Talent Review Dialogues_Sage Solutions

© 2013 Sage Solutions Private Limited

Talent Review Dialogues Sieving the seeds to grow your own timber


Overview While recruiting Leadership Talent

laterally is sometimes inevitable,

organizational research in organizational

excellence, including the one by Jim

Collins, has emphasized on the need for

developing internal talent, especially at

the leadership level.

This has led to most organizations

instituting structured processes of assessing

talent potential across its hierarchy and

building a leadership pipeline. The entire

program is anchored around a leadership

behavioral competency framework. The key

elements of the program include,

The Leadership Competency

Framework

Talent Assessment Process - both for

assessing existing talent, as well as a

filter for recruiting lateral hires

Talent Development Program

While this document's primary focus is on

talent assessment processes, it touches

upon the development related elements as

well since the two are closely interlinked.

Talent Assessment Process

While Performance Management Systems

typically assess the proficiency levels of

people with regard to the expected

competencies for their current role, the

talent assessment process focuses on

assessing people with regard to the

competencies required for potential future

roles. The key challenge in talent

assessment process is to assess an

individual for potential competencies that

he/she may have very limited opportunities

to even demonstrate in their current role.

Broadly, organizations have used two main

methods to address this challenge, namely,

Development Centers and Talent Review

Dialogues. Both these methods provide for

integration of other data points such as past

performance data, Career goals of an

individual and psychometric data etc.

Talent Review Dialogues Talent Review Dialogues are facilitated

discussions amongst the key people

around the individual concerned,

including the respective manager and the

skip level manager. This process is similar

to the session C in GE and its preparatory

sessions by the respective GE businesses

popularized by Jack Welch.

Talent Review Dialogue uses the paradigm

of ‘Past performance is the best indicator

of future potential’ and uses the principles

of studying the consistent

performance/behavioral patterns of an

employee over a period of time to really

assess whether he/she is capable of taking

on the next level leadership role. The

subjectivity in the evaluation process is

removed by involving various stakeholders

from the eco system the employee operates

in during the process (HR/Skip level leader

etc.), apart from the immediate leader.


COMPARISON BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT CENTERS AND TALENT REVIEW

DIALOGUES

Development Centers Talent Review Dialogues

Definition A method for assessing aptitude and performance; applied to a group of participants by trained assessors using various aptitude diagnostic processes in order to obtain information about applicants' abilities or development potential.

Facilitated discussions amongst the key people around the individual concerned, including the respective manager and the skip level manager. This is followed by a Talent development program to enhance the capabilities of individuals

Reliance on past data

Limited reliance on past performance data

Talent Review Dialogue uses the past performance as an indicator of future potential

Determining consistency

Judges the potential based on demonstrated behaviors in a simulated environment on a given day, thus lacking consistency

Studies the consistent performance/behavioral patterns of an employee over a period of time to assess whether he/she is capable of taking on the next level leadership role

Involvement of direct manager

No involvement Direct manager plays an important role in the process

Bias reduction and objectivity

As the direct manger is not involved, a fresh perspective can be brought in the evaluation

The subjectivity in the evaluation process is removed by involving various stakeholders from the eco system the employee operates in during the process (HR/Skip level leader etc.), apart from the direct manager

Time and Cost Effectiveness

Assessment Centers need intense involvement by all the participants over the course of 2 days, evaluated by at least 3 assessors (assuming a group size of 12)

Talent Review Dialogues need minimal time investment from the assesses (restricted to self assessment). One facilitator will moderate the discussion for an individual employee, with 3-4 individuals being assessed during a normal working day

While Assessment Center format provides some critical insights in to the competencies of an

individual in the hiring process where there is only a very limited access to the data on her past

performance (through ref checks), and the Development Center format engages an individual

and explicitly show case the organization's efforts towards employee development, there are

several limitations to the Development center process, especially from the Return on Effort/

Investment perspective. Following is a brief comparison between the two:


THE PROCESS

The broad process which is followed as part of this intervention is outlined below:

Finalization of leadership competencies to be used for assessment along with the asessment methodology

Identification of employees eligibile to participate in the proposed exercise

Detailed Communication Exercise for preparing Direct Managers to assess their team members on the required 'behaviors/competencies' as well as briefing indivdual leaders on the Self Assessment Process

Conduct of the Asessment Process ; facilitators ensure rigour and objectivity behind the ratings with the Direct Manager, Skip level Manager and HR; Assessment report includes clear evidences identified and recorded for key competencies as well as key Strengths/Develop-ment Opportunities for an Individual leader

Identification of the High Potential leaders by studying their recent performance and ratings on 'behaviors/comp-etencies' expected at Leadership level, followed by formulation of a clear Individual Development Plan

Talent Development Program

The Talent Development program should be closely integrated with, and made as an extension

to the assessment process, rather than as a distinctive next phase of the program, with active

involvement of the managers and the skip level managers. Given the 70-20-10 rule of

development, that 70 percent of one's development is contributed by on the job activities/

special projects, the talent development program needs more focus on these elements.

