Sirona Says

The Social Network for Talent Managers - Talent Management Network

There seems to be social networks for pretty much every subject matter you can imagine, but surprisingly the one subject that was missing was Talent Management. Well this need has finally been answered, with the creation of The Talent Management Network.

Peter Gold - the social media evangelist | the Guru's arch enemy | company sniper | ATS vendor's worst nightmare | "don't upset me or I will....." | Friend of Willy  - (you don't need to 'delete as applicable' because they are ALL true!!!) has produced this network aimed purely at Talent Managers in companies large and small.

There is no question that with talent management matters being the no 1 problem with HR globally, that a forum was needed to be able compare / advise / help / discuss talent management issues. This Network aims to do just that. So if you are a Talent Manager (any level) or are involved in Talent Management, then this is a network you need to be part of. Just send me an email with Talent Management Network in the subject line and I will send you an invite to become part of this fast growing and essential network.

Talent Managers: What is more important - recruitment or retention?

Talent management as we know is the number one problem for HR globally. So why is it that it is still such an undefined phrase? In talking to many companies, it is very evident that there is a vast difference in what Talent Leaders (HR Managers, HR Directors and alike) see as talent management and the subsequant actions they take in dealing with it.

I am not going to go on an in depth analysis of the theories of talent management, the rights and wrongs, best practice or the systems used etc. What I want to do is to ask all you Talent Managers out there a question that I am finding more difficult to get an answer from companies on. So here goes (and I do expect some honest answers, please!)

On a scale of 1 - 10, with Recruitment Stategy at No 1 and Retention Strategy at the No 10, where is your company positioned along the scale, in terms of balance? Are you at a low number meaning you are more focused on recruitment, a high number meaning you are focused more on retention, or do you think you have it about right somewhere in the middle?

'Superheads' - THE most important Talent Managers?

There has been much debate about the pay of Head Teachers, especially with the news that 'Superheads' - managing large grammar schools - should expect to earn circa £200k for the work they do. So, what is the problem here, and why are so many people so shocked?

We have a 'talent crunch' (sounds better than talent shortage doesn't it!) occurring at the moment that will only get worse over the next few years. The school population is absolutely key to employers over the next few years. Everyone goes on about generation Y and generation Z, and how they are going to deal with them, but they are already being managed now - in the Schools!Head Teachers and 'Superheads' are managing our future talent for us - no one to my knowledge has yet to define how old talent is - and with 'Superheads' managing schools with as much as 1500 pupils + staff in (that's alot of potential talented people!), why shouldn't be rewarded with a market applicable salary? If you were a CEO of a 1500 strong company I would like to bet your salary would definitely exceed £200k anyway!!

The aptly named Mr Ed Balls - the Labour Schools Secretary - should be applauded (just for a change) for trying to ensure that these important Talent Managers stay within education. (Now Mr Balls, can you set about the rest of the education system please!!!!)

Talent Management tops the Top 3 Global HR Issues

A recent global survey 4,741 Executives in 83 Countries, conducted by The Boston Consulting Group and World Federation of Personnel Management Associations, identifies HR Priorities for today and in the future. The Top 3 global issues are:

1. Talent Management
2. Improving leadership development
3. Managing work-life balance

Frances Wilson, CIPD International Advisor says, “Global talent shortages loom, even in these turbulent economic times, and companies must take steps now if they hope to address these shortages. To fully exploit global, highly skilled professionals, companies should source their talent throughout the world.”

Who is Talent Management more important for? - Generation X or Generation Y?

Reading an article by Kristin Gessaro today made me wonder if companies are actually giving enough credence to the employees they currently have - Generation X and Baby Boomers (the two age groups that span the ages of 28 - 61), rather than focusing on what they haven't got yet - the new Generation Y employees they will soon be recruiting? Yes it is a fact that there is a shrinking pool of skilled workers, but I wonder if companies are just getting caught up in the hype of always looking at the youth and not looking at managing their own talent more effectively?

I appreciate that blogs (like mine) bang on about all the different generations of workers, and how company's need to listen to the future needs of the new generations - Y and Z , but what about the needs of their current employees. I think companies forget, these are the people with actual skills and valid experience, and who can add value to a company very quickly.  A new generation Y'er, will need lots of learning, training and development to get close to some of the skill levels of the older generations. Kristin rightfully raise the point that companies, put new young employees on rotation programmes, to give them different experiences of different facets of business, yet do not do the same for older workers.

