Few people would argue that aligning an organization’s talent strategy with its business objectives is a worthwhile exercise. But how many companies actually do it?
Not many, according to our recently published report, Talent Management Factbook 2010. Just over one-third of U.S. companies said that they identify critical roles or talent segments based on business goals. And even fewer companies – less than 10% - have reached the stage where talent management is part of the annual business planning process and talent initiatives are truly owned by business leaders and line managers.
During the course of our research, however, we did find companies with exemplary processes for aligning talent and business initiatives. Right Management is one of them. If you don’t know Right Management, you will likely know its parent company, Manpower. The company uses an excellent model to facilitate its talent strategy and planning process. I’ll briefly describe the process, which is detailed in our report.
The process starts in July with a review of the company’s strategic execution framework, which lists the goals and initiatives outlined in its three-year strategic plan. As shown in the figure below, these business objectives are divided into five main sections: Revenue; Business development; Profitability; Thought leadership; Organization & Culture.
From this strategic execution framework, the HR team can then discuss the implications on talent strategy and planning. These are organized into four categories: 1) Mindsets; 2) Leadership; 3) Organization; and 4) Skills. Once the team understands how the business objectives will impact the organization’s talent, they can then define specific talent goals and initiatives which will become their “talent commitments” for the year. These may include initiatives such as communicating and engaging employees in the company’s new strategy, deploying a new model for high potentials, expanding succession planning to the next level down in the organization, and creating an action plan for improving diversity.
Once the talent commitments have been determined, the model is used to communicate the objectives and commitments throughout the organization. This way, the HR staff understands what goals and deliverables are expected, and how these support the business strategy.
Right Management is a great example of a company with a mature process for talent strategy and planning. Many companies can learn from this model, which has been extremely successful in ensuring that talent initiatives are aligned with business objectives. This model is also used as a communications tool to help staff understand and work toward their goals. For more information on how to create business-driven talent management, see our new report Talent Management Factbook 2010.