Due to skill-shortages the world is in a war for talent. Companies and countries alike want to attract, develop and keep the most talented individuals. This is a trend OPRA first commented on back in 2007. While the situation has only gotten worse since then, the messages in this presentation are as poignant as ever.

1. The Talent War:
Strategic Talent Management in
the 21st Century

2. Overview
• What is the war for talent?
• A systems based approach to talent
management
• Making use of HR data
• The Sonar6 talent management system

3. What is your organisations most
important asset?

4. The Talent War
McKinsey coined the phrase ‘War for Talent’ in 1997 to
describe the critical shortage of skilled talent
One decade later, the war continues

5. Defining Talent
We know that:
• Good people are good for business, and
• Good people create competitive advantage
• By definition ‘talent’ is in short supply
… but what makes people good/talented?
• Cognitive ability?
• Interpersonal skills?
• Conscientiousness?

6. • A Manager creates a team.
• A Coach trains them to be the best.
• Pay for the talent.
• Reward performance.
Defining Talent

7. War is:
Competition for a limited resource
Defining War

8. What Ignited the Talent War?
• 3.6% unemployment
• Entering into a knowledge economy
• Changed work ethos
• Generation Y
• Global competitive intensity
• Ageing workforce

9. The Aging Workforce
Population aged 65 years & above

10. The Aging Workforce
60+ segment grows to 20% in almost all
industrialised nations

11. capital = power
talented people = power
This is where all the tools of
business developed
A whole new paradigm is needed to
manage the talent asset
The Changing Economy

12. So we have a war for talent…
… what can we do about it?

13. An Inconvenient Truth
What is wrong with traditional HR systems?
• Each area of HR are typically treated in isolation (selection, training,
organisational development)
• Reliance on ‘flavour of the month’ solutions
• Piecemeal and ad-hoc solutions are favoured over an integrated solution
• No demonstrable relationship to bottom-line

14. The Role of HR is Changing
HR is changing from being reactionary and based on compliance
to
Being more strategic and an information provider

15. Think of HR as a ‘system’:
Implement one initiative and it will impact other areas of HR.
Eat
Sleep
Train

16. The Way Forward
What is the solution?
Something that…
• Delivers a strategic solution
• Enables organisations to retain IP
• Can be evaluated for rigour
• Delivers increased profit, and return on one’s investment
How do we achieve this?... Through a systems-based approach

17. System-Based Approach
Clarifying Business
Strategy and Vision
Where are we going and
how do we get there?
Job Analysis & Competency Modelling
What is the desired shape of roles
inside the organisation?
Selecting for Success
What capabilities do we need to
implement our strategy?
Retaining & Growing Talent
What tools exist to help retain
and develop talent?
Redeployment and Exit
How do we retain
organisational knowledge?
Measuring Success
How do we know if we have
been successful?

18. An Integrated Solution
• Solutions need to be fully integrated with the vision and strategic
direction of the organisation
• Solutions need to consider utility and return on investment

19. An Integrated Solution

20. Accounting vs Finance
A decision science is now developing around talent
Accounting:
•The record
•The data
•Individual transactions
Finance:
•The overall health of
the capital asset
•Using the accounting
data to make business
decisions

21. Accounting vs Finance
• HR are typically data rich, but information poor
• Like finance, talent management begins with accounting for the talent asset
• Talent management is all about using the talent data to support decisions on the
talent asset
• We need a solution that collates the data, transforming it into useful information

22. Talent management:
Is about connecting decisions about
a resource to organisational success.

23. The Research
Strategically-integrated leadership and people
development practices:
• Improve job satisfaction, organisational
commitment and individual performance (Green,
Wu, Whitten & Medlin, 2006).
• Reduce turnover (Orlando & Johnson, 2001).
• Improve revenue, profitability and market share
(Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 1997).

24. What we need…
• A solution that collates the data, transforming it into useful
information to aid decision making
• Predictive metrics for the human asset
• A common language, ‘what is talent for our organisation’
• A user friendly interface
• Quick identification of employee skill gaps

25. Avoid joining the
talent war without
ammunition…

26. The Challenge
The Talent Science
Challenge
The
system is
too
complex
No
common
language
No base
data
Cause and effect are not
linked.
Analytical engines need to be
employed to wade through
complexity.
Knowledge about
the talent asset is in
people’s heads only,
and is too localized
to be useful.
Quick ways for
managers to
capture data and
turn it into useful
information.
There is no universal
way of discussing the
talent landscape.
Much of the language
will be visual.

27. No base
data
The Talent Science Challenge

28. No common
language
The Talent Science Challenge

29. The system
is too
complex
The Talent Science Challenge

30. Engaging for
Managers
Helicopter
View
Visual Talent
Language
Web
Delivered