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Talent Development: What it means for Academee clients

Managing talent is one of the greatest challenges in organisational life today. It's always fascinating to learn how different organisations are facing up to this challenge. Because this is such a pertinent issue for Academee clients, we decided to invite a group of them to a seminar and networking event where we could share best practice and learn from each other.

We learned a lot. We asked what ‘talent' really means. We looked at its strategic importance. We discovered that sometimes it's best if you don't use the word 'talent' at all...

Academee welcomed a group of forty clients to London's Energy Clinic at the end of April to explore the whole area of talent in organisations. The seminar was introduced by Clare Roberts, managing director of Academee. There was a fascinating presentation from Steve Krupp, a partner in Oliver Wyman's Delta Organisation and Leadership practice, and Academee's Dr Jo Cheesman looked at how online tools can aid successful talent development. This was followed by small discussion groups and a question and answer session, which enabled the wide range of talent specialists and HR and learning professionals there to learn more about each other's talent development strategies and processes, and to share best practice.

Setting the Scene

Clare Roberts set the scene by highlighting what a huge issue talent development has become. Several recent surveys have shown it to be near the top of organisations' strategic agendas. Many are struggling to recruit and retain key people. Most realise how much more expensive it is to recruit externally than to develop and promote talent from within. However, research also demonstrates a widespread lack of planning and investment in this important area.

Talent development is about much more than attracting and selecting the best people. It's about developing key people and future leaders to drive future organisational success. It's about offering flexible, personalised learning solutions, aligned to organisational goals.

The Future of Talent

Steve Krupp looked at what talent means today and what it will mean in the future. Steve has published numerous articles and advises boards and CEOs on the strategic fit of executives for mission-critical roles to successfully lead new business directions.

Steve observed that a talent mindset has become prevalent today. Even investors are now interested in succession planning. A few years ago the situation was quite different – talent was a new word in organisational life and a select few were trying to communicate it. Today, talent is at the top of the CEO's agenda. Many major organisations have a global head of talent reporting directly into the board or the CEO. Talent development helps fuel business growth. Shortage of talent is a huge issue.

Global companies focused on growth are finding there is a shortage of leaders who can lead a business in an emerging market or run a new acquisition. Key challenges today include globalisation, profitable growth, competitive pressures, technological advancement and dynamic business models.

Leadership requirements are increasingly complex. The type of leadership that drove past success is no longer sufficient. Today there is a high risk of losing critical talent and knowledge to competitors or retirement. Successors need to be identified and ready to fill key executive roles. Weakness in the leadership pipeline puts business continuity at risk.

Too many talent management activities are disconnected and under-delivering. It's important to establish strong support systems so that high-potential candidates can receive a full range of support to accelerate their growth.

Online Talent Development Tools

Dr Jo Cheesman, key account manager at Academee, looked at the use of online technologies to enable talent development. Jo highlighted some of Academee's online solutions for clients. These include the Fujitsu Services Career Mapping Tool, an interactive application that presents career planning information in a clear, visual format. It guides employees through the various stages of planning their next career move by allowing them to see potential career paths and map possible routes from one job role to another.

Academee has also created several learning portals, which give learners access to elearning, podcasts, videos, workbooks, libraries of information, the ability to book onto face to face workshops and coaching sessions and to collaborate with others online. These portals can make learners feel valued. They contribute to successful talent development by offering individual choice and helping to align individual and organisational goals.

Key Issues for Academee Clients

Input from the different client organisations on the day was fascinating. The event was a perfect opportunity for clients to discuss issues openly. Some interesting points and comments follow, but to respect confidentiality, individuals and organisations are not named.

What is talent? Can we actually manage it?

"This can be quite a dilemma. Talent is really a mindset, not a process."

"Talent management is not just about focusing on the obvious roles. You need to consider future leaders, long-term high-potential individuals and functional specialists."

"Talented individuals are usually bright, opinionated and often not very interested in getting with any development programme."

"Our organisation got so good at developing ‘talented' individuals that they began to dominate all our leadership and management development programmes. Other core contributors also need to be recognised."

"Who owns the talent? Does it suddenly become the responsibility of a ‘head of talent'? All managers need to take responsibility."

"Talent development must always be relevant to the business. Otherwise the business moves on without you. Speed of change is a huge challenge."

"Behaviour is at the centre of talent strategy."

"Should talent development focus on a critical few or on the entire organisation? The world is so competitive that we need to look at everyone. Go for inclusive and segregated rather than focusing on an exclusive group."

"In a large, complex organisation with lots of different business units, there are lots of different challenges. A ‘one size fits all' approach is risky. Sometimes we just need to accept the mess."

Align talent development with organisational strategy

"Don't do anything unless there is a bottom line benefit."

"All talent development needs to be driven by your business model."

"You need to build a case for talent. Establish targets."

"Be careful what you take from other organisations. Make sure it fits with your culture."

"The market forced our business to put a talent strategy in place. Our company was expanding. We needed to develop a new generation of leaders."

"Ask recruitment who the hardest people to find in the marketplace are. Functions and specialisms are key. It's not always about executive potential."

Individual development

"A few years ago, people wanted job security. Now, engagement is talent-related, and people want customised development."

"Individual aspirations and cultural fit are key to talent development."

"We're trying to push talent development through our organisation to reach a new demographic. But many young people don't want to hear about a two-year development plan."

"Establish strong support systems. Give the high potential candidate a support network which includes an executive sponsor."

"Don't just send executives to business school programmes. Consider executive coaching. Create a modularised curriculum with talent-based hints and tips so everyone can choose an individualised learning programme."

"We must have reasonable expectations. For example, someone who may not be a future leader could still have a great deal of strategic involvement."

Are systems and processes important?

"Yes, but you need to be able to move beyond them."

"The systems need to work and run smoothly before you can move on to the fun learning and development stuff."

"Some tools and processes can really help you roll talent management out globally."

"Having processes in place can help you produce data to illustrate the benefits of talent development, which is important."

"Take a tough look at metrics. Evaluate impact."

Talent and transparency

"Do we tell the talent we're developing talent? Do we tell the non-talent we're developing talent?"

"If you let talented people know, others will 'see in' and want to take part too."

Developing talent for investors

"Investors want to see more succession planning."

"Treat talent as a corporate asset. Let talent move internationally. Talent is not owned by a division of your organisation. It is an asset to be moved around."

"Quality of leadership is a key reason why investors invest. Talk to your head of investor relations about the importance of talent development."

Buy-in from the board

"Our CEO is hands-on. He owns and sponsors the process."

"The average tenure of a CEO is getting shorter – often it's just a couple of years. It's important to involve the entire board in succession planning."

"If your CEO does not place talent at the top of your organisation's agenda and feels it's not an issue for you, try calling it something else. Stop making it a HR issue. Change the language. Rebrand talent. Talk about getting the right leadership team in place. Demonstrate how this will add value to your organisation and to shareholders and investors."

Learn more...

This seminar was part of The Leadership Programme, a series of complimentary learning events taking place throughout 2008. This series of seminars, webinars and think tanks aims to provide you with opportunities to network, share best practice and learn about the latest in management thinking. Stimulating and interactive, these events promise to bring new perspectives to your leadership learning and development challenges.

Future events will focus on globalisation, coaching, engaging employees, lean leadership and innovation.

To register your interest, visit www.academee.com/leadership-programme or call us on +44 (0) 1625 540540.