crafting an agile talent management strategy in the age of

Need assistance? Call Member Services (866) 538-1909 or email [email protected]

Crafting an Agile Talent Management

Strategy in the Age of Talent

To Listen Over The Web:

To listen, un-mute your computer speakers and turn up the volume, go to “Voice” on the menu bar at the

top of your screen and click on “Join Audio”. If you do not have this option please use the Q&A interface

for technical support.

HCI is pleased to offer the slides for the following presentation exclusively to Professional Members.


This Presentation And Other Topics Are Made Possible By

Taleo Talent Drives Performance™

For More Taleo Research Visit http://taleo.com/

Strategy – Noon ET:

• The High Performance Organization

• The Virtual Global Workforce

• HR in the Age of Talent

Acquisition – 1:00 p.m. ET

• Identifying and Developing Recruiter

Competencies

Development – 2:00 p.m. ET

• Strategic Performance Systems

Leadership – 3:00 p.m. ET• Comprehensive Onboarding

Industry Sector – 3:00 p.m. ET• Retail

Federal Sector – 1:00 p.m. ET• Talent Acquisition for Federal Sector


Today’s Agenda

• Introduction - 5 minutes

• Feature Presentation and Q&A - 50 minutes

• Wrap Up and Tour of Track Page - 5 minutes


Today’s Moderator

Christine Abbatiello, Director

Talent Strategy Community

Human Capital Institute

www.humancapitalist.org

Send email to [email protected]

to connect on LinkedIn

Bloghttp://www.thetalenteconomy.com


Today’s Guests

Send email to [email protected]

to connect on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter @name

Dr. John Sullivan, CEO

Dr. John Sullivan & Associates

Master Burnett, Managing Director


CRAFTING AN AGILE

TALENT MANAGEMENT

STRATEGY…

IN THE AGE OF TALENT

Human Capital Institute - December 2, 2009

Dr. John SullivanAuthor, Professor and Advisor to Management

www.drjohnsullivan.com

7

Goals for today

�To understand how changing economic factors

and a more dynamic business environment are

forcing top firms to reassess their traditional talent

management strategies

�To highlight some of the key elements and

action steps related to building an “agile talent

management strategy”

�To answer your questions (Please ask questions

at any time using the Q&A module.)

8

Topics I will cover

Some quick definitions…

Why – Reasons why you must shift your strategy

What – What are the key elements of an agile talent

management strategy

How – Some action steps to take in order to begin

the transition

9

What is agility?

�Agility – Nimbleness and the ability to move

quickly

�Not-agile – Stiffness, inflexibility and having

only a single rigid approach

�A business definition of agility – The ability to,

in a coordinated manner, rapidly and accurately,

shift your focus and resources away from low

ROI areas towards areas of higher return in order

to meet new challenges and opportunities.

10

Definition –Agile Talent Management Strategy

�An advanced talent management strategy that is

designed to increase the overall productivity

and capabilities of the corporate workforce.

�It accomplishes that by providing the capability

to rapidly shift, in a coordinated manner,

talent management approaches, tools and

resources… in response to the dynamic

economy, talent marketplace, and changing

needs of your major business units.

11

Definition –Agile Talent Management Strategy

�Generally requires a significant increase in the

use of contingent workers and alternative

labor types

�Emphasizes rapid shifts in resources between

talent management processes including…

recruiting, retention, development, redeployment,

and releasing “surplus” talent as business needs

fluctuate.

12

There are changes in the business world

that are forcing talent management to adapt

These changes include…

13

Changes in the business world are impacting TM

1. Intense global competition, a demand for

continuous innovation and rapid copying

require a dramatic increase in the need for

organizational agility, i.e. faster speed of

change and increased innovation throughout the

business

- Because every business processes is

interconnected, every function (including talent

management) must equally adapt in order not to

slow down the rest of the business

14

Changes in the business world impacting TM

2. The work changes – the demand for speed &

innovation requires business processes to rely

more heavily on technology and knowledge

workers (transition away from “muscle” work)

- Because both technology and knowledge evolve

and become obsolete so rapidly, the work that

needs to be done, the skills required to do it,

and the type of talent a firm needs also change

rapidly

15

Changes in the business world impacting TM

3. The economy has recently suffered more

frequent and more severe ups and downs

- This new “dynamic” economy requires all

business strategies, plans and processes to be

more agile and capable of fast and accurate shifts

in approach and resource allocation

Is it possible that the economy is becoming

“permanently” more dynamic and fast-

changing?

