The Business of Talent Newsletter
In the September Edition



Learning Leaders 2012: Two Weeks Left – Apply Now!

Learning Leaders 2012: Two Weeks Left to ApplyThe application deadline for Learning Leaders 2012 is September 16, 2011. This research-driven awards program uncovers best practices — and honors innovation and excellence — in corporate learning, leadership, and talent management.

Now in its sixth year, Learning Leaders 2012 has included industry leaders such as AT&T, JetBlue, Nationwide Insurance, CA, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Textron. We welcome applications from organizations of all sizes, across industries, around the world.

Winners are highlighted in our annual Learning Leaders report (download the last report now: Learning Leaders 2011: Lessons from the Best), and you are invited to join us at our annual IMPACT 2012 research conference, where we anticipate a crowd of more than 450 senior HR and L&D innovators. And, winning solutions will be highlighted in a special spring edition of Elearning! magazine.

If your learning and talent programs create tangible long-term business value, tell us about it. The deadline is fast approaching!


Tactical or Strategic: How Are You Using Background Screening in the Hiring Process?

Tactical or Strategic: How Are You Using Background Screening in the Hiring Process?Many companies use background checking today, but many use it solely tactically – a check-off box in an employment folder as a disclaimer against negligent hiring. Looking for the lowest cost provider and accepting minimal information about the candidate can lead to a bad hire, low productivity, personnel issues, and costly turnover.

False advertising does not apply only to marketing concepts; background screening companies find over 60% of resumes reviewed have some exaggeration while 30% contain an outright lie. And more than 9% of job applicants falsely claim a college degree, 11% of applicants misrepresent why they left an employer, and nearly 33% of applicants list dates of employment that are inaccurate by more than 3 months. So why should organization's consider strategic background checks?

Read on for more.


New Study Underscores Importance of Senior Leader Involvement in Performance Management

New Study Underscores Importance of Senior Leader Involvement in Performance ManagementEarlier this month, we published a new study, High-Impact Performance Management: Part 1, Designing a Strategy for Effectiveness, that is designed to help organizations create or design a performance management strategy. One of the key findings from this study is the effect of senior leader involvement with performance management. Specifically, we found that of those organizations with very frequent executive engagement with performance management, 81% had strong business results – and none had below-average business results. Only 35% of organizations with infrequent executive engagement had strong business results.

Unfortunately, though, most senior leaders do not seem to understand the impact they can have by supporting performance management at their organization.

Read the full article.


The Maturity of Leadership Development Makes a Difference

The Maturity of Leadership Development Makes a DifferenceThe development of leaders continues to be one of the most pressing issues facing organizations worldwide today – especially with the current talent shortages and significant gaps in the leadership pipelines of organizations everywhere. The demand for quality leadership with the ready skills and expertise to achieve their organization's goals has business, executive, and HR leaders re-thinking their strategies for leader development. It's a quantity and a quality issue – not enough leaders with the right skills sets to move our organizations towards achievement of our business goals.

Organizations with the greatest amount of leadership development sophistication – what we call Level 4 maturity – are now focusing their commitment to leadership development on all levels of leaders. More than 60% of organizations at Level 4 maturity target all leader levels for development, while just over 20% of organizations at the lowest level of maturity target all levels.

Continue reading The Maturity of Leadership Development Makes a Difference.


In the News

Employers turn to tests to weed out job seekersCareers on MSNBC.com
August 15, 2011
Employers turn to tests to weed out job seekers
By Eve Tahmincioglu

Personality Tests Used to Screen Job SeekersKFWB News Talk 980 CBS Los Angeles
August 15, 2011
Personality Tests Used to Screen Job Seekers
"LA's Afternoon News" with Maggie McKay and Michael Shappee

Companies Draw Coaching Plays, But Managers' Skills Could Be Technically FoulWorkforce Management
August 2011
Companies Draw Coaching Plays, But Managers' Skills Could Be Technically Foul
By Garry Kranz
(Access to Workforce Management subscribers only)



New Research Highlights

New Research Highlights Creating a Recognition Culture: Deloitte Canada "Stands up" to Support Its Talent Management Initiative with a Reward and Recognition Program
This case study details the development and implementation of a rewards and recognition program deployed by Deloitte Canada to increase employee engagement and ward off attrition.
Members: Download today

Maximizing the Impact of Goal-Setting and Revising
This research bulletin explores the different challenges of goal-setting and revising, and offers examples of how high-impact organizations have addressed them.
Members: Download today

