Leadership First - Key Principles

Leadership First is a concept that emphasizes prioritizing leadership development and support as a cornerstone for organizational success. The idea is that strong, effective leadership is fundamental to achieving high performance and long-term success within an organization. Here’s a closer look at what “Leadership First” entails:

Key Principles of Leadership First

1. Leadership Development as a Priority

• Investment in Training: Provide leaders with ongoing training and development opportunities to enhance their skills and effectiveness.
• Mentorship and Coaching: Implement mentorship and coaching programs to support leaders in their growth and address specific challenges.

 2. Creating a Leadership Culture

• Role Modeling: Leaders should exemplify the values and behaviors expected within the organization, setting a standard for others to follow.
• Encouraging Leadership at All Levels: Foster a culture where leadership qualities are recognized and promoted throughout the organization, not just at the top levels.

 3. Supporting Leaders with Resources

• Providing Tools and Support: Equip leaders with the necessary tools, resources, and support systems to effectively manage their teams and drive performance.
• Removing Barriers: Identify and address obstacles that may hinder leaders’ ability to perform their roles effectively.

 4. Aligning Leadership with Organizational Goals

• Strategic Alignment: Ensure that leadership development and practices are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives and vision.
• Performance Metrics: Use performance metrics to evaluate and support leadership effectiveness in achieving organizational goals.

 5. Emphasizing Communication and Collaboration

• Open Communication Channels: Promote open and transparent communication between leaders and their teams to build trust and collaboration.
• Encouraging Teamwork: Leaders should foster a collaborative environment where team members feel valued and motivated.

By prioritizing leadership through the "Leadership First" approach, organizations can build a strong foundation for success, driving better performance, employee engagement, and overall organizational effectiveness.

Culture Management:

Culture Management:

Culture programmes’ a tool for organisational development .....

‘Cultural Management’ is crucial for HR professionals. Nevertheless, most ignored it till recently. An important perspective of change, cultural management deals with developing new patterns of behaviour and mindsets among employees. Having realised this some organisations have initiated several culture awareness programmes.

Changes at workplace like economy drives and other cost cutting measures may or may not be acceptable to employees. Any reengineering process must thus consider employees’ apprehensions and opinions.

‘Culture programmes’

Gideon Haigh, author “Bad Company: The cult of CEO”, rightly defines culture as “ something that registers in routines and rituals, lore and legend.

”Today’s corporate culture mirrors an organisation’s beliefs, practices and people. It aims to instill shared values, openness and impartial decision-making fostering creativity and cultivating trust.

Culture programmes are a step forward in this direction. They aim at unifying and incorporating a belief system in the organisation developing a unique behavioural code. This eases anticipation of the outcome of employees’ behaviour. Managements that conduct these programmes create ideal internal environments preparing employees for emergencies.

The goal is to create an organisational environment where behaviour and employees’ value systems together enhance organisational productivity. Employee buy-in is critical for these cultural programmes to succeed.

Diversity and creativity

Organisations with employees sharing a common vision, goals and channelised workforce working in a preset environment boast of rich culture. These qualities alone may not reflect culture. Thus, organisations should initiate a proactive culture that encourages diversity, creativity and knowledge sharing.

Implications and benefits

Employees
Changes in the organisational structure or processes bring a change in employee relations. In consequence workplace attitudes too change. Organisations are now creating “designer employees” to foster better relations. These employees understand market requirements and the organisation’s business needs better.

Designer employees are comfortable when trained for efficiency and allowed flexibility in the work environment.

Knowledge drain
Attrition rates and the resultant knowledge drain are major concerns of organisations today. To prevent knowledge drain, organisations need to codify knowledge. Codifying enables easy identification of knowledge resources and ensures replenishment of the same. Culture programmes aid in codifying this knowledge thereby bringing stability to the organisation.

Empowerment
Culture programmes propound transparent organisations and employee participation in the decision making process. Employees thereby become more responsible, committed and accountable to their work. Culture programmes thus empower employees.

Commercially essential
Culture programmes helped Allens Arthur Robinson, a law firm, accept change. Consequent to a merger, the company’s workforce increased by 1700 employees. Most of these employees had low tolerance levels.

The company conducted a series of meetings with the employees to come to a consensus on the organisation’s work environment and goals. Based on the information they developed a new set of values. The objective was to create a sense of bonding among the employees and the company.

