Managing Your Star Workers
by Lindsay Edmonds Wickman
This summer, the fastest, strongest and most skilled athletes are on a rigorous training schedule in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Similarly, corporations should be critically eyeing their own ranks to assess where their internal superstars stand and provide them with appropriate, tailored training and coaching.
"It's no different than having superstar athletes," said Bonnie Hagemann, CEO of Executive Development Associates, which creates custom-designed executive development strategies, systems and programs. "[Superstar workers] need training, development, goals and [rewards]. And I think one of the things that people really miss when they're managing superstars is just that consistent, candid and encouraging feedback."
According to Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, a high performer is an individual who energizes others, makes tough decisions and delivers on promises. While these superstars work quickly to produce high-quality work, they are not without weakness - they may not be the best collaborators, which is a key skill in today's workplace. As a result, high-potential workers must have a custom development program that hits on both strengths and weaknesses.
"They're superstars; they're the ones who are out front. [So] sometimes they don't know how to play on a team," Hagemann said. "You build on strengths, but you also want to fix any potential derailers. They've got to have consistent and encouraging, but direct and candid, feedback. If you say, 'Look, your goal for the next year is to make sure that your five peers are rooting for you when you get the next promotion,' then they'll go get that goal."
Because high-potential employees demand high levels of energy, it's not feasible or realistic to have an entire organization of superstars.
"Every organization needs some superstars," Hagemann said. "But personally, I don't believe in having a whole organization of superstars. I believe in having some superstars [who] plow new ground and pull the organization forward. But you need a lot of other good solid workers to bring the organization along and to make sure that all of those initiatives that get put in place by the superstars are executed."
From the start, organizations should determine whether they want or need a superstar for specific positions.
"When I'm doing executive coaching, I'll say, 'Do you want a thoroughbred, or do you want a good quarter horse?'" Hagemann said. "If you want someone who's jumpy and hard to manage but can run like the wind, then you may want a superstar. But if you want someone who will be a good team player and work with the organization, you probably want a quarter horse. It is two different needs."
Superstars need room to roam, so specify loose boundaries for them.
"Give them some boundaries," Hagemann said. "Once you give them boundaries, make them broad enough so that they have a lot of room to run, and then let them run. Give them a low amount of detail, like paperwork, because that's just going to slow them down and make them frustrated."
Once a superstar is on board, organizations should harness their passion while cultivating their capabilities.
"You don't want to take away their fire, but at the same time, they need to be honed because they might come in a little raw," Hagemann said. "Because they're so high energy and they want to please their leaders, you can [floor] them pretty easily. If you get knocked down on your butt, you get back up and you get right back on the trail. You have to teach them that."
[About the Author: Lindsay Edmonds Wickman is an associate editor for Chief Learning Officer magazine.]
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The CEO as Chief Blogger
The CEO as Chief Blogger
by Jeanne C. Meister
[Chief Learning Officer | July 2008]
There is so much talk lately about how a learning function or human resource organization should use blogging. Questions abound, such as:
1. What strategy should the learning and human resource department have regarding blogging?
2. What guidelines should be in place pertaining to how your employees blog?
3. Should the CEO have a blog? Should it focus externally or internally?
These are some interesting questions to ponder as more companies begin experimenting with social media to develop trust, improve communications and increase vehicles for employee development. But it seems some larger questions should be addressed, such as:
1. Does your CEO know what a blog is?
2. If your CEO has a blog, has it been reviewed in the blogosphere?
3. Do your top three competitors' CEOs have blogs? If so, what are they blogging about?
To date, just 58 of the Fortune 500 companies have blogs. But in most cases, these are maintained by corporate communications departments rather than CEOs penning their own blogs.
But there are notable exceptions. Two CEOs come to mind who blog regularly. One is Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, who posts on a regular basis about his interactions with customers around the world. In fact, as I write this column, I'm also glancing at Schwartz' latest post, "Transparency and Making Choices," in which he writes about what makes him proud to work at Sun and how he communicates this to clients and customers around the globe.
Another model is Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks and CEO of HDNet. He frequently posts long blogs on basketball, business, media and whatever other topic he happens to find interesting. Though Cuban often is brash and controversial in tone, he regularly offers truly interesting and insightful perspectives that suggest an active and informed mind.
