MSOP 630 Scott BohlinAssignment 6.1

Talent Management

As leaders in our organizations it falls to us to support our employees, to take responsibility for how they do their work, to provide them opportunities, promote their contributions, and to make sure we hear and see what they have to show us and have to say. This is what it means to have talent management. However before we can promote and enhance those attributes we must be able to recognize individuals skills and capabilities and how they fit with future needs of the organization. We must know about Talent Gaps.

Talent Gap Analysis In this case we are referring to a “Talent” gap. It is the tool that allows

leadership to make informed decisions with staffing in regards to hiring, training, in sourcing and out sourcing.

Jon Ingham says “The talent gap may be caused by the prevalence of non-strategic talent management programs that treat talent very much the same as everyone else in an organization.” (Ref. 3). This may sound harsh to treat some different employees from others but it is not as it sounds.

Jon Ingham goes on to explain “Talent management, implemented effectively, doesn't have to be seen as divisive by those people not identified as talent, or stop organizations developing the skills and potential of all their employees” (Ref. 3).

By analyzing and understanding an organizations own unique dynamics and the reason for those dynamics leadership will be better informed to make decisions for future goals.

See the next slide for examples of a Talent Gap Analysis.

Talent/Leadership Development plan First according to Shaun Killian Author of “Designing leadership

development initiatives: clarifying the why, who, what, how and when” for our plan to be successful we need to clarify why we want to run the program, what is it meant to achieve?(Ref. 5)

Talent/Leadership plans need to be tailored to the individual and their aspirations, abilities, and needs. However there are some universal truths (Ref. 5):

1. People learn and develop over time, not in an instant. It is generally better to space out your program than to condense it all into a single, intensive event

2. The program must have a definite endpoint. While stand-alone, short courses are not ideal, neither are vague notions of lifelong development

3. You should sequence any content so that each element builds on what has gone before.

Succession Plan A succession plan is a process where an organization identifies its

critical positions within the company and the key individuals with the potential to fill those positions.

In addition to identifying who will replace a key individual in an emergency, successful succession plans address how individuals who have indicated they plan to retire or move on will be replaced, as well as how the development needs of potential leaders from within an organization will be met (Ref.6).

The first step is to identify key positions. This process should include the board of directors.

The board of directors should act as a “neutral” third party. A consultant.

Larger companies benefit from moving their performers to different slots and mentoring them for future possible positions.

Though difficult with limited resources for new or small companies it is still beneficial to have a succession plan to ensure stability and sustainability.

See the next slide for the diagram of a Succession Plan.

Employee Engagement Employee Engagement, as defined in “ How can leaders achieve high

employee engagement” concerns the degree to which individuals make full use of their cognitive, emotional, and physical resources to perform role-related work.(Ref. 7)

The better the employee engagement the better the return from employees in the form of increased return on assets, higher earning per employee, higher performance, greater sales growth, and lower absenteeism

This concept created by William Kahn is the "harnessing of organization members' selves to their work roles (Ref. 7)

Employees are willing to give these returns if three antecedents are met:1. Employees feel psychologically safe in the presence of others to apply themselves

in their role performances,2. They have sufficient personal resources available to devote to such performances, 3. And their work is sufficiently meaningful that such personal investment is

perceived as worthwhile

Project Plan Management Any solid project plan should answer the basic questions: Who, what,

why, and when.Who will be involved?What is the work that will be performedWhen are our projected checkpoints (Milestones, benchmarks, etc.)Why are we performing this task (Plan) A primary use of a project plan is to communicate intentions,

assumptions, and decisions. Clearly assign roles and responsibilities. This is imperative so there are

boundaries and good communication. People on the lower levels should not be left with vague hazy direction and the people at the top should not have to micro manage.

Good strategy implementation requires the right balance between being hands on and hands off (Ref.1). Clearly define resources needed.

Talent Management Plan Paul Herrick of Burson-Marsteller defines talent as matching job

opportunities with people’s aspirations. He believes a leader should want to find out about everyone: what motivates them, what their dreams and preferences are, what they want to do, and what their capabilities and potential are. Simply put, its purpose is to align the best people with the right jobs at the right time. (Ref. 1)

The ultimate purpose of talent management is to build organizational capability for the future in such a way that ensures the organization retains flexibility in an uncertain world. This requires strategies for assessing, developing, and deploying and engaging people. (Ref. 1)

Talent management plans are a business strategy that will help to retain exceptional employees, assist in recruiting aspects, and increase effectiveness in training

There is no one size fits all plan. Author Riaan Rudman points out that a talent management plan must be customized to each company's unique situation and country of operation. This includes keeping in mind the host nations language. (Ref. 8)

See the next slide for the diagram of a Talent Management Plan.

ConclusionIn closing I leave you with these words,

“The greatest talents often lie buried out of sight”.

- Titus

References:• (Ref. 1) Janice Caplan, Value of Talent: Promoting Talent Management across

the Organization, PUBLISHER Kogan Page Ltd., December 2010• (Ref. 2) Camilo Serna, Closing the Talent Gap, Public Utilities Fortnightly

146.8 (Aug 2008)• (Ref. 3) Jon Ingham, Closing the talent management gap, Strategic HR

Review 5.3 (Mar/Apr 2006)• (Ref. 4) Business Dictionary

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/gap-analysis.html• (Ref. 5) Shaun Killian, Designing leadership development initiatives:

clarifying the why, who, what, how and when, Development and Learning in Organizations 24.5 (2010)

• (Ref. 6) Natasha Chilingerian, Well-Rounded Succession Plans Take a Broad Approach. Credit Union Times (Feb 27, 2013)

• (Ref. 7) Jessica Xu, Helena Cooper Thomas, How can leaders achieve high employee engagement?. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 32.4 (2011)

• (Ref. 8) Riaan Rudman, A Talent Management Plan - overcoming the skills gap, CA(SA), MBusSc, MAcc. Accountancy SA (Feb 2011)