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Putting the right people in the right

jobs using measurable, predictable,

and actionable skill sets is a key to

organizational success, and talent audits

are a worthwhile tool in that process.

Total QualityManagementNow Applies to

Manain TalentHo wa rd P. Stevens S ix Sigma (as depicted in Table 1),the data-driven methodology

for eliminating defects in organi-zations based on standards,measuremen ts, and repeatableprocesses, has provided undeni-able success for organizations

around the world by eliminatingwaste and improving productivity.So why hasn't this total qualitymanagement (TQM) concept ofmeasurable and predictable errorreduction been applied to talentmanagementparticularly whenresearch indicates the typicalemployment selection and deploy-ment process performs at onlythe 1.6 sigma level?

TQM requires a system of precisemeasures objective and accurateenou gh for statistical analysis. Bycontrast, the measurement ofhum an work performance typicallyinvolves subjective and generalizeddata that prove too fallible to

support that level of accuracy.The initial requirement for thetalent management process toattain Six Sigma capability wouldbe an accurate measure of individ-uals' skills, competencies, motiva-tional drivers, work habits, andpotential for developing futurecompetencies. You would needto validate the assessment instru-me nt to be predictively accurate

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Table 1 : Six Sigma Status

S I X Sigma Status

Level6

Level5

Level 4

Level3

Level2

Level1

Company Quality Capability'

Approach or surpass Six Sigma accuracy

Significantly reduce errorand improve quality through archival databases

Leverage metrics toward quality improvement analysis

Implement error measurement practices

Adopt Six Sigma quality philosophy

C o m m i t to metrics and measurements to identify errorsand sources and errors

Application

World-class manufacturing

Typical selectionand talentmanagement systems

'Adapted from Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute

of measured productivity improvements and/o r reduc-tion in "unwanted" turnover well beyond the accuracylevels most commonly reported.

Some research suggests that only a Six Sigma orTQM approach can accomplish the level of qualityimprovement necessary for the m anagem ent of intellec-tual capital. Using a TQM approach requires focusingprimarily on identifying the "causes of failure" of oth-erwise qualified individuals. This approach is counterto the more common identification of the causes ofsuccess as typically seen in job analyses and competencystudies. A TQM approach is capable of establishinga single instrument that can measure all relevantcompetencies w ith an accuracy level robu st eno ugh tosupport substantial quality gains in the managementof a company's mo st valuable "hum an" assets.

The resu lt is a talent a udit systeman informationrepository where organ izations have a complete inven-tory of streng ths and weaknesses for all employees inevery key position. This relational database can distin-guish the job performance makeu p of key talent locatedin a particular division anywhere in the organization,

helping to place the right people in the right job.Th is article reviews the causes of ineffective tale ntmanag ement and how a Six Sigma/TQM approachcan help to minimize the following five common"pain points:" Reducing unwanted turnover. Improving weak succession planning. Losing top talent. Matching the right people to the wrong jobs. Training the wrong personnel.

Pain Point 1: Reducing Unw ante d Turn overDeloitte, a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu,

a global leader in professional services, stated in a2005 article summarizing its U.S. survey of humanresource executives, "More t han 70% of r espo nden tssay incoming workers with ina dequa te skills pose thegreatest threat to business performance."

How does your organization go abo ut selecting theright personnel for targeted positions? If your companyis like most, it relies on subjective reviews and recom-men dations by internal personn el. In fact, acco rdingto CEO Magazine^ (December 2005) "Internal performance reviews and 360-degree feedback systems areused by more th an 95% of the largest 500 companiesto evaluate employee performance." Additionally,"Reference checking is universally used as a means toassess candidates in pre-hire situations." A lthough thesmethod s do provide insights abo ut an individual, thearticle goes on to say, "Reliance upon the subjectivejudgment of untrained evaluators makes these methoduntrustw orthy measures of an individual's intelligence.

Only through accurate skills matching can your

organization make the best use of your existing person-nel and their p otential. The use of a talent au dit systemtha t accurately and systematically pred icts the effective-ness of hiring the right talent while avoiding thewrong talent is essential to addressing this problem .

Pain Po int 2: The Need to Identify HighPoten t ials : W ea k Succession Planning

Succession planning the minim izing of riskthrough appropriate compensation, recognition, andreadiness of successors by identifying and training

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high-potential employeesis an ongoing challenge fororganizations of all sizes. Procter & Gamble (P&G)is no exception. P&G's leader, A.G. Lafley, to ldChiefExecutive magazine (Septerhber 2005), "Nothing I do

will have a more enduring impact on P&G's long-termsuccess than helping to develop our leaders."Unfortunately, succession planning is usually geared

toward a small number ofkey executive positions;however, succession plann ing need no t apply onlyto executives. It can be expanded to all levels in theorganization with the help ofa talent audit system.This type ofskills detection is made possible becausea talent audit system reveals data that are definable,measurable, and actionable.

Pain Point 3: Losing Top TalentAll organizations expect a certain am oun t of tu rn-

over. In small amo unts, turnover keeps the organizationfresh with new talent and ideas. When turnover ishigh or unwanted, however, the result quickly turnsnegative, costing the organization considerable timeand money to hire and train new personnel roughly$40,000-$50,000 for hourly employees and $300,000and more for top positions.

