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:

ahmed@employfy.com

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ahmednooryusuf

Twitter:

@amediyusuf