Managing talent and non-talent in public organisations

Xavier Marcet,Lecturer at Barcelona School of Management, Pompeu Fabra University (Catalonia)

Abstract

In a context where talent attracts talent and mediocrity attracts mediocrity, one of the problems of public administrations is how to manage non-talent. We need talent trajectories to flourish in meritocratic environments based on the criteria of today’s world, not of the world of thirty years ago. Public service has to be more competitive in attracting talent because it offers careers full of purpose and challenges, not because it is a shelter for those who want a job for life in a society where work is becoming highly ”liquid”.

EPMU 3

Talent is important in all organisations, of course, but especially in public administration. By their very nature, public organisations are highly complex. Dealing with this complexity without talent increases the risk of inefficiency and reduces opportunities for innovation. By talent, we mean the professional level of people in an organisation, as an accumulation of aptitudes and attitudes that help to achieve results. Talent refers to those people who achieve above-average results systematically.

The public area of local administration is not the same as that of a university or hospital. They may require different levels of specialised talent, but the main difference between them is the way in which they access talent. In the case of hospitals, universities and research centres, having talent as a brand attribute can set them apart.

The following points detail some factors to take into account regarding talent in public organisations.

1. Organisations are the sum of their talent, their fluctuating talent and their non-talent.

2. Talent is not an unchanging condition. Talent is measured by trajectories, rather than management episodes. Talent

Public organisations are highly complex. Dealing with this complexity without talent increases the risk of inefficiency and reduces opportunities for innovation

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is determined by adaptive, inspiring trajectories.

3. The main issue is not managing talent, but rather managing non-talent and fluctuating talent. Non-talent is managed dreadfully in the public context. The lack of incentives and effective pressure can be infuriating for those more committed to the public value of administrations.

4. The financial crisis has really punished public administrations. The blockage in access to administrations is a great hindrance in managing talent. The inaccessibility to new generations breaks the natural cycle of renewal, which harms the ability of administrations to innovate.

5. Public administration requires both political and professional talent. The rules of politics seem made to frighten talent away. Transparency has shined a light on corruption; in this context, everyone seems suspicious. Politicians are made to feel like predelinquents for working in public service, they are not paid according to their professional

The inaccessibility to new generations breaks the natural cycle of renewal, which harms the ability of administrations to innovate

market value and they are put under a great deal of pressure by the media. Politics is not the best option for those with plenty of professional talent who can choose from a range of opportunities. This gap opening up between talent and politics or public administration will be costly for society.

6. There is a golden rule in managing talent: talent attracts talent, mediocrity attracts mediocrity. This rule also applies in administrations. Public examinations stopped being an effective system for recruiting talent long ago.

7. Managing talent in the public sector has one distinctive feature: in an increasingly fluid, changeable work environment, administration is a highly stable haven. This factor may attract a more conservative profile of professional to public administration, and alienate more entrepreneurial talent.

8. The coalition of talent and artificial intelligence is fundamental for the future configuration of public administration. We need to create a new relationship between people and machines. A kind of talent 4.0 is required: public employees and managers who, as well as mastering the use of Big Data or Artificial Intelligence solutions, have advanced skills in building syntheses. Synthesis is crucial in the decision-making process. Without strategic and operational syntheses, public administration will suffer paralysis by analysis, in this context of massive data sets and changing knowledge.

There is a golden rule in managing talent: talent attracts talent, mediocrity attracts mediocrity

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Talent is not just about the outstanding, Messi-like types. Talent refers to those who systematically achieve above-average results. These people enjoy more opportunities in and outside of their organisation and have little time, as they are in high demand. Talent is usually the right synthesis of skill and commitment. These are people that combine knowledge, professional skills and effort. Talented people are respected. We tend to have professional respect for those from whom we learn. Attractive organisations are those that are supported by chains of inspiration. Without talent, there is no inspiration. Finally, we must remember that talent is not a permanent state. There are a lot of one-hit wonders in senior public management. Talent is displayed challenge after challenge, day after day.

The problem is how to manage non-talent; it can be a meandering puzzle of fixed knowledge, weak skills, grievances and apathetic attitude. It is not obvious what these people contribute. Despite this, they are part of the community (and sometimes

Attractive organisations are those that are supported by chains of inspiration. Without talent, there is no inspiration

try to energise the community, as they have more spare time) and must be treated with care; their more talented colleagues will not mind them being pushed to achieve more, but will not allow them to be treated badly. They are those people who make everyone wonder how they got in to the organisation, but everyone knows that they will never leave. Non-talent is the biggest constant in a highly stable environment like public administration. Most of the time, the problem with non-talent is not the inability to learn (these people are often compulsive consumers of training courses). The problem is that they cannot unlearn. They do not adapt, they repeat the same old formulas out of a sort of inalterable inertia. Faced with agility and adaptability, they take shelter in regulations. They constantly hide behind bureaucracy. Faced with technology, they wield their acquired rights. Normally, non-talent requires permanent motivation from others. They are the passive subject of motivation. Conversely, talented people tend to come to work motivated and expect not to be demotivated. Obviously, the trickiest situation is when there are individuals with little talent who are great people and have the right attitude. Although their limits precede them, they must be valued. A shared solution can be built with them.

