased workforce productivity. They don’t want training or even development. What they want are results that:

• Increase the capabilities of the workforce
• Boost individual output or productivity
• Improve the adoption rate of best practices
• Enhance innovation and creativity in the workforce

In short, senior executives want the development function to radically change into one that increases productivity and delivers business results.

India Inc.- Do we have the right leadership?

As India Inc is growing, the need for organizations to put the right leaders in place is also increasing. Shortage of top talent coupled with increase in demand for top professionals have pushed companies to take a dual approach: hiring experienced Expatriates and developing in-house talent.

Examples of such changing trends are plenty specially in Retail, Aviation, IT & telecom sectors. A recent research shows India Inc needs 1000 CEO’s across sectors. The ever increasing need for good professionals has led companies to provide learning and development opportunities to talented executives so as to build a pipeline of future leaders. Companies are also putting their middle management cadre on fast growth track and arming them with overseas experience to maintain a healthy pipeline.

Talent acquisition & talent development are not new to India. Citibank, Oberoi, HUL have been talent warehouse for long. However India Inc needs to focus on leadership development as its takes off in its journey of exponential growth globally. The aim is to cultivate a global mindset and learn the international best practices. Today companies like Wipro and Infosys have identified talented executives as future leaders and are mentoring them involving highest level of management.

As more and more Indian companies set off for a global journey and global MNC’s setup their Indian operations, India’s corporate sector is increasingly looking for people with global exposure who can handle the complexities of domestic and international operations.

As companies grow and accumulate a strong and diverse pool of talent, the role of top management executives is going to evolve with equal emphasis on business growth and talent development.

Talent Development

With the increasing strategic importance of attracting talents and transforming those talents into leaders, companies need to equip themselves with an appropriate wealth of knowledge and skills at an international level. As we march forward in the changing world economies those responsible with the task of workforce readiness face a daunting task. The whole portfolio of how to attract and retain employees is now called by a body of knowledge as “Talent Management”

The new age economy, with its paradigm shifts in relation to the human capital, in terms of its acquisition, utilization, development and retention, has placed a heavy demand on today's HR profession. Today HR professionals are expected to comprehend, conceptualize, innovate, implement and sustain relevant strategies and contribute effectively towards giving the company its winning edge. Faced with a tough proposition in attracting and retaining talent, HR heads of companies have started applying what is better known as 'employer branding' strategies.

Talent Management implies recognizing person's inherent skills, traits, personality and offering him a matching job. While there are no magic formulae to manage talent, the trick is to locate it and encourage. Talent management is beneficial to both the organization and the employees.

Essentials of Talent Management
Talent management is the activity of identifying, realizing, and guiding untapped potential in people.
It means nurturing and developing those people identified of having ability and potential and it should form part of any organizations recruitment and retention strategy.
It involves individual and organizations’ development in response to a changing and complex operating environment. It includes the creation and maintenance of supportive people oriented organizational culture.

Talent management brings together a number of important human resources and management initiatives. Organizations that, formally decide to manage their talent undertake a strategic analysis of their current HR process. Talent management approach is adopted and focused on coordinating and integrating the following.

Recruitment- ensuring right people ore attracted to the organization.
Retention- developing and implementing practices that reward and support employees.
Employee development- ensuring continuous formal and informal learning and development.

Key trends in human capital- Perspective 2008

Maximizing the value of organizational resources has never been more challenging as in this phase of turbulent world economy. Evaluation of human capital policies and processes should be directly related to the business performance and financial obejctives of the organization. This is the only way people will be given due recognition and rewards that their efforts deserve changing HR function from "resource Absoring" to " Value Adding " business investment.

There are these four human capital drivers that will have the most significant influence on organization performance. They Constitute:

Leadership
Engagement
Talent management
Learning & Innovation

These drivers are closely interrelated and the inability to excel and compete in any of these drivers will result in failure in all of them. Effective leadership is essential to gain full engagement of employees. Engagement is essential if talent is to be attracted and retained. Learning and skills development will contribute to the development of innovatory breakthrough s to produce essential competitive results.

Leadership driver remains at the op of human capital agenda. In this tig,htened global business environment, demand for enhanced leadership skills is even greater. Leadership has been defined in various ways but its essentially the ability to influence people to work effectively towards the achievement of organization’s goals. Leadership in today’s business environment is increasingly seen as a shared responsibility rather than a domain of an individual. As per PWC report, if leadership of an organization is effective then its comparative positioning against its competitors would be superior.

Employers over recent years have shown increasing interest in engagement of their workforces. Research has shown a link between highly engaged employees and the bottom line results. There is also a close relationship between employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
Managing talent effectively is a competitive necessity. Filling critical roles with competent and committed people at the right time is a major business requirement. It provides a performance edge that is important for sustainable growth. The War for Talent has gained significant momentum.

The ability of an organization to innovate remains one of the major contributors to its continued sustainable economic performance. The ability of an organization to produce the innovation essential to remain competitive depends on the range of other actions its undertaking including its leadership development, its talent bank, engagement of employees, plus the infrastructure it has in place for exploring new customer offerings.

All the above four drivers are critical to human capital’s impact on an organization’s performance. It is possible that different approaches may be needed ; Identification of ‘pivotal employees’ in talent management, the concept of shared leadership, identifying more focused points of engagement for employees and building innovation requirements into all employee roles.