War for talent

Module 1
HR strategy and organizational
performance

Source: SHRM effective practice guideline series on ‘Human Resource strategy’

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-and-expert-views/p
ages/science-to-practice.aspx
 Talent Management

• The systematic attraction, identification, development,

deployment, and engagement/retention of those individuals
with high potential who are of particular value to the
organization.

• How talent is defined is:

 Organisationally specific
 Highly influenced by the type of industry and the nature
of its work
 Dynamic and likely to change over time according to
organizational priorities

Every organization needs to develop its own definition.

Defining talent and potential

• Talent - 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.
• Different organisations can have different approaches to
defining talent:
 top performing 1% of senior executives.
 top 10% of high performers.
 mixed approach: defining talent not only as executives
with potential for board-level appointments, but also
high-potential individuals.
 some might take the view that every employee should
be included in talent management activities.
Talent as a differentiator: Why Focus on it ?
• Determining who will work for and represent the organization,
and what the employees will be willing and able to do.
• Enabling retention of high potential employees.
• Building a high-performance work system or learning
organization.
• Adding value to the employer of choice branding agenda.
• Contributing to diversity management.
• Anticipating change and responding to it efficiently and
effectively.
Important aspects for Talent Management

• Agreed, organization-wide definition of talent and

talent management.
• A proactive, strategic approach to talent management.
• Support that flows from the top of the organization.
• Engaging line managers from an early stage.
What characteristics does a talented or
high potential employee have?
What Talent Looks Like
Characteristics of a high potential employee:
• Has a broad understanding of the organization’s business and one’s role in
achieving its goals
• Has a bias for action and is a proactive catalyst for change
• Thinks and solves problems creatively and from a position of inquiry
(versus advocacy)
• Has a high capacity to learn and is open to constructive criticism
• Has the respect and trust of peers, supervisors, and subordinates
• Consistently produces measurable results above expectations
• Self manages in a manner that fosters learning and high performance
• Strives to deliver and exceed customers’ needs
• Arranges and leverages resources within an organization
• Has high resilience
Talent Management: stakeholder roles

Stakeholder Responsibilities
C-suite / Senior Develop strategy
Management Communicate aims and objectives
Provide support
Select appropriate talent pools
Contribute to talent management panels
Direct involvement with top talent pools, e.g.,
as executive coaches
Talent Management: stakeholder roles
Stakeholder Responsibilities
HR and talent Research & evaluate approaches
management Advise and support
specialists Provide updates
Monitor interventions
Track progress
Employees Take ownership of personal development
Take proactive approach to personal
development planning
Maximise learning opportunities
Talent management: Organizations
are still not getting it right.

While demographic changes, globalization and the rise of the

knowledge worker are forcing organizations to take talent
more seriously. (External pressures)

But

Many organizations still dismiss talent management as a short-

term tactical problem; rather than an integral part of a long-
term business strategy, requiring attention of top-level
management and substantial resources. (Internal mistakes)
External pressures
Demographic challenges
• Ageing workforce: Developed vs. developing countries.
• Workforce diversity: diverse, multi-generational workforce.
Varied range of expectations.
E.g., Millennials : demand more flexibility, meaningful jobs,
professional freedom, higher rewards and better work-life
balance than older employees; Switch jobs more often –
high risk of attrition.
• Dual career couples.
External pressures (Contd.)
Globalization challenges
• As organizations expand in global markets, a blend of global
and local talent is required.
• Greater need for understanding local ways of doing business;
local consumers.

Growth of Knowledge workers

• Fastest growing talent pool in almost all organizations but
knowledge workers have their own demands and
peculiarities.
Internal mistakes
• Organizations implement short-term solutions and often
treat talent management in a reactive manner; lack of long-
term planning w.r.t. talent sourcing and career development.

• May try and raise short-term earnings by cutting down

expenditure on talent development.

• Vicious cycle: lack of talent – blocks growth – additional

performance pressures – more short-term orientation.
What talent risks do organizations face
regarding talent management?
 Talent Management risks
Capability: Risks associated with building the skills an organization needs to
compete now and, in the future - the breadth and depth of skills and capabilities
present within a workforce and how well aligned these are to an organization’s needs.

Capacity : Risks around the succession into critical roles and retention of critical
people and teams in order to create and maintain the size and shape of workforce
needed to deliver its business plan.

Connection: Risks regarding an organization’s top talent becoming disengaged.

Coordination within the talent-related processes. Sharing of talent between
projects/units/teams. Are the high potentials connected with each other? Are leaders
able to create an emotional connection between high potentials and the business?

Compliance: Risks relating to employee behavior, regulations, and laws. Do the

talent processes comply with local laws and regulation?

Cost: Risks around the affordability of the workforce. What costs would need to be
incurred to recruit and retain the people needed?

Source:
https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/06/pl-time-for-a-more-holistic-approach-to-talent-ris
 • Lack of depth of internal candidates for
critical roles
• An insufficient pipeline of future leaders
Capability • Difficulties in recruiting top talent

and • Difficulties in retaining key people

• Lack of clarity regarding which roles are
capacity- ’critical’ to the delivery of business
related value
• Failure to develop the skills &
talent risks capabilities reqd. by business in the
near future
• Lack of compelling development
opportunities for top talent.
 • Whether the organization’s mobility
policies and processes encourage or
discourage movement between
countries?
• Whether their workforce is
Connection- characterized by sufficient diversity?
related • How willing are business leaders for
talent risks sharing talent across the
organization?
• Do business leaders have the
bandwidth and capability to engage
with, motivate and nurture business
critical talent?
 • Whether there is a plan in place to ensure that
employees are aware of and compliant with
the organization’s social media policy?
• Are the employees aware of/trained regarding
phishing scams prevalent?
Compliance • Do employees take adequate measures to
related risks keep data secure and only use approved digital
communication methods?
• Does the organization conduct talent reviews
and implement necessary short-term actions
to ensure ongoing compliance?
• Does the organization have readily accessible
knowledge transfer and onboarding programs
to address compliance requirements?
 • What is the risk of a workforce
becoming unaffordable?
• What will it cost an organization to
recruit and retain the people it needs in
five or 15 years?
Cost • How to manage the salary expectations
related of candidates with critical skills?
• Will organizations be able to afford the
risks overall cost of their workforces?
• Are talent managers measuring
workforce costs effectively?
• Would there be a sufficient budget for
talent management and development?
Winning the war for talent
• Target talent across levels
Focus on only the top talent can damage the morale of the
rest of the workforce and therefore overall performance.
Unsung elements – frontline staff, technical specialists, and
the indirect workforce i.e., people who work for suppliers,
contractors, and JV partners are often critical to
organizational success.
• Measure the impact of talent management efforts
‘What gets measured, gets managed’. Measuring results
through employee engagement levels, absenteeism,
performance, organization’s training spends, recruitment
metrics, and diversity is critical.
Winning the war for talent (Contd.)
• Develop several value propositions
Defining and creating a powerful employee value proposition
that attracts people to join.
Different for different baskets – culture, gender, age,
generational differences

• Strengthen HR
Functional to business orientation: Deeper business knowledge.
Contribute strategically.
HR must be able to translate the business strategy into a talent
strategy.
Winning the war for talent (Contd.)
Smart recruitment • Employer branding
• Recruitment technologies
• Look beyond tier 1 cities
• Take care of expats +
returnees
• Diversity recruitment
HR as a strategic
function

Smart training

• Investment in in-house Smart retention • Global career paths

training • Opportunities for
• Cultivating supervisor’s learning & devt.
leadership skills • Strategic compensation
& Benefits