Educating, involving and working with the managers and skip level managers to enable them to

enhance/ strengthen/ manifest the capacities of an individual, is essential for the success of the

talent pipeline program.


CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR TALENT REVIEW DIALOGUES:

For creating an environment that fosters

growth and development using a Talent Review

Dialogue Process, individuals should be

continuously assessed on the following criteria:

Ability – Determined via taking into account

the individual’s annual Performance Ratings

/ Performance on key functional and

behavioral parameters

Awareness and Aspirations – An individual’s

awareness of his capabilities and limitations

(revealed through Self Assessment) needs

to be continually gauged and dialogued,

along with proactive steps to provide him a

conducive environment to realize his goals

and aspirations

Potential – The manager needs to be

cognizant of consistent patterns of thought,

feelings and behaviors of their team

members to effectively gauge their

potential.

Together they act as the wheel, which form the

building blocks of the Talent Review Dialogue

Process. In the center of this wheel lies the

essence of this exercise, i.e. identifying the

target group. These individuals will be judged

on ability, aspirations and potential, which

should lead to a holistic Development Plan

Continuous communication is the rim that

prevents this wheel from wearing off. This

exercise will result in greater heights of

employee engagement if the employees are

informed about each and every step in the

process.


Case Study: A leading Indian player in the Aviation and Travel Industry

Organizational Context: The group is a diversified player in the Aviation and Travel related

services, with businesses ranging from cutting edge Travel Solutions to BPO to providing IT

support/Ground Support to key international players. Within a span of 14 years, it has a pan

India coverage with a total employee base of 11,000 professionals.

Key Need: To identify business / functional leaders who would take over leadership positions at

the Corporate level as well as within the key Group Businesses. This process is undertaken by

the group every two years.

Methodology adopted for Potential Assessment: Talent Review Dialogue Process was selected

for assessing Leadership Potential considering the return on efforts/ investment in this method

compared to other tools, and also to involve and educate the managers on the competency

framework and competency assessment process in a hands on way. Two rounds of Potential

Assessment have been completed for majority of the group businesses using the Talent Review

Dialogue Process. Consultants from Sage Solutions were involved in both the rounds.

Key Steps - Round 2:

When we prepared for the second round of the Potential assessment, the key learnings

from the first round were kept in mind while designing the intervention. Some of the

key challenges faced in the first round included:

o Lack of understanding amongst the managers about the competency definitions

as well as the scale being used for Potential assessment

o Lack of rigor on part of the managers reflected in their state of preparedness

while coming for the discussion; there was often a clear lack of evidence for the

ratings been provided and sometimes, incomplete ratings in the assessment

forms

o Tendency of the managers to rate a person basis his Performance, rather than

Potential

o Lack of developmental discussions with individual employees post completion of

the assessment process, leading to ineffective Development Plans

Round 2 began with a detailed interaction with the key HR leaders within the

organization briefing them about the process to be followed as well as utilizing their

inputs to ensure rigor and timely completion of the process

Strong emphasis was put on strengthening the initial Communication to the Managers,

providing them an end to end perspective of the intervention, detailed explanation of


the assessment forms being used as well as orienting them to the pre-requisites for an

effective dialogue process along with the importance of their role in this exercise.

There was Proactive partnership with the HR leaders along with suggested

methodologies for effectively scheduling the intervention in order to maximize the

number of assessments being completed in a particular man-day

Post completion of the Dialogue process, detailed individual reports were finalized and

shared with the respective managers and HR leaders ; these reports included ratings o

key competencies as well as individual attributes, clear evidence for 3-4 key

competencies relevant for the next level role as well as clear overall evaluation, strength

areas as well as key focus areas to be kept in mind while formulating the Individual

Development Plan (IDP)

The IDPs were finalized internally by the client team

Key Results: Potential Assessment of 125 leaders was completed within a period of one and a

half months. Average productivity of 4 assessments per man-day was achieved with each

assessment lasting for approximately one and a half hours. The Sage team is now working with

the client team to finalize the L&D roadmap for High Potential Leaders.

Testimonials:

“Effectiveness of the Process: The review meeting involved the Reporting Manager, the

Reviewing Manager and Head of Human Resources. All concerned had a detailed briefing

session on the talent review process by the assessors and were provided adequate time to

prepare for the said meetings. The review process brought out some interesting insights about

the employees being assessed and negated reporting bias’ from time to time by keeping the

discussions focused on evidences of competencies demonstrated. Intensity of the process was

such that sometimes we could complete only 2-3 reviews in a given day and often left us

completed exhausted by end of the day!. The outcome of the process has been very satisfactory.