As you continue to research which strategy to adopt and create a set of guidelines for company blogging, I recommend looking at research findings from Clearswift, a content security firm. The survey, conducted among 939 corporate decision makers on matters related to corporate blogging and wikis, highlighted the following:
a) 20 percent don't have a policy governing appropriate use of the Internet, including social media sites.
b) 39 percent of IT and business decision makers consider social media to be relevant to today's corporate environment, while 36 percent do not see social media as relevant to their businesses.
c) 13 percent of organizations are not aware of social media and have no policy on it.
If you were going to make a recommendation to your CEO about being a blogger, what would you recommend? Here are three considerations to address:
1. Decide whether your CEO blog should focus internally or externally. Clark Kokich, CEO of Avenue A/RazorFish, an interactive marketing services firm, decided to launch an internally focused blog as a vehicle to create a common voice and share the culture and values among the company's employees in multiple countries. In a recent interview, Clark was asked whether he enjoyed blogging. He said, "It's a constant pressure to say something interesting and relevant to our 2,300 employees, but I see this as an increasingly important part of my job as CEO."
2. Partner with corporate communications. As you develop a strategy, it should ideally combine the benefits of blogging as a communications tool with using blogging as a vehicle to share the corporate culture and values as demonstrated above by both Schwartz and Kokich.
3. Use the learning staff. Corporate learning and talent development personnel often are called upon to be the "pioneers" in using the latest social media as the company develops its strategic goals for social media use. In this case, you should have learning professionals work with the CEO to figure out the best ways to engage the audience.
Above all, it's important that blogging serves your strategic goals while being consistent with your company's standards for corporate security.
by Jeanne C. Meister
[Chief Learning Officer | July 2008]
There is so much talk lately about how a learning function or human resource organization should use blogging. Questions abound, such as:
1. What strategy should the learning and human resource department have regarding blogging?
2. What guidelines should be in place pertaining to how your employees blog?
3. Should the CEO have a blog? Should it focus externally or internally?
These are some interesting questions to ponder as more companies begin experimenting with social media to develop trust, improve communications and increase vehicles for employee development. But it seems some larger questions should be addressed, such as:
1. Does your CEO know what a blog is?
2. If your CEO has a blog, has it been reviewed in the blogosphere?
3. Do your top three competitors' CEOs have blogs? If so, what are they blogging about?
To date, just 58 of the Fortune 500 companies have blogs. But in most cases, these are maintained by corporate communications departments rather than CEOs penning their own blogs.
But there are notable exceptions. Two CEOs come to mind who blog regularly. One is Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, who posts on a regular basis about his interactions with customers around the world. In fact, as I write this column, I'm also glancing at Schwartz' latest post, "Transparency and Making Choices," in which he writes about what makes him proud to work at Sun and how he communicates this to clients and customers around the globe.
Another model is Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks and CEO of HDNet. He frequently posts long blogs on basketball, business, media and whatever other topic he happens to find interesting. Though Cuban often is brash and controversial in tone, he regularly offers truly interesting and insightful perspectives that suggest an active and informed mind.
As you continue to research which strategy to adopt and create a set of guidelines for company blogging, I recommend looking at research findings from Clearswift, a content security firm. The survey, conducted among 939 corporate decision makers on matters related to corporate blogging and wikis, highlighted the following:
a) 20 percent don't have a policy governing appropriate use of the Internet, including social media sites.
b) 39 percent of IT and business decision makers consider social media to be relevant to today's corporate environment, while 36 percent do not see social media as relevant to their businesses.
c) 13 percent of organizations are not aware of social media and have no policy on it.
If you were going to make a recommendation to your CEO about being a blogger, what would you recommend? Here are three considerations to address:
1. Decide whether your CEO blog should focus internally or externally. Clark Kokich, CEO of Avenue A/RazorFish, an interactive marketing services firm, decided to launch an internally focused blog as a vehicle to create a common voice and share the culture and values among the company's employees in multiple countries. In a recent interview, Clark was asked whether he enjoyed blogging. He said, "It's a constant pressure to say something interesting and relevant to our 2,300 employees, but I see this as an increasingly important part of my job as CEO."
2. Partner with corporate communications. As you develop a strategy, it should ideally combine the benefits of blogging as a communications tool with using blogging as a vehicle to share the corporate culture and values as demonstrated above by both Schwartz and Kokich.
3. Use the learning staff. Corporate learning and talent development personnel often are called upon to be the "pioneers" in using the latest social media as the company develops its strategic goals for social media use. In this case, you should have learning professionals work with the CEO to figure out the best ways to engage the audience.
