By Leigh Andrews

I attended the first day of the Human Capital Institute's third annual Talent Management Summit, held at The Forum/The Campus in Bryanston on 29 and 30 July. While the Summit's overall theme was 'Human Capital Leadership in a talent-stretched economy', the first day's speakers focused on themes of leadership and change. This is a key component of public relations management and internal communications.

Human Capital Institute Chairperson, Professor Karel Stanz, welcomed delegates and introduced Summit Chairperson, Ed Dexter, who made opening remarks. Attendees agreed on learning goals for the Summit from the outset, which comprised of contracting norms regarding audience participation, and time management in terms of how the session would be structured, with brief keynote presentations, as well as case studies and workbook sessions. The Summit’s overall goals were to consider the challenges of both line executives and Human Resource (HR) practitioners to re-align their roles to deliver talent management results that are directly linked to business strategy in the face of an ever-diminishing talent pool; face up to the fact that HR and the management sciences have to find new ways to work with a four-generation workforce; leadership development and knowledge transfer between the generations is now a make-or-break issue for companies; and to engage with respected keynote speakers and seasoned business players who presented case studies about what real companies are achieving in their switch to a more strategic way of managing their human capital assets. Dexter added that people are any company’s greatest asset, and that it is people that will sustain us in the future. His aim for the Summit was to get people to ‘think, learn and grow’ – particularly to embark in the 'lost art' of thinking, as the more information that comes to us, the less time we have to think and therefore absorb the knowledge and grow.

The first segment was an interview and case study discussion titled 'CEO succession: The art and science of filling your own shoes'. This involved a video interview by Barrie Bramley, Chief Imagination Officer of TomorrowToday.biz, with current Nedbank Group CEO, Tom Boardman. This was interspersed with Bramley's live interactive discussion of the topic with Nedbank Group HR Director, Professor Shirley Zinn, who is also an HCI Africa Advisory Board member. Bramley began by sharing an anecdote about how various lions of different generations view their surroundings – young ones bounding around exploring, with their elders sitting contentedly, pondering the fence. Boardman and Zinn then shared their experiences of positive succession-planning exercises at Nedbank, as well as a few of the challenges they faced in selecting Boardman's eventual successor. These included global bank volatility, and the fact that the economic crisis had just landed. However, Zinn explained that succession often happens in times of crisis. They also explained how they made the decision to look inside or outside the company; and how to streamline the process. This included insight into the latest thinking in the science of identifying and grooming successor CEOs, and the answers to questions such as why this most crucial of CEO decisions is so frequently mismanaged - often ignored altogether; as well as how to make certain you plan for it in your own company. Boardman quoted Jim Collins’ Good To Great, stating that when succession happens, one’s competitors won’t miss a beat. He added that when a company is doing well, the succession should be internal – if the company is floundering, they usually look at external successors. With regard to change management, Zinn pointed out that lead time is an important aspect to consider. If it is too long, you may need to freeze the process. Boardman added that fall out at lower levels must be managed, as there is often a knock-on effect. Constant feedback to all stakeholders – as well as the rest of the company’s staff - throughout the selection process is vital. The biggest risk is people’s change in mindset. Potential successors that are not chosen will need a change in their responsibilities, just to have something fresh to tackle and to feel they are still important to the company. Zinn feels that succession planning is a key aspect of development planning and talent management. As a result, she feels that it must be approached in a more systematic fashion, to maintain internal capital and motivate staff to stay. The thought processes and psychology that develops if one puts their name in the hat for a specific job also need to be considered. Formal succession plans need to be part of the talent management process. They need to be shaped well in advance so as to ensure a smooth passing over of the baton. Zinn paraphrased Heidrick and Struggle in stating: “We need to have courageous conversations, and carefully manage the complex set of dynamics that unfold”. All in all, an astute approach to talent management remains the key to the business’ overall success. Nedbank has since selected Mike Brown, current CFO, as CEO designate.

