Talent Management Means Competent Leadership

Talent Management is an entity that has been slowly evolving within many corporations. Most corporations list the following practices as part of their overall program:

• High potential employee development
• Leadership Development
• Professional Development
• Succession Planning
• Career Planning
• Learning and Training
• Performance Management
• Competency Management
• Retention
• Employee Engagement

Talent Management should concern itself with competencies. Companies should focus on the competencies that make a difference today and will continue to make a difference tomorrow. It means fitting the “right person” to the “right job” and then measuring their impact on the company’s strategy or goals.

In simplest of terms, Talent Management is people development associated with organizational effectiveness. Most companies do not have a clue about what Talent Management means to them and what competencies will provide sustained growth and success. It is important that they focus on their Strategic Development plan now and don’t wait until it is too late. It will be too late when they do not have the people who are able to learn and perform the roles and responsibilities needed for sustained growth. Do we have the people that can respond to the rapidly changing, highly competitive marketplace?

Most companies have not yet assessed the talent within their organization. How can the learning and training components be applied when you don’t know what is needed to develop the people. People are starting to talk about succession planning only because a lot of key people are leaving the workforce for retirement or alternative careers. I joined a pharmaceutical company in the late sixties and within three weeks, the company has decided that I was a “High Potential”….an HP as we called it back then.

A fast track of combined learning and training programs were laid out before me while at the same time, my performance was monitored as if I was under the microscope. It appears that many companies have strayed away from labeling “high potentials” and providing a program to accelerate their careers within the company. Now, I know some companies have accelerated programs and call these designated potential leaders something, like top producers, achievers, or whatever.

It just seems like the same old story. We have been concerned about this problem for many, many years but we have done nothing to provide a fully integrated set of human resource functions that can be called a people development process. We hesitate to assess anyone or anything because it will cause conflict and we can’t have conflict when we need to retain good talent.

Is Talent Management really meeting the needs of most companies? What are we waiting for? The leadership of our companies must step up and focus on a Strategic Development Plan that includes people, processes, and performance. The integration of those three entities often results in employee engagement, motivation, and success.

Human Resources in many companies is defined as the human capital experts. So, when are these so-called experts going to jump up and down and give their leadership team a real assessment of the culture, the people, and the potential to more forward while sustaining growth and reaching goals? It will probably be when all the Talent has left.

Behavioral Interviewing Workshop

Recently Innovative Leadership conducted a public Behavioral Interviewing Workshop. It is a 3 hour workshop that teaches business owners, managers, and professionals how to excel in an interviewing environment.

It introduced the participants to a questioning approach that will help them determine a candidate's abilities based on past experience, not hearsay. Behavioral based interviewing is touted as providing a more objective set of facts to make employment decision than other interviewing methods.

What our participants said:

"The workshop provided a clarity and simplification of the interview process." Matt Bell - VP of ARI

"The real-life examples and role-playing provided an excellent method for learning the Behavioral Interviewing Process." - Sam Bell - Vp of ARI

"The workshop provided a more defined questioning technique in the Interviewing Process." - Jamie Rubini - HR of The Golden Inn

"The Behavioral Interviewing Workshop created a structure for interviewing that I really need in my position." Joel Inman - General Manager, Greate Bay Country Club

All participants received a complimentary Behavioral Interviewing Action Plan for immediate use with their next interview. If you would like to have this workshop or any other workshop conducted for your employees, call 609.390.2830.

Public Workshops are also available. Send a little as one person or send up to 10!

If you are looking to improve yourself and would like to sign up for a workshop or a course, see what is coming up! Click Here

Leadership Modeling in the Ethics Dept.

It is important that managers are role models for the employee when it comes to ethics.

Why? It is important because ethics in the workplace can affect an employee’s productivity.

It has now been statistically collaborated that business ethics can improve productivity. In an article published in the July 7^th issue of HR Magazine, Volume 52, titled, “Corporate Ethics Affects Employee Productivity, a survey of almost 2000 employees, showed that 73 percent of all employees have witnessed unethical behavior while on the job. It was also reported that thirty six percent of the respondents reported unethical behavior negatively affected their job performance. Forty three percent of those surveyed reported that they would personally get involved with resolving the situation while forty eight percent stated that they would get their management team involved with providing a solution to the problem.

Leadership and Management Development courses that focus on performance enhancement and improved productivity are incorporating business ethics modules or content into their curriculum. The role of a leader has always been centered on integrity, honesty, hard work, and fairness. It is important to the employee that their manager exhibits ethical behaviors in the workplace. So important, in fact, that those employees need ethical leaders to be productive. Leadership means influence and when managers understand that their behavior and the behavior of others can have a major impact on performance, productivity will continue to climb.

