Best Practices in Talent Management

Key Ideas for Building and Sustaining a Robust Talent Pipeline

A few of my clients:

John Spence

“The success of your company is directly proportional to your ability to find, attract, hire, grow and retain the absolute best people you can possibly get.”

Survey of 3,000 companies

• Only 18% of companies reported that they are winning the war for talent.

• 72% of companies portrayed it as an endless struggle in which they were making no progress at all.

• 10% declared that they had lost the war for talent and had given up in defeat.

What were the roadblocks?

• We aren’t sure what we’re looking for.

• Talent development is just a slogan, not a way of life.

• The results are hard to measure and it takes years to play out.

Harvard Study: Top Six Talent Management Challenges

1. Attracting and retaining enough high quality employees at all levels to meet the needs of organic and inorganic growth.

2. Creating an employee value proposition that appeals to multiple generations.

3. Developing a robust leadership pipeline.

4. Rounding out the capabilities of hires who lack the skills to be effective leaders.

5. Transferring key knowledge and relationships to future generations of leaders.

6. Enlisting executives who don’t appreciate the challenge of trying to find and hire top talent.

The High Price of Hiring Wrong…

Not Engaged Engaged

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Not

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Job Engagement

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50%

9%

Benchwarmers

7%

Free Agents

34%

Stars

Disengaged

Actively Disengaged Employees…

22%

“Creating a sustainable pipeline of promotable internal talent that provides top-tier leadership talent requires a fully integrated, company-wide approach to talent acquisition, development, management and succession planning.”

Corporate Leadership Council Succession Management Survey

The seven core principles of building a sustainable talent pipeline.

1. It starts with the business strategy. What kind of company are you trying to build?

2. Higher now for the future.

3. Recognize talent management as a core business process with impact on overall business and financial success for the enterprise.

4. Make talent management a part of the business culture.

5. Measure it and know if it’s making a difference.

6. Identify, develop, and promote “high potential” talent.

7. Address talent gaps with aggressive internal development.

The Global Human Resource Research Alliance

Best practices in integrated talent management.

Recruitment and Staffing

• Talent pool strategy rather than hire for specific positions.

• Highly selective hiring/ challenging interviewing process.• Compelling employee value proposition.• Focus on values and cultural fit, not just job-related skills

and experience.• Continuous assessment of performance and potential.• Grading against competency profiles of successful

leaders.• Use of talent inventories for selection/succession.

Training and Development

• Continuous assessment of training needs/feedback/360°• Individual development plans linked to succession

planning process.• Job rotations as career development tools.• Line manager involvement (coaching, mentoring)• Use of open job posting system and internal marketplace.• Promotion-from-within policy.• Leadership development is a top priority and deeply

ingrained in the culture.

Top High-Potential VPs from GE, Microsoft, Verizon, Qualcomm, State Farm, Abbott and Merrill Lynch…

1. Credible2. Respectful3. Approachable4. Team Player 5. Highly Professional

Leader of the Future

1. Character2. Courage3. Communication4. Collaboration5. Compassion6. Contribution

Retention Management

• Continuous monitoring of attrition rates.• Highly competitive compensation.• Personalized career plans.• Senior management attention for high potentials.• Flexible working arrangements.• Diversity programs designed to develop, retain and

promote a diverse workforce.

• Zero Talent Outages.• Succession Not

Replacement.• Becoming a Talent

Machine.

You question for discussion during dinner…

•What are the three biggest challenges OR opportunities for ENMAX in creating a fully integrated talent development process that truly makes your organization a Talent Machine?