{"id":3716,"date":"2018-08-13T06:11:51","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T11:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=3716"},"modified":"2020-12-19T21:06:45","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T02:06:45","slug":"whats-the-toughest-issue-with-talent-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/whats-the-toughest-issue-with-talent-management\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s the Toughest Issue with Talent Management?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mind-767586_1280\"Do you know what’s\u00a0the toughest issue with Talent Management<\/a>?\u00a0 A large majority of leaders confront significant impediments trying to bring their talent and business priorities in line.\u00a0 Are you one of them?<\/p>\n

The typical approach employed to accomplish this often contains several gaps\u2014starting with recognizing critical roles in the company where leaders tend to fail to notice few key positions that are essential for revenue growth but are not that visible in the hierarchy.\u00a0 The senior executives remain unaware of any discontent boiling in any of the employee groups until it becomes a full-blown crises, and there aren\u2019t any succession plans in place either to fill any void in key roles. These gaps are critical yet common.<\/p>\n

The senior executives should have a clear picture of their top talent and the most critical roles.\u00a0 To manage talent, executives have traditionally been using their hunch, recommendations from other people, or looking at the organization chart\u2014assuming (incorrectly) that the mission-critical roles can only be found within the top layer.<\/p>\n

\"Traditional<\/a><\/p>\n

Contrary to the traditional talent management practices, the Talent-to-Value Management approach<\/a> argues that the key roles and people are scattered across the whole enterprise, and not just present at the top management level.\u00a0 The Talent-to-Value approach necessitates the organizations to carefully link their talent and opportunities to create value by using quantifiable metrics to find the most critical roles.\u00a0 The approach also entails defining the jobs more clearly\u2014so that top talent possessing relevant capabilities assume the key roles\u2014and creating succession plans. \u00a0The Talent-to-Value Management approach helps companies meet their targets and achieve the return on initial investment. Organizations aspiring to implement the Talent-to-Value management approach can accomplish this by pursuing the following sequential steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Define the Value Agenda<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Clarify Critical Roles<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Identify Talent for Roles<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Operationalize and Mobilize<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Talent-to-Value<\/a><\/p>\n

    Define the Value Agenda<\/h2>\n

    The first step in linking organizational talent to value pertains to evaluating the strategic objectives<\/a> carefully.\u00a0 The step involves working out the overall numbers and goals\u2014clearly allocated to specific business units, territories, and product areas.\u00a0 The senior leadership needs to take a thorough look at the divisions liable to grow, the impact that the design and manufacturing innovation will have on all business units, international opportunities to be exploited, and digital capabilities. \u00a0The executives also need to clearly delineate the attributes for success for future leaders\u2014e.g., growth avenues, leading culturally diverse teams, cutting-edge design and manufacturing processes, impact of digital technologies on businesses, and adaptability to unforeseen disruptions.<\/p>\n

    The clearly defined value agenda enables a strategic discussion on the key roles and the capabilities required by the talented individuals able to fill those roles.<\/p>\n

    Clarify Critical Roles<\/h2>\n

    The second step demands defining and calculating the numerical value of the key roles in the organization.\u00a0 The key roles are of two types: \u00a0Value Creators\u2014those who directly generate revenue\u2014and Value Enablers\u2014e.g., people from support functions.\u00a0 This approach is about matching talent and value rather than focusing on individual skills. \u00a0 Outlining the critical roles warrants necessitates answering the following questions, in coordination with the HR team:<\/p>\n