Following a refreshment break, we heard from South African keynote speaker, Martin Sutherland, who is Global Director of the PeopleTree Group. He began his presentation by showing a short video clip featuring a group of kids who were presented with a marshmallow – and told that they could have two if they waited. The temptation of the immediate treat was too much for most to resist. Later research found that the kids who could wait for the better reward of two marshmallows were future-focused rather than present-focused. His presentation and hands-on workbook session focused on creating talent strategy maps. Attendees were walked through the creation of talent strategy maps based on the talent horizons philosophy. Sutherland explained that talent needs to be segmented into different needs so as to plan a framework to identify aspects and external stakeholders, to ensure a holistic approach. However, Sutherland cautioned delegates to keep in mind that the devil is in the detail. The basis of talent horizons is that talent can be segmented into six impact horizons: short term (red flag and derailment issues); medium term (scarce technical skills and succession for critical positions); and long term (developing a leadership pipeline and shifting organisational capability for the future). Each segment has a planning framework that identifies stakeholders; governance structures; strategies; processes; data and information; tools and technologies; communication and training; and capability building. Talent strategies are differentiated by the time it will take for them to have an impact on the business. Disruptions, such as having people in the wrong place, and knock out factors, such as missing motivation or not interacting well with others, must be dealt with. Derailment can occur if a specific combination of individual strengths and weaknesses is added together, which can cause career stalling. Risk management is important with regard to certain companies requiring scarce technical skills, which are in short supply in the market, yet critical to the functioning of the business. Having a deficit of any of these skills creates a risk for organisations if that skilled person leaves, as they now need to find someone else who can do the work. Sutherland added that critical positions must be occupied by the best possible person to do the job, due to the significant impact of their performance on business functioning. He cautioned: “a C player in an A job will have a huge impact.” He added that leaders should not be forgotten once placed in a managerial position, as “Even Tiger Woods keeps practicing” – meaning that once you’ve made it, the hard work really begins, because you need to keep on top of things. Sutherland went on to say that retention is about the individual, not the group – with this in mind, he emphasised the importance of having a People Interest Plan – knowing what interests your staff may help to determine when they are likely to consider leaving the company. Risk-based positions need to be compensated and renumerated adequately. Sutherland suggested simulating the situation where the person in the critical role leaves, and filling the position with someone adequately prepared. This should be done by design rather than by default. He added that information is a great leveler – potential successors therefore need to be told that they are in line for the position, and be groomed into it with sufficient attention; money; and time. “Not telling someone something doesn’t make them not want it. We need to manage the entire process and expectations,” said Sutherland. Sutherland then led a walk-through of the talent mapping process for the critical positions. The talent strategy maps provide a complete planning framework for talent that integrates thinking; differentiates strategies; and co-ordinates investment in a company's talent portfolio. Talent strategy maps therefore help to create an integrated plan for talent management by: differentiating the focus of talent management into three areas - managing disruptive talent; managing at-risk talent; and developing talent for growth. Keep in mind that pivotal talent is often at the front-line, such as bank tellers and call centre agents – one can’t develop skills of compassion and composure if the seeds are not there to begin with.

