TALENT MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION TO TALENT MANAGEMENT

What is Talent?

Individuals with high level of potential and commitment to contribute immediately or in long-term
for organizational performance and make a difference.

What is Talent Management?

A set of integrated organizational human resource processes designed to attract, develop, engage
and retain productive engaged employees.

Definition for the Process of Talent Management by CIPD,

“the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement, retention and deployment

of those individuals who are of particular value to an organization, either in view of their ‘high
potential’ for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles”

The goal of talent management is to a create a high performance sustainable organization that
meets its strategic and operational goal & objectives.

Why Talent Management?

 Create strategic recruitment plans to attract the best talent

 Identify and develop leaders at all levels
 Create a “great place to work”
 Direct the positive energy of people to the right areas

A successful organization will always be proactive and systematic to ensure that required human
resources are available to meet their current and future business requirements.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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A Model Defines Talent Management

Illustrates key processes to ensure

organizations attract, retain and
engage talent centered on learning.

Major Components of Talent

Management,

 Recruiting
 Interviewing
 Selecting
 Onboarding

Fundamental Elements of Talent Management

1. Attract

Identifying and persuading the right people at the right time for the right reason.

2. Engage
The extent to which employees are committed to their organization’s goals & values.
Motivated to contribute to organizational success & the ability at the same time to enhance
their own sense of wellbeing.
3. Retain
A systematic effort focused on only, on retaining organization’s talented performers but
also to create and foster a welcoming work environment and high retention culture. The
end result is an organization that operates more effectively and efficiently will be a great
place to work.
4. Learning Organization
Talent Management is centered on employee learning. A learning organization is an
organization that has enhanced capacity to learn, adapt and change. Training processes are
aligned with organizational goals where training is considered as a part of the system
designed to create Human Capital.

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5. Recruiting

Process of finding and hiring the best qualified from within or outside organization for a
job opening in a timely and cost-effective manner. This needs a detailed analysis of the job
requirements & attracting the employees to fill that job.

6. Interviewing

A type of employment test that involves a conversation between the job applicant and a
representative of the organization. This is the most popularly used device for selection.

7. Selecting

A process of evaluating candidate for a specific job and shortlisting an individual for
employment based on certain criteria. Selection process depends on the job that is
considered.

8. On-Boarding

Acclimates new hires & ensures that they feel welcomed and valued by the organization.
Helps the new recruits to become productive members of the organization with the
understanding on the expectations & job roles. This goes beyond traditional orientation
programs.

Companies effective Talent Management Strategies are more innovative, adaptable to changes,
greater employee productivity and retain key talents. Talent Management Strategy is set purely
based on business goals.

Talent Management Strategy

Type of investment the organization makes today in the people whom it believes will best help to
achieve competitive excellence in the future.

Talent Strategy Directives

1. Cultivate the super keeper

2. Retain key position backups
3. Appropriately allocate training, rewards, education, assignments and development
(TREADs)

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Criteria for Determining Key Positions

 Immediacy – How quickly you need to fill the position?

 Uniqueness – How unique is the talent/competencies for job incumbent?
 Demand
 Strategic Impact

Classification for TREADs

 Super Keepers – Greatly exceed expectations & forecasted to remain/contribute in future

 Keepers – Exceed expectations now & forecasted to remain/contribute in future
 Solid Citizens – Meet expectations
 Misfits – Below expectations. May be around 2% of total employees

Steps to Build an Effective Talent Management Strategy

1. Identify what talents are needed to achieve business goals

This includes what positions and skills need to implement the business strategy. The talents
needed will address,

 What are the new roles needed

 What are the new types of leaderships required
 What are the new skills and capabilities critical to the business
 How many people are needed in each business area and what it will take these
individuals to be successful
2. Identify talent gaps

This will address the following key points.

 Do you have enough people? Right people with right skills?

 Do you have leaders ready to step into new roles?
 Can individuals learn new skills quickly?

Organization’s talent reviews, succession planning process and performance management

processes will give information to identify where the organizations have gaps. The talent
management strategy will identify techniques to close the gaps identified.

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3. Design recruiting and hiring plans

This is vital in order to bring the right number of human resources with right skills to,

 Fill new roles

 Fill new vacancies – replace those who leaves during the year

Recruiting plan must be designed in advance to focus recruiting efforts on the right people
that is needed to the organization.

4. Develop internal talent

Talent reviews and succession planning processes can be used to identify the leaders who
are capable of stepping up to new roles or lead larger teams. Also, it is important to identify
what develop leaders support the business and build developing programs to assist the
employees learn the skills what the business needs.

Note that effective talent management is always a “win-win” for the organization and for the
employee as an individual.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 02: DEVELOPING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent Management Process

Every organization must ensure that it has a continuous and integrated process for recruiting,
training, managing, supporting and supporting employees working towards achieving business
goals. Below is the complete process of Talent Management.

1. Workforce Planning
Integrated with the business plan, this process establishes workforce plans, hiring
plans, compensation budgets, and hiring targets for the year.
2. Recruiting
Through an integrated process of recruiting, assessment, evaluation, and hiring the
business brings people into the organization.
3. Onboarding
The organization must train and enable employees to become productive and
integrated into the company more quickly.
4. Performance Management
By using the business plan, the organization establishes processes to measure and
manage employees.

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5. Training and Performance Support

This is a critically important function. Here we provide learning and development
programs to all levels of the organization.
6. Succession Planning
As the organization evolves and changes, there is a continuous need to move people
into new positions. Succession planning, a very important function, enables
managers and individuals to identify the right candidates for a position. This
function also must be aligned with the business plan to understand and meet
requirements for key positions 3-5 years out. While this is often a process reserved
for managers and executives, it is more commonly applied across the organization.
7. Compensation and Benefits
Here organizations try to tie the compensation plan directly to performance
management so that compensation, incentives, and benefits align with business
goals and business execution.
8. Critical Skills Gap Analysis
This is a process we identify as an important, often overlooked function in many
industries and organizations. While often done on a project basis, it can be
"business-critical." For example, today industries like the Federal Government,
Utilities, Telecommunications, and Energy are facing large populations which are
retiring. How do you identify the roles, individuals, and competencies which are
leaving? What should you do to fill these gaps? We call this "critical talent
management" and many organizations are going through this now

Building Blocks of Talent Management

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Uses of Skills & Competencies in an Organizations

 Using them to drive interview questions

 Advertising or job postings
 Scoring employees for the competencies on the jobs – Performance Management
 Using them to look at gap analysis

What are Skills?

An ability that has been acquired by training.

What are Competencies?

The collection of knowledge, skills & attitudes required to perform a task. This can also be
defined as a measurable characteristic of an individual that is related to success at work.

Eg: Adaptability, Teamwork, Decision making, Customer Orientation, Leadership,

Innovation, Communication, Problem solving and etc

Why Competencies?