HR Budgets Show Modest Gains in 2011
This report looks at current HR spending, and how HR budgets are allocated across various external products and services.
Members: Download today

Virtual Client Training: Thomson Reuters Increases Reach, Efficiency and Customer Engagement with On-Demand Training
Thomson Reuters shifted its model for client training to almost 100 percent virtual, introducing the Knowledge Network, a combination of high-quality video learning nuggets, and available virtual courses and coaching, to provide global access to expertise whenever and wherever needed.
Members: Download today

Up in the Cloud: Core HR Has Arrived
This research explains the value of Software as a Service for a global HRIS solution, including a case study of a midmarket global implementation for global HR.
Members: Download today

Recognizing Employees: Lilly Canada Increases Employee Engagement with a Dynamic Rewards Program
Lilly Canada, an affiliate of Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals, increased employee engagement radically through instituting a formal rewards and recognition program.
Members: Download today

Why HR Matters
This research bulletin examines the various stages of maturity among HR organizations, and how this maturity impacts talent and business initiatives.
Members: Download today

Beyond the Browser: The Mobile Revolution for HRIS
With the growth in business use of mobile devices, it is imperative that device-specific apps replace browser-based access for HR use.
Members: Download today

TDRP – The Beginning of Standards in Training Measurement
This research bulletin introduces the Talent Development Reporting Principles (TDRP) group that has released its first specification – and includes both the TDRP report, as well as an introduction to the report and commentary by Josh Bersin.
Members: Download today

Software as a Service: Understanding What the Cloud Means for HR
This research bulletin is a primer for HR practitioners who seek to understand the implications of "cloud computing" and Software as a Service (SaaS) for their HR technology solutions.
Members: Download today

Borderless Business Communication: GlobalEnglish Supports Effective Global Communication in the Borderless Workplace
In this report, we highlight the need for an enterprise approach to supporting effective business communication, including a profile of GlobalEnglish, a related solution provider.
Members: Download today
What Works

Analyst Corner
Brenda KowskeHR: In the Dark Without Key Metrics

Brenda Kowske, Ph.D.,
Senior Analyst

An amateur chess master plays in a park; three games running and three boards in motion. For each game, a unique strategy employed. Each opponent's strengths are analyzed and their weaknesses exploited; the chess master's strategy changes in an instant.

Imagine trying to play a game of chess blindfolded – without knowing where your pieces stand on the board. While a minority of HR leaders has a clear picture of the board in play and knowledge of the other players' strategies, other HR leaders are disadvantaged. Their plight is borne from a lack of data, perhaps unaware of where their pieces sit on the board, perhaps unable to identify their knights, rooks, and pawns. In 2009, Bersin & Associate's HR respondents named their top challenges, and the top three were related to measurement and data. Thirty-five percent of respondents said their biggest challenge was HR program financial impact evaluation, 26% named delivering workforce metrics, and 24% said driving internal career mobility. The top two mentions are clearly related to measurement and data, while the last is the chessboard itself – what pieces the organization "has," where they are on the board, and how to move them forward. These pieces of knowledge are based on data.

I am a researcher by trade – at least I have been for the past 10 years – and I've witnessed HR data in various states of disarray, and very few systems set up for success. Often the current state has been driven by siloed HR activities: engagement survey data in one dataset; training evaluation data in another; résumé, compensation, and promotion information housed in the HRIS system. Data systems built for their primary purpose, and the purpose was served well.

Now HR needs to see the entire board, all at once. It needs to have just-in-time knowledge of the pieces, the location, and their potential moves. As the governing body of the chess pieces on the board, it is the enabler of strategy and, partially, the driver of the "win." Poised for action, it, alongside IT, can remove the blindfold and set up a data system that informs decisions right now and together with strategic moves in the future.

Here's how:

  1. Move data onto one platform, or link systems so data is accessible and comparable. Both internally- and vendor-collected data need to be included.
  2. Organize data by employees, each with a unique ID, and linked to all relevant data including those relating to selection testing, compensation, promotions, goals, performance, engagement, exit interviews, and turnover.
  3. Associate each employee with "metadata": their team, division, manager, work country, site number, and personal characteristics such as age, income, job type, gender, education level, expat status, and nationality.
  4. Make data and metadata organization and maintenance technology-based, automatic, and routine.

As any HR or IT leader knows, these tasks are daunting. But imagine the Finance department making decisions without Accounting data. It is impossible. The same is true for HR – without data, their efforts are at best sluggish, at worst, misplaced. Before playing the game, HR leaders and practitioners need to know the rules, the players, and the board –only then can they devise and execute strategy.

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