The DOs and DON'Ts of Talent Planning
A Talent Planning and Management Checklist
DOs
Take Inventory of Talent Management
Look around the office and don’t be afraid to get a grasp on whom you see around you. Spend some time with the org chart. Ignoring a talent problem will not fix it, and it is important you start mapping out “who you’ve got,” “who you need” and “who you can’t afford to lose.” Tackling topics like these and understanding your talent situation is only a start to an effective strategy. But the worst thing you can do is not begin. Your staff is one of your most important products. Treat it that way.
Understand Performance vs. Potential
Performance can be a somewhat simple, quantitative metric that every manager investigates as annual reviews are laid out on the calendar. (They are often called performance reviews, right?)
But what of POTENTIAL? This more qualitative metric can sometimes be overlooked. What if an employee is high potential, but low performing or low potential, but high performing? In talent management, this is important to consider and will help you manage and plan positions, roles and talent development moving forward. For the high potential, high performers and the low potential, low performers are the no-brainers, right? Or are they?
Get Out Your Flags
Identifying your high potential, high performers is a key part of your talent management plan. Search for your stars. These are the future leaders of your organization and they may already be within your office walls. Are they happy, engaged and building a future with you? Are they just waiting it out to leave? Prevent the exodus of your team and first, flag them. But don’t stop there. Only through talent development and by aligning them with your business goals, you just might – get to keep them.
Play “What If?”
Business and HR, like life, are full of surprises. These things will happen: someone vital to your organization will leave to start a home business focusing on their “real passion,” someone amazingly great will enter your organization with their eye on the prize of future leadership and someone will retire to their home at the beach. What will you do as a result? The practice of playing “What If?,” combined with proactively recruiting a pipeline of candidates, just might help you handle some of these inevitable surprises moving forward.
DON’Ts
Assume Gaps will Fill Themselves
Talent is not always naturally opportunistic and it doesn’t always proactively fill in the gaps produced by a reduction in force, retirement, attrition, business change and evolution, etc. Instead, it is up to the company to identify talent gaps and find able talent to fill them, so ensure your Talent Planning includes seeking out the white space.
Forget Depth and Breadth
A recent study found that seventy percent of organizations say that they have insufficient talent pipelines for critical jobs. That is a scary thought. It is entirely possible you have your bench filled, but have you considered your stock of JV, or B-teamers, those training and getting ready for a place on the leadership team? Or are you in the minority?
Think Every Employee is Loyal & Yours Forever
According to a recent Blessing White survey, only 48% of employees believe they have good career opportunities with their current employer; so it is important to realize that just because you see them in your future plan, it does not necessarily mean they see you in theirs. With engagement rates low and other opportunities out there, your talent may be seeking greener pastures. Don’t deny it. Instead, open up conversations with employees and understand their goals and wants, then assess those of your organization and take it from there.
Be Reactive
Scrambling is better left to frying pans. The worst thing an organization could do with its talent is not plan for it. Stay in front of talent planning and don’t wait to tend to it when it becomes a problem. By that point, it is too late. Workforce planning is a must. And on that tail-end, organizations must find a good Talent Development program and support and develop those flagged individuals who are the future of your company. Now go, time is fleeting!
IMPACT Group’s Talent Alliance™ provides one-on-one coaching supported by leading-edge learning technology to enhance developmental growth and retention of your key talent – all at a reasonable price point. It also supports employees of all levels, not just the top or bottom of your org chart. Download our latest whitepaper, "The Awakening: Understanding the Post-Recession Talent Reality" to learn more.