Talent Stakeholders
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To deliver success in a modern, 21st century organisation, talent management strategy and processes must meet the needs of several stakeholders. Who are these stakeholders, what to they want, and how is this linked to the key issue of transparency?
The key stakeholders and their needs are laid out below.
Board & Senior Management
Senior managers want to have an overview of the most talented people in the business. They want to be sure that the business will not run out of steam or descend into fire-fighting because of demographics (eg a big tranche of people retiring and no one to replace them), shortages of talented people in key areas, or the loss of someone in a critical role with no one to replace them. Their focus is:
- Overview of top talent and demographics
- Succession planning, especially in senior roles
- Vulnerability in terms of critical roles with no obvious successors
HR and Talent Directors
HR & Talent professional are keenly concerned to deliver the topline viewpoint of the Board. However they also have a focus on ensuring the organisation develops a strong and diverse talent pipeline, is known as a good employer to build a career with, and the recruitment and development of emerging talent. HR & Talent want to ensure fairness and diversity by uncovering hidden talent that is not visible in the wider business. Their focus is:
- A strong early talent pipeline
- Diversity and inclusion
- A reputation as a top employer which will attract talented people.
Both of these agendas have traditionally been met by a confidential system of assessing potential. By confidential, we mean that the majority of people don’t know how they have been rated, if they are seen as high potential, or have their name in the succession plan. As opposed to transparent, where everyone knows their rating on a 9-box performance-potential matrix.
Talent Management tools such as the 9-box grid, first developed in the 1950s, and essentially unchanged today, have been developed undera regime as confidential, closed systems. The trouble comes when these tools are used in a transparent environment.
Organisations today are far more dependent on people’s skills, knowledge, motivation and talent than ever before. There is a more enlightened and diverse agenda. There is an increasing desire to create an organisation where everyone’s potential is developed and realised. This can no longer be done with just a small talent team and senior managers. We need to bring on board more stakeholders…
Managers
Managers want talent tools that help them engage positively with their team. They want to be able to talk about the talent and potential of all the people in their team, without demotivating 9 out of 10 of them because they aren’t in the ‘good’ box of high potential fast tracker. They want practical ways of starting conversations about strengths and development and best contribution. Their focus is on:
- Transparent conversations that are positive, and focus on the best contribution of everyone who is performing at satisfactory plus.
- Tools that show the organisation and management value diverse talent and not just fast trackers.
- Tools that start conversations that are enlightening, make people feel good about themselves, and get them excited about developing.
Employees
And finally transparency brings in employees as stakeholders. You know what employees want – you’re one yourself. I want to have my strengths recognised, and be able to use them more and more, making a very valuable contribution. I want a chance to show what I can do and become visible and be fast-tracked if I have the capability and desire to do so. I don’t want people to assess me behind my back, without a chance to impact on this, and I don’t want to be labelled for life. My focus is,
- I want to show what I can do, and have control over my destiny.
- I want to use my strengths and be valued for the good work I do.
- I want my organisation to understand that work is only part of my life, and that at times I will be up for major stretch at work – and that at other times I need to focus on my family.
The Takeaway
If your goal with talent management is to create a culture where everyone’s talents are valued in an open and transparent way, you need talent tools designed for the 21st century. You need to review all your talent processes to see how well they fit the new stakeholders’ needs. For example, if you want all employees to be able to prove what they can do and be in control of their own destiny, you need to start your high potential processes by self nomination and a series of challenges – rather than relying on untrained managers making ratings of potential.
Next time we will look at the practicalities – how to bring transparency, and kickstart talent management for all.