‘Breakthrough’ at NAB
At NAB (National Australia Bank), the effect of cultural programmes was pervasive. The programme was called “Breakthrough”. The primary objective of the programme was to the change the bank’s operational style and the working style of the employees. Over 500 employees participated in the workshops. The workshops focused on:

. The scope of the employees’ jobs
. Their work procedures

These activities necessitated analysis of the resources available for employees’ use. The research concentrated more on areas related to customer service. It proved to be a process of knowledge capture.

Problem solving
Knowledge capture at NAB not only controlled knowledge drain but also aided efficient problem solving. The management is now equipped with information essential to resolve various issues and conflicts of the employees. This apart, it initiated employees to resolve their problems.

Changing minds
‘Breakthrough’ brought a change in employee mindsets and their behaviour. The organisational operations are transparent resulting in enhanced trust, accountability and ready acceptance of responsibility among employees.Employees’ regular use of phrases such as “getting on the balcony” and “staying above the line” widely used during programme illustrate employees acceptance and the programme’s success.

‘Breakout’ At ANZ
ANZ too insisted on the change of mindsets and created an empowered workforce through its programme called “Breakout”. The HR at ANZ initiated the task of redesigning the jobs and work processes. The employees actively participated in the discussions on redesigning. They welcomed the forums.

Perfect transformation
Woodside, the energy giant too has adopted culture programmes with Mckinsey’s help to enhance productivity. The company initially started with cost cutting measures and restructuring its processes. This did not fetch profits. A study into the causes revealed that the restructuring processes were not in line with the mission and vision of the company.
Another significant aspect of the culture change programmes was to boost the company’s performance to the next higher level. Woodside used opinion surveys as a key tool to manage culture and incorporate changes suitably. The company has partially accomplished its goals. Some of the outcomes are

. Regular performance reviews
. A performance based reward structure
. Decision-making processes in line with the organisational goals and values

The change
Woodside’s vision was to be ” A successful operator of oil and gas facilities”. Its vision statement now is to be “ In service to society in providing energy solutions.”

Changes in the attitude towards leadership are conspicuous. The employees are encouraged to be leaders and convey their point of view while adhering to their beliefs and not compromising.

Reliable
The culture programmes at Woodside changed the interpersonal relationships at work. Integrity and respectability have become key to the relationships. Employees are no longer apprehensive about approaching their seniors and expressing their doubts and views. Thus, workplace bullying has been eliminated.

Hitch
Though culture programmes were believed to be issue invading the privacy of employees, Woodside, efficiently tackled it. This was easy since the employees believed in devoting substantial time for completion of the tasks assigned.

In control
Woodside, also realised that to effect performance, employees had to rely on other resources which would create stress. Thenceforth, at Woodside the statement “ I need your help” is welcomed with gusto.

Towards effective delivery of culture programmes
Assessment: HR must audit employee’s views and collate the feedback for a clear understanding of the prevalent culture. This helps structuring the new set of values.
Value statement: Audit of the opinions helps form a value statement representing the organisation’s image.
Workshops: Consultation workshops must be conducted in order to acquire the most favoured opinion across all functions of the organisation.

Be a role model
Organisations must emulate these Australian companies to change employee mindset and conform to their organisational requirements. By effectively managing employee differences, organisations can become role models.

Reference:The ManageMentor

Recruiting With Finesse !

Recruiting With Finesse !

Recruitment agencies can boost an organisation’ s recruiting prowess by following performance- based methodology.

Key learnings:

Job descriptions restrict talent search, and therefore, should be used only as a reference template
Recruiters need to identify at least two accomplishments- -individual and team based--to help recruitment managers steer the interview in the right direction

The workloads of a recruitment manager and a recruiter are inter-linked. If a recruiter works hard, then the recruitment manager need not struggle as hard! Recruitment managers, with the help of recruiters, can create an equation that is mutually beneficial, while serving the organisational interests in the long run.

Most recruiters complain about how recruitment managers reject piles of resumes ruthlessly, while the latter crib over the poor quality of database that the recruiters give them to sieve through. However, experts believe that with performance- based recruiting, the scenario would change for the better. Performance- based recruiting is a tool that recruiters could use to tame the fussy recruitment managers. The strategy aims at providing the managers with better choices, thereby ensuring more hits than misses.