16

Have the economy and the talent market

been stable during the last decade?

� War for talent

� Dot com crash

� Mass layoffs

� Oil and commodity prices

� Global competition

� Enron, WorldCom…

� Outsourcing & Offshoring

� Hiring freezes

� Financial/mortgage crashes

� More mass layoffs

Can we all agree…we failed in the past

CEO’s / CFO’s want smoother ups & fewer downs

17

18

Do you agree?

Given the dynamic nature of the economy and the

increasing speed of change in business, do you

agree with Charles Darwin that in the future…

“It is not the strongest of the species that

survives, nor the most intelligent,

but rather the one most responsive to change.”

--Paraphrase of writings by Charles Darwin

19

First, I will highlight the differences between…

traditional and Agile Talent Management

Strategies

20

The traditional approach to talent management

Characteristics of traditional TM

� The majority of firms don’t have a defined and distributed

talent management strategy (Could your executives even

put a name to yours?)

� If they have a talent management strategy, it is static and only

revisited every 3-5 years

� Most have only three modes of operation… growth, cost

containment (freezes) and reductions

� Most shift between the three modes depending on the

available budget or “when they are told/ forced to by

others”

� Most have no formal competitive analysis process

21

Factors that should cause your strategy to “shift”

Five Factors:

1.Changing internal business needs (i.e. the need to

cut labor costs, the need to rapidly add talent to meet

expanding business goals, the life cycle stage of the

business unit, and a need for new product

development or global expansion)

2.Changes in external economic factors (i.e.

changes in the unemployment rate, interest rates,

labor quality etc.)

22

Factors that should cause your strategy to “shift”

3. Changes in the relative “power” of talent (i.e.

supply and demand)

4. As talent interests relating to motivational

factors and desire for long-term employment

change (i.e. talent centricity)

5. Changes in a competitor’s talent management

strategy (i.e. rapid hiring, freezes, layoffs,

employer brand building, instituting social

network recruiting etc.)

Region 4 – Shifting Approach as Factors Change

TM Shifts Needed

Business

Unit Needs

Environmental

Factors

Talent

Power

Talent

Interests

Competitor

Actions

Sourcing Approach

Development Emphasis

Internal Movement Rate

Reward Systems

Retention Strategies

Contingent Labor Rate

Innovation Drivers

Skill/Competency Profiles

Reductions in Force

Employer Branding

Cost Containment

Candidate Experience

23

24

The 10 key elements of an agile TM strategy

1. It has six measurable goals:

– provide a corporate competitive advantage

– Increase workforce productivity (ROI)

– Increase production capacity (more volume)

– Improve workforce capability (do new things)

– Improve innovation

– Increase speed of adaptation

2. It is forward-looking and anticipates an

expected range of upcoming changes (problems

and opportunities)

25


3. It is an integrated strategy to ensure that the

required shifts are simultaneous and coordinated

among all talent management related functions

4. It is a data-driven strategy, decisions are based

on data and facts, rather than tradition or past

practice

26


5.It is prioritized and it focuses its time and

resources on… the highest impact business units,

jobs, critical skills, regions and individuals

6.It is not “permanent employee” centric. It

instead frequently utilizes “alternative” labor

sources, based on the duration of their need, their

availability, their cost and their capabilities

(Alternatives include part-time, seasonal,

outsourced, retirees, customers and contract labor)

27


7.It is aggressive. It aggressively utilizes the latest

talent management tools and approaches in order

to “dominate” the talent marketplace

8. It utilizes a customized model, where a “one size

fits one” approach is utilized… to ensure that the

strategy, tactics and approach precisely fit the

business cycle, the region and the business unit

needs (Capital One)

28


9. Because it is supported by a continually updated

business case, it is better funded. It is also

“multiyear funded”… because talent

management shifts must begin before corporate

revenues actually change (Microsoft)

10.It is derived from the best elements of other

successful business models including…

inventory management, customized production,

CRM and supply chain

29

Step #1

Benchmark the best practices from leading firms

30

Benchmark firms to learn from include:

� Capital One – virtual if/then simulations, variable

timeframe with BU, 20 person team

� Microsoft – 3 year recruiting funding window, business

cycle placement, contingent worker mgmt

� Google – statistical algorithm for forecasting who will

quit, strong contingent workforce

� City of Sunnyvale, CA – 5 year workforce model

� The US military

� Valero Energy

� Wal-Mart (Inventory control processes)