Surely talent management should be applied to the whole workforce and not just to the new entrants to the business. I know some companies do apply this theory, but many I speak to seem to forget that they have such a wealth of experience and talent already in their business! Do they know what talent management really is?

Sir Clive Woodward's 10 Tips for Managers managing the Talent

Sir Clive Woodward has this week in The Sunday Times  given a 10 point blueprint for the overhaul of English rugby. But I think it can amended to be used for senior business managers for their talent management and motivation. So here are my (slightly amended versions) of his 10 point management blueprint:

1. Wear the tracksuit
Don't manage from the office, get down and dirty with the staff.

2. Extremism is good
Look after the good people, but don't be afraid to be a bold leader. The senior manager is that for a reason - they make the decisions and they should be extreme.

3. Money matters
Don't compromise for the sake of money. Don't let people prevent you from putting things in place that you feel essential to succeed.

People Talent Magnets

  A question I have for companies so worried about talent management, is whether they do really think ahead and consider the impact of recruiting the right leaders for their company?

Many good candidates are attracted by the calibre of the leaders (Managers and alike) in a business - they see them as a quality benchmark, charismatic people, people they would would enjoy working for and people they would follow. In simple terms these leaders are people talent magnets. They have skills, aptitude, charisma, gravitas and above all, great leadership skills. Managers like these are great at attracting like minded individuals to companies, and are usually the reason why really successful teams are built. So bearing this in mind, do companies actively try to recruit these types of people? Do they target future leaders when recruiting? Can they even identify future leaders and the benefits they could bring to the business?

I am not sure that many companies are even looking that far ahead when recruiting, but they should. People talent magnets will help solve some of the future recruiting problems - recruit them and talent will follow them into your company.

Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2008 - but where are the retailers?

Having just read my Sunday Times today, in particular the 100 Best Companies To Work For 2008 (250- 4999 employees) conducted by Best, I was very surprised with the results. My surprise is not with the winners, but with the companies that are missing. I am not being specific to individual companies, but to one of the largest employing sectors in the UK  - Retail. More than 3.2 million people work in retail and it is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business services and the health sector, and yet it did not feature once in the Top 100 companies to work for!! Not one retail company!

The only savior came in the form of Mothercare, who came 18th in the Top 20 Big Companies to Work For 2008 (5000 employees+). Surely Mothercare are not the only retailer worth working for in the UK, are they? What has happened to all those other top name retailers? Are they really that poor to work for?

With the continual demand for talent, it isn't a good advert for the retail sector is it? There is nothing like making it hard for yourself is there? All those talented graduates pay good credence to award lists like these and actively target these companies to work for. So is it any wonder the retail sector is always moaning about the lack of talent?

If you try to do it through HR it will be a disaster!

Following on from my last post on Talent Management  it seems that there is further confusion regarding this human capital subject. Does the responsibility for talent management sit with HR or line managers?

The CIPD VP Tim Miller has his opinion, and that it is that the responsibility lies with line managers. His reasoning? - "If you try to do it through HR it will be a disaster!" Do you think he has had some bad experiences by any chance? 

He does qualify this further though by adding, "One thing we find is that if you have not got great managers, you are not going to develop talent properly. If you get your management sorted out everything else will follow. If managers are not doing what they are paid to do - get rid of them"  But how many companies will be that brave when they are finding good people hard to come by?

He really hits the nail on the head with his summation, which I think is a very astute comment, "Talented people don't want to work for donkeys. They want to work for people who want to develop them."  Too true!

Can you define Talent Management? - these HR specialists had trouble!

Talent Management - also now being called Human Capital Management -  is now a well used phrase within both HR and business, but can you define what it is? The actions of talent management are easy to define - sourcing, attracting, selecting, training, developing, retaining, promoting. But trying to get a defined statement can be difficult when it means many different things to many people.

To highlight how difficult this can be, Personnel Today put this question to six HR specialists, who you would expect to know how to define talent management........maybe the lack of defined answers won't surprise you!