 Promotes alignment of Talent Management System.

 The organization can send a consistent message to the workforce about “what it takes” to be
successful in the job.
 Helps the employees to understand what helps to drive towards successful performance.
 Focuses on people rather than jobs making the model a behavioral model.
 Competency models are outcome driven rather than activities.
 Integrates HR strategy with business strategy.

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Three Competency Types or Groups

1. Core Competencies

These are the critical competencies required for the entire organization to shape the
organizational capabilities & culture required to achieve the strategic goals. This
can take various forms including technical subject matter “know-how”, a reliable
process and/or close relationship with customers & suppliers, product development
culture. This is the central company or employee should work.

2. Leadership Competencies

Competencies used to identify & measure an individual’s ability to lead or manage.

These are for the management teams of different levels for selection, career
planning & development. Organizations also define what leadership approach is
required for a particular organization.

3. Functional Competencies

These are job specific.

Developing a Competency Model

Organizations can use any of the below methods/approaches when developing a competency
model for the organization.

 Use commonly available “ready to use” models with small amendments to match
organization requirements.
 Develop own competency model with help of consultants
 Behavioral benchmarking compare superior performers with other best people in the
organization and in other benchmark companies.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 02: DEVELOPING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF TALENT MANAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & APPRAISAL

Performance Management

Refers to the processes to ensure the organization connects mission with the work of employees.
This involves two related activities,

1. Evaluating the performance of employees against standards set for them

2. Helping employees to develop action plans to improve performance

Outcomes of Effective Performance Management

 Clarifying job responsibilities & expectations

 Enhancing individual and group productivity
 Developing capabilities through feedback
 Align behavior with organization mission & values.
 Providing a basis for making HR decisions
 Improving employee – manager relationship

Performance Management System tool helps the managers to manage their resources &
eventually result business succession. This is a very broader & complicated function of HR.

Actions Included in a Performance Management Tool

1. Providing career development support & promotional guidance to the employees.

2. Helps in giving regular feedback & coaching during the period of delivery of performance.
3. Selecting the right set of people though a proper selection process.
4. Making clear a job description & employee performance plan.
5. Arranging training & development programs based on the evaluations of the performance
of the employees.

Advantages of Performance Management System

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Components of Performance Management System

Establishing Performance Standards Performance Measurements

Performance
Management
System
Reporting of Progress Quality Improvement Process

Human performance of how the individual contributes to the organization correlate with,

1. Achieving the results – goals, objectives, job responsibilities etc

2. Demonstrating the behaviors – the competencies, conduct etc

Creating the Ideal Performance Management System

1. Get top management actively involved

2. Establish the criteria for an ideal system
3. Appoint an implementation team
4. Design the form first
5. Build mission, vision, values and core competencies into the form
6. Ensure ongoing communication
7. Train all appraisers
8. Orient all appraisees
9. Use the results
10. Monitor and revise the program

* Home Work – How does Performance Appraisal go wrong? *

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Performance Reviews

This is one of the most dreaded management task. Conducting effective performance conversations
give employees the opportunity to learn about their development strengths, opportunities for
improvement, and how their roles links & aligns to the organization’s goals.

Five Conversations Framework

This was developed by Sibson consulting where it provides a set of guidelines and a structure that
managers and employees can use to develop effective relationships and promote meaningful
dialogues.

1. Establishing the Relationship

2. Setting Expectations
3. Coaching for Improved Performance & Career Development
4. Intervening During a Crisis
5. Realizing Potential

Effective Performance Measurement

This model encompasses leadership, program design and program execution. Each of these
elements plays a critical role in making performance reviews and performance management an
effective business process for improving an organization’s talent base.

Leadership

Optimal Balance
=
EPM Program
Execution Design

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Performance Appraisal

Gill Gates has once said that people behave as they are measured. This indicates that if you want
to change how an organization behaves, it should change the measurement system. It is vital for
an organization to select and implement the measurement type that gives the most positive impact
on the organization’s performance.

Appraisal Systems

Based on what the appraisal method assumes and it’s focus measurement, four major types of
appraisal systems can be identified.

Appraisal Type Definition Best Suited Employee

Type
Trait Based Assumes that certain traits drive performance All employees
& measures the personal characteristics of the
position incumbent.
Behavior Based Assumes that certain behaviors drive Supervisors and below
performance and measures what the position
incumbent does.
Knowledge/Skill Assumes that certain knowledge/skills drive Production workers,
Based performance and measures what the position Clerical workers, some
incumbent knows/applies. professionals
Results Based Assumes that achievement of objectives equal Managers, Administrators,
to performance and measures what the Most Professionals &
position incumbent achieves. Executives
* Find advantages and disadvantage of each Appraisal type *

Performance Management Tools/Reviews including appraisal forms,

 Must be relevant to organizational outcomes that are expected to achieve

 Appraisal forms & process documents must be tailored to organizational mission & values
 Find inspiration – Find evaluation forms from similar organizations or organizations that
share the same philosophy of organizational management

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 Competency based performance appraisal – Makes a clear connection between employee

behavior, their knowledge, skills and abilities and vision, mission and values
 Job related

Elements that should be Included in Performance Appraisal Tool

 Demographic information – Identify employees

 Standardize rating scale – Reflect goals of the organization
 Assessment – Should include job related criteria
 Self-evaluation – Encourage active participation of employees
 SMART goals – Provide clear definition & follow through desired outcomes
 Development – Ensuring interactive process including training and employee growth

Feedback – This is essential for any performance management system

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 03: EVALUATING EMPLOYEE POTENTIAL

Learning agility alone will not be sufficient enough to predict who can lead the company in future.
Therefore, this chapter will focus on three elements that needs to be combined with the
organization’s leadership development strategy.

1. All employees should display learning agility.

2. Even if employees with potential to grow start displaying this trait quite early in their
career, it is important to look for signs of learning agility.
3. Successful leaders do not have to be perfect but they need a balance attributes at the right
level across three critical areas – Deciding an agenda, taking others with them & leadership
presentation.

Unlike past, today’s business is involving and competitive in such a manner a single leadership
model cannot be practiced within a company.

Why Every Employee Needs to Show Capacity for Growth

Employees with learning agility are more likely to be successful and adapt to change/s. Four areas
where employees need to be adaptable were identified in 2004.

1. People Agility – People who know themselves better and respond positively & resiliently
to pressure around them.
2. Results Agility – People who get results under tough conditions and inspires others to do
likewise.
3. Mental Agility – People who can think afresh about ideas and are comfortable explaining
complex, often ambiguous notions.
4. Change Agility – People who are curious and like to build and experiment with new cases
as well as constantly strive to develop themselves.

