Managing Talent
From practice to profession
IHRM Conference, Nairobi 2015
Talent unbundled
❏Why are companies besotted with talent?
❏ Does talent equate to success?
❏ Is talent ingrained?
❏ Can you manage talent?
❏ Is talent ‘a problem’ wrapped in cotton wool?
❏ Is talent alone enough?
Is talent the be all, end all?
Talent - at opposite ends
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I will let you in on a secret.
There is a skill you can master which will guarantee
everything you do will improve easily 100%, and more over
time.
Secret = get things done...yes, hard work!
Talent has limits
Second point
Think of a skill that
you have often wanted
to master e.g. music or
playing equipment. It
is often hard when you
start but when you
finally master it, you
are the first person to
tell new learners how
easy it is.
The Conundrum
● Economic turbulence
● Regional focus and globalisation
● New business models
● Transformational technologies
● Virtual working
● Workforce profile
Change drivers
“I don't know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the
right people, ask them the right questions,
and engage them in vigorous debate, we will
find a way to make this company great.” ― James C. Collins, Good to Great
People first!
70% According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace survey, this is the
percentage of total disengaged employees. Only 30% carry the organisation.
You never know which side turns up
The two images of an organisation
“Your company is its own competition and can deliver itself debilitating blows the
competition only dreams of.” ― Stan Slap, Under the Hood: Fire Up and Fine-Tune Your Employee Culture
Culture eats talent
Tall Poppy Syndrome
“Cutting off the leg of a giant does not
embellish a dwarf”. Ahmed Yusuf
Performance appraisal is broken
- Research progressively shows this to be the case
“Executives owe it to the organisation and to their fellow workers not to tolerate non-
performing individuals in important jobs.”
― Peter Drucker, Pre-eminent Management Scientist
Non Performance Bites
Research confirms…...
● Clogged leadership pipelines
● Skills shortage - the make or buy balance
● Stifled or foggy culture
● A compliance driven HR
● People analytics - data
Research by Deloitte - Human Capital Trends
2015
Reimagining
Talent management -
questions to pose
Defining the future
• How is your organisation changing today and in the future?
• What kind of talent will you need to execute your business
strategy?
• Will certain roles become more important?
• What skills and leadership will be needed in the next 3-5 years that
you don’t have?
Attracting talent
• What is your employer value proposition?
• Is the effort to make your workplace attractive
successful?
• Should you look for talent in different places than you
normally do?
….. be ready for what talent brings:
• Millennials and Gen Z
• Demand for space
• Challenging the convention
Employ talent but…..
Right people on the bus,
wrong people off the bus,
and right people in the right
seats.
Selecting talent
• Do you differentiate between high performance
(success now) and high potential people (success in the
future)?
• Are competencies used in selecting staff?
• Are competencies aligned to your future business
needs?
Skill
Job Attitude
Knowledge
Observable
Behaviour
Job
Performance
COMPETENCY
Competency
Developing talent
• Are staff assessed for their capabilities?
• Do staff receive ongoing coaching and feedback?
• Are there opportunities for staff to develop their
technical and soft skills?
• Are leaders involved in coaching/training others?
Engaging talent
• Are staff assessed for their capabilities?
• Do staff receive ongoing coaching and feedback?
• Are there opportunities for staff to develop their
technical and soft skills?
• Are leaders involved in coaching/training others?
Engaging quadrant
Low well being
High well being
High engagement Unstable engagement
Sustainable engagement
Low engagement Chronic disengagement
Complacent engagement
Deploying talent
• Are candidates identified as potential successors for key positions?
• Do you have a robust succession plan?
• Are development plans in place for high potentials to get them
ready for future roles?
• Are lateral movements valued as highly as upwards ones?
One of my greatest talents is recognising talent in others and giving them the forum to shine
- Tory Burch, Billionaire business woman
Thanks!
Contact me on:
Email:
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ahmednooryusuf
Twitter:
@amediyusuf