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Best practice in Talent Management and

its role in turbulent times

Paul Turner

Professor of Management Practice

Ashcroft International Business School

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Paul Turner is Professor of Management Practice at Ashcroft International Business School,
Cambridge as well as Non Executive Director of Blessing White Europe and a Non Executive
Director
on the European Advisory Board of OPI. He was formerly President of Europe, Middle East and
Africa, Employee Care for the Convergys Corporation,responsible for the HRBPO business across
the
region. Paul joined Convergys in 2003 as Vice President for both EMEA and ASPAC.

Paul Turner was previously Group HR Business Director for Lloyds TSB and Vice President of the
CIPD as well as a Director of BT.

Paul obtained a first degree from the University of East Anglia, a PhD from the University of
Sheffield and is a Companion of the CIPD. He has written extensively on management subjects
and has spoken at conferences throughout the USA,Europe and Asia as well as the CIPD national
conferences in Harrogate and London.

Paul Turner is the author of HR Forecasting and Planning (2002) and Organizational
Communication (2003), both published by the CIPD and was one of the authors of the 2007 CIPD 3
Report Talent. Paul’s new book, with Michael Brown,The Admirable Company, will be published in
2008
 Corporate reputation relies on outstanding
Quality of Management- key messages
Be accessible, wily, shrewd and confident; never be arrogant.

Strike the right balance between dynamism and radicalism- and conservatism

Have high visibility when it’s right and low profile when it’s not

Be authentic and have the right touch with stakeholders

Show personal commitment to the company

Communicate the company vision and strategy clearly and demonstrate that
performance is being delivered against strategic objectives

Don’t come across as being better than you are.

Beware of hubris! 4
 Use of corporate
Community & Assets
environmental Quality of
The Effect of Talent Responsibility Management
Improvements in a
Global Retailer 2001

Quality of
Marketing Financial
Soundness
1 2
3
4 5
6
7 8
9 10
2006

Quality of
Capacity to Goods and
Innovate Services

The Admirable Company

Michael Brown and Paul Turner, 2008

Ability to attract,
Value as a long develop and retain 5
term investment top talent
 Increasing talent bench
strength can change to fortunes of an
organisation!

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And a study by McKinsey in 2008
showed talent management also to be
a key issue for CEO’s

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 LOX-ZZV583123-20070112-SM-SM

McKinsey’s Research- 2008-CIPD Conference UK 2008

Talent management is the most important strategic challenge for
today's business leaders

Biggest managerial
challenge in next 5 years Constraints on growth*

1 Finding talent 31 1 Competitive environment 77

2 Greater competitive intensity 22 2 Cost/availability of talent 73

19 Increasingly sophisticated 64
3 Increasing size of company 3 consumers

Increasing number of 11 Substitutions/innovations 60

4 markets served 4
by competitors
Growing number of 5 52
5 5 Excessive regulations
regulations

6 Increasing use of technology 5

7 Growing complexity of 4
supply chain

8 Greater geopolitical risk 1 8

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A study by the CIPD in 2007 showed
the various forces at work when
considering talent and talent
management

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 Talent - Demand and Supply in a Global Context
EXTERNAL CONTEXT
Globalisation
Government policies
Technological development
Employment levels

WORKFORCE (supply)
Demographic trends EMPLOYERS (demand)
Work force diversity TALENT Global markets
Sources of labour MANAGEMENT/ Competitive advantage
Perceptions of leaders Workforce flexibility/agility
SUCCESSION Competition for labour
and managers
Work-life balance
PLANNING ‘Employer of Choice’ agenda

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT
Corporate governance
Business strategy
HR strategy, stewardship & policy
Approaches to Performance management
Line management capability
Role modelling/mentoring
Successful approaches to talent management
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The talent war goes beyond simple
economics which makes it much more
complex. Social and attitudinal factors
are critical as well.

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 LOX-ZZV583123-20070112-SM-SM

McKinsey’s Research- 2008-CIPD Conference UK 2008

The youngest generation entering the workforce are challenging to attract and retain, but respond well to social
connection

War generation Baby boomers Generation X

• Born before 1945 • Born 1945 - 1964 • Born 1965 - 1980 Generation Y
• Shaped by: World • Shaped by: less trust • Shaped by: Internet, • Born after 1980
War II, Great in government diversity, • Shaped by: information
Depression unemployment, overflow, overzealous
parental divorce
parents, globalisation
rates

• Sees career in chapters • Sees flexibility as a must,

of 2–3 years each will make trade-offs for
better lifestyle
• Expects quick reward
and individual • Demands freedom and
development control
• Has low barriers to • Wants meaningful job
separation and high self- and positive effect on
confidence society
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The War for Talent- what can we conclude?

Changes in the global labour market and demographic trends

have had a significant effect on talent demand and supply

It permeates every aspect of the working population and is

worldwide.

The ability to attract and retain talent has become a strategic

priority

Success in talent management requires excellence in strategy

and policy as well as flawless execution.

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What are people saying about talent?

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 ‘Talent. I love that word.
So different from employees
So different from personnel
So different from human resources
Talent. Just uttering the word per se makes you puff up
and feel good about yourself.’