Successful Leaders Are Not Perfect but They Do Need to Display Attributes in Each of the
Critical Areas

How a person thinks, how a person works with other people and how resilient they are, are three
major proven areas for identifying possible leaders and ascertaining whether they have the right
leadership attributes.

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It is evident that many popular methods for assessing leadership potential have their limits. A
handful of key competencies in various combinations, frequently lead to outstanding performance.
The three Crystal Balls address these key characteristics by answering three questions.

1. How do high potential leaders set their business agendas?

2. How do high potential leaders take others with them?
3. How do high potential leaders present themselves as leaders?

Methods Used to Select Organization Leaders

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CHAPTER 04 – RECRUITING SUPERKEEPERS

Superkeepers are the employees who are exceptionally performing higher while personifying
organization’s value creating competencies. This type of employees are very rare in an
organization but plays a major role/responsibility/influence in organization’s performance.

Companies who creates in-house superkeepers hold a better position in the market but retaining
superkeers is a challenge to HR as well as to the organization. Cost of replacement of a superkeeper
in terms of money and time would be staggering.

This chapter will focus of recruitment strategy of Superkeepers. It will start off answering
following questions.

1. How do you identify who the Superkeepers are in other organizations?

2. How do you pry them away from their current employers?
3. How do you ensure diversity in your reservoir of Superkeepers?
4. How do you build bench strength of Superkeepers?

How to Identify Superkeepers

This is uncovering the profile that will best fit with the position recruitment and organization
culture. Due to the unique or different requirements and cultures of organizations, defining key
elements of those will enable the company to pick the best fit.

Steps

1. Define the culture and match it with candidate’s qualifications.

2. Look at target companies that have similar cultures & methodologies.
3. Identify the individuals holding the positions in the targeted companies and, through
networking, determine if they have the technical, management, leadership, and innovation
skills and the appropriate style to fit your organization.

Also, companies should establish a process to surface external superkeepers through internal
referrals.

Having a data base of potential candidates and tracking & monitoring them would provide quick
access to candidates when required.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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How to Recruit Superkeepers from Competitors

Nowadays, brand name and reputation of an organization alone aren’t enough to attract top-notch
talent. To convince superkeepers to join your organizations, you will have to obtain support from
internal employees. Using organization’s own superkeepers to convince and recruit outside
superkeepers would be effective.

In addition to the personal touch and an appealing job content, an attractive and compelling
compensation package must be offered. Superkeepers need to see substantial upside potential
based on their performance.

Before making a decision, Superkeepers will also try to answer the following questions:

 Is this the kind of an organization with which I want to be identified?

 Is it in a product or service area that is a good match with my goals and objectives?
 Am I going to be better off in five years in the new opportunity than if I stayed in my
current job?

Retirement, health care and flex benefits, and day care assistance are important issues in today’s
workplace. People have become more conservative and less willing to take risks when considering
quality-of-life issues.

How to Ensure Diversity in Your Reservoir of Superkeepers

In todays’ business diversity is a top priority for organizations seeking to augment their
Superkeeper cadre. Companies that clearly demonstrate sensitivity to and an understanding of this
issue will be very attractive to female Superkeepers and Superkeepers from diverse cultural
backgrounds.

The diversity talent cadre is savvy and can readily differentiate reality from tokenism. Good
diversity candidates are fully aware of their demand in the job market, but first and foremost, they
want to be appreciated and respected for the talent and skills they bring to the job.

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How to Build Bench Strength of Superkeepers

Finding and retaining Superkeepers is a very difficult challenge. Organizations must remember
that Superkeepers are used to being highly recognized and assured that they are on the “proverbial
fast track”. This condition, when combined with a healthy supply of ego and energy, means that
they are not going to be easily persuaded to wait any length of time for opportunities. To build a
Superkeeper cadre, the organization must address this issue.

Organizations that have done a good job at managing this situation have developed and
communicated clear and exciting career path opportunities.

Careful career development also has to be done for Superkeepers so they feel they are acquiring
new skills, new growth experiences, and new successes that will strengthen their resume value,
making them more marketable should their career ascension not proceed at the rate they desire.

Superkeepers must feel they are moving ahead, respected, and appreciated by the organization,
adding value, fairly compensated, given the support they need to be successful, and part of an
environment that is supportive and values-driven will make it difficult for others to lure them away.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 05 – TALENT PLANNING – PART 01

Achieving Organization Excellence Through Talent Planning and Development

The question on whether an organization is developing the talent that can lead the corporation into
the future has been a major concern.

This section provides a framework for designing and implementing a robust succession-planning
program that will enable a company to achieve its objectives.

Design Process

It is important to understand the underlying objectives prior to designing a succession planning

process.

 What exactly is the organization trying to achieve?

 Is it using succession planning to develop people internally?
 Is the goal to find potential successors to the CEO? Or
 Is the intention to drive the program down into the organization?

Target audience for the program can be determined by defining the objectives of the succession
management program.

1. Role Based Program

Focused on specific key positions, which are either difficult to fill or critical to the
business success.
2. Individual Based Program
Focused on particular people with the potential for advancement.
3. Pool Based Program
Focused on a number of potential people who conceivably could move into any of
several leadership positions within the organization.

Once the objectives and population have been defined, the next step is to establish a set of
leadership competencies or qualities that are considered desirable in a high-potential person. Once
you have defined the objectives, audience, and leadership competencies, the last phase of design

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is to create a process for how succession will be implemented throughout the organization, along
with the tools needed to support the process.

Handing Over the Reins – Implementation Process

After designing the organization’s succession management program, its important to implement.
Even though organizations know how to create leaders, it has not been able to create a strong bench
of new leaders.

Six step process for implementing a succession management program.

Stage 01 – Preplanning

Serves as the transition from the design phase to implementation, in which HR prepares
those who will play a key role in the leadership development program. Stages in
preplanning are,

1. Explain the underlying goals of the process to those business leaders who will be
charged with identifying and developing the company’s future leaders.
2. Impress upon business leaders their accountability for assessing their people. Foster a
culture in which managers feel comfortable identifying high-potential people, rather
than being threatened by them.
3. Train participants on the company’s succession management process. Provide each
business leader with a process map that explains the process, along with the
corresponding forms and charts.

Stage 02 – Assessment

The talents will be evaluated and business critical positions will be identified. Mindful of
the business competencies established during the design phase, they should begin
considering their people, asking themselves who has exhibited the performance and the
potential to become the future leaders of the organization.

Ratings of talents are,

 High potential
 Expandable

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 Well Placed
 Issue
 Too New to Rate

Stage 03 – One on One Discussions

Even with a preplanning phase before implementation, assessing potential future leaders can
become a subjective process. After all, people are making assessments of individuals based on data
they have or perceived situations. Subjectivity can be minimized by obtaining inputs from variety
of people to ensure all relevant parties are in agreement as to who are the organization’s high-
potentials and how they should be developed. These discussions could simply take place between
HR and the business leader or they could be held between direct reports, such as the vice president
of finance and the chief administrative officer.