Above all, it's important that blogging serves your strategic goals while being consistent with your company's standards for corporate security.
At Michigan LearnPort, Teachers Tap Social Networking
At Michigan LearnPort, Teachers Tap Social Networking
by Bill Perry
Public school teachers typically spend all of their time sharing knowledge with students, not each other. To encourage peer sharing, Michigan Virtual University created Michigan LearnPort, a social networking system that allows teachers in that state to collaborate and distribute ideas and best practices.
In 1998, the state of Michigan established Michigan Virtual University (MVU) as a not-for-profit corporation to serve as a champion for online learning. MVU, in partnership with Michigan schools, provides cost-effective services and technology that strengthen teaching. The organization funds its operations with grants, contracts and course fees.
Since its founding, MVU has been a leading change agent in Michigan for the use of online tools and resources for developing and sharing knowledge. Beginning in 2002, there has been a steady stream of state and federal laws aimed at improving education. These laws push teachers to participate in professional development (PD), but many educators feel strapped for time and resources when it comes to learning.
In 2003, MVU created a Web-based PD delivery system called Michigan LearnPort. Through Michigan LearnPort, school personnel are provided PD programs to help meet personal and district learning requirements.
Finding a Better Way
Over the years, MVU and its partner, the Michigan Department of Education, examined the typical ways school districts parcel out PD for teachers. MVU saw room for improvement.
"So often, as a school superintendent, I would bring in an expert to address my staff for the purpose of PD," said David Myers, executive director for Michigan LearnPort. "Lots of people would get excited by the presentations. But when teachers returned to their classes and the expert was gone, they had nowhere to go to build on what they learned."
Relaunching Michigan LearnPort
With this in mind, Myers and his colleagues set four goals for the relaunch of Michigan LearnPort:
1. Michigan LearnPort will become the premier Web site for delivering PD courses to Michigan educators.
2. It will trim the cost of PD for school districts by delivering training online. Myers envisioned teachers getting education at school, home, libraries, anywhere with an Internet connection - even during the summer months when most schools are closed.
3. Teachers will have a way to sustain what they learn.
4. Michigan LearnPort will serve as a repository for Michigan school districts' training records.
"We weren't trying to aggregate records simply for the sake of showing compliance with state mandates," Myers added. "We also wanted this capability so teachers and administrators could have one place to track their professional learning activities from graduate study, seminars and, of course, Michigan LearnPort online courses."
A New Twist for the LMS
MVU had experience with learning management system (LMS) software for tracking and distributing training. MVU's executives knew an LMS was a way for teachers in far-flung districts to easily register and take online training. But along with managing the basics of learning, Michigan LearnPort was meant to bring the best of social networking software and knowledge exchange to one easy-to-use, accessible spot. So Michigan LearnPort personnel sought an LMS that would underpin an online community in which educators could exchange ideas to help one another.
"We needed to deliver training to tens of thousands of users, but we also wanted to foster collaboration," Myers said. "We had to have a system that was intuitive. Not all users are experts with e-learning or online collaboration."
After months of evaluating vendors, Meridian's LMS was chosen for the MVU project. With the LMS in place, Michigan LearnPort has a record of each teacher's development plan. It also links PD to school goals and offers access to training. Teachers can create transcripts to show they are complying with NCLB. And Michigan LearnPort offers online forums for teachers to join after completing PD.
"The collaborative features of our LMS, which we call 'community rooms,' were ideal for helping us reinforce the PD that teachers undertake," Myers said. "Our Michigan LearnPort community rooms are built around discussion threads, a resident e-mail tool and calendaring functionality."
A Community of Learning
According to Michigan LearnPort, since launching the new LMS in July 2007, users of the PD portal have built more than 134 community rooms. More than 100 online courses are available free to all Michigan teachers via the Internet. And Michigan LearnPort makes it possible for them to create and use a community room as part of an online course. By January 2008, about six months after the launch, Michigan LearnPort had served almost 30,000 users.
"It's amazing to see the proliferation of community rooms that educators have built in the six months since we relaunched Michigan LearnPort: We've gone from zero to 134," said Elizabeth Elliott, project manager at Michigan LearnPort. "Anyone who visits Michigan LearnPort can use our LMS to create a community room. The size of the rooms range from two people to an entire school district."