Next, a presentation and a facilitated group discussion were given by South African keynote speaker, Otto Pretorius, who is Director of Qbit Align. His panel was comprised of Lee Callakoppen, HR Executive at MedScheme; Clive Pintusewitz, Organisational Development Strategist at First National Bank; and Lindie Geyser, Strategic OD at Momentum Retail. Pretorius and the panel tackled the topic of 'Succeeding at strategic talent planning', which included issues of governance; HR competencies; and integration. Pretorius began by explaining that succeeding at value adding strategic talent planning (STP) that is integrated into business planning implies that you have the basics in place to earn your ticket to the game. Often, the most challenging aspects of STP implementation relate to an appropriate governance model; HR functional competencies required to execute the business; and the degree of integration of STP with other business processes. The group unpacked the following pertinent questions: How can a basic HR governance framework foster line ownership for STP?; What are some of the practices that make line ownership for STP stick?; What are the roles of HR leaders and line managers in HR governance?; What are the key new HR competencies driving this transformation?. The panel also asked what enables talent management, based on business systems, to deal with contentious discussions, as well as the information required to make the process sustainable. In terms of governance, it is necessary to ask whether practices documented are applied consistently in decision-making, coupled with technology. However, it is important to determine whether the information is correct. While the line manager enables decision-making and creates flow, this needs to be underpinned by HR structures. We need to determine which skills are needed, where and when. However, there is no generic standard. It is vital to determine what people governance means forone’s particular business; the level of involvement of line management, and whether this is a benefit or a hindrance; as well as how the basic HR governance framework fosters line ownership for strategic talent planning. Geyser mentioned that talent management needs strong processes and practices in place. Some roles are flexible or not set, depending on environmental changes and the specific business needs. Pintusewitz said it’s a case of relooking at the basic building blocks. Governance may mean a signed policy or measuring good practice support practices. Ensure that individuals perform at the correct level, but ask where the strategy should be going. Callakoppen discussed the processes required to best manage talent. Pintusewitz stated that HR Managers need to be relevant partners at the table, able to tell it straight to the CEO. One-size-fits-all will not work. Tailor information to meet specific needs. This is an ongoing process, not a once-off activity – HR needs to understand the business requirement; talk the language of the business; and drive it forward. If the business is comprised of specialised services, HR needs to be wary, as capital then becomes a talent pool for others to pick from. With regard to compliance, it is definitely possible for the tail to wag the dog. But it is important to keep in mind that there is no set guideline for governance – it depends on what will best suit the business. HR needs to be mindful of this when embarking on strategic talent planning.

After lunch, we regrouped for a presentation and hands-on workbook session with South African keynote speaker, Dr Mark Bussin, who is the Chairman of 21st Century Pay Solutions. He discussed the theme of 'Optimising reward-spend in a talent-stretched economy', stating that an organisation's ability to remain profitable and competitive largely depends on effective Human Capital investment and management. Faced with increasingly volatile operating environments, organisations are now under pressure to manage costs, including Human Capital investments. In this interactive session, Bussin examined how HR and reward leaders are responding, and outlined practical ways to optimise reward management. Bussin touched on topics such as how successful South African organisations use reward strategies to keep afloat in a talent-stretched economy; as well as how reward strategies can help organisations survive during periods of economic instability and create a foundation for future success. He also offered practical suggestions for developing reward strategies that help organisations create competitive advantage during periods of economic uncertainty. He explained how successful South African companies reward talent and ride out the storm, as well as the use of reward strategies for future success. Bussin stated that there are over 24 000 jobs on offer in The Star Workplace each week, yet newspaper headlines state that people have given up hope of finding jobs. He asked how this imbalance arose, and how it can be fixed. With regard to pay increases, Bussin stated that some companies are not giving any this year, while others are offering 8%, in line with the Cost Per Living Index. He added that some industries continue to grow, whether the world is in a recession or not. Bussin feels that formal, written down, recognition schemes and work-life balance programmes are also key. He asked whether certain companies are now being forced to retrench certain departments while paying retention bonuses to others, due to certain skills now being so scarce and sought after. Bussin added a few truths: that people join companies and leave bosses; that remuneration is usually only 25% of the decision to stay; that this 25% is actually the ticket to ‘enter the stadium’; and that once the decision has been made to enter the stadium, companies have to play the retention card. We need to create inspirational leaders. Poor managers of people can drive out top talent. In such a case, it might be necessary to create a dual career path. After all, ‘the fish often rots from the head” – this is true in the case of talent management. Bussin adds that we can’t simply sit the recession out – we need to adjust our sails and go in a new direction. There has been unprecedented job loss in the country, and while one job loss overseas affects two to three people, loss of a job in South Africa can affect up to 10 people. This is serious, as South Africa is said to have 1.2% of the global workforce, and 5.3% of the world’s unemployed. Bussin brought up the worrying trend of having members of staff resign merely to access their pension fund savings early. He adde that ‘psychic absenteeism’ often kicks in, where the mind leaves the organisation long before the body does. It’s a matter of organisational culture, and needing to unhitch ourselves from a sense of entitlement, and implement performance-related pay. Keep in mind that achievements need recognition, and results are rewarded by incentives – this process should be transparent. Those who are high value, yet at a high risk of leaving the organization, are the ones that should be retained and rewarded, so as to feel valued. Bussin mentioned an analogy where South African an Australian sheep farms are compared – the South African ones are fenced off to keep the sheep in and the bad elements out, while the Australian farms are open and filled with lush grass, to attract and retain the sheep – something to keep in mind. Engage with your employees; give them feedback on their performance level; and reward ‘survivors’ who stick it out, as they often take on more responsibility without being asked. Employee Value Propositions are also important, as each employee’s motivation differs – in this light, some companies have found that their employees are willing to work for less money if offered different forms of recognition.