Following the discussions, replacement charts are drawn up, reflecting each business critical
position, potential successors, and their current state of preparedness.

Stage 04 – Group Meeting

In order to further confirm that those who have been selected are, in fact, the right people to be
developed as future leaders of the organization, group sessions are held in which business leaders
meet with their boss and colleagues to review and debate the decisions that have been made up to
this point.

Stage 05 – CEO Discussions

Now that everyone else is in agreement on the selection of the organization’s future leaders, it’s
time to make the case to the CEO and obtain his or her input. Therefore, HR facilitates a series of
discussions between individual business leaders and the chief executive during which the latter
reviews the designated high-potentials and their development opportunities within the company.

The individual CEO’s objectives will determine exactly which materials are reviewed. The CEO
may limit himself/herself to the business critical replacement charts or may dig in and examine
performance and potential grids, as well as individual profiles. Developmental opportunities are
discussed and the CEO offers advice on how best to prepare the organization’s future leaders.

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Stage 06 – Ongoing Review

By this point, a pool of successors has been chosen and is being developed. However, that doesn’t
mean the succession-planning process is over. On the contrary, the process remains very fluid, as
leaders move into top positions and new talent joins the ranks, while others leave the organization
for other opportunities.

Therefore, it’s critical to conduct regularly scheduled reviews on a quarterly, biannual, or annual
basis. Granted, change happens every day and replacement charts and development plans may
need to be revisited fairly frequently. It is the constantly changing nature of leadership
development, in fact, that helps build a culture that values succession and keeps it from becoming
a once-a-year HR program.

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 05 – TALENT PLANNING – PART 02

Developing Super Keepers, Keepers and Solid Citizens

Developing super keepers is a strategic decision where majority of training budget should be
allocated compared to the budget allocated to keepers and solid citizens.

Corporate universities can make a substantial difference in preparing super keepers and other
employees for future challenges. A scorecard can provide a quantitative and qualitative
measurement of the contribution of a corporate university to the training and development of each
employee group described above.

Corporate university should link employee learning to organizational strategy.

Activities Vs Results

From the inception of the corporate university concept to the present, a shift to results-based
processes has been evolving. Reporting focused on the number of participants in attendance and
the number of programs offered. Accountability and the processes needed to show the value of
program contribution were for the most part nonexistent.

Today, there is a need to develop the Super keepers so that their performance is reflected in bottom-
line outcomes as well as other intangible measures. Programs offered through the corporate
university are linked to business strategy and there is a comprehensive approach to measurement
and evaluation.

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In comparison with traditional reporting of input measures (number of participants, number of

programs, etc.), today organizations are developing output data—participant reaction, amount of
learning, change in job performance, level of actual application of skills and knowledge, change
in business measures, ROI, and intangible benefits.

Why Scorecard?

A scorecard approach to reporting results provides critical information to the client group,
including top executives and corporate university staff.

Two major customer groups served by the corporate university;

1. Consumers
These are the participants involved in the processes. Staff need immediate information in
the form of feedback about the processes and programs. Improvements are often identified
to enhance future results. In addition, the corporate university staff needs data on
application, impact, and ROI in order to,
 Enhance the perception of the corporate university
 Build credibility for the corporate university process with all stakeholders
 Justify future expenditures
 Enhance management support
 Provide information for benchmarking with other corporate universities so that best
practice comparisons are possible
2. Clients
These are those who fund, support, request, or approve programs. These stakeholders are
interested in application, impact and ROI. Significant behavior changes from employees in
interaction with customers, suppliers and team members are also expected while having a
direct link to business impact to assist operating units to achieve their goals. There are six
major concerns about the accountability of corporate universities. These translate into
specific types of information needed by senior managers.
 The impact of the university at the macro level, reflecting the results of all
programs, rather than the micro level, reflecting the results of an individual
program.

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 Brief progress reports rather than detailed impact studies, at least for the majority
of programs. They want information they can quickly understand and digest.
 The connection to business objectives and assurance that the university is making
a contribution and driving certain business improvement measures.
 The overall contribution of the corporate university, but not necessarily the ROI for
the entire university. Executives need some indication that the corporate university
is adding value and that every program is evaluated at some level.
 Different types of data, both tangible and intangible, taken at different time frames
from different sources.
 The alignment of the corporate university programs, strategic objectives, and
operating goals.

Developing the Scorecard Data

Below is a brief description of the five levels of evaluation framework of Krikpatrick and enhanced
by Phillips.

In most cases, 100% of all programs offered through the corporate university are evaluated at Level
1, reaction and satisfaction. This level of evaluation provides immediate feedback to facilitators
and program designers as to changes that may need to be made to the design and delivery of the
training.

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Target percentage of training programs evaluated at five levels are as follows,

Highly successful organizations will ensure that Superkeepers’ training and development is
measured at Level 5.

Six Types of Measures Through Application of the Process

1. Reaction, Satisfaction and Planned Action

2. Learning
3. Application and Implementation
4. Business Impact
5. Return on Investment (RoI)
6. Intangible Benefits

Overall the scorecard provides a quantitative and qualitative method of determining the quality,
timeliness, and cost-effectiveness of the developmental impact of the human resource.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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Allocating Training and Development Resources

Segmentation is a fundamental activity of talent management. If not there is potential to create

unnecessarily high costs for recruiting, hiring, training, developing, and compensating employees
who are not valuable.

Technically super keepers should get a higher portion of training and development budget than
keepers and solid citizens.

In this section, we will consider various organization criteria for segmentation, the purposes of
segmentation and how different criteria are relevant to different purposes.

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Purposes of Segmentation

Due to the requirement of gaining clarity about issues managers need to address in talent
management, segmentation is very important. The most important purposes/objectives of
segmentation in talent management are,

 Increase the ratio of top performers to average or poor performers

 Increase bonuses for top performers to reward and create incentives for better performance
overall
 Reduce unwanted turnover
 Close skill gaps or correcting skill mix
 Attract enough employees
 Reduce surplus employees

The most controversial rating system today is the GE method of forced ranking employees into A,
B, or C players with set distributions, based on supervisor and management performance ratings.

Criteria for Segmentation

So far, we have discussed segments

that vary according to level of
employee performance, occupation,
job title, skills, and employee
values. These are but some of the
criteria that may be important in
segmenting employees.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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Talent Management in a Global Firm

In the long term, the effective management of people has to take place within the context of an
organization’s strategic vision. It is the careful planning and implementation of strategy that lays
the foundation for an organization to which talented people will be attracted and in which they will
thrive and contribute to the organization’s continued growth. This applies across the boundaries of
culture and geography. Here are a few principles that have worked well for us in managing the
human side of being global.

