The 7 Things That Define Talent Management

If you've read any of our previous blog posts you'll know that we've been using the term “Talent Management” quite a lot, but we haven't yet explained the basics of what Talent Management really is.
 

Talent Management

Talent Management is not a commonly used term outside of the human resources world, so it may be new to many of you.

In fact in some circles it's often confused with the process of managing acting talent on the stage and in the performance arts and entertainment industry, but it's also becoming more widely used to describe the overall HR strategy around people in the workplace.

 

And here's the reason to sit up and take notice of Talent Management in HR - As it's now a best practice process and is being used to gain a competitive advantage. It's also a key component of a business strategy to differentiate organizations from the competition and can be directly used to achieve desired corporate goals.

 

According to Wikipedia, Talent management refers to the anticipation of required human capital the organization needs at the time then setting a plan to meet those needs.  The field dramatically increased in popularity after McKinsey's research and subsequent book on The War for Talent.

Talent management in this context does not refer to the management of entertainers.

Talent Management is defined as the science of using strategic HR to improve business value and make it possible for companies and organisations to reach their goals.

Everything that is done to recruit, retain, develop, reward and make people perform is part of Talent Management as well as strategic workforce planning.

A Talent Management strategy needs to be linked to the business strategy to make sense. and it encompasses seven main areas of HR:

1) Recruitment and selection: Using the best processes to hire the “right” talent for your organization.

2) Performance management and coaching:  Managing the performance of your talent and providing the coaching needed to improve individual and team performance.

3) Employee development and training: Developing your employees and helping them identify their skill sets to maximize their potential.

4) Compensation, rewards and benefits: Rewarding employees with the proper structures in place to ensure they meet their financial needs.

5) Success planning and leadership development: Planning ahead for emergencies and creating new leaders.

6) Compliance, policy and procedures: Meeting corporate legal obligations and correctly handling employee relations.

 

and lastly,

 

7) Cultural and Corporate identity: Managing the desired corporate culture and making sure employees understand the vision, mission, core values and beliefs.
 

In conclusion, think of Talent Management as a strategic system and process and another component of an overall corporate strategy.

 

 

Hire Quality partners with clients to build high performance teams by recruiting and selecting new talent and by upgrading current staff through training and development. For more information go to www.hirequality.ca or call 705.734.2698



 

Talent Management is a Critical Ingredient to Achieving Excellence

Whether managing a hockey team or a manufacturing business, you need to know the value of each team member you have.

The trouble is, success in business or team sports is seldom an individual achievement.



Talent Management Increases Performance

Being successful at assisting and scoring goals, or being able to generate more profitable revenue than anyone else – as is often the case, one forward or one salesperson cannot do it alone - there is always a team behind them.

Yet, especially in business, most performance management systems are set up in a way that overemphasizes personal achievement. As a result, many companies may be encouraging the wrong people, and rewarding the wrong working behaviors, and failing to reward and benefit worthy but, less visible contributors who are active members of the team.

This isn't a new theory in management, but many businesses I meet with have not taken note - they still reward individual performance of their individual stars.  But when asked why, they say they don't want to loose them to another competitive organization who would also reward them individually. 

So I can see the problem.

What we need to do is find a way to talent manage key staff that reflects the reality of how business gets done. I met with another CEO recently and he pointed to the people around the table. “They’re all industry experts,” he said. “Absolute experts. But they’re not a team.”

Like most business leaders we work with here at Hire Quality, this CEO was frustrated by not having a high-performance, cross-functional team capable of developing real business solutions.

One of the most difficult talent management challenges today is how to make collaboration work and reward the team appropriately. Every team member needs individual skills, to be sure, but unless they work together harmoniously, the game or the sales will be lost.

The good news is that there are specific talent management methodologies available as a way of getting to the answers you need and to help you begin the process of restructuring your performance management and leadership development systems.

Talent management is a critical ingredient to achieving excellence. The ability to strategically assess the talent you have and properly manage team collaboration, is integral to meet and exceed the goals of your organization.

We can help develop, we are specialists in Talent Management and can align and integrate the appropriate talent with your specific business needs.

Our talent assessment solutions range from providing assessment and actionable feedback on current talent, to forecasting for your future needs. The process includes recommendations on sourcing, on-boarding, developing and accelerating talent, and aligning performance with your business direction.

