How do you keep your talent management policies and practices aligned?

By asking yourself...Why hire great people just to put them in boxes. It's time to move beyond the 9 box grid and move.. From secrecy to transparency From discussions about people to discussions with people From jobs and functions to skills and roles From annual to real time and continuous From static to speed, adaptability and responsiveness From one-size-fits-all to decoupling of talent, performance, career development and feedback From add-on to integrated with business cycle and ways of working From top-down to personal ownership From individual to collective goals and reward From manager-led to peer recognition and reward From process to holistic employee experience From pre-defined pipeline to sourcing across the ecosystem

Beyond assessing practices and processes, you need to gauge the realities of your workforce, for example, who you're attracting (and not), who's staying, who's leaving, who's succeeding (as measured by promotion, performance, pay, etc.,) . . . and why. Advanced workforce analytics can provide an empirical portrait of the workforce you're creating and the factors that most influence key workforce outcomes. Often, your programs and practices do not materialize as intended due to complex interactions between different parts of your talent system and the effects of external market dynamics. By analyzing the running record of workforce data you can get a clearer view of the current state and determine if and how it aligns with the desire state.

To keep talent management policies and practices aligned, organizations should establish clear strategic objectives, regularly review and update policies, ensure alignment with the company's culture and values, maintain open communication, rely on data-driven decision-making, link performance management with talent processes, invest in leadership development, collect employee feedback, implement succession planning, adhere to legal and regulatory compliance, offer relevant training and development opportunities, and continuously monitor and adjust practices to ensure they align with the organization's overarching goals.

To maintain alignment in talent management policies and practices it’s important to establish clear objectives and goals. You should also review and update policies regularly. Communicate policies effectively, provide employee training and development, monitor compliance and employee performance, be open to receiving employee feedback, promote accountability and ownership on every level.

Consider the holistic employee experience, encompassing aspects like job satisfaction, work-life balance, and professional growth. Understanding these qualitative dimensions provides a comprehensive view of your talent landscape.

By closely aligning talent management strategies with organizational goals, companies can create a workforce that is not only skilled but also strategically positioned to contribute effectively to the overall success of the organization. Regular evaluations and adjustments ensure continued alignment with dynamic business needs. Some of exmaples are Understand Organizational, Goals:Identify Critical Roles.

Aligning the talent management strategy with the company strategy, especially in IT, with the (not too long-term, but still stable) product strategy is key. Talent management can only be done right when resource management is done right. Knowing what skills and how many people will be needed to fulfill the strategy is key to defining the purpose of the talent management strategy, its planning, and implementation.

In defining your desired state, don't just set objectives; embed cultural alignment. Ensure that every talent management objective resonates with your organizational culture and brand ethos. Define not just short-term objectives, but also anticipate the skills and competencies critical for future success.

I believe this should be the first step in the process. In order for the organization to be fully aligned and moving in the same direction, each department's objectives should begin with the organization's mission, vision and values then the specific short and long-term goals. All of talent management's programs, processes and efforts should move the organization towards the mission, vision and goals using the values. I would then begin the analysis of the current state, actual outcomes and desired outcomes in order to identify gaps and priorities.

Claridad en los Objetivos es el primer pilar que define claramente los objetivos de la política de dicha organización respecto a su capital humano. El objetivo actual de una organización que aprende y evoluciona es desarrollar un modelo de compensación destinado a incentivar, promover, desarrollar y reconocer a las personas o equipos que participan y contribuyen en sus proyectos. Es importante subrayar que siempre deberíamos reservar un espacio para que la persona o el equipo en cuestión complete y personalice su propio mapa de compensación, ayudándoles a alcanzar sus objetivos.

The biggest key to alignment across an organization is always communication. What is the policy? Communicate it. Where are documents stored? Communicate it. When is the due date? Communicate it. Of course, communication can occur through many different modalities. Choose multiple methods that ensure the target of the communication will see it and be able to follow the instructions. You're not creating communication to check a box; you're creating it to drive real results.

Some effective communication approaches I've seen are regular town hall meetings, feedback sessions, and drop-in calls that can help ensure everyone is on the same page. Meanwhile, it is also important to address any concerns or suggestions that arise, as this fosters a culture of transparency and trust. In addition, involving employees in decision-making processes, especially in areas that directly impact them, can help create more inclusive and effective talent management policies. In this way, employees would feel valued and invested in achieving the organizational goals.

