Talent Management April 200818

There is little doubt that one of the most significant challenges facing leaders and managers today is attracting, retaining, and engaging the right people with the right skills and capabilities. Peter Cheese suggests 5 Talent Imperatives to overcome this challenge.

Peter Cheese is managing

director of the Talent and

Organisation Performance

consulting practice, Accenture.

He has more than 25 years of

experience in management

consulting, and advises clients

around the world on talent

management issues.

He is co-author of The Talent

P o w e r e d O r g a n i s a t i o n ,

published by Kogan Page, a

book which reveals that the

hidden key to sustainable

competitive advantage in a

turbulent global economy is to

find new sources of talent and

to multiply the value each

employee provides, no matter

what the i r p lace in the

organisation. The authors

d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e

development of a distinctive

capability in multiplying talent

can create extraordinary value

and become an important and

lasting source of competitive

advantage that powers an

o r g a n i s a t i o n t o h i g h

performance. (Also please see

separate panel).

Talent: a critical issue facing managers today

As demographic changes cause once-familiar talent pools to dry up and new ones to come on

stream, organisations have to move fast and act smart if they are to attract, motivate and keep

the best people. Talent sourcing has become a particularly critical issue in many businesses as

they grow and require new skills, and as they see their existing workforces ageing.

Attracting and managing much more diverse talent is becoming a critical capability

– generational diversity, geographic diversity, virtual teams, and diversity of

background and education.

The new generations entering the workforce use new channels of

communication and collaboration, and when they work for us, they expect

to be supported and given opportunities to develop and grow, and they want

openness and integrity in how they are dealt with. Nothing wrong with any

of this, but are our employee value propositions relevant and realistic? Are

line managers equipped to manage greater diversity, and is the organisation

sufficiently nimble and prepared?

Business leaders are fast realising the magnitude of the issues and challenges,

but at the same time, they express some concern about their organisations’

readiness to respond. The practices and processes which aim to recruit, retain and

develop people are typically disconnected, inconsistent, and either incomplete or

too rigid. The strategic questions cannot be asked because we lack information on our

workforces. But strategy can only be informed by asking what are the really critical skills,

where are our biggest gaps, what do we need to sustain growth and support the

business strategy, where are we losing people and why, and where should

we be seeking new talent and how do we attract them?

Competing for talentMany organisations are now accelerating spending

on HR, and on training and workforce development,

but most are still some way from having fully

integrated talent management processes and the

sorts of capabilities needed to respond to the wider

challenges of talent shortfalls and competition.

Organisations that are able to leverage and

multiply their talent effectively to

drive high performance, we term a

“talent-powered organisation.”

To truly compete on talent,

companies must be prepared to do

more than just fill in gaps by adding

people, or by investing in talent

according to the winds of

economic change. They have to be

able to consistently multiply their

talent to generate superior levels

of effort, imagination and creativity.

And they need to do that by

concentrat ing on f ive ta lent

imperatives (see separate panel).

18-19 talent.indd 18 31/3/08 14:16:21

www.instam.org 19

THE MANAGER’S GUIDETO SURVIVAL Talent:

a critical issue facing managers today

All of these imperatives place a significant onus of responsibility on leaders and

managers at all levels. How good are you at managing and developing the talent for

which you are responsible, and in particular with the increasing diversity of talent?

But also, how well are you being supported? What sort of training in how to manage

and develop people, how to provide good coaching and feedback – negative and

positive – are you being given? Particularly important is to recognize how much each

employee’s engagement is directly impacted by the relationship with their immediate

manager, and how their expectations can be met or missed through the actions and

behaviours of that manager.

Strategic responseSo managers need to be trained, but also measured, in how effective they are in

managing people and playing their part in effective talent management throughout

the organisation.

More broadly, given the strategic nature of the challenges and questions, a

strategic response is required. Leaders need to address these issues and engage

with HR in developing the necessary culture, mindset, and capabilities to become

a truly talent-powered organisation. It also means being realistic about current

capabilities and delivery in talent management, from resourcing, to workforce

learning and development, workforce deployment and role design, performance

management, and rewards.

