This is a time for taking stock. The business world seems to slow down in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Use the time to think about the current state of talent management in your company.
People, complete with their knowledge and relationships are the source of sustainable competitive advantage. When someone asked Jack Welch to reflect on his success in two decades at the helm of General Electric he summed it up this way: “In the end, it was all about the people.”
How are you doing with the “people” today? You should be recruiting people with the attitude and skills you need. They should fit your organization.
Review the way you bring people into the organization. New hires are precious because they almost always show up with a good attitude and the desire to get to work. You should be mining that while immersing them in your culture.
Pay and benefits of all kinds matter to the people who work at your place. How does your current practice stack up with the rest of the industry and with expectations?
People want to do important and fulfilling work with people they like. The key to a good workplace is good supervisors. How are you doing at selecting, training, and supporting good supervisors? How about removing bad ones?
Talent development is a discipline that looks to the future. Assess the quality of your succession planning from the bottom to the top of the organization. Review the things you do to help your people grow and develop.
Don’t make your assessment a single point event. Use the whole week. Make notes on each of the areas above. As you think of new things and modifications during the week, note them as well. Then you’ll be prepared to think about what to do in the year ahead.