 Don’t Be Afraid to Impart American Culture

 Hire Local, Hire Global
 Recruit for Fit and Chemistry
 Don’t Just Manage Long Distance
 Unify People Through Policy and Practice
 Bring People Together
 Approach Every Corporate Initiative as a Global Initiative
 Invest in Global Succession Planning

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 06 – COACHING, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT – Part 01

Integrating Coaching, Training & Development with Talent Management

Skills grow through many kinds of experience both inside and outside of work. Development of
skills come through various strategies and approaches, some crafted with intent (job rotation, task
force assignment) and others evolving through business crisis or personal hardship to greater self-
understanding and confidence.

The challenge is stringing together a range of meaningful experiences in a systematic way that will
appropriately build character and skill while at the same time providing productive value to
business outcomes.

Development of human capital requires investment of time and resources. Therefore, this should
be a part of business planning at the highest level of an organization. Along with planning, the
timing, location, and context of specific developmental efforts must also be considered.

Every candidate for development needs to have current knowledge, skill, and character traits
matched to a carefully thought out sequence of developmental experiences which should occur
with clear direction, in an optimal learning environment, with timely feedback and support.
Timing, structure, location, resource support, and even cultural context are critical factors for
assessment against individual readiness for a particular experience.

Developmental Training

When setting up an effective turnaround/developmental program for new leaders, below points
can be helpful.

 A carefully targeted selection system

 A structured orientation & training program
 Rotational assignments – Giving hands-on experience of all aspects of the business
 Monitoring, assessing and rewarding top performers of the program (Performance
Management System)

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The success of this system was based on the understanding that knowledge may be acquired over
the short term. Skills and behavioral development take longer and require oversight and thoughtful
support.

Structured Orientation to the Organization and Role

Entry into a new role sets expectations not only for job responsibilities and goals but also for ethics,
values, and acceptable behavior. This is especially the case with those who are highly intelligent,
ambitious, and new to the organization and unfamiliar with organization culture and key
stakeholders. These are few key learning elements needed for fast track learners.

It is critical in the early stages of development that companies make goals, expectations, and ethical
practices crystal clear to an individual as each individual has their own set of values.

Orientation to service, whether to an organization or a new role, is a critical stage of development

for all professionals. This phase should consist not only of a well-designed and competently
delivered picture of the organization’s mission, vision, and business direction but also a thoughtful
introduction to the values that drive decision making, areas of legal compliance, and practices that
are deemed acceptable and unacceptable.

Orientations may be structured or informal, as long as there is consistency with the message
delivered.

Coaching

Coaching as a developmental strategy is not a “once-and-done.” High potential leaders will need
a succession of counselors, teachers, coaches, and guides during the course of a successful career.

Someone new to the organization may need an equally skilled peer in a similar job to show him or
her how to overcome routine hurdles and get things done with a minimum of noise.

Coaching methods/techniques includes,

 Learning through minorities

 Group coaching
 One-to-One relationship – Still believes to be the most effective

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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Again, coaching is an ongoing development strategy. Its focus grows from orientation to the
business and task at the beginning of a relationship to feedback and counseling around behavioral
practice that builds self-awareness.

Issue Development Meetings

Problem-solving meetings may serve as a development arena where its beyond routine operational
reporting.

It is in problem-solving groups that more junior professionals come to understand the strategies
and tactics of skilled leaders.

Job Rotation

This provides breadth and depth of experience that serves to build solid knowledge of an operation
or business segment. It’s important to match the competency level of the individual to the
challenges of new knowledge and skill.

Successful rotational assignments include several carefully planned elements.

 Specific learning objectives are identified up front

 Performance expectations are clearly conveyed
 There is a fixed start and end time for each phase

The most common complaint with job rotation is the resource support necessary to underwrite the
effort.

What makes a rotation developmental is the way it pushes and stretches performers and moves
them out of their comfort zones, requiring them to behave in new and different ways.

Interim and Emergency Assignments

Every organization has experienced unexpected leadership voids as a result of turnover, major
change, or crisis. Continuing leadership is important. High-potential performers provide one
option and “readiness” is the operative term for deciding who goes into the fray and when. This
new leader may have to make decisions and take actions beyond his/her current knowledge or level
of skills.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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When an interim assignment is identified, it should be carefully profiled for the job responsibilities,
skills, and behavioral attributes needed for the role to be appropriately staffed which will then be
tracked against the potential candidate’s records.

Task Force Assignment

This is proven to be an excellent developmental experience for new and career track leaders alike.
These assignments appeal strongly to the action orientation, need for visibility, and involvement
of high-potential people. They also serve to get new programs and projects up and running with
the best idea generation available.

Task force teams are typically constructed of knowledgeable technicians, thought leaders, and
critical thinkers from across the organization.

The opportunity to observe team dynamics and develop facilitation, negotiation, and conflict-
resolution skills may be an individual’s first opportunity for leadership.

Task force assignment can have a downside. Spirited debate, supporting ideas, and taking sides in
a discussion forge not only good relationships to rely on in future situations, but also adversarial
ones that may serve as barriers to getting things done later.

Internal Education & Training

Internal corporate universities develop its customized curriculum, often in partnership with a local
college or other educational institution.

Three key benefits of this are,

 Content knowledge on a variety of subjects (Budgeting, HR practice, Compliance, PM etc)

 A forum for building relationships among peers
 Expanded understanding of self and business through case study discussion, team games,
and customized simulations

Some other techniques of training & development would be,

 Executive programs and External  Teaching as Learning

Course Work  Extracurricular Activities
 Guided Reading  E-Learning

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 06 – COACHING, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT – Part 02

Leadership Coaching

A personal development process designed to enhance a leader’s success in achieving his or her
professional objectives within the context of an organization’s values and business goals.

Benefits of Coaching to Organization

 Retention of valued talent

 Increases in productivity
 Development of high-potential performers
 Greater job satisfaction for the participant
 Achievement of organization objectives

Super-keepers are key candidates for leadership coaching.

Coaching in Its Cultural Context

High-potential talent does not reach full development in a vacuum. If coaching is to be effective,
it must be embraced by the organization’s culture and supported by its infrastructure.

Smart organizations often employ leadership development both in succession planning and for
building internal “bench strength.” In this context, leadership coaching assists an organization in
using its resources optimally to ensure that the group has the right number of people, possessing
the right kind of talent, at the right skill levels, in the right positions, at the right time, and in the
right geographic locations.

A coach will cause the leader to reflect on the original observations and thereby produce a change
in action. The culture and infrastructure of an organization must allow and support this
conversation if transformational learning is to happen.

The Case for Coaching

Coaching Catches On

Why coaching is popular?

 Jobs are more complex.

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 Leadership challenges are more complex.

