Talent Management a Crystal Ball-WP-0811

8/9/2019 Talent Management a Crystal Ball-WP-0811

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Talent management:

a crystal ball into yourorganizations futureJustin Holland

GE Healthcare


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Assess all levels

Talent assessment should not be limited to C-level positions,

but rather a systemwide initiative aimed at building strong

managers, directors, and supervisors, starting

as early as an individuals first year on the job.

Smaller projects and assignments can be used

to assess the potential of employees who are

young in the organization, helping leaders

identify those individuals on whom to focus thei

development efforts.

Talent management should be a highly visible

organizational initiative, with high-potential

individuals and their managers included in the

feedback loop. This transparency motivates

employees to work harder and encourages

talented top performers to remain with anorganization where they feel valued and

appreciated. This is particularly critical for healthcares at-risk

Gen X and Gen Y employees, who, according to a May 2010

Harvard Business Review article,4grow when leaders are

recognizing them early and often, explicitly linking their

individual goals to corporate ones, and letting them help

solve the companys biggest problems.

Current leaders should not be content with accepting the

assessment of an individuals job performance delivered by his

or her direct superior. Instead, the process of assessing talent

should be diversified to ensure no diamonds in the rough

are overlooked. Assessment interviews, testing by assessment

experts and attendance at leadership programs are all means

by which current leaders can both verify and attain a deeper

understanding of an employees performance evaluations.

Include all levels

Talent assessment also should not be limited to the human

resource department. Instead, the process should be owned

by all levels of management, informed by input from individua

employees and supported by C-level personnel. The human

resource department should provide tools and guidelines

for talent review and management, supporting instead of

superintending efforts by current leadership.

As the Baby Boom Generation approaches retirement age and

younger generations of workers cope with the apathy and

restlessness engendered by a lack of engagement with their

positions, employee attrition will become a problem healthcare

organizations literally cannot afford to

ignore. Now, more than ever, it is critical that

healthcare organizations develop effectivetalent management processes to fill the

leadership roles of tomorrow.

Steps to effectivetalent managementAs we look at developing talent within an

organization, it is important to look at how

this activity links with the operations of

the health system. Talent identification,succession planning, and organization design

assessments, which encompass the leadership

and talent review box (see Figure 1), are directly linked to how

work gets accomplished, how organizational strategy is defined

and activated, and how a health system meets its financial

commitments each year. If health system C-teams are serious

about improving operating margin, revenue, and efficiency,

leaders must make an investment and commitment to spending

20% to 30% of their time developing their people in a formal

process such as the leadership and talent review.

Develop a cross-organizationsuccession plan

Beginning with high-risk positions, managers should build

a pool of candidates suited to occupy these roles should they

become vacant. This approach represents a departure from

the traditional practice of grooming a single candidate

for a higher-level role. Instead, managers should look for

individuals with leadership skills who will be capable of moving

laterally as well as vertically within the organization, and helpthese leaders of tomorrow develop competencies in new

areas to better prepare them for the future. This is particularly

critical in healthcare; hospitals have a tendency to pigeonhole

talented employees in limited roles, when in fact the core

competencies that serve them well in their current positions

can often be leveraged elsewhere.

Leaders must

make an investment

and commitment

to spending

20% to 30% of their

time developing

their people.


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important to note that at-risk employees are not just those

who might leave the organization, either for another position

or to retire; top talents likely to be promoted to higher position

are also retention risks.

Predictive workforce planning

Although its often more efficient and effective for organizationto promote internal employees, there are circumstances unde

which hiring from the outside represents the best possible

option. Instead of beginning the search for outside candidates

when a position becomes vacant, current leaders should

anticipate which roles are at a high retention risk and conduct

ongoing exploratory interviews with potential external hires.

Establishing a pipeline of qualified outside individuals saves

both time and money in the event that an internal candidate

cant be identified for a position. Additionally, the process of

conducting exploratory interviews can help leaders identifyadditional qualities and competencies theyre seeking from

internal candidates, fostering even more thorough talent

development within the organization.

Envisioning the futureAs the Baby Boom Generation approaches retirement age

and Generations X and Y begin to dominate the workforce,

healthcare organizations that neglect talent management will

find themselves behind the curve, risking both financial securit

and employee satisfaction. Those organizations that adjust to

the opportunities and demands of healthcare reform, as well a

the mounting importance of actively engaging new generation

of employees, will attract and retain top talent.

Cultivating the leaders of tomorrow is critical to ensuring no

management position at any level stands vacant, and requires

current leaders to devote larger proportions of their time and

energy to developing and managing their staffs. Investing in

future leadership will yield enormous returnsnot only in the

expense saved by having a pipeline of qualified candidatesat the ready when positions become open, but also in the

retention of talented employees whose potential matches

their performance, enabling current leaders to see with

certainty the future of their organizations.

