Developing talent through effective support
Human resources needs to look at talent management from the perspective of line managers and ask itself what support human resources needs to give them to make their talent strategy effective. By Wendy Hirsh, principal associate, Institute for Employment Studies
Talent management is certainly flavour of the month for those in HR. Indeed its emphasis on improving the resourcing of organisations through pro-active employee development is to be welcomed. But for line managers it is a scary and confusing area, as it raises questions in their minds and makes them suspect that they risk de-motivating their staff. If we really want line managers to deliver effective talent management, the HR function has a duty to support the line by addressing three sets of concerns:
• What does HR mean by talent management and how can a line manager explain this to their staff?
• What is HR asking line managers to do and how does it link in with all the other people management processes?
• What support is the HR function offering in terms of the practical skills line managers need?
Use clarity
Line managers want to know what talent management is. The long lists of terms – attracting, developing, retaining, motivating and rewarding – can be deeply confusing for line managers. And which groups of people are we talking about? Is talent the same as high potential? Is it everyone with potential for promotion or is it all employees? And if some people have this thing called talent, does that mean that others are going to be told that they are therefore not talent?
Line managers need a much clearer idea of which people and types of jobs the organisation is identifying. First, they need a clear message that anything to do with identifying special groups of people is going to be in addition to, not instead of, the normal development of all employees. Second, if special groups are going to be identified, then managers need to be clear about what groups have been chosen and why they are important. Third, they need to know how they are going to develop this talent and in what timeframe.
Obviously talent management may need to focus on several areas of the workforce – for example ‘top talent’ over the longer term and levels where resourcing is difficult. Line managers need to fully understand the business logic and be able to communicate this clearly. Employees also need to know that their own interests and aspirations will be taken into account.
Guidance required
Line managers need to be clear about what they are being asked to do and how it fits in with the people management processes they are already using.
Managers are often asked to identify talent. Of course, talent is not a single commodity and competence frameworks derived for senior management will not be very useful in looking at other groups. We can only spot potential in ways relevant to individuals’ current work activities and contexts. Managers need criteria for spotting potential that are relevant both to the target job groups and to the jobs individuals are currently doing.
Practical support and the skills to deliver
The most crucial aspect of practical support is to be clear who in HR or learning and development will facilitate the necessary collective processes and be on hand to work with individual managers as they go through the process for the first time. Too often, HR put together complex sets of guidelines and then just expect line managers to follow them mechanically.
Line managers need to be able to have quite difficult conversations with individuals about their careers. They need both mental frameworks for structuring these conversations and emotional and behavioural awareness in conducting them sensitively, as shown below.
Delivering support
Managers need support in learning how to have effective conversations with individuals about their careers. They need to:
• Establish an atmosphere of trust with the individual by being open and clear about what the purpose of any conversation about their career will have.
• Focus on the individual employee and explore in an open-minded way how they see themselves and what they want from their careers.
• Give honest feedback on performance and perceptions of potential, using real examples of how they have observed the individual doing their work. Challenge the individual if necessary but in a constructive way.
• Share information about career opportunities which are realistic for the individual and relevant to their interests.
• End any discussion with clear agreement about what actions they and the individual will take, including what aspects of the conversation will be shared with other people or fed into formal talent management processes.
Talent management is not a temporary project but an ongoing organisational process in the same way that recruitment, training and performance management are ongoing processes. It involves managing information to track people and agreed actions and making sure the targeted individuals are clear how the talent management process will affect them. Line managers need sustained support in this area – it is an ideal opportunity for business partners to really make their mark.
HR needs to take a lead in helping managers decide what talent management needs to focus on so it is understood by all concerned. Line managers also need practical and relevant guidance on how to identify and develop people with potential. They also need sustained support from HR in facilitating the process, managing information and gaining the practical skills they need to discuss complex career issues with individuals and with other managers.