Employee involvement, motivation, and their commitment to the mission, vision, and purpose in any company centers is enhanced by their leaders’ ethical behavior.

So now, I'd like you to share: As a leader in your company, what are you doing to be a role model for your workers?

Richard Hohmann
Senior Business Development Strategist
Innovative Leadership
609.390.2830

The Battle Cry for Employee Engagement

I had read an article written by Chris and Mel Wildermuth, titled the 10 M’s of Employee Engagement (Training and Development, January 2008). The subtitle noted that Workplace Learning and Performance Professionals need to be engagement champions. The article demonstrated 10 M’s of engagement to help create engagement-friendly organizations. It appears that consultants and the management experts have turned this engagement crisis into a movement and should be uttering a battle cry much like “Remember the Alamo”. It seems we are losing the battle of employee engagement and have the American worker is now totally apathetic in their jobs. Also, it appears that we are fighting for our lives to keep engagement strongly entrenched as a core value of any company or organization. It is now our responsibility to make sure that our employees, leaders, and customers are engaged. But wait, hasn’t that been our responsibility for decades?

Whose responsibility is it to do that? Is it the Human Relations or Resources Manager responsibility? OR is it the CEO and the senior executive team that should do that? Like the article noted in the previous paragraph, it starts with an “M” or “MM”, which of course stands for manager or middle manager. The most critical ingredient for employee engagement is the front-line manager. It has been reported that a 5% increase in employee engagement results in a 2.5% increase in growth. In this era of “do more with less”, the employee who freely gives that extra effort if most valued by their manager.

It’s time for HR Professionals to march directly into the C-Suite and state that they need to train and develop their front-line managers and tell them that these people are the most important component of our plan for sustained growth. We must get our managers to connect the dots between strategy, culture, performance, and motivation. These front-line managers are the future leaders of the company and they will make the difference in the future of the company.

We have to allow our front line managers to:

• Be responsible for employee development and talent management


• Be able to challenge the employee’s abilities and teach them the skills to expand their strengths


• Be able to communicate openly providing clarification for the employee


• Be goal-oriented and provide focus on their contribution to the overall success of the organization by coupling the outcome to the strategy

The skills and competencies of the front-line manager will provide the sustained growth and innovation need in this highly competitive marketplace. Communication, forward thinking, prioritization, and other skills must be learned and applied in the workplace by managers if we can expect to improve employee engagement. Employees need a manager who is willing to provide an “open” communication platform that includes feedback in a timely fashion, candid discussion on performance and appropriate behavior, a willingness to clarify expectations and use metrics to measure results, and to include the employee in the awareness and planning stages for the company’s vision.

We have to get away from telling the employee what they have to do, but why the company’s success is so dependent on them performing at the highest level of commitment. Train and motivate the manager, and the employee will be part of the team.

Join us May 19 12-1pm for a Lunch N Learn on Employee Motivation. Registration is free and we provide lunch. More Info.

Confusion in the Ranks

I have read article after article regarding the importance of employee retention. I have also read in a recent survey the American Society of Training and Development that the following are ranked according to how the best companies measure performance; 1) Productivity Improvement, 2) Ability to Retain Essential Employees, 3) Quality of Products and Services, 4) Customer Satisfaction, 5) Employee Satisfaction, 6) Sales and Revenues, 7) Overall Profitability, 8) Cycle Time Reduction or Improvement and 9) Other.

In another article, “The Hidden Talent Retention Strategy” by Michael Laft, which appeared in Training and Development (December 2007 Issue) stated that 75% of managers are unaware of a retention strategy in their office. Appearing in the December 2007 issue of Training and Development, it has been shown that even when companies are making an effort to engage workers or make them happy, the managers are not aware of the company’s actions and this is not being communicated to them.

The number one non-financial reason why workers leave their jobs is an opportunity for advancement, followed closely by work-life balance and more interesting work. This was noted in a survey conducted by the International Association of Business Communicators.

Even though most articles written for the HR circles are telling everyone to align your people with your business strategy, they are not telling the management team of the respective company to do the same. Almost every article on employment is demonstrating that there will be an imminent shortage of executives and that most companies expect competition for talent to intensify. Senior executives have frequently acknowledged their failure to pay attention to these issues and now seem to understand that their retention strategies cannot focus solely on the top performers but all employees. We need to engage workers of all ages, nationalities and genders who want to work for your company and remain there for as long as they can.