Hire Quality partners with clients to build high performance teams by recruiting and selecting new talent and by upgrading current staff through training and development. For more information go to www.hirequality.ca or call 705.734.2698

An Ikea Job Interview

An Ikea Job Interview

Hire Slow, Fire Fast is the Best Way

Hire Quality is a boutique executive recruitment firm and we've been saying "Hire Slow, Fire Fast" to our clients for many years, so when I came across this article in Fast Company recently I had to share it with you.  The personal perspective of this article by Carrie Kerpen is interesting and good to think about as a common management challenge we're all faced with - but do you agree with this?   Here's the article ...

Authored By  -- Carrie Kerpen is the CEO of Likeable Media, a social media and word of mouth marketing firm. You can follow her on Twitter @carriekerpen or her company @likeablemedia
[Image: Flickr user Naren King]

I recently read Danny Boyce's piece in Fast Company titled, "Why Hire Slow, Fire Fast Is A Bunch of BS ." As someone who has worked both in corporate America and has launched a startup, I respectfully disagree.

I remember the first time I ever had to fire someone. She was a 55-year-old radio salesperson. I was a brand-new manager, and my boss was on maternity leave, and had asked that I let her go, as she wasn't making her quota. I was terrified, and delivered the good old "this is actually better for you in the long run" speech. Afterwards, I felt a combination of relief and nausea, and I called my business mentor, who told me--"If firing people ever feels to easy, get the heck out of the business. You've been doing it too long." I think that's true no matter how necessary the fire is--it sucks to let people go.

Of course, in the long run, firing people who aren't working out, and doing it quickly before the problems escalate, is the best thing for the company and for the person. And I'm sure that even Boyce would agree that when you have time, conducting a more extensive, elongated interview process might result in finding better talent. But what happens when you're a startup, and you are living on borrowed time, and you are so strapped for resources that you will fail if you don't have warm bodies there doing the work?

You STILL hire slow.

There was a bloodbath of firings, lost clients, and the morale of the people who were still at the company just plummeted

 

My husband Dave and I started our company Likeable Media in 2007. We did it with no outside funding; we were just two dopes with an idea that businesses needed some help understanding the impact that social media could have on their organizations. We started to grow--and grow fast. So fast, in fact, that we couldn't staff the clients that we had. We started bringing people in the door. If you had ever tweeted in your life, you were a great candidate to work at Likeable Media. Have a Facebook account? Come on board. Can you guess what happened?

There was a bloodbath. A bloodbath of firings, lost clients, and the morale of the people who were still at the company just plummeted. This was four years ago, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. We were lucky to make it out of those times alive, and we learned a lot in the process. And so, while I understand the resistance for startups to "hire slow, fire fast," I urge you to think twice before bringing in the mailman to code your next IPhone app. Here are some things that I learned while growing Likeable Media that I hope other startups find useful.

1. Your business partners have the most skin in the game. Make sure they don't mind getting dirty. Most people don't start a startup entirely on their own. Usually, there are 2-3 partners involved.

When you are choosing your partners--which is usually before you do ANYTHING else--make sure the skill sets are varied enough that you can cover the main core components of your business via your partners. Two tech guys who can't sell or market need another partner. Two marketers who are slick salespeople but don't make their own product need a developer. Choose your partners wisely and you will struggle less in hiring. Remember, partners are in this WAY more than any employee will ever be, and they'll step up when they need to.

2. Use short-term incentives to get by. I learned this from my advisory board when I literally sobbed in a meeting with them about not having enough talent to staff my growing business. Take the best employees in your business, explain the situation, and offer them cash/incentives to help. I cannot tell you how many times I have asked a staff member to take on an extra account or two while I found the perfect fit to service them. Do you know why they do it? Not out of the goodness of their hearts. It's because they know if I hire someone who stinks, they'll be fired within a month and the account will end up coming to them anyway. Stretch your best employees, but reward them for it. If they're comfortable, they'll snap right back into shape.

3. Trust your gut, but don't obsess over it. In my past four years running Likeable Media, there have been three instances where I KNEW I needed to hire someone on the spot. Sometimes, your gut just tells you what you need to know. Those three people grew to be on my management team, and are now the key leaders of our organization. While I know I can't replicate that experience as often as I like, I often find myself saying "Do I feel the way about this interview that I felt when I met (star employee)?" Most of the time the answer is no, but I follow it up with a second question--could this person grow to be (star employee)? If I think the potential is there, and my gut feels good, I go for it. I find that this keeps me from hiring SO slowly that my team suffers, but allows me to be discerning enough not to let bad hires affect my business.