According to Michigan LearnPort, educators at opposite ends of the state now can connect through community rooms. For soon-to-be credentialed teachers who often are new college graduates, the community rooms are proving a favorite.
When teachers visit Michigan LearnPort, they will see the range of community rooms, as well as a feature for creating them. The social networking features of the LMS, coupled with its traditional training features, have the potential to improve the way teachers seek PD and the ways they collaborate. Before relaunching Michigan LearnPort, Myers said, teachers who wanted to collaborate would have to coordinate schedules, find e-mail addresses for colleagues and set up conference calls at the mercy of everyone's calendars. Now, educators can connect and learn when they have the time.
"If you calculate what it costs to chase people for training, compensate instructors and pay for courses and classroom space," Myers said, "then there's no question we've saved Michigan educators time and money, while improving their skills."
For example, one Michigan school district tapped Michigan LearnPort for an online course to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. The district pegged its savings at $11 per employee. If the 150,000 school employees across the state were to take this hour-long, online OSHA course in place of face-to-face OSHA training, the potential savings would be more than $1.6 million, or equal to the approximate cost of operating Michigan LearnPort for one year.
Going forward, Myers and his team hope to make online learning a widely accepted alternative to the traditional models of PD that Michigan educators rely on. Early success with Michigan LearnPort is helping Myers' team make a case.
[About the Author: Bill Perry is managing partner of March 24 Media LLC.]
by Bill Perry
Public school teachers typically spend all of their time sharing knowledge with students, not each other. To encourage peer sharing, Michigan Virtual University created Michigan LearnPort, a social networking system that allows teachers in that state to collaborate and distribute ideas and best practices.
In 1998, the state of Michigan established Michigan Virtual University (MVU) as a not-for-profit corporation to serve as a champion for online learning. MVU, in partnership with Michigan schools, provides cost-effective services and technology that strengthen teaching. The organization funds its operations with grants, contracts and course fees.
Since its founding, MVU has been a leading change agent in Michigan for the use of online tools and resources for developing and sharing knowledge. Beginning in 2002, there has been a steady stream of state and federal laws aimed at improving education. These laws push teachers to participate in professional development (PD), but many educators feel strapped for time and resources when it comes to learning.
In 2003, MVU created a Web-based PD delivery system called Michigan LearnPort. Through Michigan LearnPort, school personnel are provided PD programs to help meet personal and district learning requirements.
Finding a Better Way
Over the years, MVU and its partner, the Michigan Department of Education, examined the typical ways school districts parcel out PD for teachers. MVU saw room for improvement.
"So often, as a school superintendent, I would bring in an expert to address my staff for the purpose of PD," said David Myers, executive director for Michigan LearnPort. "Lots of people would get excited by the presentations. But when teachers returned to their classes and the expert was gone, they had nowhere to go to build on what they learned."
Relaunching Michigan LearnPort
With this in mind, Myers and his colleagues set four goals for the relaunch of Michigan LearnPort:
1. Michigan LearnPort will become the premier Web site for delivering PD courses to Michigan educators.
2. It will trim the cost of PD for school districts by delivering training online. Myers envisioned teachers getting education at school, home, libraries, anywhere with an Internet connection - even during the summer months when most schools are closed.
3. Teachers will have a way to sustain what they learn.
4. Michigan LearnPort will serve as a repository for Michigan school districts' training records.
"We weren't trying to aggregate records simply for the sake of showing compliance with state mandates," Myers added. "We also wanted this capability so teachers and administrators could have one place to track their professional learning activities from graduate study, seminars and, of course, Michigan LearnPort online courses."
A New Twist for the LMS
MVU had experience with learning management system (LMS) software for tracking and distributing training. MVU's executives knew an LMS was a way for teachers in far-flung districts to easily register and take online training. But along with managing the basics of learning, Michigan LearnPort was meant to bring the best of social networking software and knowledge exchange to one easy-to-use, accessible spot. So Michigan LearnPort personnel sought an LMS that would underpin an online community in which educators could exchange ideas to help one another.
"We needed to deliver training to tens of thousands of users, but we also wanted to foster collaboration," Myers said. "We had to have a system that was intuitive. Not all users are experts with e-learning or online collaboration."
After months of evaluating vendors, Meridian's LMS was chosen for the MVU project. With the LMS in place, Michigan LearnPort has a record of each teacher's development plan. It also links PD to school goals and offers access to training. Teachers can create transcripts to show they are complying with NCLB. And Michigan LearnPort offers online forums for teachers to join after completing PD.