The problem is that managers treat talent in a most reactive manner. Managers and companies alike must think of the workforce as a collection of segments that actively create or apply knowledge. Companies need to make sure that performance reflects the workplace expectations of both the worker and the company. Companies need to instill a deep commitment to its employees. A commitment must start at the top and should cascade downward through the ranks. Managers must try to integrate a hiring and retention program with their strategic business plan and communicate this integration to all employees on a daily basis. These employee retention strategies must be incorporated into the culture of the company and be expected in terms of core value or competency.

When we find that talent is being nurtured at all levels of the organization or company, we can be reassured that we have been successful in creating a real retention plan that exhibits the real values of company and its commitment to its people and their values.

Contact Innovative Leadership at your convenience for information on our integrated Hiring and Retention Process that can make a difference in motivating, retaining, and even hiring your next top producer or “star” employee. www.ILDV.org or 609-390-2830.

Business @ the Beach Expo

Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Cape May County's Premier Networking Event

Admission is Free to the Public, Free Parking, Free Food, and a cash bar!

Join Innovative Leadership and many other businesses at the networking event, Business @ the Beach Expo. From the Chamber: Come check out the who's who of the Cape May County business community as over 90 vendors display their latest products and services at the 20th annual Business @ the Beach Expo. Explore the opportunities - discover new ways to grow your own business by networking with the exhibitors.

Last year hundreds attended to seek out the newest trends in business and technology. Get a jump start on yout competition. Each individual who attends the Expo will be entered to win the Grand Prize. . .a 2 hour office party for 20 at the Rio Station Restaurant in Rio Grande!

Sponsors:

Platinum

Cape Bank

J. Byrne Insurance Company

The Press of Atlantic City
Wildwoods Convention Center

Gold

Atlantic City Electric Company

The Coast - 98.7FM

Commerce Bank

PostNet

Rio Station Restuarant

Silver

Innovative Leadership

Fitzpatrick, Bongiovanni, & Kelly, PC

Atlantic Cape Community College

AT&T Mobility

Copiers Plus

Crest Savings Bank

Kindle Auto Plaza

NIA Group Associates LLC

Rich Services

South Jersey Energy Solutions

State Farm Insurance - Rob Gleason, Agent

Sun National Bank

Top End Turnover

Corporate Executives are on the move…..out the door. CEO turnover increased by 50% in 2007 compared to the previous year. Nearly a third of the departures were against the CEO’s will. The average tenure of CEO’s is down almost 25%. Tradition reasons accounted for some of the terminations but non-traditional reasons accounted for majority of departures. Turnover was highest in the telecommunications industry and financial services businesses. It should also be noted that this group also includes companies involved in the sub-prime meltdown.

In a separate survey printed in the Philadelphia Bizjournal (October 26-November 1, 2007), the CEO’s were asked to rate their own strengths and weaknesses with the following results:
Ranking

Strengths Weaknesses
Vision 1 6
Sales and Marketing 2 (tie) 5
Product Innovation 3 3
Managing People 2 (tie) 4
Information Technologies 5 2
Financial Strategies 4 1

It appears that the CEO has the vision but doesn’t always get there. I question whether or not the CEO has created a “dashboard” for himself that reflects both strengths and weaknesses and is using metrics to formulate benchmarks and to consistency re-evaluate his plan of action and implementation process along the way. It seems like many CEO’s are stuck when it comes to both the planning and implementation process. The statistics tell me that the CEO has a strong sense of awareness but for some reason the plan and implementation process are not giving the CEO the desired results.
I wrote a previous Blog on the formation of “dashboards” and this data tends to lend credence on the fact that CEO’s may not be focused on not only the “things that matter most”, but also don’t measure and monitor the metrics or trends that define the success of the organization. It could also relate that other key members of the executive leadership team are focused on the results that their departments contribute to the overall success of the organization. Sounds like our alignment with strategic objectives must be off or even non-existent. IF the disconnect occurs between the CEO and the people who work in the organization, then the end result is a “disconnect” between the CEO and the Board of Directors resulting in termination or resignation. Basically, we are back to the old adage, “Is it the People or the Process?” You can blame it on one or the other, but it is usually a combination of performance and people resulting in an ineffective process of measurement.
CEO’s better learn how leading companies measure performance and offer a goal and results-oriented culture. Ok, CEO’s, “Start your engines, monitor your dashboard, and stay focused on the finish line”…