Best practice examples in agility

31

Step #2

Develop a contingency workforce capability

32

Develop a contingency 5 petal “shamrock” model

Full time employees

Consultants

and vendors

Outsourced workFormer employees

Temp, PT &

contractors

33

Develop a contingent/alternative labor capability

Develop a contingency process for:

�Identifying the alternative types of labor

�Assess the benefits and weaknesses of each of

the various “types” of labor

�Using historical records and benchmarking try to

develop a process that identifies which type of

labor has been or could be the most effective for

each type of work or family of jobs

�Develop a feedback loop to continually improve

your “labor type” selection process

34


Some of the various “types” of labor included:

�Permanent part-time workers

�Peak time and seasonal workers

�Temporary part-time workers from agencies

�Retirees that can still contribute

�Contract workers

�Consultants

�Remotely located workers

�Offshored employees

�Shared labor at strategic partners

35


More flexible “labor choices” to consider:

�College interns

�Imported workers with visas

�Internal “free time” projects (Bid on by employees)

Labor substitutes to consider:

�Outsourced work

�Technology and software substitutes for labor

�Corporate alumni that help with referrals

�Contests both internal and external

�Customers that provide feedback/ideas (IBM & P&G)

Some firms consider “moving” the work

Business impact needed -

18% increase in order quality & a 32 sec decrease in delivery time

36

37

11 Action steps for building the agility plan

1.Build the business case – work with the CFO in order to develop a process for quantifying the business impacts of the increased agility

2.Prioritize – develop a process for prioritizing business units, skills, jobs, regions and individuals & then for customizing TM approaches to fit them

3.Develop a workforce plan – develop a long-term workforce plan identifying future needs and the potential supply. In addition, develop a short-term “explode out of the box” plan for when the economy turns around

38


4. A shifting process – a process must be developed to identify “when” to make a shift and “where”resources should be increased or decreased

5. Integrating and coordinating – develop a process for ensuring that all related talent management functions act in unison

6. Metrics and rewards – metrics and analytics must be developed to track in real time the effectiveness of the agility process. Rewards must also be made available to those that successfully adjust to meet changing needs

39


7.Competitive analysis – develop a process for comparing your talent management strategy and tools to those of your competitors. Make sure that the process can identify when your competitor’s are hiring and releasing talent

8.An alert system – develop a process to identify and then alert managers about upcoming problems and opportunities, so that they have time to act

9.Best practice sharing – a processes must be developed to identify and share agility related best practices and problems

40


10.Identify barriers – develop a continuous process for identifying and then minimizing barriers to agility and rapid change

11.Require an agility component – require that all new and revised talent management plans, programs and processes include an agility component prior to approval or budgeting

41

8 TM processes that require additional agility

1.Buy vs. build – develop a process for shifting resources away from recruiting full-time employees during slow growth periods and instead shifting resources toward employee development and internal movement

2.Retention capability – develop a process that intensifies retention efforts when unemployment rates are beginning to decrease and when your turnover rates among key employees are increasing

42


3. Sourcing strategies – revitalize employer referral and employer branding efforts and develop a process for examining emerging sourcing tools. Also develop “counter cycle”hiring processes in order to “cherry pick” the available talent when others aren’t recruiting

4. A SWAP process – develop a talent SWAPprogram where individual poor performers are replaced with external hires whenever recruiters find suitable top candidates (Slide)

43


5. Releasing talent – develop a process for continually releasing surplus talent that can’t be redeployed

6. Internal movement – revitalize your existing process for internal movement and continuous talent redeployment

7. External ideas – develop a process for generating ideas from internal and external contests, from customers and as a result of crowd behavior and social learnings (Example: Ideagoras like

Innocentive (Next Slide)

45


8. Targeting agile individuals – develop a recruiting process whose target is to increase the percentage of workers and managers that are agile. Also change the development and the succession planning processes to also target agile individuals.

Did I make you think?

Provide you with some new ideas?

How about some final questions?


End of the presentation

46


Reactions or Comments? What is your key take away from this session?

It’s your turn! Ask our experts…

Dr. John Sullivan, CEO


Master Burnett, Managing Director




Thank you!

Stay Tuned…Another Webcast is starting in just a few minutes!

Want More?

Blogs, Networking, Groups & more at

www.humancapitalist.org

For Speaking, Sponsorship and Educational Opportunities, please call (866) 538-1909 or [email protected]

crafting an agile talent management strategy in the age of

Documents