 Feedback is needed, yet rarely received.
 Organizations have a flatter structure, so “people issues” are even more important.
 During periods of rapid change, effective leadership is more important than ever.
 People are more open to outside help; some even welcome it.
 It is a sound investment.

Coaching Works: Reaping Returns on Investment

This enhances performance and ultimately profitability,

1. A synergistic and focused relationship leads to growth and change

2. Clear goals and a focused endeavor lead to better outcomes.
3. Coaching is contextual.
4. Coaching is a systemic intervention with multiplier results.
5. Coaching focuses on using new skills and more effective behaviors.
6. Executive development occurs through insight and with practice.
7. Coaching helps leaders develop emotional intelligence.
8. Coaching impacts the bottom line.

Seven C’s of Successful Coaching – Seven Key Elements of Coaching

1. Context 5. Courses of Action

2. Clarity 6. Confidentiality
3. Commitment 7. Chemistry
4. Coachability
The Coaching Process

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Categories of Leaders and Attributes of Coaching

Since there are different kind of leaders who are at various levels of development, its important to
define each case. The approach of coaching various individuals may influence by their positioning
in the organization.

 Emerging Leader
The business case for engaging a coach at this level might be to meet succession
needs, to groom a high-potential leader, or to help drive the organization to a
different plane. Expected outcomes might include retention, readiness for upward
mobility, and improved chances for success in the next position.
 Developing Leader
This valuable leader is a great thinker but may not be adept at mobilizing others or
addressing practical consequences. This leader might be a nonconformist or a loner.
The business case for coaching intervention is obvious: to address performance
issues that are impacting the business. The desired outcomes are improved
performance, retention, and strengthened relationships with key stakeholders, such
as the board.
 Strategic Leader
The business case for engaging a coach at this point might be to assimilate new
leaders or to build a more united executive team. The expected outcomes might be
to generate more incisive strategic thinking, to improve senior-level bench strength,
and to retain valued talent.

Coaching the Super-Keepers

This is a company-sponsored “perk” for top high potential employees, a customized development
process intended to accelerate effectiveness at work. This coaching is based on a collaborative
relationship among the employee, his/her boss, his/her human resources manager, and an executive
coach.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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Factors That Distinguish the Coaching of Super-keepers from the Coaching of Other
Employees

There are four methodological factors that distinguish the coaching of Super-keepers from that of
other employees. The careful orchestration of and commitment to these factors ensure the value
and quality of Super-keeper coaching.

1. Holistic approach
2. Deep behavioral insight
3. The active involvement of top corporate executives
4. Sustained relationships with the coach and/or trusted internal collaborator

Meta Themes

Three meta themes are central to a conceptual understanding of excellence in the coaching of
Super-keepers.

1. Traction 2. Trust 3. Truth-Telling

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 07 – USING COMPENSATION TO CREATE A TALENT MANAGEMENT

PLAN

Integrating Compensation with Talent Management

Some believe that compensation is of secondary importance when deciding whether to stay or
leave a firm but it needs to be fair and competitive but others believe the opposite to attract and
retain talent. They develop highly elaborate programs with extreme pay packages, significant
“handcuff” provisions, and conditions that require careful legal review.

Examining the Principles that Make Compensation & Reward System Work within “Talent
Value Chain”

 Super-Keepers - Creating a “magnetic culture” to attract, retain, and energize people who
represent your top talent.
 Keepers - Maintaining an environment and reward programs that recognize those who
make a continual difference to the organization.
 Solid Citizens - Providing rewards that keep those who are the baseline contributors on
an even keel without requiring an undue investment and creating an environment that
motivates these individuals to move up the talent chain.
 Misfit – Making tough decisions which includes – engage in special development, reassign
to other work or terminate.

Compensation Plan and Its Effectiveness

 Compensation plans need to be tailored to the specific needs and unique characteristics of
the organization. This requires developing the process and aligning that to suit the strategic
requirements of the organization.
 Need to be expanded and integrated with programs, tools, and practices that impact the
actions of people.
 Rewards need to be meaningful to the individual and directly relate to the strategy and key
drivers of the organization’s success.
 Rewards need to directly support the creation of magnetic cultures.

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Defining Elements of Total Rewards

In the traditional approach to rewards, organizations include salary, bonuses, other incentive-based
variable compensation, stock options or similar participation in the equity of the organization, and
employee benefits which are known as key elements of reward package. Additionally, programs
such as skill development, having one’s ideas put into practice for others, working closely with a
team to accomplish an important mission, having the flexibility to address personal work/life
issues would have greater impact to the individual and also to the organization.

Defining elements of total reward include,

 Salaries and other forms of secured compensation

 Variable pay and the opportunity to share in the success of achievements
 A stake in the long-term growth and future of the organization through equity participation,
career opportunities, or job security
 The investment in one’s development and increasing competencies
 The opportunities to have challenging and meaningful work
 The appreciation and recognition of one’s contributions to the organization
 The involvement in decisions that impact one’s work and career
 The ability to make meaningful decisions and exert some degree of control over resources
commensurate with one’s role in the organization
 The confidence in the leadership, mission, and importance of the organization in one’s
community
 The pride that accrues from being part of a winning organization and one that has high
integrity and commitment to its mission

Integrated Rewards Philosophy

Typical reward philosophy states that, purpose of compensation plan is to attract, retain, and
motivate people and provide pay that is competitive with the marketplace and consistent with
performance achievements.

An effective philosophy and approach to reward can create a more robust and effective system by
which they support their talent requirements (Most of the above programs are seen as integrated)

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Integration enables management to view rewards as one of their key management systems for
driving the business and developing the capabilities of the organization while retaining talent.

The best reward systems address people in a holistic manner, both for their membership in the
organization and for their performance. Examples for both rewards are as follows,

Designing Integrated Rewards—Making the Strategy Real

The process of developing an integrated rewards philosophy that can be translated into real
programs addresses five key questions:

1. Who are those that we believe are critical to the present and future success of our
organization?
2. What are the things that they value or find important at this stage in their careers and in the
foreseeable future? What are the basic talent segments of the organization?
3. What do we as an organization need from them that will enable us to sustain or enhance
our marketplace leadership?
4. How effective and how competitive (or distinctive) do the programs we offer need to be to
reinforce the commitment and performance of these individuals?
5. What are we willing to do and not do as an organization?

They define the purpose and importance of the reward programs from the perspective of the
individual. Then, the organization defines the conditions in which individuals can receive the
rewards that the organization is willing to offer.

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Compensating Super-Keepers

A Superkeeper talent-and-reward strategy must have at least two objectives,

 Primary Objective: Customizing a Superkeeper definition to match your specific

strategic/tactical business goals.
 Secondary Objective: Continuing growth and value-added development of your
company’s Superkeeper core.