Feel the pulse

Performance- based recruiting underscores identifying candidates who fit the organisation’ s talent description, while analysing the personality type of the candidate and understanding how well it is suited to the existing organisational culture. It makes traditional templates and tools like job description redundant, and uses instinctive judgments to shortlist candidates. The idea behind it is to improve the quality of candidates sent to recruitment managers for screening, thereby enhancing the success ratio.

The concept is based on certain key guiding principles that need to be adhered to for maximising its impact. The guidelines include:

Discard ‘ideal’ job description

Most job descriptions that are handed over to recruiters are more surreal than real! If recruiters go by the job description, they would cut the chances of finding the ‘right fit’ drastically, and instead, line up resumes that are anything but close to the organisational requirements. Experts, therefore, recommend discarding the job description and focussing on a simple “what kind of a candidate will do the job well” criterion. Stating the requirements simply makes the job of identifying talent easy. A simply stated requirement projects the candidate as a normal professional who is equipped to do the job well. In addition, a job description limits the choice, as it binds recruiters in details like experience and skills that may be important only because the manager thinks so, but not because the job requires them. The decision to discard the job description, however, has to be taken with the consent of the recruitment manager. The job of convincing the manager about how he will get a better screening profile without a description lies with the recruiter!

Develop thorough understanding

As ‘job descriptions’ go out of the window, recruiters need to understand the job in totality. Without a clear understanding of the job, recruiters will end up making inappropriate profile selection, leading to a high rejection rate. A job can be understood well by indulging in a point-by-point discussion with the recruitment manager about the pre-requisites mentioned by him. For instance, if the recruitment manager says that the candidate should have at least two years of global work experience, then it would be worthwhile to ask how global experience helps perform the job better. Thus, converting job description into performance profile will help recruiters develop a thorough understanding of the job.

Identify accomplishments

In the process of screening candidates, identifying two accomplishments- -team-based and individual-- can help recruitment managers make the interview process quick. Recruiters asking candidates to list two defining moments of their careers and communicating them to the recruitment managers can set the pace for the interview process, giving managers an insight into the real worth of the achievements.

Drop preconceived notions

Most recruiters and recruitment managers make their decisions within the first 10-15 minutes of the interview. This happens partly because they give into certain preconceived notions, and therefore, their decisions are not necessarily the best and the most prudent. Staying wary of this tendency and making a deliberate attempt to fight ‘first impressions’ is important for making logical recruiting decisions.

Invest in candidate preparation

To ensure that candidates are at ease, recruiters must prepare them by sharing information that can help them answer job and industry-related questions. Providing them with a list of probable questions will help candidates cut on their nervousness and anxiety before the interview.

Use holistic assessment Most cases of underperformance are attributed to non-technical skills. Technical competence alone will not give a complete picture. Hence, using a multi-factor assessment tool is important to ascertain candidate competence.

Recruiters who incorporate these recommendations in their recruiting plans will benefit immensely. As for recruitment managers, screening will be easier and decision-making much faster.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Organizational Behaviour - Bowling Out The Oddballs

Organizational Behaviour - Bowling Out The Oddballs

Key learnings:

Impossible-to-get-along-with seniors are a top reason for attrition, But getting along with them is now becoming a professional requirement

Among the top reasons why employees leave organisations are impossible-to-get-along-with seniors. An effective way to address this issue is to inform seniors how their demeanour affects retention and employee morale. A practical way to deal with it is to equip employees with the art of dealing with tough bosses! The article outlines when equipped with a set of tactics, employees will find it easier to work with the toughies.

The art of getting along

A typical response when stuck with an eccentric boss is to quit. But given the economic low, job-hopping is a luxury few can afford. This however does not mean employees have to put up with poorly- behaved seniors. Moreover, organisations must and can avoid losing talent to poorly- behaved seniors. In short, if working with tough bosses is an occupational hazard then dealing with them is a professional skill! Here is how employees can be equipped with this skill.

As one behavioural expert says, "The first step to skills or competencies updation is awareness". Therefore, in dealing with tough seniors employees need to be aware of the different behavioural traits of the eccentric! Seniors can be categorised as under:

The lion: These seniors believe in roaring! Their modus operandi is based on a belief that much can be accomplished by shouting and creating a commotion. They also use intimidating non-verbal gestures such as staring and hand- on- hips to get their job done. A study reveals that such aggression manifests in those who are either impatient or like the spotlight to be on them for both right/ wrong reasons.

