1 Building a Great Workforce: How Organizations Can Improve Their Approach to Talent Management Michigan Digital Government Summit October 14, 2009

2 Moderator: Phyllis Mellon, Ph.D. Chief Deputy Director, MI Department of Information Technology Panelists: David A. Parent Principal Deloitte Consulting LLP J. Kevin Ford, Ph.D. Organizational Psychology Michigan State University

3 The Reality: Attracting, developing, and keeping your best talent is more important than it’s ever been Three current myths about IT Talent... Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Myth 1: In our current economic downturn, with high unemployment rates, attracting and retaining talent is less critical than it used to be

4 The Reality: The Public Sector has more to offer than we often realize Myth 2: The Public Sector cannot compete with the Private Sector for top talent Three current myths about IT Talent... Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

5 The Reality: The things people care about most do not cost a lot Myth 3: Addressing Talent issues takes a large budget and a dedication of significant resources Three current myths about IT Talent... Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

6 Session Overview Overview of Today's Session Introduction of Speakers Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

7 Six Steps to Building a Great Workforce David A. Parent Principal Deloitte Consulting LLP

8 Step 1: Build a Better Plan Workforce Planning Missing component in many organizations More than how many slots to fill next year Needs to be future-oriented Internal and external assessment Prioritization of Critical Workforce Segments Some positions have greater impact than others Some skills are harder to find than others With limited resources, those require the greatest attention Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 How will our organization look in the future? What skills will we need in 3 years? In 5 years? How will our activities be different? Where will we find these skills? Consider:

9 Step 2: Modernize Your Sourcing Process Redesign Recruiting Processes Throw out "One Size Fits All" strategies “Need for Speed” – starting with technology Innovate – consider non-traditional talent pools Sell what the Public Sector has to offer Commitment to service Broad opportunities Workplace flexibility Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

10 The Keys to Attraction and Retention Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

11 Step 3: Develop, Develop, Develop Expectation of latest generations in the workforce Begins and ends with the Manager Requires expectations to be set with managers Management development has high payback Think of development broadly – much more than training Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

12 Step 4: Deploy Talent with Meaning Along with relationship with one’s manager, “meaningfulness” of one’s role and assignments is at the top of job satisfaction indicators Development should be added as criteria when making assignments, then monitored during and after Many opportunities in Public Sector – but need to re-think traditional, narrow career paths Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

13 Step 5: Find Ways to Connect Your Diverse Workforce Connection drives commitment and retention Many formal and informal examples Communities of Practice / Interest Groups Mentorship programs External organizations and events Use technology (e.g., social networking) Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

14 Step 6: Continuously Evaluate & Refine Instill continuous improvement mentality to Talent Management Don’t aim for perfection – Better to start small, test, then build Establish and (truly) use feedback mechanisms Learn from others Monitor Take pulse of the labor market Take pulse of your talent’s “commitment” Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

15 These 6 Steps Can Make a Difference Build a Better Plan Modernize Your Sourcing Process Develop, Develop, Develop Deploy Talent with Meaning Find Ways to Connect Your Diverse Workforce Continuously Evaluate & Refine Step 1 Step 2Step 6 Step 3Step 5 Step 4 Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

16 Develop & Deploy with Impact: Valuing Learning in Challenging Times J. Kevin Ford, Ph.D. Organizational Psychology Michigan State University

17 Preface Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Peter Senge 2005, Fifth Discipline “Most organizations today espouse some variation on the philosophy that “people are our most important asset” and invest money in workforce development through training programs. But truly committing to helping people grow requires much more than this…”

18 Leadership Reflection Think of someone you have observed in your professional career who is especially good at developing others. What does that person DO that makes him or her so effective as a people developer? Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

19 Leader Roles for Development Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 AssessingSupportingChallenging

20 Leader Role: Assessing Helps to Identify key competencies for each job Determines current skill levels and skill gaps Jointly determines ways for individuals to continuously learn on the job Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

21 Leader Role: Challenging Stretches person out of comfort zone by providing opportunities for developing skills Motivates people to seek mastery and continuous learning Allows people to see impact of actions and provides time for reflection/learning Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

22 Leader Role: Supporting Provides resources that help people handle the struggle of learning Enhances confidence in ability to learn and grow Confirms and clarifies lessons learned Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

23 Unfamiliar Responsibilities Portfolio of Leadership Experiences Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Experiencing Job Transitions Center for Creative Leadership McCauley – Learning from Experience High Stakes Scope and Scale Managing at High Levels of Responsibility New Directions Inherited Problems Creating Change External Pressures Influence without Authority Managing Boundaries

24 Inherited Problems Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Learning Opportunity Improve ability to tackle problems, diagnose root causes, and reenergize people Learn to make tough decisions and persevere in the face of adversity Fixing problems created by someone else or before your involvement

25 Scope and Scale Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Learning Opportunity Improve ability to coordinate and integrate across groups and create systems to track work Learn to feel comfortable accomplishing tasks through others Managing work that is broad in scope (multiple functions, groups, products) or large in sheer size.

26 Learning Opportunity Improve ability to represent the organization and to influence external groups Learn to build relationships and shared agendas with a wide variety of people. Managing the interface with important groups outside the organization, such as customers, vendors, and regulatory agencies External Pressure Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

27 Strategies for Development in Place Reshape the job: Add new responsibilities to job Take on temporary assignments: Add tasks that are bounded by time. Seek challenges outside the workplace Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

28 Challenge Driven Assignments Matrix The Techniques Reshape Person’s Job Provide Temporary Projects Experiences Outside Workplace Competencies The Context Unfamiliar Responsibilities New Directions Inherited Problems High Scope and Scale External Pressures Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

29 Maximize Learning Pre, During, and Post Assignment Pre - Be clear about the skills, behaviors, or actions to develop in the assignment During - Support learning (e.g., feedback, coach, sounding board) Post – Foster learning: post action reviews – what did well/could improve development of best practices to diffuse to others Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009

30 Concluding Thoughts Michigan Digital Government Summit, October 2009 Peter Drucker, Management Consultant “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn”

31 Questions & Discussion