October/November 2008 Newsletter

October/November 2008

Welcome to the PageUp People Newsletter

This issue focuses on Talent Management and covers the following:

1. Talent Management Today

2. Public Workshops

3. Social Network Updates

4. PageUp People Podcast Series

Why are HR professionals still talking about talent management?

The answer is simple, says Karen Cariss, co-founder and CEO of PageUp People, "companies globally are orientating toward a service-first focused business and know that the best way to achieve this goal is through their people."

Recognition to do something about improving talent management practices, is one thing, says Cariss who co-founded the talent management solution provider over 10 years ago, but doing them in an integrated fashion, where you are pulling together all the elements of the people puzzle, is for many organisations still a massive challenge.

"Managing talent is about identifying, attracting, integrating, developing, motivating and retaining key people. Creating a robust approach within a technology framework which encompasses all these elements is the simple answer, but not simple to implement. Therefore, in my experience no one is delivering a fully integrated approach yet."

Cariss says that HR business practices are different depending on the country the company is operating within. What is considered "business norm" in one country is different in another. These cultural inertias can blinker a company's vision to change. Some countries are very dependent on traditional practices. For example, the UK and Australia are still largely dependent on sourcing staff through recruitment agencies whereby a large number of US companies use proactive in-house practices where they source candidates from their existing talent pool database first before they seek third-party assistance.

Another hurdle for many companies is that they are used to working with the four elements of talent management in isolation to each other and furthermore place more importance on one element over another. For example some focus on performance management and less on succession management, and others on retention over recruitment.

"These practices are stopping companies from delivering 'big picture' ", says Cariss.

In terms of incorporating external technology in the mix to streamline and maximise processes, although the number is growing, still only a few companies are building it into their procedures. Some of the large multi-nationals who manage tens of thousands of staff have built their own systems while others are cobbling together the different pieces from a multitude of providers.

Irrespective of companies' decision making processes, Cariss says HR technology platforms are becoming more sophisticated by the day. So, there is the underlying concern that if organisations don't start delivering their global view of their HR practices soon it will greatly hinder their response turnaround time when dealing with organisational changes in the future. In order to achieve scale across a large global company, talent management practices need to be underpinned with a global technology platform that integrates all areas. Although this won't solve all problems, it is a necessity to deliver.

"If a company knows that a critical operational staff member, for example a Plant Manager, plans to retire in 2 years, the most logical step is to incorporate a succession planning strategy. The question is, where do you start? A simple online review of the tracked performance of the chosen individuals can help you identify who would be appropriate while spotting the gaps in their profile that require development. Recognising this in advance, through a fully-integrated talent management system, allows the company to prepare their candidates for the role 6 to even 12 months in advance, and like a race, the best performer wins. This approach allows the company to plan for the future proactively rather than wait for the role to just come up, and then panic!"

In a recent publication by PageUp People on integrating talent management and optimising the employee life cycle, it explains succinctly that a truly effective talent management system should be aligned with the four phases of the employee life-cycle: retention, recruitment, performance and development. When these are linked with the HR processes, and are measureable, and supported by smart technology, HR is perfectly positioned to be put in the 'driver seat', influencing the future decision making for the entire business.

If companies were to incorporate an integrated talent management system, as Cariss says, "this will fast forward them to a future where human capital will define business success."

Public Workshops

PageUp People is hosting public workshops throughout November and December in Melbourne and Sydney to boost line manager interview and performance management skills.

Interview Essentials Training ($895 ex GST)

During a half or full day workshop, hiring managers and HR professionals learn and apply best-practice interview techniques to add objectivity to selection decisions.

Sydney - November 26 2008

Melbourne - December 10 2008

Performance Essentials Training ($895 ex GST)

Performance Essentials ensures line managers are both confident and competent to implement the performance management process.

Sydney - November 27 2008

Melbourne - December 11 2008

To enquire further, please call the PageUp People marketing department on +61 3 8677 3777 or email marketing@pageuppeople.com.

Social Network Updates

Our social network has continued to grow! Thank you to all our members for joining the social network for talent management professionals. We are very excited that we have had so many members join the network from all corners of the globe; Greece, Canada, UK, USA, Sweden, Finland, NZ, Malaysia, South Africa and Australia!

There are a few updates on the social network that you may find useful. To view these discussions, please visit http://pageuppeople.ning.com

Discussion is continuing from Chanelle Dalton's post last month. 'Is your selection process legally defensible?'

Are you reviewing your careers website? Conversation on the 'What makes a best practice career website?' forum may be useful to you

Cade Elg follows up from his recent interview with Mike Beeley of ReAgent for the latest PageUp People podcast and asks 'Does anyone out there conduct internal or external surveys on the perception of your organisation as an employer? If so, do they work well? If not, why not?'

A new group has been added! The private group is designed for users of the PageUp People Recruitment Management Solution to learn what peers are doing to maximise use of their system and provide feedback to PageUp People to improve the existing process and technology.

Are you working on a project and would like differing opinions? Why not ask over 200 users of this social network? To ask a question to our audience of committed talent management professionals, please submit your question at http://pageuppeople.ning.com

PageUp People is researching current best practice regarding the use of succession management and we would welcome your input. The survey takes less than 3 minutes to complete. As a contributor to the survey, you will be in the running to win a $250 Visa voucher. All participants will also receive a complimentary analysis of the results. A link to the survey is provided within the social network.

Sign up now at http://pageuppeople.ning.com  

PageUp People Podcast Series

The PageUp People podcast allows the latest research and trends to find you! The podcast series includes monthly interviews with leading experts across talent management.

The latest edition features an interview with Mike Beeley on Harnessing Old and New Media in Employer Branding.

Stay tuned for upcoming podcast topics on Performance Management with Louise Polednik, and sourcing strategies with world renowned commentator Shally Steckerl.

To automatically receive the latest podcast episode on your iPod, MP3 device or computer as they become available, please sign up by visiting the PageUp People resource centre on our website.

What did you think of this issue?

At PageUp People we are continually looking to improve our e-newsletter. If you have any suggestions for future issues, please contact our marketing department at marketing@pageuppeople.com.