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

. Listening to them without arguing
. Keeping one's ego aside. These seniors are likely to shout at their subordinates anywhere which can be embarrassing
. Following their instructions to the 't'. The best way to deal with impatient seniors is to give them few reasons to complain

The chameleon: Another impatient lot are seniors who want a number of jobs done simultaneously. Although they are not rude they have little tolerance for those who fail to execute their orders. But following too many instructions while ensuring quality is tough, at times even impossible and these seniors do not realise that. In passing instructions and orders they are seldom considerate about their subordinate grasping what and how things need to be done. These seniors are also a forgetful lot -a consequence of attempting to get much accomplished. So at times they will retort with, "When did I ask you to do this?

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

. Making notes of all their instructions and sending them an e-mail about it
. Keeping them posted of the progress on tasks on a daily basis
. Taking them through the to-do list to reconfirm whether what is on it still needs to be done!
. Documenting any communication with them

The Peacock: These seniors hide their shortcomings in their feathers. They are too vain to admit that their position is not a result of hard work and the right competencies but sheer luck! Working with them becomes a challenge because they are poor decision- makers, talk a lot but do little and are least inspiring. The only advantage is, they are not harmful or conniving.

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

. Fanning their false prestige by listening to all they have to say
. Talking to them about tasks and assignments in terms of deliverables and timelines
. Spelling out the benefits or consequences of decision -making at meetings and informal encounters

The fox: These seniors become difficult to deal with because they hit below the belt. Insecure in their positions they believe everyone is a threat and are plotting constantly to frame and fire people. Thankfully, they are a minority but unfortunately they are difficult to identify. Employees get to know of such seniors through others. When identified here is how one can manage around them:

. Documenting every piece of communication
. Keeping them posted of every move made
. Sharing ideas and suggestions only when an audience is around
. Talking about what happened at work with colleagues and other co-workers

Also, "being honest and acting with extreme care is the best policy when dealing with this type of boss," recommends an expert.

The serpent: The most dangerous of the lot are seniors who believe fear motivates employees best to perform optimally. Employees dread them because they:

. Fire people for invalid reasons
. Threaten employees constantly with punitive consequences
. Induce guilt in employees to get work done

According to experts, "The attrition rate of this boss is highest because of the fear and psychosis he creates" and the best way to deal with them is to leave before they can sully one's resume and reputation.

Working with seniors with eccentric behavioural traits is not easy but definitely easier than giving up without trying! Moreover when it comes to building and maintaining employee relationships a bit of their onus is an employee's too. In using the above-mentioned tactics to identify who their seniors are, employees can work around a strategy to work with them better.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Managing Rumors

Managing Rumors

HR leaders are reporting that economic fears are prompting more employees to eavesdrop and gossip about the impact on potential job losses. Transparency, communication efforts and decisive action are needed to ease uncertainty, experts say.

Eavesdropping and gossip are on the rise in U.S. workplaces as the recession continues to raise employee fears of potential job losses, a new study suggests.In a poll of 494 HR professionals, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of respondents said they've had to deal with an increased number of eavesdropping incidents in the last 12 months as a result of the uncertainty about the U.S. economy.

Examples of such incidents include employees lingering outside conference rooms or near the HR leader's door to catch wind of possible layoffs or terminations.

Also in the survey, half (54 percent) of HR professionals reported an increase in gossip and rumors about downsizings and layoffs among their employees, and about the same percentage (53 percent) said they had to address those rumors in the year between October 2007 and October 2008, when the study was conducted.

"What this clearly tells us is that we need to step up good communications in organizations and that's where HR can really show its leadership," says Steve Williams, director of research for Alexandria, Va.-based SHRM. "The more transparent you are, the less likely you'll get gossip around the recession" and people lingering around other people's desks and offices, trying to hear something."

We're seeing these incidents across the board, in all industries and in companies of all sizes," he says. "No company is immune. Fear is fear and gossip is gossip. It's happening everywhere."

Striking though the increase in eavesdropping and rumors may be, "it's perfectly normal to expect employees to pay much more attention to what is happening, or may happen, with their employers in difficult economic times," says Mark Hyde, whose self-named consulting firm is located in Rochester, Minn.

"Of course there will be gossip and rumors; expect it," he says.Without supplying any statistics,

Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based employee-assistance provider ComPsych, says his company has been getting significantly more calls in the last couple of months "from employers concerned about how employees are reacting" to the plunging market and economy.