"The collaborative features of our LMS, which we call 'community rooms,' were ideal for helping us reinforce the PD that teachers undertake," Myers said. "Our Michigan LearnPort community rooms are built around discussion threads, a resident e-mail tool and calendaring functionality."
A Community of Learning
According to Michigan LearnPort, since launching the new LMS in July 2007, users of the PD portal have built more than 134 community rooms. More than 100 online courses are available free to all Michigan teachers via the Internet. And Michigan LearnPort makes it possible for them to create and use a community room as part of an online course. By January 2008, about six months after the launch, Michigan LearnPort had served almost 30,000 users.
"It's amazing to see the proliferation of community rooms that educators have built in the six months since we relaunched Michigan LearnPort: We've gone from zero to 134," said Elizabeth Elliott, project manager at Michigan LearnPort. "Anyone who visits Michigan LearnPort can use our LMS to create a community room. The size of the rooms range from two people to an entire school district."
According to Michigan LearnPort, educators at opposite ends of the state now can connect through community rooms. For soon-to-be credentialed teachers who often are new college graduates, the community rooms are proving a favorite.
When teachers visit Michigan LearnPort, they will see the range of community rooms, as well as a feature for creating them. The social networking features of the LMS, coupled with its traditional training features, have the potential to improve the way teachers seek PD and the ways they collaborate. Before relaunching Michigan LearnPort, Myers said, teachers who wanted to collaborate would have to coordinate schedules, find e-mail addresses for colleagues and set up conference calls at the mercy of everyone's calendars. Now, educators can connect and learn when they have the time.
"If you calculate what it costs to chase people for training, compensate instructors and pay for courses and classroom space," Myers said, "then there's no question we've saved Michigan educators time and money, while improving their skills."
For example, one Michigan school district tapped Michigan LearnPort for an online course to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. The district pegged its savings at $11 per employee. If the 150,000 school employees across the state were to take this hour-long, online OSHA course in place of face-to-face OSHA training, the potential savings would be more than $1.6 million, or equal to the approximate cost of operating Michigan LearnPort for one year.
Going forward, Myers and his team hope to make online learning a widely accepted alternative to the traditional models of PD that Michigan educators rely on. Early success with Michigan LearnPort is helping Myers' team make a case.
[About the Author: Bill Perry is managing partner of March 24 Media LLC.]
Integration Key to Effective Succession Planning
Integration Key to Effective Succession Planning
by Shelly Heiden
Whether attempting to crown the next CEO or determine which workers to tap
for promotion to the company's managerial ranks, an organization needs a
comprehensive view into the workforce's skills and talent in order to make
the best talent and business decisions. Integrating learning, performance
management, compensation management and career planning can facilitate
effective succession planning.
A successful succession plan should answer the following questions for each
candidate:
a) Learning: What does the candidate know (knowledge)? What is he or she
qualified to do (skills)? What training has the candidate completed?
b) Performance and competency management: How well has the candidate
performed in the past? What does past performance indicate about areas of
strength and/or weakness? Which competencies has the candidate attained or
still need to ascend to the next level? Which positions in the organization
map to the competencies demonstrated by this candidate?
c) Compensation management: What is the candidate's compensation history?
How does the candidate's compensation map to his or her performance and
achievement of corporate goals?
d) Career planning and development: What are the candidate's future career
goals? Where does the person see him or herself professionally, one, three,
even 10 years down the road? Is the candidate willing to relocate in order
to accept a new or existing position? How much is he or she willing to
travel?
To answer these questions, organizations must have insight and visibility
into organizational talent. By integrating and aggregating information about
an employee's learning, performance management, compensation,
career-planning activities and history, organizations can generate a
comprehensive snapshot of each employee or of an organization's entire
workforce.
Further, this integrated approach serves to match employee career goals with
organizational staffing needs, allowing companies to more effectively
leverage existing talent.
Historically, the enterprise-technology platforms available to manage this
employee data have been largely cut off from one another, each confined to
its own silo of functionality. Traditional learning management systems
(LMS), for example, automate the delivery and management of training and, in
some instances, competencies. Traditional employee performance management
systems (EPM) automate performance management administration and, in some
instances, career planning.
