Talent Transformation

Talent Transformation

by Dr. Jac Fitz-Enz

The latest talent buzzword seems to be "transformation." I'm certain the term conjures up various definitions in people's minds. The dictionary lists a page of them related to everything from the sciences to the arts and philosophy.

For instance, "betterment: a change for the better," or "permutation: complete change in character or condition."

The good news is that now we can all be like Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland: "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."

My Meaning

I lean toward permutation over betterment as a definition. Many organizations are undergoing permutation as they try to cope with the post-credit-crunch marketplace. Think about January 2008. What were we dealing with in planning, recruitment, compensation, development and retention? How has that changed? Didn't we go from preparing for mass retirements to baby boomers now being unable to retire? What were we thinking about in terms of incentive pay and executive compensation? Is that in the middle of major change? Pick a topic and the scenario is the same.

If you are comfortable with betterment as your definition, there is not much to do. Iron out a few wrinkles here and there and just go on. The downside is that every day you lose market position to those who are successfully transforming themselves. If you need to make radical change, here is something to consider.

Decision Making

Transformation will require some heavy deliberations. You can't afford to be wrong, since the stakes of competitive advantage are very high. Where will you get your data for decision making? What do you have on hand now? Do you know the cost of, volume of, time cycles in, and employee and manager reactions toward your services before January 2008 and since that date? If not, how will you make recommendations to the C-level about talent leaders in 2010 and beyond? What will be your basis and defense if you have no data?

However, if you do have data from 2008 onward, you're not necessarily out of the woods. Think back again to what 2008 and most of 2009 was like. How much have things changed? Is there a 10 percent difference, 20 percent, 40 percent? If you say 2010 is probably no more than 10 percent different in any category, take a look at your 401(k) balance.

What about the future? Do you have any data on readiness, engagement, leadership or mission-critical talent retention? If not, again, how can you make recommendations?

How to Transform

Assuming that your organization needs to make major change to compete, and who doesn't, what do you need to do that effectively? Again, you can slog through dealing with a piece here and a piece there, but that is like giving aspirin to a person with pneumonia. All it does is reduce the fever while leaving the bacteria, virus or fungi to continue ravaging the lungs. Five percent of the 3 million people who contract pneumonia in the U.S. each year die. What can you do to help your company avoid being one of the 5 percent that can't transform to meet the competition?

Transformation plans run on data. You need some data from the past to learn what did or didn't work. An annual employee attitude survey is useless because the data is obsolete before you get it. What did work is of some value, but not much, because 2008's market is not 2010's market.

You need to start with a comprehensive scan of the emerging market. Look at the implications of how changes in human capital interact with structural capital, the phys-ical things you own. Is your leadership development plan truly linked to the new market, or is it a replay of yesterday? Then, study your processes. What is the most effective combination of inputs and methods to stimulate performance, growth and tenure? This is where you need statistical analysis. Finally, build a performance measurement system that ties together corporate key performance indicators, operating outcomes and leading indicators of future investment results.

These are the key ingredients of a new year transformation plan.

[About the Author: Dr. Jac Fitz-Enz is Founder and CEO of the Human Capital Source and Workforce Intelligence Institute.]