As a social media and content marketing agency, my people are my product, and I need LOTS of people! But the best part of hiring slow and firing fast is this--once you're in, you usually stay in. And last year, when we were named the 28th best place to work in New York City, I couldn't help but feel like the overused adage "Hire Slow, Fire Fast" had a teeny bit to do with it.

 

Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/3006206/why-hire-slow-fire-fast-better-idea-you-think

 

Hire Quality partners with clients to build high performance teams by recruiting and selecting new talent and by upgrading current staff through training and development. For more information go to www.hirequality.ca

Succession Planning

Hire Quality works with many family businesses in the South / Central Ontario region and one of the topics we hear about that is taking up a lot of family and management time is - Succession Planning.

At its most effective, successful succession planning helps deliver what every family business strives for, placing the right people in the right place, at the right time, and often at the most difficult, unexpected or awkward moments, as the need for changing the guard at the top can often happen at any time.


Succession Planning is about successfully passing the torch

But for many businesses who aren't prepared, succession planning is a challenge, a big challenge for some, often because management functions have been siloed and unaccustomed to working closely together, and perhaps even more so, the true information expertise and knowledge about running the family business has not been shared or openly talked about.

To do it properly, succession planning needs time, HR support and a budget behind it.

Planning the Succession Plan

Succession Planning draws heavily upon career planning, HR and good management practices to help create an informed, relevant and realistic view of succession.

From the employee's point of view, succession needs to understand their goals, aspirations and preferences and therefore involves input from all relevant roles and levels of an organization, as well as the management team.

Succession planning is a long-term process, but many businesses rarely stay the same for very long.

And here's the real difficulty, by the time many succession plans have arrived at a solution, successors have already left, and the organization, positions and job structures all may have changed in the interim. Therefore, planning for constant change is a key part of the succession plan.

So how do you plan for constant change in succession planning?

Here are five tips, broadly acknowledged as best practices, for achieving your organization's succession-planning needs:

• Do not tie plans to a fixed organizational structure or position, make it fluid, as they will change over time
• Keep the management team and the employee base informed and up to date with whats happening - keep it transparent if you can, they will appreciate it, they will have input into the process and when the day comes, transition will be so much easier
• It can become part of your internal HR communications process where communicating vision and L-T planning is everything
• Succession planning fails when there is a lack of management support, so report on what matters to execs and do so frequently
• An open and agile organizational culture is far more likely to succeed than a culture that is rule driven and process focused.

These tips and good HR support and planning will help any organization big or small, better plan for succession.


Hire Quality partners with clients to build high performance teams by recruiting and selecting new talent and by upgrading current staff through training and development.  For more information go to www.hirequality.ca

2013 Hottest Jobs Report: 20 Executive Jobs in High Demand as Five Big Ideas Drive Hiring

A recent press release from CTPartners that crossed my desk on the weekend caught my eye because of the big change that is going on from traditional job titles to more specialist disciplines that reflect the way technology is changing the way we do business. This excellent Hot Job list for 2013 includes susch great titles as VP Cloud Services.

Global executive search firm CTPartners (NYSE MKT: CTP) today released Hot Jobs, its 18th annual forecast of executive jobs expected to be in demand in the coming year. According to CTPartners, the economic and political uncertainty that held back job growth in 2012 is easing as we head into 2013. CEOs have more clarity, if not exactly enthusiasm, with the U.S. presidential election decided, signs of an improving economy, and in spite of ongoing budget battles in Washington.

CTPartners cites five specific Big Ideas that drove hiring in strategic areas last year and will continue to generate investment in 2013. In tech, Big Data, Cloud Services and Digital Technologies are not new, but are ongoing transformational shifts that will impact industries for years to come.
  
In financial services, Risk and Recovery Strategies have kept executive hiring strong in several areas:
legal, compliance, risk management and wealth management. Compliance looms large as companies deal with Dodd-Frank and ObamaCare; risk has remained a priority since the fiscal crisis began in 2008; and financial services companies continue to look for new revenues through diversification and asset management, especially for the creation of new products and markets, including electronic payments to build new revenue streams for banks.
  
