Talent Wins

During this Circuit Breaker, I took time out to read this book on "Talent Wins", a book on putting people first.

Ref: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/talent-wins#

Some takeaways to share:

1) Critical 2% talent retention

- Identifying the critical talents internally, to plan ahead and keep them engage.

- There is also a need to extend peripheral vision, to step out and seek out best talents in the market (but be prepared to pay if you believe great talent creates multiples value more than average talent.)

2) The G3 collaboration - GM, Finance and HR 

- It's an art and science but if GM can play the balancing act well to align both key stakeholders (these two experienced leaders are not likely to change easily though), it will be a win-win situation for your business!

The book also touch on how a credible HRBP can help to build a Talent First organization. The must have:

- Traditional HR background who has experience in payroll, benefits and training/development

- Act as a Consultant, understand the business needs, business savvy and step up, to have personal view point

- HR Analytics, marshal data to bring external perspective on talent and leadership into actionable plan

An ideal HRBP, should be intellectually curious, deep knowledge of the business, a feel how it makes money, have an insight in judging people, willing to be engaged in business and courage to have personal view point, my two cents.

Have a great day ahead! Cheers...

Leadership Agility

What is Leadership Agility?
 
Leadership Agility is a leadership and organisational development approach, at the heart of which sits ‘the’ 12 leadership agility practices, which global management research suggests are critical for knowledge growth and application; producing an innovative and sustainably viable organisation..by Dr Paul Aitken

More references:
http://careerbirds.com/index.php/pages/blog/26-what-is-leadership-agility-made-up-of
https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value
https://hbr.org/2004/10/blue-ocean-strategy
https://hbr.org/2012/09/the-new-corporate-garage

Happy reading...cheers!

Situational Leadership

If your company is in the process of change management mode, this should be applicable to you; Situational Leadership by Hersey and Blanchard.

For your pleasure reading:
http://www.dtssydney.com/blog/in_a_nutshell:_situational_leadership

What it means to your leadership style:

1) Supporting – If you have staff who are highly competence but have variable commitment, you should play a supporting role to praise, listen and facilitate them.

2) Directing – For staff that have low competence but high commitment level, you should play a more directing role; with more supervision and control.

3) Coaching – For staff that have some level of competence and commitment, you should be a coach to direct and support them.

4) Empowerment – If you have staff who are highly competence and commitment, empower them to turn their responsibility for day to day decision making.

Knowing yourself is important, read on more from Johari Window Model:
http://www.businessballs.com/johariwindowmodel.htm

My 2cents worth..

Before you embark on any change management (incremental or transformation) mode, you should know your company's business and strategies, understanding the working culture, the IT system in place and always have a backup (contingency) plan..be prepare that those that cannot flow along side with you will leave the organization..cheers! 

The Art of Asking Questions

Here is an interesting article that I read on the art of asking questions by Marshall Goldsmith, featured in Talent Management. This is useful as you lead a team, coach or mentor your staff, to learn how to ask questions that stimulate creativity in the mind, to gain wisdom and get understanding for more insight.

This pursuit of insight or discovery is “curiosity.” To the mind, curiosity is its own reward. The byproduct of perpetual curiosity is wisdom.(Marshall Goldsmith, 20 August 2014)

Here are some key elements that produce insight:

Sociability: Watch out for too much silence. If the protégé does not answer in 10 seconds, he or she may need you to redirect the question. Know that eye contact can be important in conveying an interest in the protégé’s answers.
Beware of not giving the protégé an opportunity to answer. Silence can be golden. Pause after asking a question. If you’re susceptible to this trap, count to 10 after asking a question and before asking another. Assume that the protégé heard and understood and is simply contemplating an answer.

Dominance: Think before you ask. Consider your goal and focus. Determine what you seek to learn, and then choose questions that will take you there.
You may have a tendency to craft questions that give you the answer you like to hear. Leading the protégé is just as ineffective as leading a witness. Soften your tone. Make sure your approach does not make the protégé feel as though he or she is on trial.

