1. The future of Talent Management: beyond the nine box grid
Karen Ward, Programme Director
Corporate Research Forum

2. Six Myths of TM Talent Management follows strategy
Generation Y will grow up and start behaving like us soon
Focusing on a fixed elite of ‘talent’ will give you the best ROI
Current skills and performance give you a good idea of future success
Talent is an interchangeable commodity like any other
Formal Processes matter more than informal processes
Source: Pern & Heath (2013) Ashridge

3. Delivering sustainable organisational performance through talent management
Business Strategy
People Strategy
Talent Strategy
Talent Management is the attraction, identification, selection, development and retention of those employees who have the potential to add significant, sustainable, strategic value to your organisation.

4. Evolution of talent management
Plan
Source
Make
Deliver
Consume
You
Headless Chicken
Bureaucratic
Supply Chain
Systemic
Anticipate no needs
Make no plans to address needs
Then panic…
…and hire like mad
….then fire when you have too many
Complex models for forecasting and succession planning
By the time the plan “pops” out someone else has captured the talent….
Make & Buy to manage risk
Adapts to uncertainty in talent demand
Improve ROI on Talent Development
Preserve investment by balancing Employer & Employee interests
Open Source – across organisational boundaries
Informal networks as influential as formal TM processes
Lived brand more powerful than espoused brand
Relational – mass personalisation. One size does not fit all
TIME
Source: adapted from Richardson, 2008

5. Nine Box Grid: Unintended Consequences
Use of in year appraisal ratings to define performance is risky given the instability of the measure
Confuses potential with readiness for promotion
Potential for what? Often ignores business critical expertise and functional mastery
A tick box exercise which allows line managers off the hook
Does not facilitate meaningful career development
Does not take account of changes in the external environment
Source: Hirsh (2012) CRF

6. Relational TM – between people
Individual and collective dialogue about:
Performance
What does sustainable performance look like here?
What creates sustainable value here?
Potential – for what?
How is the world of work changing?
What is my personal appetite for learning?
Motivation
What do I want from my work at this point in my life?
How can I bring the best of myself?
Social and Political Context
Performance
Potential
Motivation
Source: Ward & Jacobsen (2011)

7. Insights from other fields
Big data –
retail customer insight
Marketing –
Mass Personalisation
Marketing – Segmentation
Education – identification of potential
Psychotherapy – cultural barriers to change

8. Your role? Horizon Scanning Sense Making Building Relationships
Learn how to be Edge Creatures

9. Thank you for listening