This siloed approach has made it nearly impossible to integrate the
information necessary for effective succession planning. But talent managers
now are driving the evolution of a new class of enterprise software.
According to a June 2007 research report titled "Learning Management Systems
2008: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles" from research
firm Bersin & Associates, the integration revolution already has begun.
The report said the "convergence of learning and performance management
systems is still in its early stages," but LMS features are evolving and
"continue to snowball at an incredible rate." Further, in response to
customer demand, nearly every major LMS vendor "has developed a new set of
capabilities for performance management, succession planning, and competency
management."
According to Gartner Inc. the same phenomenon is occurring in the EPM
market. When Gartner Research Vice President James Holincheck wrote the
update to the research firm's "MarketScope for Employee Performance
Management Software" in late 2007, he said EPM systems are no longer being
evaluated on their own, and customers are increasingly selecting EPM
solutions that are "more integrated with compensation and succession
management."
In response, Gartner not only broadened the scope of its research to include
all three areas, it expanded the very definition of EPM, from focusing only
on performance management to include succession management and compensation
management.
With succession planning moving to the forefront of the corporate agenda,
the time has come for stakeholders to evaluate their succession planning
strategies and solutions in the context of broader talent management
capabilities and goals.
[About the Author: Shelly Heiden is executive vice president for Global
Field Operations at Plateau Systems.]
by Shelly Heiden
Whether attempting to crown the next CEO or determine which workers to tap
for promotion to the company's managerial ranks, an organization needs a
comprehensive view into the workforce's skills and talent in order to make
the best talent and business decisions. Integrating learning, performance
management, compensation management and career planning can facilitate
effective succession planning.
A successful succession plan should answer the following questions for each
candidate:
a) Learning: What does the candidate know (knowledge)? What is he or she
qualified to do (skills)? What training has the candidate completed?
b) Performance and competency management: How well has the candidate
performed in the past? What does past performance indicate about areas of
strength and/or weakness? Which competencies has the candidate attained or
still need to ascend to the next level? Which positions in the organization
map to the competencies demonstrated by this candidate?
c) Compensation management: What is the candidate's compensation history?
How does the candidate's compensation map to his or her performance and
achievement of corporate goals?
d) Career planning and development: What are the candidate's future career
goals? Where does the person see him or herself professionally, one, three,
even 10 years down the road? Is the candidate willing to relocate in order
to accept a new or existing position? How much is he or she willing to
travel?
To answer these questions, organizations must have insight and visibility
into organizational talent. By integrating and aggregating information about
an employee's learning, performance management, compensation,
career-planning activities and history, organizations can generate a
comprehensive snapshot of each employee or of an organization's entire
workforce.
Further, this integrated approach serves to match employee career goals with
organizational staffing needs, allowing companies to more effectively
leverage existing talent.
Historically, the enterprise-technology platforms available to manage this
employee data have been largely cut off from one another, each confined to
its own silo of functionality. Traditional learning management systems
(LMS), for example, automate the delivery and management of training and, in
some instances, competencies. Traditional employee performance management
systems (EPM) automate performance management administration and, in some
instances, career planning.
This siloed approach has made it nearly impossible to integrate the
information necessary for effective succession planning. But talent managers
now are driving the evolution of a new class of enterprise software.
According to a June 2007 research report titled "Learning Management Systems
2008: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles" from research
firm Bersin & Associates, the integration revolution already has begun.
The report said the "convergence of learning and performance management
systems is still in its early stages," but LMS features are evolving and
"continue to snowball at an incredible rate." Further, in response to
customer demand, nearly every major LMS vendor "has developed a new set of
capabilities for performance management, succession planning, and competency
management."
According to Gartner Inc. the same phenomenon is occurring in the EPM
market. When Gartner Research Vice President James Holincheck wrote the
update to the research firm's "MarketScope for Employee Performance
Management Software" in late 2007, he said EPM systems are no longer being
evaluated on their own, and customers are increasingly selecting EPM
solutions that are "more integrated with compensation and succession
management."
In response, Gartner not only broadened the scope of its research to include
all three areas, it expanded the very definition of EPM, from focusing only
on performance management to include succession management and compensation
management.
With succession planning moving to the forefront of the corporate agenda,
the time has come for stakeholders to evaluate their succession planning
strategies and solutions in the context of broader talent management
capabilities and goals.
[About the Author: Shelly Heiden is executive vice president for Global
Field Operations at Plateau Systems.]
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