"People are trying to get information in ways that are, shall we say, less than direct," says Chaifetz.

"We're hearing about people trying to get into closed-door meetings or people looking at other people's mail. Employers have to be very mindful, right now; very careful that they don't let information out prematurely.

"Make sure, if at all possible, any difficult decisions are not discussed in e-mails or written communications," he says.

"Leaks of information, especially at a time like this, could be cancerous in an organization."

Chaifetz also stresses the need to move quickly when making hard choices, such as whether to go through layoffs or a restructuring, and to "be direct, open and honest in your communications."

"Once you make that decision to lay people off, get that out there as a clear plan," he says. "If additional layoffs will be necessary down the road should the economy continue to worsen, communicate that as well. The best way to combat gossip in a company is to move decisively and quickly."

Sometimes, combating the problem with proper preparation, quick decisions and open and effective communication is easier said than done, says Megan Slabinski, executive director of Menlo Park, Calif.-based The Creative Group.

"Sharing information quickly and candidly can prevent employees from speculating, but there are times when confidential conversations among top officials are necessary," she says.

When private meetings must be held, "take those closed-door consultations away from public view to eliminate the buzz of what's happening. Go off-site if you can."

Chaifetz warns, however, that too many off-site meetings and out-of-the-ordinary gatherings by senior leaders can also give rise to fear and speculation. When announcements are made, Slabinski says, companywide conference calls, state-of-the- state meetings or brown-bag lunches are suggested. "HR really needs to pull people together at that point and open its door," she says.And while open communication "can't be possible for all things," says Williams, "it's the perception of communication that is important." The best way to create and convey that perception, he says, is to tell employees "why certain things can't be communicated at that particular time.""Be honest. Tell the truth. People tend to think those in management are evil, holding back information ... . In so many cases, that couldn't be further from the truth," Williams says.

"Often, management simply doesn't know why something is happening or how long it will last. Sometimes, simply saying you don't know something or the reason behind something, but are willing to address it," takes the sting off what could be perceived as malicious silence, he adds.By the same token, everyone from the top down should be on the same page when employees come asking, says Hyde."Many companies make the mistake of overlooking the front-line supervisors and only inform senior management about what is going on," he says.

"The front-line leaders need to know something since they ... have the best opportunity to stomp out any bad rumors."Even worse, when some of the front-line leaders inform their employees they have no idea what is happening with senior management, it makes things worse and fear heightens," Hyde says.Lastly, says Slabinski, companies shouldn't be afraid to discipline the "bad apples as soon as possible."

"Employees who are at the heart of gossip or who are caught eavesdropping and then spreading rumors need to be told to stop," she says. "If their behavior persists, it's perfectly acceptable for HR to address the problem in a punitive way," such as verbal or writing warnings, or worse.The spreading of bad information, however it's done, "stifles productivity and adds to stress in the workplace," Slabinski says. "HR leaders are completely in their rights" to discipline these culprits.

[About the Author: Kristen B. Frasch became the managing editor of Human Resource Executive in August of 2000 after more than 20 years of experience in business and consumer journalism, 14 spent as an editor and writer for various Philadelphia area newspapers.]

Organisational Change - HR Practices

Organisational Change - HR Practices

Best practices in managing organisational transformation.

Key learnings:

• Organisational change aimed at improving work methods, productivity and business profits must be coherent
• Enthusiastic leadership, flow of creativity and stability in procedure helps in reaching the goals
  

Jargons like organisational change and organisational transformation are often used theoretically and in management talk. The term organisational change is used in the context of companies that are undergoing or have just undergone a transformation.

However, organisational change management is not a 'one-month ordeal'. It is a process that involves rearticulating managerial, technical, financial and business aspects.

A McKinsey Quarterly online survey shows that only 38 percent of the global employees consider change as a positive effect on performance. And, 10 percent believe that most of such transformations are unproductive.

Change management

According to change management experts, two factors are critical for any transformation to click. One is vision or goal-the changes the company aspires to bring about. The second is sustainability. The sustainability factor refers to the unwavering energy, commitment and persuasiveness to reach the goal.

Defining the objective

A well-defined and comprehensive objective spells out the goal clearly for all the employees of the organisation. While different departments may have different approaches, the core aim of transformation remains unchanged. This distinctly clear system ensures an upbeat journey that promotes organisational health, participation of every employee and bottom-line profits.