Healthcare Reform is driving Big Pharma, device and diagnostic companies to new levels of efficiency and data integration as they comply with ObamaCare and move toward more proactive and cost-effective population health management. Integrated electronic records remain a priority for healthcare IT.
  
CTPartners' CEO Brian Sullivan notes that other major trends favoring job creation are in play. He cites the American domestic energy boom which generated an 11 percent increase in U.S. oil production from 2006-2011, taking U.S. production to the highest level since 1998. There has also been a 25 percent increase in natural gas production (an all-time high), and a 100 percent increase in renewables.*
  
Sullivan says, "Globally, there is demand for local nationals living in other countries to return home to strengthen local companies, and companies in all geographies are looking to expand into emerging markets, including Africa. There are many macro forces at work that favor increased global hiring in 2013, but the areas where we see the most excitement, especially in the U.S., are Big Data, Cloud, Digital, Risk and Recovery, and Healthcare Reform. We don't expect major capital investment, but even cautious companies recognize that they have businesses to run and are better positioned to make strategic investments now that they know what the rules are. We see gradual hiring increases as CEOs and boards settle into this period of greater economic clarity."
  
Top 20 Executive Hot Jobs for 2013:
  
TECHNOLOGY

VP Digital Marketing

With a seemingly endless expansion in the number of media channels to contend with, companies need executives with the ability to create and implement strategic marketing programs that span multiple platforms, from online to mobile to digital signage, that drive sales, membership and website traffic.
  
Consumer Internet Chief

Responsible for an organization's overall online presence, this executive develops an online strategy that encompasses not just online strategy, but internal and external promotion, content creation, design development and implementation, and online partnership building. The Consumer Internet Chief also coordinates with ad sales efforts, editorial and consumer marketing decisions, design plans, and overall strategic planning for the online business.
  
Chief Marketing Information Officer (CMIO)

With the advent of Big Data, cloud analytics, digital marketing and multichannel integrated marketing, the CMO needs help with the new depth and breadth of technologies required to effectively manage and deliver the marketing function for the enterprise. The CMO does not have the technical capabilities to manage design, evaluate, implement, manage and optimize these new technologies and the CIO has a much broader mandate than just marketing to focus sufficient attention on this space to help marketing deliver on its revenue growth mandates. Reporting to the CMO and CEO, the chief marketing information officer provides the range and scope of skills required.
  
Head of Analytics, Big Data

With the amount of data within organizations continuing to grow exponentially, having someone in place who can effectively make sense of it all and develop and maintain key business intelligence (BI) reporting frameworks and tools has never been more critical. This executive must have advanced information management and analytical skills, as well as business expertise - essentially "data scientists" who can find nuggets of insight like needles in a haystack.
  
Multichannel Director, Retail

These strategic executives possess a mix of web and traditional retailing expertise, enabling them to take a more holistic view of online commercial challenges. Skills and competencies required for the role include social media expertise, an understanding of buyer behavior and experience of the transactional logistics of managing the online retail experience. It is important to be able to take a holistic perspective of the customer journey so the retailer can effectively integrate the various components.
  
VP Cloud Services

This role is especially hot for tech and services companies looking to cloud-enable their product/service offerings so they don't miss the emergence of this fast growth market space. Responsible for the development of the next generation of software and services delivered on demand over the Internet via remote data centers, executives in demand are P&L, technology and product leaders who have worked in a cloud business that managed to make money and be positioned for future growth. The creation of this type of position within a firm has the potential to fundamentally change the way products and services are delivered to clients and consumers, providing greater flexibility, ease of use, and a better price point.
  
FINANCIAL SERVICES

Compliance Manager

Today's strong regulatory environment means that companies need compliance teams capable of protecting their alignment with complex laws, including Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act and ObamaCare. Infrastructure hiring - of risk, financial, audit, compliance, legal, technology and operational executives - will continue in 2013 in response to regulatory requirements.
  
Officer, Government and Regulatory Affairs

Companies and trade associations in highly regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, energy and financial services continue to search for top leadership to navigate complex regulations. Technical knowledge of product life cycle to assure safe and effective products in healthcare, for example, or accounting and investment practices within regulations in financial services to avoid global economic crises continue to make these positions priority hires.
  
Chief Risk Officer

A critical role since the upheaval caused by the 2008 financial crisis, CROs are responsible for protecting and managing all types of risk, from enterprise risk to market credit and operational risk. Dodd-Frank and Basel III added another layer of legislation and compliance, keeping control functions in demand across sectors.
  