Start with understanding the business strategy and its implications for skills and

talent, then think beyond the traditional confines of the organisation to how and

where the skills gaps will be met. HR needs to have the foundation in place and to

be able to support and enable the key talent management processes, but the rest of

the organisation needs to be using and embedding them.

The scope of this challenge was well articulated recently by Bradbury Anderson,

Chairman of the very successful US based retailer Best Buy when he said, “The secret

today isn’t how you invest capital. It’s how you invest in your employees, so that they

can deliver superior service to customers.” And other organisations – Starbucks,

Google, Marriott, Tata Engineering and UPS, to name a few, have realised the same

thing. All of them have “unleashed” their own talent power to achieve significant

success – and others will need to do the same to remain competitive.

As Thomas Friedman said in his thought-provoking book The World is Flat, we

have moved from the Industrial Age through the Information Age, to the Age of

Talent. Leaders’ and managers’ ability and understanding of how to get the most

out of people, or how to multiply talent, must therefore become one of the most

important management capabilities of all.

The 5 Talent Imperatives1. Develop the mindset from the top down that sees talent as a strategic issue,

and a human capital strategy as an intrinsic part of any business strategy.

2. Recognize and nurture diversity as the organisation’s biggest asset, and the ability

to attract and work with diverse talent as a critical competitive advantage.

3. Build workforce learning and skills development into a critical

organisational capability.

4. Increase the alignment and engagement of people in their organisation

and its mission.

5. Make sure that all people in the organisation, especially those at senior

levels, see talent management as part of their job and responsibility.

Special book discount offer for readers of manager*The Talent Powered OrganisationStrategies for Globalisation, Talent Management and High Performanceby Peter Cheese, Robert J. Thomas and

Elizabeth Craig

Published by Kogan Page

(www.kogan-page.co.uk)

ISBN: 97807 49449902

£19.95 • Hardback • 288 pages

This book tackles one of the most pressing and

challenging issues on managers’ agendas, winning the battle for talent. It is

a comprehensive review of the trends that are elevating talent management

to the top of the corporate agenda. Whether recruiting young technicians

from the developing world, retaining valuable experience from an ageing

generation of employees, or integrating Generation Y into the workforce,

managers confront a maelstrom of talent issues.

The authors provide current examples of best practices and critical

imperatives for attracting, retaining and multiplying talent in the new global

economy. They offer numerous case studies that illuminate every dimension

of managing people, from defining talent requirements and their critical links

to business strategy, to innovative ways of sourcing, building and deploying

talent at the right time and in the right roles, and accounting for, and

measuring, investments in talent.

Among the key points the book makes are:

• Engagement is the mystery ingredient that can transform business

performance, but can be elusive. Google fosters engagement by building

a sense of community through fun, collaborative work experiences. The

organisation attracts, engages and retains employees by continuously

promoting the opportunity to do exciting and important work in a fun

environment as a crucial part of the company’s brand.

• Human capital strategy must be an intrinsic part of any business strategy,

but it requires the discipline of a long-distance runner. Royal Bank of

Scotland is a leader in measuring people and their relationship to business

performance, using such measures as engagement and employee

satisfaction versus improvement in sales and customer service.

• Learning and skills development is now one of the most important

capabilities for the talent-powered organisation, but the best programmes

recognize that not everyone learns in the same way. The U.S. Tennessee

Valley Authority leverages its learning investments by developing

competency where it is most critical – not an easy task considering that its

workforce ranges from the agency’s own law enforcement personnel to

custodians. Organised into ‘job families,” each group has its own profession-

specific learning team.

*To obtain 20% off the retail price of £19.95 (p&p are not included), contact Littlehampton Book Services on +44(0)1903 828 503 or at mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote reference MF319

18-19 talent.indd 19 2/4/08 13:53:29