1 building a great workforce: how organizations can improve their approach to talent management...

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Building a Great Workforce:How Organizations Can Improve Their Approach to Talent Management

Michigan Digital Government SummitOctober 14, 2009

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Moderator:Phyllis Mellon, Ph.D.Chief Deputy Director,MI Department of Information Technology

Panelists:David A. ParentPrincipalDeloitte Consulting LLP

J. Kevin Ford, Ph.D.Organizational PsychologyMichigan State University

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The Reality:

Attracting, developing, and keeping your best talent is more important than it’s ever been

Three current myths about IT Talent...

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Myth 1:

In our current economic downturn, with high unemployment rates, attracting and retaining talent

is less critical than it used to be

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The Reality:

The Public Sector has more to offer than we often realize

Myth 2:

The Public Sector cannot compete with the Private Sector for top talent

Three current myths about IT Talent...

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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The Reality:

The things people care about most do not cost a lot

Myth 3:

Addressing Talent issues takes a large budget and a dedication of significant resources

Three current myths about IT Talent...

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Session Overview

Overview of Today's Session

Introduction of Speakers

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Six Steps to Building a Great WorkforceDavid A. ParentPrincipalDeloitte Consulting LLP

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Step 1: Build a Better Plan

Workforce Planning

• Missing component in many organizations

• More than how many slots to fill next year

• Needs to be future-oriented

• Internal and external assessment

Prioritization of Critical Workforce Segments

• Some positions have greater impact than others

• Some skills are harder to find than others

• With limited resources, those require the greatest

attention

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

• How will our organization look in the future?

• What skills will we need in 3 years? In 5 years?

• How will our activities be different?

• Where will we find these skills?

Consider:

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Step 2: Modernize Your Sourcing Process

Redesign Recruiting Processes

• Throw out "One Size Fits All" strategies

• “Need for Speed” – starting with technology

• Innovate – consider non-traditional talent pools

Sell what the Public Sector has to offer

• Commitment to service

• Broad opportunities

• Workplace flexibility

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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The Keys to Attraction and Retention

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Step 3: Develop, Develop, Develop

Expectation of latest generations in the workforce

Begins and ends with the Manager

• Requires expectations to be set with managers

• Management development has high payback

Think of development broadly – much more than training

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Step 4: Deploy Talent with Meaning

• Along with relationship with one’s manager, “meaningfulness” of one’s role and

assignments is at the top of job satisfaction indicators

• Development should be added as criteria when making assignments, then

monitored during and after

• Many opportunities in Public Sector – but need to re-think traditional, narrow

career paths

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Step 5: Find Ways to Connect Your Diverse Workforce

Connection drives commitment and retention

Many formal and informal examples

• Communities of Practice / Interest Groups

• Mentorship programs

• External organizations and events

Use technology (e.g., social networking)

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Step 6: Continuously Evaluate & Refine

Instill continuous improvement mentality to Talent Management

• Don’t aim for perfection – Better to start small, test, then build

• Establish and (truly) use feedback mechanisms

• Learn from others

Monitor

• Take pulse of the labor market

• Take pulse of your talent’s “commitment”

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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These 6 Steps Can Make a Difference

Build a Better Plan

Modernize Your Sourcing Process

Develop, Develop, Develop

Deploy Talent with Meaning

Find Ways to Connect Your

Diverse Workforce

Continuously Evaluate &

Refine

Step 1

Step 2Step 6

Step 3Step 5

Step 4

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Develop & Deploy with Impact:Valuing Learning in Challenging Times

J. Kevin Ford, Ph.D.Organizational PsychologyMichigan State University

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Preface

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Peter Senge 2005, Fifth Discipline

“Most organizations today espouse some variation on the

philosophy that “people are our most important asset” and invest money in

workforce development through training programs. But truly committing to helping people grow requires much

more than this…”

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Leadership Reflection

Think of someone you have observed in your professional career who is especially good at developing others.

What does that person DO that makes him or her so effective as a people developer?

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•

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Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Leader Roles for Development

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Assessing SupportingChallenging

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Leader Role: Assessing

• Helps to Identify key competencies for each job

• Determines current skill levels and skill gaps

• Jointly determines ways for individuals to continuously learn on the job

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Leader Role: Challenging

• Stretches person out of comfort zone by providing opportunities for developing

skills

• Motivates people to seek mastery and continuous learning

• Allows people to see impact of actions and provides time for reflection/learning

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Leader Role: Supporting

• Provides resources that help people handle the struggle of learning

• Enhances confidence in ability to learn and grow

• Confirms and clarifies lessons learned

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• Unfamiliar Responsibilities

Portfolio of Leadership Experiences

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Experiencing Job Transitions

Center for Creative Leadership McCauley – Learning from Experience

• High Stakes• Scope and Scale

Managing at High Levels of Responsibility

• New Directions• Inherited Problems

Creating Change

• External Pressures• Influence without Authority

Managing Boundaries

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Inherited Problems

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Learning Opportunity

• Improve ability to tackle problems, diagnose root causes, and reenergize people

• Learn to make tough decisions and persevere in the face of adversity

Fixing problems created by someone else or before your involvement

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Scope and Scale

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Learning Opportunity

• Improve ability to coordinate and integrate across groups and create systems to track work

• Learn to feel comfortable accomplishing tasks through others

Managing work that is broad in scope (multiple functions, groups, products) or large in sheer size.

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Learning Opportunity

• Improve ability to represent the organization and to influence external groups

• Learn to build relationships and shared agendas with a wide variety of people.

Managing the interface with important groups outside the organization, such as customers, vendors, and regulatory agencies

External Pressure

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Strategies for Development in Place

Reshape the job: Add new responsibilities to job

Take on temporary assignments: Add tasks that are bounded by time.

Seek challenges outside the workplace

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Challenge Driven Assignments Matrix

The Techniques

Reshape Person’s Job

Provide Temporary

Projects

Experiences Outside

Workplace

CompetenciesThe

Context

Unfamiliar Responsibilities

New Directions

Inherited Problems

High Scope and Scale

External Pressures

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Maximize Learning Pre, During, and Post Assignment

Pre - Be clear about the skills, behaviors, or actions to develop in the assignment

During - Support learning (e.g., feedback, coach, sounding board)

Post – Foster learning:

• post action reviews – what did well/could improve

• development of best practices to diffuse to others

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

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Concluding Thoughts

Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

Peter Drucker, Management Consultant

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process

of keeping abreast of change. And the most

pressing task is to teach people how to learn”

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Questions &Discussion