Rewarding Super-Keepers

The talent-and-reward strategy is sort of “elitist,” but a strategy that will prove advantageous.
Although everyone on your workforce team is important, some talent is more critical. Rewarding
superkeepers is highly different to ordinary employees or standard practices.

The total reward components we propose as being critical to effective reward design now and in
the future— Individual Growth, Compelling Future, Positive Workplace, and Total Pay.

Business First

This is a business-first talent-and-reward model. People count more to an organization than ever,
and that is why a strong business emphasis is a talent-and-reward priority. For employees to win
in a win-win relationship, the business itself must prosper.

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The symbiotic relationship between meeting the company business goals and rewarding those who
help most is the formula a talent model can help address.

Branding Rewards

Branding isn’t new. Choice companies have global brands—Pepsi, Coke, Disney, Amazon.com,
Starbucks, and the U.S. Post Office, for example. These brands evoke an image in the minds of
customers who recognize in them what the company and its products and services are about.

Many organizations have tried to develop a best-place-to-work brand that makes them attractive
to every employee. But when companies place a Superkeeper imprint on rewards, they send a
message about what it’s like to work in the company.

Business branding for Superkeepers is essential to your company’s future. This means making
your specific company attractive to its most essential talent. It means avoiding the trap of just being
a “best place to work” because it’s difficult to business-justify a talent-and-reward strategy that
fails to differentiate between business-critical and less critical talent. It’s much easier to make a
powerful business case for a talent-and-reward strategy that focuses on the people with the unique
capabilities the business needs to thrive.

Changing Rewards

Changing pay and other rewards is heavy lifting. The talent message of considering the wishes of
Superkeepers over others is tough, but essential, to sponsor.

Executives and managers clearly bring essential skills and capabilities such as leadership and
vision to the table. But they may not have the up-to-date professional skills and capabilities that
represent the substance of the core technology or capability of your business.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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Two Emerging Reward Trends

Companies will have a better chance of being effective Superkeeper employers if they position
themselves to accomplish the following:

1. Customize Rewards: Decentralize the responsibility for adapting the talent-and-reward

strategies to match business unit Superkeeper talent needs and challenges. Enable business
unit managers to customize reward and talent strategies to match local needs.
2. Delegate Reward Accountability: Make managers at the business unit level responsible
for effective reward budget management in their area of responsibility. Managers are
accountable for focusing on Superkeepers in their own organization.

Common Feel—Customized Look

Managers are responsible for getting value from the resources allocated to pay and rewards. With
the opportunity to locally innovate from strategy and tools comes the accountability for budget
management. The tools business unit managers may deploy to focus on their specific talent needs
may include:

 New, closer line-of-sight business unit metrics.

 Deeper use of variable pay in the business unit.
 Team rewards at business unit level.
 Recognition and celebration tools at the business.
 Base pay increases.
 Stock options and other forms of stock.
 Competitive labor market positioning.

Manager’s “Tool-Kit” for Superkeepers

From the standpoint of human resource management, the best managers manage pay and other
rewards to maximize business results. Manager’s Tool Kit for Superkeepers must contain,

 Know Talent/Reward Strategies—Cold

 Keep Talent Aligned with Goals
 Deliver the Scarce-Talent Message
 Manage Superkeeper Career Plans

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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CHAPTER 07 – USING COMPENSATION TO CREATE A TALENT MANAGEMENT

PLAN – Part 02

Linking Competencies to Performance and Pay

Competencies are the observable and measurable skills, knowledge, and behaviors that contribute
to enhanced employee performance and organizational success.

Competencies have generally come in two primary forms: strategic and job-specific.

Strategic competencies - typically reflect the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that directly link
to organizational objectives, shared values, and/or competitive advantage.

Job Specific Competencies - Domain expertise is the focus of job-specific competencies. These
competencies reflect the specific skills and knowledge (more so than behaviors) that are required
for employees to be effective in their jobs.

HR uses competencies as one mechanism in delivering rewards. At present organizations are

signaling that competencies will continue to be part of the pay equation.

Two Major Competency Related Pay Approaches

First - Companies using competencies to define job requirements in an effort to establish pay
levels and structures based on more than job factors alone.

Second - Companies using competencies to define employee performance. Rather than

establishing a compensation structure, this approach allows companies to determine how pay
adjustments and incentive awards will be distributed based on competency assessment and
development.

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Competencies and Pay

Application of competencies were commonly focused on determining appropriate base pay levels
but nowadays, its used as an alternative method to value a job and essential part in performance
management.

Using Competencies to Define Job Requirements

Many organizations have found competency-related job evaluation to be effective which has two
major advantages,

 Competencies represent a solid basis for a variety of HR applications, including salary

structure design, performance management, and career development.
 Competencies can be developed to support key business objectives, enabling the related
HR applications to link to business success factors, not just job success factors.

Companies are now increasingly managing talent deploying top talent around the world, working
in multi-country teams, and valuing employees who have deep, pragmatic knowledge of multiple
markets.

Movement to market based compensation design is due to,

 Job market data are abundant and credible and play a key role in informed decision-making
 This approach is flexible and supports both hierarchical organizational designs and team-
based, flatter environments

Career levels in the career ladder can be market-priced and aligned to a salary structure where
approach integrates both strategic and job-specific dimensions.

Overlaying a competency-based performance management system atop a career-level approach

can yield powerful results because of the strength of a consistent message.

Using Competencies to Define Employee Performance

Including competencies as part of the performance management process can either exacerbate
current weaknesses or address them when executed effectively. For a successful result,
competency design must be simple yet relevant, define the critical skills and behaviors that are
often dismissed as “soft” and therefore unimportant, and link to key rewards mechanisms.

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Competency simplicity/relevance grid

In practice, when linking competencies to performance management and pay, organizations should
not be at the very highest point of the simplicity scale because the result will be too general to be
of value.

Potential Competency-Related Performance Management Frameworks

Including competencies as part of the performance definition is increasingly important as

organizations strive to achieve the right balance between what results are achieved and how
employees achieve them.

If a firm achieves a balance of both, two issues of performance management system namely, lack
of balance between results and competencies and a diluted rewards linkage can be addressed.

Furthermore, organizations have realized that the intangible contributions of their Superkeepers
are critical elements of organizational performance.

Focusing on base pay increases and annual bonus payouts, there are two main approaches to
linking competencies to a pay event.

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MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
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The framework within which the base pay increase is related to competency demonstration/growth
and the incentive pay award is related to performance on results-based objectives is intuitively
fitting. Positive performance on competencies is appropriately rewarded through base pay
increases.

Results-based objectives are typically aligned with near term business objectives. Positive
performance on results-based objectives is appropriately rewarded through an annual incentive
plan. The results-based rating of the performance management process can factor directly into the
annual incentive plan calculation.