Then there is the problem of managing fluctuating talent. This profile of person is ondoyant, or undulating, to quote Montaigne. Their commitment to administration depends on the projects on which they are working, their leaders, etc. Sometimes they make great contributions

The problem is how to manage non-talent: they cannot unlearn, they do not adapt, they repeat the same old formulas and they constantly hide behind bureaucracy

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and sometimes they fade into the background. They often feel like their talent is out of place. It is common to find a coalition of fluctuating talent and non-talent.

Somewhat of a trick question we can ask ourselves is: do I have talent? I often share this with those close to me. Over time, I have identified two clues that suggest the answer. The first: if nothing significant has happened in your professional life for two or three years, in or outside of the company where you work, alarm bells should be ringing. That might mean you are not being noticed, and normally talent gets noticed. The second: if you are working for an organisation and you have more time than most of your colleagues, there is a problem. Spare time is not a good sign.

Many look to training as a route to an upwards talent spiral. It is probably more productive to turn to learning and unlearning. Training does not necessarily require much effort, while learning and unlearning does require great self-discipline.

The old rules of people management in public administration are completely out of date. Administration is becoming an unmeritocratic field with people management habits marked by an obsolete idea of what public service should be in the twenty-first century. If the main advantage of working in public administration is the shelter and stability, it will be hard to attract talented people who are not afraid of change. The system of public examinations, which offer jobs for life to professionals

If the main advantage of working in public administration is the shelter and stability, it will be hard to attract talented people who are not afraid of change

If nothing significant has happened in your professional life for two or three years alarm bells should be ringing

that are sometimes excellent, sometimes terrible, and the lack of an effective renewal system will be a heavy burden on administrations. Until recently, there was no technology that could disrupt public administration. Now that Blockchain has emerged, we are starting to understand that technologies will evolve that can guarantee rights and duties while perhaps preventing corruption more effectively than the usual organisations have done until now. The impact of 4.0 technology will be felt in public administrations, and must be managed with the same good judgement and fairness practised with private sector employees. It will be a complex process where the creation of the best value possible for the public will be a central requirement.

We need public organisations full of talent to manage the enormous, consubstantial complexity of today’s society. People who, working alongside Big Data and Artificial

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Intelligence, can offer and manage the appropriate public value proposals for our time. Tackling climate change, the drastic reduction in jobs, and the remodelling of pension systems in long-living societies are just some examples of the out-of-control complexities that cannot be faced by non-talent, inertia and forms of bureaucracy that, sometimes, still live in the age of paper.

Organisations with talent are not stagnant. They are always flowing, with people coming and going all the time. When nobody ever leaves an organisation, there is cause for concern. However, the biggest worry comes when, in an administration, hospital, university, or business, those with no talent gain the power to hire and fire. Mediocrity breeds mediocrity. The golden rule of meritocracy – to hire people who, in some relevant aspect, are better than you and those around them – will never be followed.

The biggest worry comes when, in an administration, hospital, university, or business, those with no talent gain the power to hire and fire

Administrations need to take on a people policy that is relevant to today’s society. We need urgent change, if we do not want to lose the talent that is left in our public administration (and in politics). In administration, there are excellent professionals, then there are others who are not so good; this is the same in all businesses. We need talent trajectories in public administration to flourish in meritocratic environments based on the criteria of today’s world, not of the world of thirty years ago. Public service has to be more competitive in attracting talent because it offers careers full of purpose and challenges, not because it is a shelter for those who want a job for life in a society where work is becoming highly ”liquid”. Without talent in administrations and politics, the public sector will fall far behind cutting-edge technological sectors. The required efficiency and agility in public administration will falter and democracy itself will be put at risk. We cannot afford to have an administration that does not adapt swiftly and skillfully to new challenges. Whether it does so or not depends on its talent to non-talent ratio, as well as its resources. Public administration is too important to society to be left on its own to control its ability to attract, develop and expose talent and non-talent in its organisations. Our administration is still managing people based on twentieth-century criteria, as the twenty-first century rushes by. ▮

We need talent trajectories in public administration to flourish in meritocratic environments based on the criteria of today’s world, not of the world of thirty years ago

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