We moved on to a moderated panel discussion titled 'Uncovering the next generation of leaders'. This was led by Barrie Bramley, Chief Imagination Officer of Tomorrowtoday.biz, and bandied about by panel members Greg Reis, CEO of Business Systems Group (BSG); Loane Sharp, Workforce Optimisation Analyst for Quest Flexible Staffing Solutions; and Boy Ngubeni, CEO of Global City Region (GCR) Academy. Bramely started the discussion by showing a clip of an ad by TBWA/London, showing ‘new leaders’ as five-year olds, with the tag line – ‘if you’re old enough to be creative, you’re old enough for us’. Certainly an interesting recruitment strategy, as the advertising world is ruled by young creative sparks and experienced old-hands, who have been in the industry since the beginning of time. While wisdom has run organisations until now, the younger generation definitely looks at the world with a different wisdom – and this can lead to a clash when the two worlds collide. Previously, you had to be old enough to be good enough. Now, one needs to learn, unlearn, and relearn in the changing workplace. The session explored capturing and capitalising on the most innovative, entrepreneurial minds ever to hit the workforce - Generation Y. We learned how to recognise great millennial talent and how to unleash their passions; drive; and emerging leadership skills before they either leave to build their own companies or blossom at a competitor. Bramley asked the panel whether leadership can remain static. The panel answered that while the most important leadership changes have already taken place in the past 20 years, companies are still struggling to catch up. While engagement was often defined by interpersonal relationships in the old days, the younger generation engages with others online. Companies need to recognise this, channel it, and try to manage it. Ngubeni mentioned that rural teachers struggle to keep up with their pupils, many of which access the internet on their mobile phones. The traditional worker nowadays is interested in multiple jobs, with flexible contracts. They are not interested in long-service records, but rather in keeping busy with things that interest them. This is the reality of having multiple generations present in the workforce. However, many things have stayed the same, such as the fundamental of being inspirational as a sign of being a good leader. Sharp feels that when the young generation gets married, applies for credit and starts having kids, it will become more mature. However, today’s youth is part of a broader emerging silent group. Accenture conducted research which found that 50% of the entire US workforce intends changing jobs in the next year. The youth are ethically pliable and vote with their feet – as a result, their leaders are harder to identify. Therefore, current leaders need to unlearn what they think makes for good leadership qualities. Ngubeni adds that there are over 12 000 youth on a local unemployment database – he went on to say that these are skilled people, from the engineering and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors. Companies are looking for ready-made skills, which are not always available. Keep in mind that retention is based on integration and relationships, too. Some young employees have mature souls. Remember that it is more about give than take – true leaders derive success through the success of others. The panel was also asked what happens to succession planning if one of the key players jumps ship. South African HR is far from running personalised career plans, and needs to implement these as soon as possible to plan for the future. Ngubeni added that it is necessary to incubate leadership in communities, and to create critical mass. Can we learn to become like members of Generation Y? We can, if we increase our access to communication technologies. Certain behaviours have been taken and turned into generational issue. The new generation wants to be engaged and to understand the information. We will only find out what is important to the new generation by engaging with them. Greg added that organisations of the future may encompass customers and even competitors – much like social networks. We need a two-pronged approach to engage with the new and existing generational workforce.

