I spent the afternoon today at a seminar by the esteemed Brett Minchington on the topic of "Employer Branding". An interesting topic by all accounts. One of the questions raised was to define the word "Talent" in terms of each of the corporate participants own organisation. And as you would expect, all the right words and phrases trotted out namely: aspiration, engagement, encouragement, wanting to move to the next level, talent pool, high potential leaders identified and identified early, transparent, future proofing etc etc.

I however was not comfortable with any of the definitions raised, and that is predominately because each and every organisation has a wealth of talent at their finger tips, they've just never asked them! I am of the view that to be truly successful with business and people, find out what the people you have are really good at and build the roles around them, rather than the way it is currently, the role first and then the person.

Now I admit that there is most certainly a sophistication around that type of thinking that many will struggle with. And that the larger the organisation, the harder that it might be perceived to do; but doable it is. Where has the belief in people gone? Why do we have to be processed to an inch of our lives? We know what a particular organisation is built to do, but why do we have to be quite so presciptive? I would have no hesitation in believing that there would be enough Talent in any one of the organisations represented today to be able to do what is required (plus some!) and even way beyond that in terms of recognising and offering opportunity.

Its quite simple really... find out what each and every single one is good at and where their interests lie, bring the like minded folk together and give them an appropraite project to work on... the results will speak for themselves.

The bottom line is with flexibility being one of the key catch phrases, can you afford not to?

Link: http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/talent/heffernan/managing-generational-differences/052507.html

Margaret Heffernan talks about how to manage diverse teams by recognizing three fundamental needs that are common across employees of all generations.

Different generations exude various qualities and have differing needs in the work place. "Kids nowadays…" That phrase used to signal a long, weary complaint by parents about their wayward teenagers. But we're hearing it more and more outside the home nowadays-- in offices, in executive suites, even from managers who just can't fathom their new work force. They're hiring smart, young employees, providing them with opportunities to climb the corporate ladder, paying them well -- and how do they show their thanks? They announce that they're going trekking in Venezuela and they quit! Or they decide to go and work for a non-profit. Or, with next to no experience, they want to start their own business. What are they thinking?

Is this sounding familiar?

The Age --- Page: B6 : 29 May 2007
Original article by Simon Sharwood

ABIX Summary
Sydney law firm Fisher Cartwright Berriman has developed a service that allows businesses to create employment contracts online. The peopleinsite.com.au website is designed to simplify the process of creating Australian Workplace Agreements, by taking the employer through the process of drafting a contract step-by-step. The online nature of the service means the site is updated automatically when workplace legislation is amended. Many Australian employers may also find the online employee satisfaction surveys offered by hotemployers.com.au to be useful.

BRW --- Page: 24 : 24 May 2007
Original article by Robert Muir

ABIX Summary
"Innovation" is a phrase that is bandied around too often, and frequently the user means "invention". In the 1990s, Russian engineer Genrich Altshuller analysed patents and found that only 1% represented scientific discoveries. Innovation is using an existing technology in a new way while invention is a new technology. Rather than chasing innovation, business would be better served looking at the human resources they control, for it is at the shopfloor that innovation is often found. Staff are constantly asked to provide new and more economical ways of achieving the same outcome, and this "innovation" can be fostered through staff development and support.

Is your organisation innovative or inventive?

Link: http://www.bersinassociates.com

In my conversations with clients we continue to discuss the challenge of managing talent. So I was extremely interested to read the latest research findings of Bersin & Associates from their study into "High-Impact Talent Management"... whilst based on US research the data remains relevant and very useful to all OD, HR and LandD practitioners in Asia-Pacific. It is impossible to give you a comprehensive overview of the 400+ research report nor indeed the 29 page Executive Summary, however listing the Top 10 Findings should whet your appetite sufficiently to visit the Bersin website and download your own Executive Summary or purchase the full report.

The Top 10 Findings are:
The Corporate Talent Squeeze is real and painful.
The Number 1 talent program facing organisations today is a shortage of potential leaders, otherwise knows as "Gaps" in the Leadership Pipeline.
Performance Management and coaching offer the greatest opportunities to drive business impact.
Competency Management emerges as a business-critical initiative.
Sourcing and recruiting are harder and more scientific then ever.
Learning and development has become a foundational process for talent management (aCE talentNET comment "a must read read for all HR and LandD staff".
Talent Management challenges and their solutions are very business-specific.
Talent Management is a business problem, not an HR problem.
HR Systems are not critical to success.
Integrated Talent Management systems show great promise but the market is still immature.

To access a copy of your own Executive Report and read about the 22 high-impact talent practices, click here. I'm sure you will be as enlightened as we were.