Let's make sure you have a Talent Strategy that inspires results.

When working with leaders to create strategic plans for improving talent management, culture or even business operations, I have observed time and time again groups of well-intended, action-oriented, and very smart people go straight to and often stop with a list of ‘to do’ items. For them, this list and along with some deliverables and deadlines becomes their strategic plan, but is that enough? Is something missing? Is this backwards?

I would argue that listing out “everything we’re going to do to make things better” is not the place to start. It’s a common mistake to go straight to solutions and call it a day. I get it, but it’s typically not a process that allows participants to fully embrace the bigger picture, align around a common vision, consider limited time and resources, or to carefully vet ideas to get the best outcomes. Overall, it’s just not going to yeild stellar results.

Is this habit driven by impatience, pressure, lack of discipline, a strong desire to quickly show progress, or is it a result of simply not knowing any better? I am not sure. I am sure that embracing the meaning of strategy which is the art and science of planning and marshaling resources for their most efficient and effective use, and following a strategic planning process that focuses on how to reach a shared vision of success are key.

So back to lists of solutions generated without a clear strategic approach and the problems I see with them:

A list of "things to do by when" in and of itself does not provide context or include why one should believe that the desired outcome will be realized as a result of checking off the items on said list. In fact, a list has the tendency to create a false sense of progress. It typically leads to a misrepresentation of the work and confuses action or even chaos with progress.

A list, standing alone, will not show cause and effect. It’s merely a collection of individual ideas. It does not connect progress toward the goal back to the efforts that had the most impact. It will leave the organization with little choice but to execute on the same or slightly edited list year after year hoping that the results improve, but not knowing why or how.

A list gives people a perceived choice and thereby creates inconsistency in execution and prioritization across the organization. Leaders who are asked to execute against a list are likely to pick and choose what is interesting or easy for them. Or worse, build the organizational habit of compliance; checking off the tasks, but not embracing the intent or truly engaging to understand the impact and outcomes that the list designers intended.

Now, check your talent planning process against the following elements of a strong talent strategy and see how yours stacks up:

Start with the end in mind. Your plan needs to show how talent strategy helps deliver on the overall business mission and goals. If your talent strategy does not explain that it is built to close the gap between the current state and the ideal state and how the ideal state it will help grow the business, it is still just a list, not a strategy.

Let data guide you. Identify the metrics and performance data that you want to see improved and design the strategy to connect with that data. Use historical data to guide and predict the future. Dare to connect your plan to metrics beyond the standard employee metrics like retention and engagement – choose to also show how talent strategy impacts metrics like customer satisfaction, sales and profitability.

Build context. Be very clear by explaining the rationale, assumptions and reasoning for the elements in the final plan. Why is the focus more on retention this year than recruiting or why will leadership development take priority over a new employee incentive?

Align all HR department resources.  Departments should work in concert for the same outcomes. Recruiting, training, benefits and recognition programs should not fight it out for resources and funds. Silos and the resulting inconsistency within HR creates confusion and uncertainty. Employees end up being unsure about what the organization really wants from them.

Commit to quality over quantity. The genius is in the editing of ideas and committing to actions that have the greatest potential for positive impact. All the bright ideas need to be vetted and then edited. Commitment to stick with the chosen few from your leadership team is also key.

Prioritize for consistency and clarity. Success comes from setting priorities and declaring what will remain in play, what can go undone and what needs to be stopped altogether. This is especially true for your leaders who will implement the final plan. Help your leaders stay focused and to marshal their time and effort appropriately.

Can you do better? Is your talent strategy offer more than a list of bright ideas? If you want to ensure that your plan will bring results, contact me for some inspiring guidance on Talent Strategy design.