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
4
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

Using Long-Term Incentives to Retain Top Talent: Super Rewards for Superkeepers

Traditionally employees were rewarded based on the loyalty and seniority. Today’s workforce is
goal-oriented, self-reliant, and flexible.

Regardless of the financial strength or weakness of the economy, the best people are always needed
and always have choices. But competing for top talent—as well as motivating, engaging, and
retaining it—will be one of the greatest challenges for HR professionals. Employers will need to
understand what top talent employees need and want and provide the right combination of reward
elements to ensure their top performers remain focused and committed to the organization.

Implementing a well-balanced mix of traditional, quantifiable elements such as competitive salary

and benefits, as well as more intangible rewards like providing learning and development
opportunities is essential to motivate, engage and retain top talent.

Making Top-Talent Priority

Through identifying top performers and measuring their value to the organization, companies will
see that these individuals bring a significant impact to the organization—both financially and
nonfinancially.

Identifying Top Talent

To identify and manage top talent, human resource professionals need to understand the
performance of employees across the entire organization.

The Impact of Top Talent

star talent can improve employee morale, heighten the level of employee motivation and
engagement, raise the performance standards in a particular group and attract other high
performers to the organization.

Retaining Top Talent

The factors that attract people to join an organization are different from the factors that keep them
there.

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
5
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

The Role of Long Term Incentives

Not only market competitiveness, but also the desire to align their performance and resulting
compensation to the longer-term results achieved in the business are reasons to provide long term
incentives.

Common long term incentives are,

 Stock options
 Performance plans
 Restricted stock
 Phantom stock

Long-Term Incentives for Top Talent

In an environment where talent is scarce, using the right reward mechanisms can affect business
substantially. High-performing companies are seeking to achieve multiple objectives when
compensating their top talent. Long-term incentives may help to achieve some of these objectives,
but other compensation (and non-compensation) elements are important as well. The objectives
high-performing companies are seeking to address may include the following:

 Attract top talent

 Engage and motivate employees
 Retain top performers

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
6
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

 Create succession plans

 Create line of sight

What Should Companies Do Differently for High Performers?

 Recognize talent
 Broaden the base
 Tailor your strategy
 Give top talent more
 Build excitement

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
7
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 08 – USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT TALENT

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A slowdown in hiring is just that, a slowdown, not a deceleration to zero. Rather than focusing on
filling open positions, the remaining HR assets are left to fortify the sumptuary bulwarks in
preparation for the next flood of recruiting activity.

But current approaches fail to account sufficiently for the fact that people are the core asset in need
of “management.” The movement to install cost-cutting software has led to one trend: the reduction
of face-to-face interaction, or the rationing of the in-person experience. While the efficiency of
talent management may be on the rise, the quality of the in-person experience is on the decline.

Shortcomings in Today’s Approaches – System Implementation

Even though there are technology related solutions for HR, these solutions are not at the point
where they provide insight to either the corporate user or the individual whose personal and career
data the system helps manage. This is true for several reasons:

 The systems are disparate. Data is rarely shared among them, meaning that each system
only contains data from one or two stages in the employee lifecycle, or in some cases only
for a few key transactions (life events, address changes, etc.).
 Many systems clearly exhibit characteristics of their forebears and don’t go enough beyond
the tactical: displaying information, capturing data, and providing administrative-level
access to data for reports. Rather than helping elevate the daily tasks of users, systems
perpetuate the necessity of performing such tasks.
 The candidate/employee views these systems as part of a faceless corporate entity that
barely differentiates people from the desk chairs they occupy. Many HR technologies
deployed today actually pose a threat to the relationship with high-performing and high-
potential Superkeepers.

It’s up to the corporate entity to set the course by adopting and leveraging technologies and
approaches that will both ensure continued efficiencies for themselves and improve the
individual’s experience. This will ultimately depend on every employer’s ability to bridge the
present-day gap between benefit to company and benefit to individual by focusing more on the
“engagement.”

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
1
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

Engagement is the experience companies provide to candidates, employees, and “alumni,” or

former employees. It’s an essential focal point for HR strategies because it shapes the employment
nexus.

Principles of Successful Engagement Creation

 Personalization
 Continuousness
 Candidacy
 Pragmatism

Two Paths: Alienation and Intimacy

The industry is now facing two potential paths. At the end of one, there waits alienation and
anonymity for the Superkeeper. Companies neglect the talent engagement; relationships are
marginalized in favor of blind cost-reduction efforts. The employment nexus weakens.

At the end of the other lies a world of personalization and intimacy, where the highest-performing
individuals are constantly reinforced, re-recruited, and reengaged. High-potential individuals are
attracted and nurtured, and companies achieve true competitive advantage through their talent.

The Role of Software and Technology

Intelligence, insight, and maximum competitive advantage will not enter the picture until systems
and their HR support processes move to the third stage.

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
2
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

The Path to Intimacy: Some Recommendations

 Lead the shift from the résumé as the core measure of talent
 Link the selection process more closely to the employment engagement
 Communicate and deliver on the Employee Value Proposition
 Realign HR resources so they fulfill the need for more personal contact and engagement
with candidates and employees
 Understand the relationship between culture and strategy, and the impact this has on
organizational performance
 Integrate HR systems
 Treat candidates and employees as preferred customers

Developing a Talent Management Information Strategy

Purposes of Talent Management Information Systems

1. Employee Competency Assessment

2. Succession Planning
3. Training and Professional Development
4. Compensation

Five Steps to a Talent Management Information Strategy

1. Project Statement
2. Report Components
3. Data Flow Chart
4. Management Plan
5. The Internal/External Analysis and Scenario-Tested Request for Proposals

Implementation and Maintenance

Once the information system has been substantially designed, the implementation system outlined
in the project mission stage should be called into action. This implementation plan should be
expanded and include the following parts:

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
3
 TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent Management Plan: The theoretical underpinnings of the information system, including
the corporate philosophy and the senior executives responsible for implementation.

Management Plan: A management hierarchy should be listed for all the tasks associated with the
creation and maintenance of the information system. Designating people with specific tasks
associated with the talent system places ongoing accountability at all levels of the organization.

Instructions Manual: Instructions for using the talent management system should be keyed to the
management plan, with basic user information and definitions integrated into the software. The
instruction manual should also contain information on how basic changes and updates to the
software can be made and timetables for when changes should occur.

Design Development Document: A document outlining all the decisions and process steps made
in the creation of the talent management system. Included in this document is an accounting of
what decisions were made and why they were made.

Expansion Plan: A continuously updated report on possible expansions and changes to the
system. This should be incorporated in the audit stage into a survey for senior management to
ensure continuous feedback on the success and direction of the talent management system.

Purindu Jayatilake
MSc Eng (Reading), MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA (UK), CGMA
4