Building capability

It is obvious that sustaining and keeping talent needs a plan of action as one responds in a confident way to any of the seven sleeping giants that your business might be facing .

If key people leave unannounced, taking with them years of know-how and expertise, we have a problem and it must be fixed. Thinking, after they have left, how you could have better managed a person is far too late. We must inspire and motivate people while we are with them. Our leadership and management are again vitally important!

Of course, wasted talent is not just about unplanned departures, it also involves a careful strategy of downsizing and retrenchment. With a little more planning we can save significant embarrassment. Workplaces are full of people who have been hired back at far more expensive rates to solve issues, which they could still be doing as existing employees .

What can one do to build the capability to keep and sustain talent? Of course, simple respect and better people management is a great start. Four principles are central to this cause:

• The business needs to inspire vision and a compelling case for people to stay.

• You need to help people gain a greater sense of control and choice in what they are doing.

• Good people need special care; just because they are performing well does not mean everything is satisfactory.

• An effort needs to be made to identify career goals that stimulate motivation and learning.

When the above start to occur, the chances of sustaining and keeping people will be so much higher.

However, we cannot assume that managers and team leaders have these skills. From experience, in many businesses such basic people management skills are rare. You will find people need reminders and training to help fill this gap. The business should clearly explain the importance and consequence of better talent management. For example, most people would agree that growing competitive advantage is impossible if you have extraordinarily high turnover , or people hate working with you. It is particularly important that you honestly review people s performance. Steering clear of stereotyping based on age, gender, race, disability and educational background is a great start. For example, common assumptions need to be questioned. Do all young males really have potential? Does a young female really need time to grow? Tread very carefully .

To help apply this massive field of sustaining and keeping talent to your business, Table 9.1 lists fifty talent-building ideas.

Sharpening your public image

1 Before looking for new talent, make sure you know what skills and capabilities you are seeking.

2 Share stories of your successes and how you treat your staff. Testimonials and case studies are very useful in the marketplace . If you have won awards, or you are seen as applying best practice, let people know.

3 Make sure your public documentation is available via the World Wide Web or in paper form and that it looks professional.

4 Attend trade shows and share your story. Do public presentations and issue press releases about what you do. Again a little self-promotion can work wonders.

5 Join industry networks, professional associations and voluntary organizations, and be a good corporate citizen. Learn who are best at sustaining and keeping talent and discover their lessons.

6 Form close relationships with universities, schools and trade colleges. Earn a good name with potential hirers. Being a good corporate citizen also works wonders.

Recruitment

7 Seriously consider recruitment training. Discover how biases, unfairness, discrimination and poor interviewing and screening can hurt you.

8 Advertise vacancies in multiple sites and locations. Make sure you are not neglecting your own staff before looking elsewhere. Set up a job posting for internal job application processing.

9 Join forces with other businesses to form an industry response to the shortage of talent, detailing career opportunities and training opportunities available.

10 Consider the advantages and disadvantages of securing the services of a recruitment firm or employment agency. Agree on a monitoring and review process.

11 If it is appropriate, explore talent from overseas or another geographic region or industry. Engage services with professionals who work from remote locations and consider using technology such as file sharing, e-mail and threaded discussion groups.

12 Make sure you honestly communicate career paths and opportunities. Do not oversell the job and be candid and realistic and honest.

13 When people join you, welcome them as full members of the team, in whatever capacity they fill. It does not matter if they are temps, full time, part time or contract workers, they must be valued and recognized.

14 Make sure agreed employment contracts and confidentiality agreements are fair and reasonable, and that both parties agree to them.

15 After hiring is complete, conduct post-interview discussions with both successful and unsuccessful applicants .

Day-to-day support

16 Make sure people have the right tools, contacts and information to do their job.

An induction package is a smart idea.

17 Make sure you discuss planned business changes. Frequently ask people for their ideas and how they believe they can contribute better.

18 Inspire loyalty and provide constant feedback with both integrity and honesty.

19 Provide regular career coaching and planning advice. In some cases, consider probation or job trials to see how people fit into different roles.

20 Create meaningful ways to celebrate successes and recognize contribution. Build a sense of community, team spirit and belonging .

21 Ensure good professional health and professional emotional support is available.

22 Hold performance discussions to ensure adequate and relevant feedback. Again training and user -friendly assistance is vital .

23 Make sure you are looking after the people who are staying.

24 Deploy creative ways to say thank you and have fun.

Learning and development

25 Use training, mentors and coaches to develop potential.

26 Make sure the job is seen as the real classroom. Undertake knowledge sharing to the maximum effect.

27 Invest in in-house training, consider both face-to-face learning and e-learning.

28 Use public courses and hire expert educators and consultants if you need to train a team.

29 Reward learning and provide incentives for people to share their wisdom.

30 Make sure you capture vital knowledge. Place critical knowledge on business archives and help desks.

31 Make sure people receive feedback on their leadership. Consider a range of self-help tools for ongoing development in how they sustain and keep talent. Work smarter tools such as business planning, time management and people management are normally a great start.

32 Sponsor and encourage external study.

33 Encourage the establishment of informal learning, through networks and community practice.

34 Ensure you have a succession plan. Consider future business strategies and your current talent. Chart the way forward, together.

35 Make sure performance goals are clear and understood . Discuss how work can be changed to provide greater stimulation and variety. Ask them what would keep them in your team or what would encourage them to leave?

36 Hold managers and team leaders responsible for deploying sound retention and talent-nurturing practices. Move managers or team leaders who are causing damage.

37 Use temporary projects and special assignments to build skills.

38 Reward coaches and knowledge sharers .

39 Use job rotation to transfer people around the business, to spread and develop their capabilities and know-how.

40 Use your mentors, coaches and subject-matter experts as facilitators to help address chronic gaps in know-how in the business. Help people to position their knowledge for the future.

41 Use joint ventures with other organizations to build expertise and know-how.

Flexible work practices

42 Address work and family issues up front, giving them chances to discuss rosters, schedules, start and finish times, and holiday leave.

43 Deploy flexible work practices such as part-time work, working from home, job sharing and reasonable working hours.

44 Use older workers and early retirees in a part-time or full-time capacity.

Supplement them with a good mix of salary and options such as flexible hours to suit their lifestyle.

45 Creatively use digital technology to engage talent, for example, telecommuting and virtual teams .

Borrowing

46 When you hire special help, make sure some of their capabilities and know-how is captured and stays in the business.

47 Make sure you have agreed standards for protecting intellectual property.

48 When people leave make sure you hold exit interviews. Explore their reasons for departure and extract ideas on making the business a better place in which to work.

49 If they leave, keep the relationship going and be a good citizen. Be gracious and noble because one day they may want to return or put in a good word for you. Allow them to retreat with dignity and grace.

50 Get an independent assessment of how your business performs in the area of sustaining and keeping talent.