Defining the role and time frame

A well articulated strategy ensures that there is no overlap of roles. It also rules out misinterpretation. Each employee has his defined role that is personal and challenging. Moreover, since the focus is on 'strengths', the definitive goal of 'effectual transformation' is accomplished.

When the time frame is set over a few months, the employees will be enthusiastic. Goals set over three or five years fall prey to dwindling employee interest. In such cases, the leadership of the organisation plays a very important part. For effective articulation of long term goals, involvement of employees and applying fair and apt metrics to track developments, it is important for employees to remain clued in to developments.

Sustaining energy and flow of ideas

Creativity and ideas are advantages that help sustain organisational change. Many a time, organisations discard ideas doubting their practicality. However, innovation is the key to reach people and bring about desired changes.

Most often, ideas from employees or leaders are considered deeply. Mutually inspiring organisations initiate creativity, responsibility and accountability. To encourage an 'idea sharing' work environment, leaders must espouse innovation and sharing thoughts that can bring about radical transformations.

Channelising energies

When leaders of an organisation announce transformation to employees, two extreme reactions are bound to happen. There will be employee totally gung-ho about the transformations and those who will be cynical. It is important to generate positive stimulation and help employees channelise their dynamism. Some companies reward 'ideas champions', while some appoint 'the master blaster'. Such steps energise the staff towards transformation.

"A smaller set of high-impact, briskly moving initiatives is more energising-and thus more sustainable- than a broader set of initiatives moving at a stately pace."

Seeing is believing

Any results of the transformation, however small, must be highlighted to ensure greater participation. Employees usually remain mute spectators to the brainstorming sessions and meetings that are part of the organisational change. The worth of such sessions is usually taken too lightly. However, even a small success during the transformation reaffirms employee faith in the process and the overall vision.

Learning curve

The transformational process is a learning process for leaders, management and employees. Open communication channels, suitable rewards and discipline are extremely important to understand the change. While the transformation aims at bringing about success in the organisation, individual growth and learning cannot be ignored. Experts rightly suggest that organisational transformations which focus on individual strengths create a more involved staff.
In today's highly dynamic market, being a flexible, employee centric and practical organisation is a plus. An organisational transformation is a dynamic process with multiple levels of planning and execution. However, the reengineering and rebuilding process can be an exhilarating expedition if the leadership has commitment and clarity.

Reference: TheManageMentor.

Integration - Key to Effective Succession Planning

Integration - Key to Effective Succession Planning

Whether attempting to crown the next CEO or determine which workers to tap for promotion to the company's managerial ranks, an organization needs a comprehensive view into the workforce's skills and talent in order to make the best talent and business decisions. Integrating learning, performance management, compensation management and career planning can facilitate effective succession planning.

A successful succession plan should answer the following questions for each candidate:

a) Learning: What does the candidate know (knowledge)? What is he or she qualified to do (skills)? What training has the candidate completed?

b) Performance and competency management: How well has the candidate performed in the past? What does past performance indicate about areas of strength and/or weakness? Which competencies have the candidate attained or still need to ascend to the next level? Which positions in the organization map to the competencies demonstrated by this candidate?

c) Compensation management: What is the candidate's compensation history? How does the candidate's compensation map to his or her performance and achievement of corporate goals?

d) Career planning and development: What are the candidate's future career goals? Where does the person see him or herself professionally, one, three, even 10 years down the road? Is the candidate willing to relocate in order to accept a new or existing position? How much is he or she willing to travel?

To answer these questions, organizations must have insight and visibility into organizational talent. By integrating and aggregating information about an employee's learning, performance management, compensation, career-planning activities and history, organizations can generate a comprehensive snapshot of each employee or of an organization's entire workforce.

Further, this integrated approach serves to match employee career goals with organizational staffing needs, allowing companies to more effectively leverage existing talent.

Historically, the enterprise-technology platforms available to manage this employee data have been largely cut off from one another, each confined to its own silo of functionality. Traditional learning management systems (LMS), for example, automate the delivery and management of training and, in some instances, competencies. Traditional employee performance management systems (EPM) automate performance management administration and, in some instances, career planning.

This siloed approach has made it nearly impossible to integrate the information necessary for effective succession planning. But talent managers now are driving the evolution of a new class of enterprise software.

