article by Dr. John Sullivan & Master Burnett Last week, in Part 1 of this two-part article series, we discussed the growing trend of choice HR jobs being awarded to non-HR professionals following years of senior management dissatisfaction with HR in general. Many of those readers who responded to Part 1 agreed that they have seen the same thing taking place in their organization ó but they didn’t seem frustrated, upset, or willing to do much about it! Having spent a great deal of time in Asia these past few weeks, we found that the attitude presented by many in HR who are experiencing this is nearly identical to that of many Asian HR practitioners, who argue that strong culture prevents change and limits what they can do to be strategic. In the case of Asia, I agree that the challenges are many and great (not insurmountable). But elsewhere, failure to change is driven largely by apathy. Readers responding to Part 1 raised some very valid points:
A much more common element of the feedback provided demonstrates the apathy around this issue. Many wrote that the blame for the failure of senior management to accept or recognize the work done by HR on strategic issues rests not only on HR, but also on the shoulders of the senior leaders themselves. Effectively, such statements amount to, “It’s not my fault if you don’t see what I do as being strategic!” Accepting Responsibility, Answering Key Questions Stepping up to the strategic plate requires that you know and can answer the hard questions that get thrown at HR and that you build solutions into the processes that drive HR to demonstrate action on the answers. While the questions are many and vary by industry, some of the more common ones include:
(For more on the tough questions that get lobbed at HR, see my article on Recruiting Questions from Hell.) Talent Management Element Audit Simply being able to answer the questions above is not enough to prove that you have risen to the level of strategic performance that senior managers expect. You must become adept at marketing your actions and impact internally around each of the talent management elements listed below. Consider using the following list as an audit. If your organization fails to do more than one third of the items on the list, then you could be at risk, even if your managers like you as a person. The list below is organized around the following talent management components:
Talent Management Strategic Planning Elements A talent management strategy that defines the coordination required between each of the major systems involved in talent management is essential to ensuring strategic level performance. The high level elements required in your talent management planning include:
Workforce Planning Process Elements Workforce planning is an essential process that takes input from a multitude of directions and translates it into forecasts around the organizations talent pool used to focus other talent management processes. It informs other processes and line managers about the type and volume of new talent needed, the movement of existing talent, and the release of talent no longer of use to the organization. The high level elements required include:
Recruitment and Staffing Process Elements Recruitment and staffing process are responsible for the acquisition and deployment of talent in the organization. Largely driven by forecasts from the workforce planning process, recruitment is responsible for filling new talent needs that cannot be mitigated through internal redeployment or development. Staffing is responsible for maintaining the optimal deployment of talent throughout the organization. High level elements are:
Retention Process Elements The retention process is by far the most overlooked process in talent management, and by far the only one many organizations have yet to dedicate full-time headcount to. The retention process is responsible for identifying key talent that is essential to the organizations success, mapping its key retention drivers, and coordinating the delivery of said drivers when possible. Key elements include:
Talent Development Process Elements Talent development is often seen as the least integrated of the core HR functions into talent management. While it is true that skills only enter an organization in one of two ways ó either being purchased (recruited) or built (development) ó rarely is recruiting and training/development coordinated. Under talent management, coordination is not an option, it is a prerequisite. The major high-level elements of talent development include:
Employment Branding Process Elements While the bulk of talent management focuses on the here and now, the employment branding process focuses on making the here and now easier to manage long term. It uses the longer term projections from the workforce planning process to drive research initiatives that determine what factors make a firm desirable as the employer of choice and coordinates the development of an employment brand that embodies those factors. The major high level elements of employment branding include:
Conclusion The dictum is clear: Talent management is seen as strategic by senior leaders, but the perception is that HR professionals in general are incapable of executing it well. As a result, many senior leaders are tapping non-HR professionals to fill choice talent management related roles. To stem the tide and secure your future, you must become adept at marketing to senior leaders your successes in the area of performance management in a way that responds to their perceptions, not yours. While your actions and performance to date may have been strategic in nature in your eyes, it’s not your eyes that matter.