Foster transparency by not only sharing your vision and plans but also articulating the rationale behind decisions. Encourage an open dialogue that welcomes questions and diverse perspectives. This two-way communication ensures that stakeholders not only understand the 'what' but also the 'why' behind your talent management strategy, fostering informed commitment.

To keep talent management policies and practices aligned, regularly review and update them to reflect organizational goals and changes. Ensure communication about these policies is clear and consistent across all levels of the organization to maintain alignment with overall objectives. Regularly assess the effectiveness of talent management strategies and adjust them as needed to address evolving needs and challenges.

Create ownership. First, we need to create Ownership. This is often best created by involving people in identifying problems and crafting solutions.?It demands the will to accept responsibility for making change happen in all of the areas they influence or control. Then, Communicate the message. ? The best alignment and change programs reinforce core messages through regular, timely advice that is both inspirational and practicable. Communications flow in from the bottom and out from the top and are targeted to provide employees with the right information at the right time and to solicit their input and feedback.

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the effectiveness of your talent management initiatives. Regularly collect and analyze data to evaluate the impact of your policies and practices. This data can provide valuable insights into areas of strength, areas for improvement, and emerging trends.

Regularly monitor how well you're progressing towards your talent management goals. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your policies. These can include metrics like the employee turnover rate, the average time it takes to fill open positions, or employee engagement scores obtained from annual surveys.

what I have seen often are the general KPIs that do NOT support really the behavior that is needed. Example: "x ready now successors per role" - this KPI will only help if you counter it with e.g., at least 80% of succession placements came from the succession plan. It takes a while to think through which KPIs are relevant for your culture and philosophy and then to implement them In a way that support relevant decision making and investments.

One of the most important aspect of talent management process is to align it to not just to your business needs but also to the organisation growth curve and maturity. One size never fits all so it’s important to look beyond best practices into what’s needed and relevant. Standard programs are more suited for smaller scale organisations, as the scale grows organisations should consider differentiated talent processes for different segments while being aware that selecting in has its own biases as well.

People Management is critical to the success of organizations in terms of business strategy; an organization can succeed if it has a sustainable competitive advantage (is better than competitors at something and can hold that advantage over a sustained period of time). There are measurements and indicators that help us monitor the execution of a successful and best practice but one that I consider a key source of information to adapt and make improvements is the Employee life cycle. It gives us a global vision on how are we doing with current practices and where to focus on for improvements.

Based on your monitoring and evaluation, make necessary adjustments to your talent management strategies. This could involve redefining policies to better fit your workforce's needs, investing more in training and development programs to build your employees' skills, or refining your recruitment process to attract a more diverse and talented pool of candidates.

The exciting part is testing and experimenting with new ideas and innovations. As business needs evolve rapidly and remain fluid, recruiters must stay vigilant and maintain a flexible mindset. They need to adapt swiftly to industry practices that align with the company's culture. Some approaches will be successful, while others may become outdated. Therefore, regular review of policies, practices, and ongoing training to adapt to new methodologies is essential. One such practice we implemented is "Big Picture Meeting" which is a hit. It is important the candidate gets right compensation and knows more about our culture not only through the HR but through the future fellow team members as well. This helps them in making the right decision.

I make sure that the rules & methods that we use to manage our talented employees always match our company's goals & what we need from them. We do this by talking regularly with the HRBP's and department leaders to keep everything working well together. Also constant review to improve our rules/ processes about things like hiring, how we measure performance, how we help our employees grow, etc. Our teams are encouraged to be flexible & keep learning on the go so they can quickly/ seamlessly adapt to any changes we need to make. Hence this way we make sure the right people are doing the right jobs to make all of us successful along with company.

Si lo tuviera que definir con una palabra sería: inclusión Inclusión e integración en los 4 ámbitos o dimensiones clave: ambiente de trabajo, capacitación, formación y desarrollo, retribución y beneficios no salariales. Sin esa inclusión y aplicación en esos cuatro ámbitos no funcionará o no lo hará en su mejor forma.

Recognize and address external factors that may influence your talent management strategies. These could include changes in the labor market such as shifts in demographics or skillsets, industry trends like remote work or automation, or broader economic conditions like recessions or high employment rates.