The pain associated with turnover intensifies whenyou consider that "more than 70 million baby boomerswill retire over the next 15 years," according toHuman

Resource Executive magazine'sEorecast 2006. "During thistime, only 40 million w orkers will enter the workforce,leaving us with a shortage of talent and leadership."

So what is the cause? Many organizations oftenbelieve th at employees leave jobs prima rily for be tterwages, benefits, or both. The actual causes actuallyare quite different. Reports show that one ofthe pri-mary causes of top-performer turnover is poor jobfit. Employees become frustrated when they can't dothe job they want to do. Talent audits demonstratethat a large propor tion of job dissatisfaction (whichleads to u nwa nted turnover) is a result of these jobmismatches.

A systematic approach is needed to address thecauses of poor job fit, including the actions below: Identify sources and causes of failure for each

position, and identify the key skills to overcomethose failure points.

Assess incum ben ts' capabilities against the skillsthat ensure success.

Continually conduct exit interviews to documentturnover causes.

Analyze results periodically to determine thecommonalities.

Establish a plan to reduce the defects.

Pain Point 4: Matching the Right Peopleto th e W rong Jobs

There has been a great deal written about thepending talent storm and the shortage of appropriatetalent. Through a Six Sigma approach to capturing,defining, and measuring data systematically, compa-nies are finding that the problems associated withskills and job performance are more about havingskilled personnel in the wrong jobs, rather than alack of available skills. There is some belief amongexecutives that companies consistently underutilize

the talents of their people, leaving a significantlyuntapped talent reserve.With the help ofa talent au dit database, organiza-

tions could possess a complete inventory of strengthsand weaknesses for all employees in all key positio ns.The skills database w ould allow comp anies to identifyjob performance skills and competencies accurately,much like insurance companies use health and behav-ior data to accurately access and predict their financialrisk. For example, we have cond ucted talent aud itresearch on more than 75,000 managers and execu-tives, as well as on more than 250,000 salespeople inFortune 500, midsized, and small companies. Theassociated database has identified the skills that arecritical to distinguishing top performers from weakeror m arginal performers in a variety of jobs acrossindustries, indicating which employees would thrivein which roles, with the overarching goal of placingthe right people in the right jobs.

A crucial advantage to a talen t au dit is that it uti-lizes skills developed from research that has identifieda full range of unique po sitions and roles accordingto their unique markets and customer needs. By thenidentifying which managers would thrive in which roles,companies are able to improve the job match of man-agers and subordinates, reducing unwanted turnover orcontinually underpro ducing, "less engaged" employees.

In looking at the salesperson job function as anexample, a talent a udit can identify whyjob mismatchis so prevalent. Companies too often have one jobdescription for sales representatives, regardless of cus-tome rs' needs. This talen t au dit research already hasidentified 14 basic sales and customer-facing positions.Although some types ofsales roles are similar enough

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Table 2: Six Sigma Framework A pplied to Talent Management

Process Talent Benchmark Metrics

Company s tandards Productivity

Define

Unwanted turnover Reduce costs, increase profits

Accurate statistics Competencies

Measure

Limita t ions Improv able weaknesses

Errors and improvem ents Best jo b fit

Analyze

Career potential Level of engagement

Repeatable processes

Improve

Selection and assignm ent Career path Recogni t ion and compensat ion

Processes and measures

Control

Accura te assessment measure Developm ent and train ing Succession planning

to be interchangeable, manysuch as new businessdevelopment actually require skills completely dif-ferent from (or even opposing), for example, accountmaintenance. By refining the analysis through talentaudit research, it is possible to match personnel to posi-tions more specifically and successfully. Companieshave achieved the following outcomes with this typeof talent audit database:

Identify salespeople who are most adept atdeveloping new business.

Determ ine which salespeople have the skills tomove into management.

Identify skill gaps that tra ining can remedy. Discover which associates should support key

accounts.

Pain Point 5: Training the W ron g PersonnelMost estimates of effective training suggest that

individuals can improve their skills by only a smallmargin. This means that people in the wrong posi-tions cannot be trained to become top performers,only that their weaker skills can improve to levels notas weak as before. Clearly, training is too expensiveto waste on the wrong people.

To get the most out of training, four commonchallenges must be overcome: Maximizing people strengths rather than over-

coming weaknesses. Training the right personnel for the right jobs.

Training the "most trainable" personnel. Focusing on the highest potential personnel.

When ad dressing these challenges, companies fre-quently come to the same conclusion: Training needsto be flexible and tailored to each individual job func-tion. The use of a complete inventory of strengths andweaknesses for all employees, such as those found ina talent audit database, can help organizations tailortheir training to the individuals that need it most.

SummaryThere are many comm on threats to successful talent

managem ent in today's organizations.A Six Sigm a/TQM approach th at uses talent audit research and anassociated database can help minimize these threats, asshown in T able2. Identifying the skills that distinguishtop performers from poor performers can ensure anaccurate job m atch of the right jobs to the right peopleimprove succession planning, provide high levels ofjob satisfaction, and correctly identify training needs

Howard P. Stevens is chairman and CE O of The HR

Chally Croup, a sales performance research and

consulting corporation providing personnel assessment

and research services to more than 2,500 clients.

Stevens specializes in sales benchmarking, the

evaluation of requirements for sales and executive

positions, and market and customer analyses. He can be reached at

howardstevens@chally. com.

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