There is a strong positive correlation between management effectiveness and financial performance.  Amongst the world’s most admired companies, there is a strong correlation between people management, quality of management and the company’s overall ranking in the sector

Yet, many organisations fail to recognize the latent talent of its workforce and do little to identify and develop its leaders of the future.  There are many reasons for this.  Some of the most common are:

  • Line managers do not like having to distinguish between individuals for fear of demotivating all but the most able of staff. They also shy away from having difficult performance related discussions
  • Organisations seldom place a premium on being an effective manager and it is less valued than demonstrating good functional/technical skills
  • Managers fear losing their most talented people if they highlight how good they are. They could either be “poached” to work in other parts of the business, or leave if their potential is not realized
  • Organisations often lack objective, up-to-date information on individuals and their potential.  This makes it difficult to compare succession candidates

Best Practice

Companies that excel at talent management display the following characteristics:

  • Ensure all candidates go through a rigorous selection process
  • Discuss talent regularly at specifically arranged Executive Committee meetings
  • Align leadership competencies to the business strategy, and use them consistently in all aspects of talent management
  • Ensure leaders role model the desired behaviours
  • Appraise all staff at least once a year and give honest fact-based feedback
  • Differentiate between differing levels of performance and deal with poor performers
  • Give high potential staff stretching opportunities and support them
  • Rotate top talent across functions, regions and divisions to build breadth of experience

The Solution

We work with senior management and the HR function to develop and implement a talent management strategy which identifies and helps develop potential and provides a cadre of future leaders.  We do this by:

  • Determining the organisation’s current and future leadership demands
  • Identifying the broad leadership capability gaps
  • Specifying leadership requirements and behaviours
  • Agreeing the components of the talent management model and aligning it to the HR and company strategy
  • Assessing current and future leaders
  • Advising on how best to meet development needs
  • Establishing a robust succession planning process

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