According to a June 2007 research report titled "Learning Management Systems 2008: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles" from research firm Bersin & Associates, the integration revolution already has begun.

The report said the "convergence of learning and performance management systems is still in its early stages," but LMS features are evolving and "continue to snowball at an incredible rate." Further, in response to customer demand, nearly every major LMS vendor "has developed a new set of capabilities for performance management, succession planning, and competency management."

According to Gartner Inc. the same phenomenon is occurring in the EPM market. When Gartner Research Vice President James Holincheck wrote the update to the research firm's "MarketScope for Employee Performance Management Software" in late 2007, he said EPM systems are no longer being evaluated on their own, and customers are increasingly selecting EPM solutions that are "more integrated with compensation and succession management."

In response, Gartner not only broadened the scope of its research to include all three areas, it expanded the very definition of EPM, from focusing only on performance management to include succession management and compensation management.

With succession planning moving to the forefront of the corporate agenda, the time has come for stakeholders to evaluate their succession planning strategies and solutions in the context of broader talent management capabilities and goals.

References: Shelly Heiden[About the Author: Shelly Heiden is executive vice president for Global Field Operations at Plateau Systems.]

Talent Acquisition: Quality of Hire and Passive Candidates Reign Supreme

Talent Acquisition: Quality of Hire and Passive Candidates Reign Supreme

The growing shortage of desired skills is compounded by an increasingly competitive global marketplace and an uncertain economy - all of which combine to force organizations to get more from the same, or less. It's critical that organizations find and lure best-fit talent and increase workforce productivity and retention. While each of these has pre- and post-hire implications, they also can be impacted by an organization's talent acquisition strategy. However, according to recent data from Aberdeen Group, the ability to identify and attract top talent continues to challenge most organizations.

The Shortage and Misalignment of Skills

Aberdeen Group's July benchmark report, "Talent Acquisition Strategies: Employer Branding and Quality of Hire Take Center Stage," revealed the two predominant factors driving talent acquisition at more than 80 percent of organizations surveyed revolves around the competition for skills, the limited supply of skills or both.

In addition to these external pressures, organizations face internal struggles when it comes to effective talent acquisition. Some 46 percent of all organizations - including 56 percent of those that achieved Aberdeen's best-in-class designation (top 20 percent) - cited workforce planning as their top challenge.

The second-highest ranked internal talent acquisition challenge facing best-in-class organizations focuses on the organization's ability to identify, recruit and validate better hires. In fact, 41 percent of best-in-class organizations cite quality of hire as an internal talent acquisition challenge, compared to only 23 percent that rank ability to reach ideal job candidates and time to fill job vacancies as key internal challenges. Laggard organizations (bottom 30 percent) place relatively equal weight on quality of hire, reaching ideal candidates and filling vacancies in a timely fashion.

Best-in-Class Talent Acquisition Strategies

To overcome the aforementioned macro pressures and internal organizational challenges, best-in-class organizations look longer term and focus on enhancing their employer brands, engaging and attracting passive candidates and targeting those who are best fit for their organizations and available job roles.

Best-in-class organizations distinguish themselves in talent acquisition through a mix of processes and technologies that force organizational collaboration, engage existing workers and target their collective efforts on what matters most to the organization. These work collectively to enable best-in-class organizations to achieve extraordinarily average year-over-year performance gains against the key performance indicators.

Key Differentiator: Recruiting Passive Candidates

Aberdeen's research shows talent acquisition in 2009 will be as much internal as it is external to the organization. But both must focus on heightening the organization's employer brand.

Internal strategies will focus on identifying and developing high-potential workers to fill anticipated higher-level vacancies. Best-in-class organizations place greater emphasis on career development, leadership training and flexible work environments to be more attractive to potential hires and more caring of existing staff. Some 68 percent of best-in-class organizations cite promoting career development and professional growth opportunities in recruiting campaigns as a top priority.

Progress against development plans for individuals designated high potential will be measured against the organization's needs to determine if, or when, the position must be filled externally.

External strategies will focus on finding and engaging talented professionals who are not actively seeking new employment. Passive job seekers are not easy to locate, but they represent an important part of a successful talent acquisition strategy. Aberdeen's research found 62 percent of best-in-class organizations are focused on creating or improving a data repository of desirable active and passive job candidates - versus only 46 percent and 35 percent of industry average (middle 50 percent) and laggard companies, respectively.

