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 goal setting, simple solutions for a complex world, employee exodus, the war for talent in India, and the future of talent management.
From Stacia Garr at Bersin: The Canary in the Coal Mine: Goal Setting
“If my recent conversations are any indicator, many of you are dissatisfied with your organization’s goal setting process. However, compared to the challenges and complexities of the performance appraisal process, you may think the difficulties associated with goal setting and cascading pale in comparison. FIGHT THIS THOUGHT. Goal setting is the canary in the coal mine of performance management.”
Wally’s Comment: There are many helpful insights in this post. My favorite: “although 67 percent of organizations cascade goals, once the cascade is below the business leader level, the goals become mandates.”
From Mark Dembo at DDI: Innovative, Simple Solutions for a Complex World
“Question: “How do we get our arms around this behemoth called ‘Integrated Talent Management’? With increased globalization, a flatter and more matrixed organization structure, more demands on people’s time, differing needs for different generations and geographies and business units – how do we communicate and implement a coherent talent strategy with a cohesive set of talent tools and processes that meet the needs of all our constituents and stakeholders that allow us to make meaningful decisions about people, while keeping people engaged, and ensuring that development is focused, meaningful, and measureable? Oh, and we also need to have all of this online in multiple languages with all these systems being able to talk to each other… And, we need to have this in place now!â€Â (Whoa- first, take a minute to catch your breath after reading that…)”
Wally’s Comment: Mark Dembo imagines the source of today’s complexity as rooted in the fact that, when it comes to talent management and development, we’re dealing with people. To which I would add that the complexity also arises from the fact that there are multiple, interacting forces in play.
From HR Morning: Greener pastures leave employers with a difficult decision
“One good thing to come from this recession: It allowed companies to scoop up top talent at rock-bottom prices. But now, if you want to keep that talent, it could cost you – big.”
Wally’s Comment: If you indeed spent the recession scooping up top talent at rock bottom prices, you now have two problems. The first is that you probably didn’t really get top talent. The second is that you’ve proved that you care about the bottom line and not your people. Those people are now thinking, “Where can I go where I’m not a widget to be purchased at rock bottom prices?”
From the Wall Street Journal: India’s Talent for Wage Inflation
“Expectations of salary increases are back where they were before the downturn froze wage boosts during 2008 and 2009. On an average across the services industry, which accounts for more than half of the country’s gross domestic product, Indians expect a 14% increase in their income annually, and up to a 40% gain if they change jobs, according to Aon Hewitt, a human-resource consultancy.”
Wally’s Comment: Think you’ve got it tough? In India this “war for talent” thing is about as bad as it can get.
From People Matters: The Future of Talent Management
“Talent is in short-supply and is crucial for the business. As companies are looking at increasing market share and acquiring costumers quicker than competitors, competition for talent is threatening to derail growth for many companies and, in some cases, for entire industry groups. Talent is expensive and is getting more so. Increasing demand in exploding industries of the day pushes up salary levels as talent supply pools become insufficient. Sometimes emerging industries start poaching even from other industries, leading to a ripple effect of talent becoming expensive across the board. Talent is more mobile than it ever was. As Indian companies increase their global presence and exposure, building global talent becomes crucial to manage their operations both in India and abroad. Companies require leaders who have a global mindset and are able to adapt, extrapolate and take decisions relevant to each local market. Talent come with many needs – ambition, fulfillment, connect etc. The new generation entering the workforce is transforming the world at work with a curious mix of ambition and the need for partnership & flexibility. Of course, this new generation is a reflection of the world around us – one with a greater emphasis on wealth and wealth-creators, enhanced means of communication & collaboration, flexible working styles and avenues to perform in a virtual partnership environment. Talent definition is also changing. The requirements from talent today go beyond the resume. Organizations are seeking a dynamic and constantly refreshed set of skills, competencies and sensitivities from the past because of the evolving the business environment.”
Wally’s Comment: This month the Indian magazine People Matters covers the future of talent management in India, with lessons for the rest of us. HR blogger Gautam Ghosh co-authored this piece.
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