Talent Management The Role of the Front Line Manager

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1 Talent Management The Role of the Front Line Manager In a recession, having a cost effective and focused talent management strategy is particularly critical for every organisation s success. The talent pool and the development of talent among the entire workforce will determine the future for most businesses. A survey in 2009 by Watson Wyatt found that more than half the companies they surveyed were planning to use more talent management approaches over the next 2 years. The survey showed that 37% of companies have made talent management a higher priority because of the difficult economic environment we currently face. Organisations needs to employ a range of initiatives to ensure talent is recruited and nurtured among all staff within the business. Both employees and management need to work together in areas such as performance management, career development, training and up skilling, with line management playing a critical role in identifying and agreeing developmental opportunities for staff in their areas. Talent management is an area that is growing in popularity. A search of the phrase talent management using a popular internet search engine in 2004 led to over 2,700,000 hits. One year later, it led to 8 million hits. Talent management various enormously from organisation to organisation. There are some organisations that select an elite group of high fliers whom they focus on as the stars of the business. However, a contrary view is one whereby organisations take a more inclusive view of those that have talent within the business, focusing instead on developing the capabilities and strengths of a broader range of people, believing that talent management is about managing the talent within each person. Therefore different organisations have differing views on inclusivity. Talent at all levels of the business is critical to the organisation and if managed well, will have a dynamic impact on the bottom line. Today s recessionary business environment with its increasing levels of job losses, fear among workers, globalisation, rising expectations on executives and scarcity of top talent has led organisations to count on managers to support them in identifying and developing employees who are flexible enough to find their way and lead others in the increasing complex environment. The CIPD s 2006 learning and development survey found that 74% of respondents said their organisations didn t have a systematic or strategic approach to talent management. Many said that judging talent was very much down to gut feeling and intuition on the part of the manager. Although a systematic approach is the ideal, the critical role of the direct manager in assessing the skills and aptitudes of staff is critical. Successful managers need to become better at bringing

2 people up to speed quickly, developing people faster and empowering them. This is necessary to deal with the challenges of: Burning through managerial talent too fast, whereby people are being put in positions before they are ready, with too high a failure rate Brain drain as an increasing number of 55+ year olds leave and take lots of specialised skills and tacit knowledge with them. Can they be encouraged to stay by offering more flexible job arrangements or project work, so that they transfer their vast knowledge to future generations? Making the company s values come alive and integrating people from other cultures (both other company cultures and national cultures) When it comes down to having the right people with the right skills in critical roles, facing the fact that this can require a very selective and individualised approach to development Leadership development remaining centre stage so that talented leaders in the business continue to innovate, spot opportunities and motivate those around them to move towards peak performance. Talent is about a person s personality, skills, motivation, as well as their potential to grow. The starting point in talent management is that an employee has the potential to add value and the manager he/she reports to wants to ensure this happens. Talent management centres around developing processes that provide a continuous source of talented people starting with the recruitment of the right people, mapping their training and development pathway within the organisation and ensuring career growth and promotion opportunities are offered at the right stages in this plan. The role of the front line manager is critical to success in this area as the direct manager of each person is the one who knows their strengths and areas of potential better than any other. Research has repeatedly shown that creativity and innovation are inextricably linked to energy, edge and fun, all vital components of success among a line managers team. Recognising these traits and praising people for showing them are critical skills for a line manager to develop. Line managers need to see behaviours that set the really talented people apart from others. They need to see when someone has a can do attitude and to reward results and achievement so that all can see what is valued by the direct manager and the organisation. Getting the very best from those you manage is what talent management is all about.

3 Identification of Talent The identification of talent can be done through formal and informal processes within the organisation. The various options are listed below, with the role of the manager featuring in both the formal processes, management reviews and professional discussions. Methods of Top Talent Identification Formal Processes Self Selection Line Managers -Competency Profile Management Reviews Informal Processes -Political networks - Coalitions -Corridor discussions Professional discussions Observations Reactive HR Attitude Proactive HR Attitude Increasingly, organisations are recognising the need and value of developing the talent of those working within the business. A range of both formal and informal identification methods can be used within the more strategic organisations investing in planning and systematic talent identification processes. So although everyone has talent and possibilities, not everyone has the same talent and the same possibilities for the same job. Talent management centres around a belief that recognising and developing the talent that works within the business is central to the success of the organisation, while at the same time untapping the potential of every employee to help the organisation succeed and grow. The role of the front line manager is critical in a number of these approaches, but the organisational systems and approaches are also central to strategic success in this area. Performance/Potential Grid Using the Grid outlined below, organisations can map the talent they have both now and into the future. A key issue for all managers within a talent management system is the commitment by front line and senior management to take action when someone is identified as a poor performer or in the ballast section. A person who is in the ballast section of this grid can be managed