Asset Management

Investment executives with asset allocation and macro strategy skills are in demand, as global economic pressures continue and regulatory demands and operating and technology changes impact key decisions.
  
Wealth Management Professional

Wealthy Baby Boomers, along with other high net worth investors, need advice in the face of tax changes, complicated market opportunities and a cloudy future for global investments. Executives with experience offering financial and investment advice, accounting and tax services and legal/estate planning will be in demand as the economy improves in 2013 as anticipated.
  
Emerging Payments Officer and Payments Executive

The interconnection between payments and the consumer relationship has gained momentum that shocked even the most prepared financial services companies. The payment stream contains a treasure trove of big data that will lead a decade worth of consumer strategy, and financial institutions that miss the opportunity to link with the world's leading retailers will be left behind. Banks have extraordinary access to knowledge of consumer behavior, so for payments executives who can leverage it, the sky's the limit.
  
LIFE SCIENCES/HEALTHCARE

Chief Operations and Integration Officer (COIO)

Hospitals cannot continue to operate in business as usual mode. They need to create new partnerships and alliances and need to create alignment with Physicians/Physician Groups. Reporting to the CEO, the COIO is a key leader in pursuing these strategies that support hospitals moving from responding to the acutely ill/injured to a more proactive model of population health management.
  
Chief Business Officer, Healthcare

Requires a strong understanding of the market potential of new innovations as the crossover increases between medical hardware, software and informatics. High-tech medical technology, diagnostics and devices are being leveraged for the good of the patient. Business/commercial strategists who can straddle regulatory, medical and economic challenges, focus on commercial strategy and as such feed into sales force effectiveness are highly sought after.
  
VP Market Access

Market Access is the hot topic in bio, pharma, device and diagnostic companies, as they are behind the curve in addressing the ever changing routes to market. Product introduction is much more complex today than in the past, and a complete rethink is needed by market professionals who understand the new priorities.
  
VP/SVP Clinical Development

The pharmaceutical industry is continually reducing forces globally but needs MDs who can develop their pipeline to ensure a steady stream of new or improved medicines. At the same time, MDs with a strong business sense and the ability to lead are in short supply. While we continue to see significant reductions in employment in the industry, the quest for clinical leaders remains stronger than ever. They are typically MDs, MDs/PhDs, MDs/PhDs/MBAs with 10 to 15 years of clinical leadership roles with deep therapeutic expertise.
  
VP of Marketing, Healthcare

New markets for healthcare services offer opportunities and complexities as new healthcare legislation changes the dynamics of the industry. Although companies across disciplines have been preparing for the impact of expanded healthcare services, there is a growing need for marketing executives who can martial digital technologies and partnerships to make their offerings and services competitive.
  
VP, Sales Force Effectiveness

Companies want to ensure their sales force is acting effectively, rather than bringing additional resources into the business. Companies need to consolidate the sales teams rather than expand them. Executives with industry and organizational skills will find opportunities in 2013.
  
Chief Marketing Information Officer, Clinical Informatics (CMIO)

The Life Science CMO is faced with a new depth and breadth of technologies - Big Data, cloud analytics, digital marketing and multichannel integrated marketing - that are required to effectively manage and deliver the marketing function for the enterprise. The CMO does not have the technical capabilities to manage design, evaluate, implement and optimize these new technologies, and the CIO has a much broader mandate than just marketing to focus sufficient attention on this space to help marketing deliver on its revenue growth mandates. The CMIO fills in the gaps.
  
VP, Healthcare IT

Healthcare IT remains a priority as new healthcare legislation and the integration of medical records continue to shape the direction of the industry. Executives with business, industry and technology skills experienced in working across all functions in healthcare organizations are still hard to find and highly valued.
  
*Energy Industry Statistics: BloombergBusinessweek (Rob Barnett and Anthony Costello, "Growing U.S. Energy Supply Alters Political Debate: BGOV Insight," September 2, 2012)

Source: http://www.4-traders.com/CTPARTNERS-EXECUTIVE-SEAR-7982101/news/CTPartners-Executive-Search-Inc-2013-CTPartners-Annual-Hot-Jobs-Report-20-Executive-Jobs-in-High-15961002/

Hire Quality partners with clients to build high performance teams by recruiting and selecting new talent and by upgrading current staff through training and development. For more information go to www.hirequality.ca