Talent Management in Difficult Times

Talent management is always an important functionality but it difficult or lean times it becomes even more critical. Good talent management and talent managers will make the following adjustments in difficult times:

1. Recruiting for Fit, Flexibility and Performance
It is imperative that hiring and recruiting efforts turn to a fit based model that emphasises flexibility, innovation and accountability for performance.

2. Synchronizing Organizational Objectives with Recruited Competencies
In hiring and recruiting, the competencies and skills that are most needed by the company must be sought and tested. If your organization values integrity, recruit for integrity. If your organization needs customer service skills, hire bona fide customer service stars. Move away from any dependence on years of experience or education level and focus on the skills that are dictated by organizational need.

3. Synchronizing Training Elements to Organizational Objectives and Performance
Skills and competencies learned in a training environment are not things that should be warehoused. There must be a direct connection between skills gained through training programs and the impact on organizational success.

4. Elimination of Fuzzy Performance Expectations
Clear up an misconceptions or lack of clarity in performance expectations. The clearer and more concise the better. Insure all team members understand what is expected and how that contributes to the success of the organization.

5. Promote Critical Thinking and Innovation
During difficult times, the most needed recovery skills are critical thinking and innovation. Critical thinking allows leaders and team members to look at processes, core products and delivery mechanisms to find waste and unneeded efforts. This lean approach much be encouraged, hired and promoted. Critical thinking will also find redundancies and overlaps needed to be lean and survive any downturn. Managers of the status quo are not valuable in difficult times.

6. Highlight Intrinsic Benefits and Value
Provide regular value updates about often overlooked benefits and value provided by your organization. Point out things like covered parking, free bottled water, training programs, job shadowing and other inexpensive benefits and the value they provide.

Spring Training 2009

And speaking of optimism. The end of February and the first of March mark the beginning of Major League Baseball's Spring Training.

Each year, all team gather in either Arizona or Florida for a month or so to get in shape, evaluate players and hone the skills needed to be ready for a hundred and sixty two games.

Regardless of payroll level, depth of talent or last year's record, they have one object and that is to win the World Series.

How great would it be if business could have a spring training. One month a year to hone skills and focus energies. One month to commit to winning the prize. One month to evaluate talent and make the appropriate personnel moves.