EVALUATING TALENT MANAGEMENT

Executive Summary

1.     This briefing examines how talent management is evaluated using five themes – the imperative of evaluation, using strategic frameworks, measuring talent interventions, considering evolving approaches and the challenges faced in this aspect of talent management. A summary of Key Learning Points is provided to guide executive thinking.

2.     There is a clear imperative to adopt a robust approach to evaluation. Setting guiding principles, defining its purpose, aligning people to measurement, deciding on an evaluation process, appointing 'owners' and clarifying the desired effects/outcomes are six issues. The status quo of HR measurement may need to be challenged.

3.     Successful organizations often find that a strategic framework for evaluating talent management is useful in connecting the talent imperative to business issues, shaping an ongoing focus and guiding evaluation efforts. Examples include strategic reviews, a systems orientation, performance excellence frameworks like Baldrige and balanced scorecard models. Designing/deploying HR scorecards can have particular advantages.

4.     Operational outcomes from interventions will have to be appropriately measured which tend to be 'lower-level' forms of evaluation including reviews, employee surveys, audits and focus groups. Increasingly, organizations are linking operational measures to financial goals using return on investment (ROI) techniques, which is becoming known as employee, or talent, value measurement. At these levels, any activity has to be consistent and rigorously applied.

5.     Advisers and organizations find that evaluation is an ongoing process, following the principles of continuous improvement. However, there are good reasons also for rethinking talent evaluation. Drivers include changing competitive circumstances, a new talent opportunity, internal shortcomings and the influence of critical trends in this subject area. Human capital management, social capital assessment and at risk talent inventories are three examples.

6.     Challenges will have to be faced in evaluating talent management. Distinguishing between activities that produce strong versus marginal benefits is key, as is deciding whether methods should be mainly for direction, tracking, diagnosis, accountability, report and action, or for all. Much can be achieved internally working with experts in other functions in, say, devising an employee value proposition index, a talent scorecard or a talent risk management process.

7.     A case study, case reports and advisers provide a range of expertise for the issues above, including Key Talent Propositions and Practices. The organizations featured are BASF UK, BC Hydro Transmission and Distribution, Carter Holt Harvey, Humax Corporation, Sears Roebuck & Company, South African Breweries and Strategic Dimensions Ltd.

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