Quality of Assessors: The degree of experience and maturity that the assessors brought in was

indeed praiseworthy. The way Ganesh and Gita handled our managers and steered the

discussions without offending their egos speaks volumes about their ability to handle senior/top

management.” (HR Leader of the Group Hotel Business)

“As you both know, these discussions are of utmost importance in our “HPHP” assessment

process and in fact are core to the overall process. In order to have fair and objective inputs,

every year we solicit help from an external partner who can help us look at a candidate sans any

biases or influences. I must say that you guys very ably helped us in achieving the objective.

Most stakeholders were also impressed by the way your team helped them understand and look


at “Competency Framework” in the organizational context and also as to how it plays an

important role in the “Potential” aspect of a Manager. Vis a Vis AC /DC, the Talent Review

Dialogue process is more localized and specific. It uses BEI technique to dive deeper into a

person’s Organizational Behaviors and how he / she lives the “Competency Framework”. It also

has time and resource advantage Vis a Vis the AC / DC. Net- net, together we were able to

achieve most of the objectives we had set for this process. We look forward to Partnering with

Sage in next year’s Talent Review process as well.” (HR Leader of the Group Air Transport

Business)

"Sage consultants have been partnering with us for the last three years in our LeadershipNext

initiative which is the identification of the High Performance High Potential talent pool at the

leadership levels. The commitment and approach that both Ganesh and Gita bring on the table

is exemplary. Categorizing the talent through the Competency Assessments through the unique

approach that Sage brings in is not only simple but also almost precise" (HR Leader of the Group

IT Business)


Sample Outputs: Overall Evaluation

Competency Model

Rating

Strength / Development

need

Qualitative Comments

Empowering and Developing

2

Development Need

Second line is a challenge & no effective steps have been

taken to develop them

Valuing People

3

Strength

Fair, respectful, equitable and consistent in dealing

with others

Delighting the Customer

4

Strength

Manages client relationships well; can be leveraged further through more

holistic dealing

Aligning Strategies and Systems

2

Development Need

Can work on system and policies. However,

development of new process and system is a challenge

Parameters 1 2 3 4 5 Indicators Evidence

Creating a Customer

Centric Culture

4

Models and drives a customer first culture within function/unit

One month deadline to complete a client release, took the ownership and created a plan with the internal team leader, prioritized requirements and delivered on time

3

Considers industry trends, looks ahead to predict future needs of customers; suggests relevant strategies

Developed a system for maintaining individual travel records, through research suggested additional features to clients


ANNEXURE: ABOUT SAGE SOLUTIONS

Sage Solutions Private Limited, Sage as we are known, commenced its journey in September

2010. It was a passion driven decision the Founders took to service businesses to propel

business growth by driving best in class HR processes and programs.

With its vast experience, the leadership team has triggered the most important guiding

principle of Sage; “engagement beyond consultancy and providing solutions, i.e. partnering

with all stakeholders associated with the identified processes and programs for the client”.

Partnership remains the corner stone our engagement with our clients.

Bound by the basic principles of societal consciousness, integrity and authenticity, the diversity

in team energies have helped in looking at reality (client environment/culture) from different

perspectives. With client success as the fulcrum of our existence, we continue to evolve and co-

create, striving towards building a bigger, better future for our clients and partners.

We are run and managed by professionals with a combined experience of more than 100

years. We are now a strong team of 20+ members with high credentials in HR as well as other

operational and business domains. Sage currently has a presence in Delhi NCR, Chennai and

Bangalore.

The following elements make us a trusted partner for our clients:

Diversity of thoughts, Integrated for providing the best solutions for the organization

Rich & Wide domain experience

Global Perspectives; Ability to drive the Strategic and Operational agenda

Bringing Best in class global solutions to both our client categories

Capability to offer cost effective solutions, using a combination of Onsite/Off site delivery

model

Ability to seamlessly integrate and help implement best-fit frameworks, products and

services (both from functional and commercial perspectives) in the given work environment.

Given this, we are continuously combing the market for relevant frameworks, products and

services, so as to bring-in, collaborate and/or recommend them, to address the specific

needs of our clients. This helps us focus our efforts in identifying and implementing specific

scale-up solutions, leveraging the strengths of our partner organizations, akin to a Doctor in

the health care system.


Our range of partnerships helps us in delivering appropriate solutions to our clients in the

following areas:

Value assessment and building Values Driven organization

Creating Conscious Business

Building Leadership Resilience through a holistic Health and Well Being approach

Behavioral assessment from Talent Acquisition and Employee Development perspective

Humanizing Data through Talent Analytics

Employee Motivation through innovative Reward and Recognition

Online HR Management/Information System

Sage Solutions Private Limited

A35/12 DLF City Phase I Gurgaon 122002

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Talent Review Dialogues_Sage Solutions

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