The final keynote speaker for the day was David Conradie, Director at Deloitte Consulting, who is behind the Best Company To Work For Survey. His presentation was titled 'How work really gets done', aimed at leveraging organisational networks to drive performance. He started by saying that connecting is important not just among employees, but externally too, in order to achieve strategic goals for business. Previously, conducting a job search was a complicated process based on sending out your CV. Now, employees may well be searching for employment at company competitors while online at work. We are inundated with information, but there comes a point where this information overload actually becomes a derailer and starts to hinder performance. As work becomes more team-orientated; virtual; and collaborative, leaders need to know how to build and rely on relationships now more than ever to accomplish their goals. More work now gets done through the informal organisation than through organisational chart structures. Knowing how people are motivated to perform in their day-to-day work, and how they collaborate within and across functional; physical; and hierarchical boundaries, is key to driving performance. Business leaders must begin to manage informal connections as a critical resource in their organisations. Conradie presented the latest research findings and best practice about how managing organisational networks has helped take relationship-building to a whole new level. While employees were previously expected to acquire and retain knowledge, they are now expected to develop; deploy; and connect. Holistically, this involves both connecting to people for personal growth; and having purpose-filled resources – both of which are key requirements to be addressed for talent management. This involves revising the company’s onboarding strategy; encouraging ongoing conversations about performance; providing access to tools of collaboration; holding meaningful meetings; and providing the sort of personal working space that fosters connections – isolated cubicles will not do the trick. Conradie showed an example of the Deloitte ‘periodic table of strategy’, which illustrates how having the right mix of activities will give your company a competitive advantage – particularly through social networking, which is a key component of the periodic table. Conradie explained that social networking activity is providing transparency to formal and informal networks through which work gets done – and adds that ‘wiki’ is the Hawaiian word for ‘quick’, which defines the social networking aspect – it is a manner of forming quick, meaningful connections with like-minded people. It is also a low-cost activity, easy to use and to learn to use. Blogging provides a less structured method of thought-sharing, coupled with fresh content; the opportunity to invite other voices to join the dialogue; and engage in tacit knowledge transfer. In terms of using social media for recruitment, Conradie gave examples of how Deloitte has made use of Twitter; Facebook; Flickr; LinkedIn; and YouTube. The Deloitte Film Festival was a successful initiative that invited employees to record short videos that best depict why they enjoy working at the company. The best footage from around the world was then featured on YouTube as a form of user-generated content. Generation Y in particular is most adept at multi-tasking, and research has shown that they actually have slightly differentiated neural pathways, which means that they are able to deal with multiple information sources simultaneously. Keep in mind that this generation has always been connected, so it is nothing new for them, and comes naturally. He added that work is sometimes shaped around the people – this may be necessary in future, when the hyper-connected Generation Y is more involved in the existing workspace. He also mentioned mass career customisation, which involves redesigning the workspace in order to better fit life into work and work into life. Conradie cautioned against the reputational risks associated with social networking, stating that the associated risks are elevated with increasing levels of leadership. A total of 27% of employees surveyed claim to not consider the consequences of their social networking activity for their bosses; companies and coworkers.

Chairperson, Ed Dexter, closed the day's session by integrating the day's learnings into an apt statement, that there are always more tools coming down the track - we therefore need to be online and aware of their potential implications for Human Capital Management and talent development in particular. He added that particularly with regard to incorporating the use of social networking into existing Human Capital Management practices, “we need to catch the wave before it splutters out onto the sand.”

The Summit was sponsored by the Human Capital Institute of Africa, with SHL People Performance; Accenture; CEO magazine; HR Future Magazine; Pure Innovation; and SAP as partners.

Follow the Summit on Twitter at #HCITS. For more information on the Human Capital Institute, visit www.humancapitalinstitute.org.za. Speaker notes will be available on the site from 6 August.

For more on Deloitte’s idea of mass career customization, visit www.masscareercustomization.com.