4 Potential upwards to become a workhorse or better with the right management skills and encouragement. If performance does not improve, disciplinary action needs to be taken by the direct manager not only for the person themselves, but for the others in the team who are likely to be discouraged by a poor performer being left to perform at a low level. High Question marks Stars Underachievers with potential Transform into stars Substantial added value for the organisation Possible successors for key positions Curtail staff turnover through retention initiatives Provide development advice Speed up development by actively providing development initiatives Ballast Underachievers without potential Work horses Very productive in current function Transform into work horses Motivate to continue current level of performance Dismiss if no improvement Limit staff turnover through retention initiatives Low Low PERFORMANCE High It is also critical than in classifying people, the possibility to develop and train staff needs to be an underlying lens with which to view talent and potential talent within the organisation. An open ness to all potential talent at any level in the business is critical for success. Clearly, the stars in this grid identify the top talent among the workforce, however there are often highly talented

5 people in the question mark grouping, who with a little encouragement and the right development opportunities, may become stars. There is a danger of categorising people in the workhorse category and leaving them in this quadrant. As a manager, it is vital that you are open to the potential of all your team to change and to show initiative. If you box people into this quadrant or indeed, the final one called ballast, you will ensure they never get the opportunity to shine. As a manager, your role centres around getting the best from all your team, so you should be continually trying to encourage each individual you manage to improve his/her performance and move up to the next quadrant on this grid. Another key challenge with those who are in the star quadrant then is to keep their interest and motivation levels high so that they continue to perform and generate new ways of working that have a powerful impact on the bottom line in the business. Managers need to develop the skills of coaching in order to help people to move from one quadrant to another. Effective coaches recognise the different learning styles that each person shows as well as the learning pace of the individual being coached. Support and openness are key elements to the relationship. The coach must be able to ask the right questions, listen actively and be skilled as a facilitator so that the coachee can identify their goal and think through the best way to achieve it. The GROW approach is a recommended one for managers to use when coaching others. This includes: G goal help the person identify the goal they want to achieve R reality establish where the person is now with regard to his / her current skills mix O options what are the various options regarding how the goal might be achieved W will get the coachee to identify and sign up to how much they want to achieve the goal and how much effort they are therefore prepared to put in The methods for identifying talent can be both informal and formal with a critical element of the identification process being the person s readiness to develop at a higher level. As a manager there are a number of characteristics to look out for when identifying talent among the teams you manage. Those showing potential and real talent have many of the following traits : 1. They are clever in terms of what they do and how they work. Their cleverness is central to their identity and their passion is usually for what they do and not necessarily the organisation. The role of the manager is to get this usually independent person to recognise the value of doing what they do for the organisation they work for so that they understand their interdependence on the organisation. 2. Their skills are not easily copied. The knowledge and skills they have is core to the people they are and the jobs they do. Therefore, keeping these people interested and

6 loyal to the organisation means ensuring the line manager understands what drives each one of them and keeps them motivated in what they do. 3. They know their value to the business and as such can often challenge their manager and the organisation. The role of the manager is to ensure these people understand that you also value their contribution to the organisation and demonstrate your belief in their development by working in partnership to enable them to grow and innovate in their jobs. 4. They will ask hard questions and often do not want to or need to be led. They will challenge where they believe it will make a difference and have the confidence to do this at all levels in the organisation, regardless of the title of the person they are challenging. As a manager, a key skill to develop is that of listening. You may not always agree with the view expressed, but you should learn to understand why it is being proposed and what learning can be gleaned from it. 5. Top talent rarely responds well to being told what to do. As a manager, you need to learn to influence this core group of people while giving them space and autonomy to get on with what they do best. As a leader, you need to remove the organisational barriers that may be in the way of this group achieving real results. Your role is often one of servant leader, whereby you identify the blockages that are in the way and then assist in removing them so that the talented person can use their skills in the best possible way. Therefore, ego is not something you can allow to get in the way of achieving the very best from this group as is possible. 6. Talented people are not always great team players. As they often work alone, the role of the manager is to get this group of people to recognise that they need others in the team for various aspects of their job. Others in the team will also need them to share what they are doing so that they can do their jobs and understand the value this person brings to the organisation and the team. 7. Innovation, creativity, results focus, initiative, a can do attitude and an interest in personal growth and development are traits that talented people across the organisation often demonstrate. Effective managers will spot these characteristics and reward those who show these traits so that the talented person knows he or she is valued and recognised. In summary, the manager plays a key role in developing and coaching this group of people and giving them the space and freedom they need to do their jobs. It is a delicate balance between giving clever people the freedom they need to develop and grow, while also working within the boundaries that the organisation sets for all its people. Only by achieving this balance, can their potential as organisational stars be achieved and maintained. Effective organisations are those

7 that invest in talent management identification and reward, using front line managers skills together with processes and practices that support the behaviours that the organisation values. In times of recession, clever organisations are those that encourage and develop the clever people within the business.