Whether internally or externally focused, an organization's talent acquisition strategy must create or validate candidates' and employees' perceptions of the organization as a great place to work. Fifty-three percent of best-in-class organizations focus on having corporate marketing and recruiting work together to improve employment branding. An additional 30 percent of best-in-class plan to have this collaboration in place during the next year. The importance of an internal talent acquisition strategy focused on making existing employees feel positive about the organization is highlighted by the following statistics:

a) Employee referrals are cited by all organizations - and 82 percent of best in class - as the top source to find desirable talent.

b) Some 74 percent of best-in-class organizations rank employee contacts and networks in their top three ways to recruit passive candidates, followed by attending conferences, industry events or tradeshows (60 percent) and visiting social networking sites (30 percent).

Best-in-class organizations are more aggressive at communicating job openings and job-role needs to current staff, and 79 percent are more likely to use the corporate Web to showcase the company's culture and opportunities.

Key Differentiator: Collaboration Between Recruiters and Hiring Managers

Collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers is critical to ensure they get the right candidates within an agreed-to time frame. This collaboration is in place at 89 percent of best-in-class organizations, resulting in a mutual understanding of expectations around the process, skills, attributes and attitudes in a desired candidate.


Aberdeen's research revealed a significant disconnect between human resources professionals and the hiring managers they serve. Non-HR managers are more likely than their HR counterparts to rank quality of hire as a critical success metric for talent acquisition. The same data also shows HR professionals are more likely than non-HR managers to rank time to hire as a critical success metric.

While HR and non-HR managers place relatively equal weight on the importance of overall hiring manager satisfaction, the difference in priority they place on quality of hire, quality of candidate and time to fill suggests a lack of understanding on what it takes to satisfy a hiring manager.

The importance of this collaboration is more pronounced when considering that organizations plan to increase hiring managers' involvement in the recruitment process. For example, 48 percent of best-in-class organizations get line managers involved in candidate follow-up calls, but some 75 percent plan to do so within the next year. Only 32 percent of best-in-class organizations train hiring managers on passive recruiting, but an additional 41 percent plan to do so during the next 12 months.

Key Differentiator: Measuring and Validating Quality of Hire

Seventy-four percent of best-in-class organizations said they have an "understanding of which applicant sources provide the best quality job candidates," compared to only 52 percent of lagged organizations.

When asked for the top four indicators their organizations uses to determine quality of hire, best-in-class organizations' responses focused on two areas: how quickly new employees got up to a desired level of competence and how long they lasted in their role during the first 12 months of employment.

To measure the quality of recent hires, organizations need to have processes in place to determine what level of performance the new employee should be at in three-month, six-month and nine-month time frames; to measure the candidate against those milestones; and to evaluate any performance gaps that need to be addressed. How well an organization can measure new hires job performance and use that information to improve the recruiting process plays a major role in a successful talent acquisition program.

Yet, according to Aberdeen's research, organizations ability to clearly articulate what quality of hire actually is still has a long way to go. Research revealed that quality of hire at most organizations is based largely on loose definitions. In fact, establishing "clearly defined metrics pertaining to quality of hire" is the most common plan related to talent acquisition that organizations will put in place in the next 12 months.

Recommendations

1. Gain clarity on skills gaps. Clearly define the common behaviors and skills of the organization's top performers or key contributors. Use this or the organization's core values as a general competency framework to identify skills gaps. This enables an organization to ascertain where gaps can be filled internally and which require more targeted recruiting efforts.

2. Seek feedback. New hires should be interviewed after the job offer to obtain feedback on the recruiting and hiring process. Make improvements as needed.

3. Define success metrics. Clearly defined metrics should be in place to measure the success of talent acquisition efforts. These metrics should be agreed on by HR and hiring managers and should address the organization's specific business issues.

4. Involve hiring managers. Hiring managers and recruiters need to be trained to use new technologies to find passive job candidates. Such workers can be a vital source of talent and expertise but have traditionally been invisible in recruiting efforts.

5. Focus on internal and external employer brand. The entire organization should work together to collectively brand the company a best place to work. Recruiting should be seen as an enterprise-wide function, not the role of human resources.

Ref: Kevin Martin
[About the Author: Kevin Martin is vice president and principal analyst of human capital management for Aberdeen Group.]