Source- Talent, Tom Peters,2005

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‘People hold the key to our success- we cherish them’ Indra Nooyi, Chair, Pepsico,
2006

"Can we hire the quality and quantity of people we want to? No. We're under
investing in our business because of the limitations of hiring." Sergei Brin,
Google, 2005

‘We are driven by a need for innovative, flexible and highly responsive thinking.’
Maurice Levy, CEO of the Publicis Group, after recruiting talented executives from
a competitor, 2006

‘The HR function gives a company the ability to attract and retain the best and the
brightest from all over the world and the ability to manage that talent within the
confines of the company's values and philosophy. Without that ability, a company
is nowhere.’ HR Director- ATT
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Managing talent is a hard, not a soft issue. Getting it right
adds value to the bottom line. The ability to attract and
retain talent has become a board level issue.

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What do leading organisations do to ensure that they maintain
an effective supply of talent and then keep their talented
people?

In 2007 the CIPD undertook in depth research with a number of

companies. This followed on from the 2006 survey which found
that 51% of organisations undertake talent management
activities; 38% had a formal talent management strategy and
38% had a formal definition of talent management

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 An important step was to define talent
and talent management

‘Talent consists of those individuals who can make a difference to organisational

performance, either through their immediate contribution or in the longer term by
demonstrating the highest levels of potential’

‘Talent management is ‘the systematic attraction, identification, development,

engagement/retention and deployment of those individuals with high potential
who are of particular value to an organisation.’ (CIPD Change Agenda, 2006)

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 McKinsey’s Research- 2008-CIPD Conference UK 2008

1 2 3 4 5
"Everybody is a "Various types of "Top management, "High potentials "Top management
talent" talent" high potentials, and independent of and high-potential
specialists on all hierarchy level" senior managers"
levels"

All employees are Talent includes Top management and All high-potentials/high- Talent pool limited to top
considered talent employees on various high-potentials/high- performing employees management and high-
career tracks and levels performing employees on are part of talent pool potential/high-performing
all levels are called talent middle management

Narrow definition
Full leverage of Differentiated approach reduces complexity
Continuous development One continuous
potential within targeted at specific roles and allows for
programs on all levels development program
workforce comparability
among sample firms
Development of Early identification of
No discrimination individual career Focus on
talent Early identification of
among workforce paths possible most important
talent
positions
Increased complexity Increased complexity Some complexity due
and workload due to and workload due to to 2 parallel, yet Neglect of
Neglect of talents
potential among lower-
• Various needs/ various needs/career distinct talent in other areas,
career paths paths development level employees
e.g. specialists
• Amount of programs 20
employees to tackle
Source: "Identifying and managing your assets: talent management" – Rhea Duttagupta, PwC; "Reflections on talent
management" – Rebecca Clake, Victoria Winkler, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; Next Generation Talent Management
Initiative 20
 We found that talent management was most
effective when:

-It was directly linked to the corporate strategy and related business
objectives (well-designed talent management activities can have a
positive impact on an organisation’s bottom line)

-And to other HR processes- it wasn’t a stand alone activity

-In particular it was desirable to link talent management into other

learning and development activities

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Talent management was best viewed as
an end to end, joined up, holistic activity

Evaluating Talent Attracting Talent

Managing Talent Developing Talent

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There were various types of talent interventions

One to one development by

Leadership coaches/mentors briefed
Training and Development on corporate strategy
Training and education for
education for management
core technical roles
or professional
skills
Corporate Exceptional
Next Next Talent
Emerging Generation Generation
Rising Leaders Leaders Leaders
Talent

Potential and determination to progress

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Managing talent - who does what?
CEO and Senior Management ✜ Strategy development
✜ Communicating the aims of talent management
✜ Selecting the talent pool
✜ Executive coaches and mentors
Human Resources ✜Researching and evaluating alternative approaches
✜ Advice and support with the design and implementation
✜ Information flow about TM activities
✜ Monitoring TM interventions
✜ Tracking the progress of the TM pool
Line Managers ✜ Identifying talent
✜ Nurturing talent
✜ Performance review and individual personal development
✜ Coaching and mentoring
Individuals ✜ Ownership of personal development
✜ Maximising learning opportunities
Talent Management ✜ Monitoring and evaluating strategic outcomes
✜ Organisational overview and consistency of approach
✜ Tracking the progression of the talent pool 24
✜ Reviewing and amending initiatives
The talent management balanced
scorecard Attraction
•Employer branding
•Competitive rewards
•Creative recruitment measures
•Measured selection tools

Retention
Performance management •Identifiable culture
•Clear expectations •Appropriate benefits
•Appraisal •Leadership branding
•Development
Strategic Objectives
•Employee engagement
•Measurement •Exit interview data
•Rewards

Development
•Formal and informal interventions
•Stretching projects
•Career management /deployment
•Coaching and mentoring
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 What were the Implications for
practitioners from the research?

– 1. A successful approach is based on an agreed, organization-wide

definition of talent and talent management..

– 2. In addition, a language for talent management activities that is

understood by all the parties

– 3. A proactive, strategic approach to talent management offers

considerable organisational benefits

– 4. Support for talent management needs to flow from those at the very
top of an organisation and cascade throughout.

– 5. Engaging line managers from an early stage is critical to ensure they

are committed to organisational approaches to talent management.

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 What were the Implications for
practitioners from the research?

6. Talent management can be used to enhance an organisation’s image and

supports employer branding

7. Talent management activities should be developed with other HR policies

and practice for a joined up approach

8. Developing talent may be based on a blend of informal and formal methods.

9. HR specialists have an important role to play

10. Processes need to be developed to track the performance and progress of

those identified as talent

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