Integrated Talent Management

joe Leadership

Integrated Talent Management

Last night I did a Special Interest Group presentation for The Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Talent Developers on Integrated Talent Management.  What a great experience.  The special interest group meetings are hosted by Noble Edge Consulting and Invista Performance Solutions.

I volunteered to do this particular presentation because the concept is near and dear to my heart as a leader.  Integrated Talent Management is a holistic approach to the way an organization invests in its people.  Simply put, ITM is the process talent passes through from Identification to Retention.  There are a variety of perspectives on ITM and from what I learned while preparing for this presentation is that there is no, “one-size-fits-all” ITM package.  Every organization has to develop their own systematic approach to it.

The steps to Integrated Talent Management

  • Identify the organizations talent needs
  • Attract qualified talent to positions where they are most needed
  • Nurture the talent within the organization to identify potential
  • Develop talent potential into performance
  • Retain qualified talent to be identified for positions of increased responsibility

First things first, what is TALENT?  An organization’s talent consists of all employees who meet or exceed the organizations expectations at some level and demonstrate ability, capability, willingness, and to continue to perform and/or develop

Because I only had about an hour to present on this vast topic I chose to do an overview and then really focus on the Nurture component of the system and to touch slightly on the development aspect at the very end of the presentation.

Nurturing Talent

Nurturing in this sense consist of creating an environment within an organization that will foster growth and intrinsic desire among the organization’s talent pool to continue to serve.  Nurturing occurs in in six stages.

  1. Assessment

When we assess members of our organization we measure them against four criteria; ability, capability, willingness, and demonstrated performance.  These should be measured against a consistent and fair standard for all employees but the algorithm by which they are applied will vary from company to company.

  1. Talent Mapping

During this phase the employee and their supervisor candidly discuss the aspirations of the employee in context to the needs of the organization.  In any organization there are various pathways employees proceed along during their tenure.  These are simply divided into leadership roles and specialization roles.  Often times during assessments supervisors find it difficult to avoid their own biases and perceptions about an employee’s aspirations regarding talent mapping.  It’s important during these conversations to truly embrace all possibilities for potential service to the organization.

  1. Talent Review

An employee talent review is a multi-faceted, multi-echelon event.  Although this is different than a performance review it could go hand in hand with one.  During a talent review the manager, HR, and employee work as a team to determine his or her weaknesses and strengths.  While HR and Management work to identify talent gaps that have either been created or filled by this employee.  They make a determination as to where they believe the employee has the potential to best serve the organization at this point.

  1. Counseling

After a talent review the employee’s supervisor conducts a One-on-One (O3) counseling session with the employee to provide a candid review of the organizations perceptions about the employees; willingness, ability, capability, and demonstrated performance.

  1. Talent Plan

With the help of HR and senior managers the employee’s supervisor then prepares a Talent Development Plan with the employee to ensure that both the employee’s aspirations and the organizations goals are realized.

Developing Talent

The next step in the integrated management process after nurturing is development.  It’s important to note that this is a dynamic process and although I am using “step” as an explanation tool it should be made clear that all components of ITM are occurring simultaneously with every member of the organization.

  1. Chart Talent Course

In an overview post such as this it’s difficult to fully explain what this might look like.  But generally speaking employees at various levels of proficiency and tenure are divided into two basic categories; specialists and supervisory.  I want to be careful about making leadership synonymous only with supervisory positions.  See my post about bases of power to help explain how leadership power can be exercised by any member at any level in the organization.  A good example of how this works is in a hospital setting.  Surgeons are specialists many do not directly supervise other staff except in execution of their specialty – when in surgery the staff follows the directions of the surgeon.  Surgeons can become designated supervisors along their talent development course by taking specified supervisory roles (Chief of Surgery for instance).

  1. Talent Development Plan

A Talent Development Plan is implemented to ensure the employee receives clear guidance on how to meet the milestones associated with their charted talent course.  For example, an employee who is currently a department manager at a department store who has set a course to become the general manager should be made aware of all of the milestones that need to be met before she realizes her goal.  She should be informed about other developmental positions that would be required (Assistant Manager for instance) and any formal education requirements (For instance: “85% of our company’s GMs have a Bachelor’s Degree – most of those are in business or accounting.”).  This plan should be formalized and written with SMART Goals.

 

In Closing

I had a great time facilitating this conversation with a great group of people last night and I look forward to the next event (in September).  Bottom line, Integrated Talent Management is a partnership between an individual and an organization who genuinely care about the success of the each other.