Building a comprehensiveorganization chart

An issue faced by organizations across all industriesbut one

increasingly pertinent to healthcare as its financial, regulatory,

and technological climates all rapidly evolveis the inability to

predict future leadership structure. Assessing the organizational

chart for gaps in leadership helps identify where new positions

may be needed, and underscores the importance of developing

talent who can step into more than one role if required. Thisapproach not only ensures a pipeline of viable candidates will

exist for any potential leadership position that may arise, but

it also enables organizations to better reward high-performing

employees by moving them into higher-level positions as they

open up instead of reserving them for specific roles that may

not be vacated for years.

A timely example is healthcare IT. Healthcare reform aims to

accelerate the adoption of healthcare IT, offering hospitals

the necessary funding to modernize their processes through

the implementation of technologically complex information

systems. Of course, most hospitals dont currently have the

organizational infrastructure to support these IT projects;

building a good talent development strategy around the IT

department will be critical, and this will include identifying rising

stars both within and outside the organization. Effective talent

management processes could have prepared hospitals for

this technological revolution, and implementing them now will

ensure organizations are prepared for the changes to come.

An effective organizational chart doesnt merely map anorganizations chain of command, but it also includes detailed

information on each individual, including how long he or she

has held his or her current position; the complexity of the

position; and the positions key deliverables. Assessing this

information will enable managers to identify both leadership

gaps and positions that are at a high retention risk, two

areas on which to focus their talent management efforts. Its

The process of assessing talent should be

diversified to ensure no diamonds in the

rough are overlooked.


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Mission/vision

Stategic imperatives

Stategicoperating plan

1-year operatingplan/budget

Goals andobjectives

Leadershiptalent review

Performancereview

Values andbehaviors

Quarterly/monthlyreviews

Leadershipdevelopment

PerformanceImprovement

Talent management components Leadership and talent review is an integral part of the talent management components in the model.

Figure 1: Model for Organizational Strategy and Talent Management

Getting started

Our GE Healthcares Performance Solutions experts

recommend three steps to launching a rigorous, effective talent

management program:

1. Build the road map.Assemble your executive team for a dayor two for a strategic leadership working session evaluating

the current and future state of the organizations operating

calendar, management systems, talent development

program and processes.

2. Create the tools and templates.Design and implement

an annual talent assessment process, aligned with your

organizations operating cycle. The templates are a guide

to having robust dialogue about each key talent.

3. Keep up the momentum.Ensure follow-up, coaching, and

consistency of the talent review program. Remember thatyou are initiating a cultural change, and let leaders and

their employees know this process is an integral part of you

organizations operations.


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Author

Justin Hollandis the Managing Principal of the Strategy

and Leadership practice within GE Healthcares

Performance Solutions. Justin leads a team of experts

that partner with healthcare organizations to make

world class management, leadership, and productivity

systems a reality. Justin has over 15 years of experience

helping organizations align with customer and employeeexpectations in ways that accelerate performance

and growth with particular emphasis on developing strategic solutions that

reinforce whole systems of care. Justin is a member of the American College

of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Healthcare Financial Managers

Association (HFMA). Holland can be reached at [email protected].

Contributor

Will Powley,former Senior Consulting Manager with Performance Solutions.

He has imparted the GE talent assessment approach to more than 15

healthcare system clients across the United States, applying his knowledge

of human resource processes, continuous improvement, organization

design, leadership curriculum, customized design, leadership competency,

and values development to solve complex human capital problems. Leading

human resource teams in three different GE industries, Will brings diverse

experience to his work with healthcare leaders.

References1Press Ganey Associates. 2010 Hospital Pulse Report: Employee and Nurse Perspectives on American Health

Care. Press Ganey Associates, 2010; accessed online at http://www.pressganey.com/galleries/default-file/

2010_Hospital_PulseReport_Employee_Nurse.pdf on 8/16/10.

2

Garman, A and Tyler, JL. CEO Succession Planning in Freestanding U.S. Hospitals: Final Report. AmericanCollege of Healthcare Executives, October 27, 2004; accessed online at http://www.ache.org/pubs/research/

SuccessionRpt04.pdf on 8/16/10.

3Ciampa, D. Almost Ready: How Leaders Move Up. Harvard Business Review, January 1, 2005; accessed

online at http://hbr.org/product/almost-ready-how-leaders-move-up/an/R0501D-PDF-ENG on 8/16/2010.

4Martin, J and Schmidt, C. How To Keep Your Top Talent. Harvard Business Review, May 1, 2010; accessed

online at http://hbr.org/2010/05/how-to-keep-your-top-talent/ar/1 on 8/16/10.

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Talent Management a Crystal Ball-WP-0811

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