systematicHR

Talent management is clearly one of the morst popular strategies in HR today. Getting the most attention are components of talent management that can be systematized through software vendors like Taleo, SuccessFactors, Vurv, Authria and many others. Talent Acquisition, performance management, learning maangement and compensation management are quicker hits because implementation of process and success metrics are more easily definable. The murkier waters of leadership development and succession planning don’t always fall neatly into the above talent components (although there is always some overlap).

Originally published in Harvard Business Review, Growing Talent as if Your Business Depended on It ((Cohn, Jeffrey M, Khurana, Rakesh, Reeves, Laura. October 2005. “Harvard Business Review: Growing Talent as if Your Business Depended on it,” Harvard Business School Press. Retrieved from http://custom.hbsp.com on May 29, 2006.)) This article describes the necessary components of a successful leadership development program with examples from Tyson, Starbucks and Mellon.

We have found that the best of their programs all share some common attributes. They are not stand-alone, ad hoc activities coordinated by the human resources department; their development initiatives are embedded in the very fabric of the business. From the board of directors on down, senior executives are deeply involved I, and line managers are evaluated and promoted expressly for their contributions to the organization wide effort.

By engaging managers and the board in this way, a company can align its leadership development process with its strategic priorities. The company can also build a clear and attractive identity; its employees perceive that leadership development processes are what they are declared to be. Such coherence, identity, and authenticity, in turn, make it easier for the company to attract the future leaders it needs. ((Ibid. page 2))

So we all know I like “tooting” my own horn, but basically here’s what they are saying (all thisgs I’ve been repeatings like a mantra for the last year):

1. Leadership development strtegies must be coordinated with the business to be successful. I’ll take this a step further and say that all HR strategies must be coordinated with the top level business strategies. This seems obvious, but as you are reading this article about talent management, ask yourself if your own CEO knows what talent management is.
2. Build a clear employer brand by stating your position and mission to your employees, get management buy-in, and then execute on your brand. If you can’t execute on your brand, employees will never perceive any confidence in the development process.

If you’re truly interested in leadership development, go out and read the HRSP article. There are some very interesting insights on succession planning, developmental examples, and integration with other TMS components in their case studies.