Openness: Avoid keeping your questions too much on the surface. While invading privacy is not the goal, your aim is to foster in-depth thinking. Be willing to allow a bit of controversy; conflict is nothing more than a symptom of tension. When you accurately interpret and work through conflict by your candor and openness, interpersonal closeness and valuable creativity will be the likely byproducts.

Other specific techniques include:
Start with a setup statement: Questions can be more powerful if the sender and receiver are on the same wavelength. Starting with a setup statement establishes identification and context.
Ask questions that require higher-level thinking: The goal is to create insight, not to share information. The main objective is to nurture understanding and growth, not just exchange facts. Construct questions that require the protégé to dig deep.
Avoid questions that begin with “why”: In most cultures, a question that begins with the word “why” is perceived as judgmental. Body language can play a role in how such questions are perceived, but even with perfect body language, our antennae go up as soon as we hear a “why” question.
Use curiosity to stimulate curiosity: Socrates did more than ask good questions. He demonstrated enthusiasm for the learning process. Attitude is as much a part of the Socratic method as technique.

Proverbs 4:7-8
Wisdom is a principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding..Exalt her and she will promote you..

Gen Z employees: good if you can get them

“Entrepreneurial, optimistic and informed”..that will be the composite of our next generation of workers in Asia also known as Generation Z. They have been described as “go- getter and trend setter” and it will be quite a challenge to attract and retain the best of them.

I was reading this short article written by HC, Human Capital (July to September 2014 issue), a food for thought…

”Adecco recently conducted a survey of nearly 1000 Gen Zs (15-18years old) in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The survey assessed Gen Z’s ambitions, their employment preferences, their attitudes to the workplace and how they are optimistic they are about their future – in work and life.

The survey revealed interesting findings about Singapore’s Gen Z. A high proportion of Singapore’s Gen Z (82%) expects to go onto higher education and many are confident that will prepare them well for the workplace.

The respondents expect to take about seven months to find the right employer, which is about average for the region.

Most (71%) expect to work for no more than three companies in their entire career, demonstrating a somewhat greater loyalty to their employer than their peers in other markets.

They are also likely to seek services of recruitment consultants for information about companies that they may consider joining.

Those that surveyed in Singapore also want more job variety than other Gen Zs in the region, but they are also likely to value a fairer work-life balance.”

Recently, I had the privilege to speak to a group of Gen Z students and conduct interview sessions with them..they are confident to share their thoughts, forwarding looking and drawn by our company proposal of Place and Train Program aka Fast Track, an accelerated career path within 18 months. With job re-design and more career development opportunities, it is possible to reach out and get the best of out them…my thoughts.

"An organization can be birthed with great vision but can only grow with great framework"….

  

Stay Interviews

I am trying out stay interview questionaires with a pilot mentorship program with my customer service team. When designing the questionaires, we should bear in mind the cultural and academic background of our staff. The aim of the questionaires is to learn what is and what is not working in the company so we should avoid closed-ended questions that provides 'yes and no' answers. 

Samples from talent management articles:

Why have you chosen to stay at our company?
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
If you could change one thing about our department, what would it be?
What skills or talents do you possess that aren’t being used in your job?

Ref:  http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/five-steps-to-effective-stay-interviews/

Happy Easter! Cheers...

Talent Retention

Singapore's hiring for this quarter remains positive according to Hudson's report. With hindsight, as restriction on labor force further constrict the labour market, retaining talent becomes the top HR priority. Depending on business strategy, companies focusing on product innovation should place more emphasis on empowering employees while companies that stress on employee productivity should focus on building trust as part of employee engagement to retain talent.

 Overview - Report by Hudson, a global talent solution company


 

Happy reading: http://hudson.sg/KnowledgeCentre/HudsonReportQ42013
 
A quick overview of the changes in 2014 that will impact talent retention in Singapore:

  · Amendment to Employment Act

  · Fair Consideration Framework