Dr. Jac's Notebook
THE WAR FOR TALENT
In my last column, I discussed the two key strategies for competing for the best talent. Effective strategies are important, but first, it is critical to understand the true gravity of the problem.
As heinous a concept as it is, the competition for talent has taken on the air of a war. In battles there are tactics and strategy. The tactics in the talent war are specific actions, such as advertising, new hire assessment, interviewing and onboarding. The strategy deals with projections of future staff needs, identification of desired skills and competencies, knowledge of current forces as well as those of the competition, and the drafting of a broad battle plan. When a solid strategy is backed up with effective tactics, we stand a good chance of winning the battle. But when strategy is ignored and the focus is only on choosing tactics, we soon find ourselves outflanked and on the defensive.
The talent war is a highly complex, largely unpredictable, and absolutely critical challenge for today's organizations. Its scope is so vast that it cannot be circumscribed within the staffing function, nor even confined within the HR department. As in any major conflict there is a requirement for the nation, or in this case the organization, to be totally committed to waging and successfully concluding the conflict.
Best Practice Fantasies
Many organizations have lost market position by looking for easy remedies and applying what they heard was a Òbest practice.Ó The reason for this loss is that typically the best practice story is not placed into a context. In short, while we are told what happened we are not told much, if anything, about the circumstances surrounding it. We don't know about the leadership style, culture, management skills, technological investment, location or any of the other factors that drove the reported results. What we are left with is a simplistic report of an outcome that may or may not have been repeatable in the subject company, not to mention in a different company. Fighting a war with such intelligence is an invitation to a massacre.
Staffing Center of Excellence
I submit that the talent war demands a multi-faceted strategy. The strategy starts with the forming of a Talent Center of Excellence (TCoE) dedicated to waging the war. The center's sole purpose is to devise a winning strategy that will lead to effective tactics. It is, in effect, the counterpart of the army's general staff.
The center is composed of representatives from across the HR function, as well as from across the organization. Specifically, the center is populated by HR personnel from staffing, compensation and benefits, training and development, employee relations and HRIS. In addition, it is chaired by a C-level executive. If the HR director is a C-level executive, it would be natural for him or her to chair the TCoE. The center also has representation from line executives, marketing, corporate communications, finance, IT, first line supervision and experienced front line employees. Each of those constituencies has a unique view of the battlefield, as well as the needs of those directly in the line of fire. (See Figure 1.)
Elements of a Winning Strategy
The TCoE will produce two elements essential for long-term effective staffing. These are a plan and a model on which to build its strategic plan. The purpose of the model is to provide a framework of variables that define the field. The variables are selected based on proven research around effective resource management. To be helpful, recruitment has to look past the hiring process to the long-term issues of performance, growth and retention. This is why the TCoE has representatives from across functions and levels.
Defining the Staffing Model
The latest buzzword in HR is talent management. Software vendors are loading a flock of modules into what they call talent management suites. Each vendor has its set and no two are identical. As a result, we have no generally accepted definition of talent management.
The staffing strategy has to be founded on the goals of the organization and supported by a talent management model. I submit that talent management consists of the following six human capital management services:
The design of these programs is driven by the vision-brand-culture base of the organization. Within any organization, there exists a vision, brand and culture (VBC); whether or not it is explicit or hidden. These forces guide the development and activation of all operations including the six talent management activities. Thus, the activities are conducted in a manner that promotes a set of desired supervisory and managerial behaviors.
Connect Talent Management
to Desired Behaviors
If we build a strategy based on the connection of talent management to desired behaviors, this will help us make effective decisions on staffing tactics. The strategic staffing plan starts with an organizational focus on enterprise goals and business unit objectives. The plan converts organizational needs into resource management. The resources are human capital and the objective is for talent management to relate staffing tactics to desired employee and supervisor behaviors. When this is working, we see the effects of the tactics on human capital management within the operating units. In the end, human capital issues affect financial, marketing and operating results. As we monitor results, we can adjust the strategy and tactics to meet changes in the market and to achieve even greater gains for the business. (See Figure 2.)
Strategic Staffing Plan
Plans must be grounded in the uniqueness of the organization. The strategy for running a billion dollar multinational company obviously is different from that of a university, a growing technology company or a local retailer. Nevertheless, the VBC is the rationale for all communications to employees and customers. As such, it is also the basis for communicating with both active and passive job applicants. In order to preclude after-hire problems, communication to the job market and the way we treat candidates through the hiring process must reflect the organization's VBC.
As the plan and the model go into operation, the TCoE personnel will be able to make sound judgments about new best practices, basing applicability on the VBC base. There will be no knee-jerk reactions leading to wasted investments in tactics that stand little chance of working for this organization.
The TCoE will meet quarterly to review on-going results and to make a progress report to the C-level team. Top management will be assured that the best thinking has gone into staffing investment decisions. There is every reason to believe that this approach will win the battle for talent in both the short and long term.
The basic principle is that staffing is not the sole responsibility of the HR department. Total commitment from the leadership of the organization is required to ensure victory.
HC
Dr. Jac Fitz-enz, Senior Editor