Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces about compensation as part of talent management, talent magnets and talent poachers, hiring for attitude, the people or strategy debate, and competitive advantage.
From Compensation Cafe: That’s Nice but I’m Just the Comp Planner
“I’ve talked a lot lately about how monetary incentives are most effective when coupled with a broader talent management strategy that also includes good leadership and career development. That’s right, the key to high performance and motivation is finding the sweet spot between pay, leadership and career.”
Wally’s Comment: Monetary incentives are only a part of the mix. Laura Schroeder analyzes how some of the pieces of talent management work together.
From Great Leadership: Are You a Talent Magnet or Talent Poacher?
“Some companies consider it unethical and bad business practice to recruit out of a competitor’s talent pool. Others disagree, saying that it’s a legitimate and necessary part of doing business. I’m no expert in external recruiting, so I’ll leave that debate to the experts. However, what about the concept of “internal poachingâ€? What’s wrong with a manager hiring a star performer from another part of the business?”
Wally’s Comment: Dan McCarthy suggests the right way to bring someone over to your group from another group inside the same company.
“‘Company Culture Matters’ is the proclamation of WorldatWork in their October 1 reaction to the results of a new workplace survey by Randstad. A clear majority (66%) of the over 1,000 working U.S. adults polled by Ipsos Public Affairs for Randstad believe that workplace culture is “very important” to organizational success.”
Wally’s Comment: I know that I’ve used it here before, but Lou Gerstner’s observation is worth repeating: “I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the game.” In other words, the true question isn’t whether culture is important, it’s what you do about it.
“There are two fundamental approaches to choose from when designing a new organization structure. You can focus on the people you already have and then figure out how to organize them. Or you can design the organization around your business strategy and the capabilities and competencies required to execute on your business strategy considering current and future state scenarios. Both approaches have their supporters and detractors. Here’s the debate:”
Wally’s Comment: This is part of the Deloitte Debates series with pros and cons laid out in a chart and some reactions/comment from Deloitte consultants. The debate has its roots in Jim Collins admonition to “first get the right people on the bus.” As you read the article, remember that you will rarely, if ever, deal with this issue in its pure form.
From DDI: The Competitive Advantage You Probably Overlook
“Once again, the strategic planning season is upon a majority of companies. It’s time to dust off those planning manuals and scorecards. As has been practiced for years, companies will look at the market, customers, competition and some of the usual suspects that might just jump in and grab market share. After reviewing these external factors, companies craft their strategies, build new scorecards and plan for resources they require including that other resource called talent. In the process they continue to search for that ever elusive competitive advantage. That single element which will provide the firm the unique advantage in the market.”
Wally’s Comment: Victor L. Magdaraog suggests that “talent” is that overlooked source of competitive advantage. He discusses this in the context of strategy formulation.
I take a slightly different view. People, complete with their knowledge and relationships, are the driver of long-term competitive advantage. To get the most impact from that you need a simple strategy that you use until it won’t work anymore.
