Employer – Employee Breakups are the Worst

How Having a Talent Management Strategy Helps Avoid Them

“I’m so sorry, but it’s just not working out.”  Those breakup words are nothing anyone wants to hear in their dating lives.  But, in a professional setting, they can be equally concerning and frustrating.  Each time an organization drops this phrase in a discussion with one of its employees or has one of their team members break things off with them, it leads to a loss in productivity, time, and, most of all, money.  That hurts. No matter how you spin it, employer-employee breakups are the worst.  No one wants to receive this news and no one wants to deliver it either.  But the fact is, without an effective talent management strategy, organizations will likely continue to deliver this news to employees who fail to meet expectations.

Worse yet, they’ll have to hear it themselves from talented but disengaged employees who decide to leave after feeling unnurtured and unsupported in their roles.

The good news?

It doesn’t have to be this way.  With a talent management strategy in place, office breakups (and their repercussions) don’t have to happen nearly as often as they might otherwise.  Developing and implementing a robust talent management strategy is the key to avoiding them.

So, What Do We Mean by “Talent Management Strategy?”

Simply put, businesses with a talent management strategy make strategically planning and envisioning talent needs a top priority rather than shunting those needs off as a secondary (and reactionary) thought.  Talent management means preventing turnover and addressing lack of engagement.  It means acting to achieve consistency in executional excellence.  It requires managing speed and flexibility rather than letting the pace of work pull the rug out from underneath you.  For organizations looking to drive results, putting in the effort to hire and engage the right people makes all the difference.

Here’s Where to Start—Answer the “What” Piece of the Puzzle

It’s no secret – companies that embrace strategies to hire and retain talent find themselves better suited to drive results and deliver on expectations.  Creating those strategies begin by taking the first step – designing the right organizational structure.  Start by asking questions like:

1. What are the goals the organization is trying to achieve?
2. What roles need to be created or filled based on those goals?
3. What traits does the perfect employee need in order to fulfill the role?
4. What tools does the organization have for identifying top performers?
5. What cognitive and behavioral traits do we need to find in candidates here?

When mapping out how to build and design an optimal workforce that can get the job done, organizational leaders need to consider these questions first.  While HR departments, like Recruiting, Organizational Development, and Training support these aspects of hiring and developing an organization’s workforce, the “people strategy” component of the equation requires leaders to map out.

Diving into the “Who” Component of the Equation

Once leaders design their organization’s structure and map out what roles are needed, they need to figure out the “who” piece by asking questions like:

1. Who is the right person for the job based on the specific job requirements?
2. Who can do this job while finding it interesting and engaging?
3. Who will enjoy growing and challenging themselves in this position?
4. Who might have the skills or potential to succeed even if they don’t have obvious experience in their background?
5. Who could move within this organization and provide a good fit in future roles that arise?
6. Who are the right team players for highly visible projects?
7. Who is ready for their next career move, promotion, or stretch assignment?
8. Who needs training or additional resources to do their job well?
9. Who needs supplementary support to stay engaged?

Getting the “who” component down from day one sets a company up for short-term success. Long-term success, however, requires long-term thinking and planning.

Even after organizations hire the right individual for a role they know is a good fit, the work doesn’t end.  In fact, it only begins.  Nurturing and developing an employee – even a seasoned veteran – plays a critical role in empowering them to perform their job successfully throughout their entire time within your organization.

Over time talent needs change and your organization needs to figure out how to move your talent to meet these shifting needs.  New teams, new special projects, opportunities for promotions, or lateral moves all require the ongoing attention of your organization.  Optimizing your talent management strategy to account for change and considering how candidates or existing employees match new opportunities helps your organization adapt to shifts in circumstances, business strategies, and talent needs.

The Bottom-line

Without a proactive talent management strategy, tools to measure and decide which candidate best fits a role, and methods for keeping employees engaged, business leaders and organizations tend to make talent decisions on an as-needed basis.  Doing so creates gaps within a workplace, increases room for error, and costs an organization both time and money.  Lack of upfront planning increases stress, extra workloads, and internal conflict as existing employees struggle under the weight of an increased workload due to vacant positions.

We Can Help

Check us out at www.GreatLakesProfiles.com.  We have a suite of assessments which include the PXT Select (for selection, succession planning, and development purposes) our Emotional Intelligence assessments, our Everything DiSC assessments, our Customer Service assessment, our Integrity assessment, and our 360^o surveys as well as culture consulting and a host of other training programs.  We’re here to help, reach out to us at Jim@GreatLakesProfiles.com or call us at (248) 388-0697.