In the last few years we have heard much about the need for better “Talent Management” practices so that we can not only keep our best people in a given enterprise but so that we can ensure that the best people are given the right opportunities to progress when they are ready to do so. In the not too distant past, the Human Resource department performed much of this role, at least within medium to large-sized organisations. However, as numbers of people in HR departments have significantly reduced, this function has become hugely stretched and often now needs external help. The sort of help needed is typically as follows:
• Individual “Career interest data collation
· One-to-one interviews with all people-responsible managers
• One-to-one interviews with all identified “high-potentials”
• Group meetings with human resource managers to discuss talent issues
• Career development data assembly on an individual and departmental basis
• Career development data summarising and trending
• Career/Talent management presentation meeting attendance at all levels
• Summary action plan notes from each “departmental/divisional” meeting
• Assembly of written reports in all of the following areas:
- Organisational Transfer/Promotion/Movement Action Plan
- Organisational Career Development Training/Coaching Action Plan
- Organisational Recruitment/Talent Acquisition Action Plan
- Organisational Succession Plan
The value to any organisation which is serious about talent management in seeking external agency help is two-fold:
1. The external agency replaces the time that an internal human resources person would need to dedicate to data gathering, analysis, interpretation and summary for talent management purposes. This also ensures that talent management data gathering is minimally disruptive to business operations (by keeping all line meetings short and focused).
2. This is core expertise for an external specialist talent management agency. This “core-expertise and the value it brings is as follows:
· Helping to keep good employees that otherwise might leave a company
· Supporting an organisation in optimising recruitment and selection decisions
· Assisting in better targeting training/coaching and other development effort
· Offering advice on job or organisational design to create better operational outcomes and/or reduce problems/conflict (between individual or within particular teams)
· Helping to device better/adapted employee talent and engagement approaches
· Being better able to help recommend employee moves or promotions (especially when people are less visible and known in terms of interest/competence).
In summary therefore Talent management does not have to be either under-resourced or avoided altogether by most organisations, if the HR department invests a small amount of time in looking for expert external help. If this search is well-specified, the contribution to creating a high performing people team can be enormous.
Dr Jon Warner-www.ReadyToManage.com and jon@OD-center.org The web site www.ReadyToManage.com aims to help all individuals who want to become more adept in their leadership (and Talent Management) ability at all levels. Visit the web store to see all the resources we offer to help individuals including self-assessments questionnaires, skill development books and booklets, e-learning programs and many other tools and resources.
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