Managing talent effectively

Talent Management has a different meaning for most organisations that we speak to. How do you recommend that Managers approach this critical but challenging issue?
Paul Glover. Due to the increasing number of organisations operating in the field, Talent Management has become quite a grey area. To some it simply means executive recruitment, to others it means complex strategic development programmes for discrete 'talent pools'. I believe that organisations of any size can gain some very quick wins by underpinning all key people management processes with a strong framework of role capabilities and team culture. This will then allow you to attract, measure, develop and retain your staff using a consistent set of criteria - a crucial benefit considering that an organisation's people contribute greatly to its competitive advantage.

Has organisational Leadership been impacted as a result of the current economic situation?
PG. Whilst it is not always easy to determine exact styles of Leadership, it has been possible for us to ascertain common views over the most important Leadership Capabilities needed in this climate. We commissioned a joint research project to look at this in detail and the initial results have demonstrated a tendency on the part of respondents to take a transformational view of leadership rather than a transactional one. Surprisingly, Innovation, which is popularly proposed as the answer to economic growth, appeared in the bottom ranking. This could represent a significant risk to organisations as the economy continues to recover. For more information and the full report entitled "Assessing The Seven Key Capabilities Of Leaders In An Environment Of Economic Recession", please visit www.mclarensolutions.com/leaders.aspx:

What can organisations do if they are restructuring or downsizing and costs are a key consideration?
PG. A challenging economic climate invariably results in significant amounts of organisational change, which can take many different forms. Most organisations look to achieve efficiencies as part of any merger, acquisition, restructure or downsize and there is often pressure on associated staffing budgets. By investing sensibly in robust measurement of staff capability and team culture prior to any transformation, a new organisation can be created that is 'fit-for-purpose' and more efficient as a result. To achieve lasting change following any transformation, it is critical that 'business-as-usual' contains a programme of performance measurement, continuous learning and ongoing professional development, hence ensuring that remaining staff feel valued.

In what way can technology assist organisations in implementing good people management processes?
PG. A lot of organisations have the misconception that implementing technology solutions to assist with people management requires costly enterprise-wide, multi-year IT development programmes. This is not necessarily the case. My advice is firstly to look carefully at the discrete areas where technology can bring real benefits to your organisation, for example:

• Automating the appraisal process - frequently paper or document-based, this is often seen as simply a tick-box exercise rather than a two-way discussion about performance and development
• Expediting learning needs analysis - analysing staff appraisals and estimating learning & development needs is often a very time-consuming manual process
• Simplifying role-profiling - either using an interview-based or workshop-based approach, the process of profiling capabilities against roles (especially in large organisations) is extremely complex and resource-heavy
• Structuring capability-based assessment - fairly and consistently assessing staff against the capabilities for their roles is critical when transforming organisations, but becomes more difficult to do when the organisation grows beyond 100 staff
• Standardising team culture surveys - whilst most people have an understanding of what the organisational culture is, they may have difficulty describing it in a common language
• Informing succession-plans - it should be possible to take a forward-looking, strategic view of succession but in times of rapid-change, this is ever more difficult without tools to help measure capability

When you understand your requirements, it is then highly likely that these benefits can actually be realised with smaller, more modular technology solutions that are better designed for the purpose and, therefore, have a quicker return on investment. McLaren Solutions offers a suite of modular, web-based technology solutions that assist organisations with a number of the challenges they face in the area of people performance. Please visit www.mclarensolutions.com or email us on people@mclarensolutions.com for more information.

Which factors should organisations take into account when implementing these kinds of solutions?
PG. To increase the chances of a successful implementation and gain the most benefit from this kind of investment, you should consider three main points: simplicity, customisation and message.

• Simplicity - The solutions should be simple enough for everyone to use. This may seem like an obvious thing to say, but when implementing new technology, there is often a temptation to have all the latest bells and whistles. This is rarely necessary and sometimes complexity poses significant risk to a smooth implementation. My suggestion is not to change too many things at once - consider compromising on certain functions when you first launch and, if the solutions are modular, you can always add them on in the future.
• Customisation - The solutions should be easy to customise and include your own organisational values, competencies and skills requirements. The most common reason that we hear for unsuccessful implementations of performance solutions is "it wasn't relevant to me". To ensure that all staff feel engaged in the process, always try to ensure that you build on any team values and competencies that already exists - they can always be added to, changed or enhanced over time.
• Message - Finally, and by far most importantly, you should have a clear message that explains the strategic purpose behind the solutions. Solutions like these often get used by every member of the organisation and not everyone is a 'strategic thinker'. By understanding the real purpose of the solutions and regularly communicating this simple message, you will build enthusiasm for the solution and achieve better staff engagement, especially during times of transformational change.

Paul Glover is Managing Director of McLaren Solutions, a leading provider of performance-based technology solutions. He has particular expertise implementing solutions for organisations undergoing transformational change, and has 15-years experience working across both the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.mclarensolutions.com.