This article discusses the challenges of managing a multi-generational workforce and the importance of talent pipeline management and succession planning. It notes that millennials expect regular feedback, development opportunities, and transparency around career progression. Effective talent management requires integrating recruitment, performance management, learning and development, and using tools that engage all generations. Regular succession planning and integrating it with career development is key to building a sustainable talent bench.

1. This article appeared in the APR MAY JUN 2012 issue
of insiderPROFILES (http://insiderPROFILES.wispubs.com)
and appears here with permission from WIS PUBLISHING.
Managing Talent and Organizational
Bench Strength: Are You Game-Ready?
by Oliver Conze, Vice President, Solution Management, SAP and
Lillian Reaume, Vice President, Human Resources Center of Excellence, Nakisa
B
uilding a winning team is all rookies, attempting to learn all they can in
about bench strength. If you their first year. As leader of this motley crew,
look at the composition of any the coach is responsible for keeping the play-
sports team, you’ll see all types ers engaged, building a strong bench, and
of talent: veterans, who think ensuring every position on the field is filled
about retirement and post-career; up-and- or ready to be filled with capable talent at
coming mavericks, focused on excelling and any given time, despite injuries or trade
obtaining the next endorsement deal; and deals — all in an effort to win the season.
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2. As any sports fan knows, every season endures a
range of highs and lows. And most often, it’s not the
team with the strongest individual player that wins,
but the team with the best bench strength. Build-
91% of employees are
ing a strong bench can be just as important as
creating the starting line-up. Just like sports
coaches, today’s human resources (HR) depart-
willing to change jobs, ments face similar challenges. So, where does
your organization stand in the rankings?
but 55% of leaders are
Meet Your Newest Team Members:
not expecting it. The Millennials
We are entering an unprecedented era comprised
of a multi-generational workforce, which calls
for new approaches to management. Workplace
demographics now include three different genera-
tions, meaning that fresh-out-of-college recruits will
find themselves working alongside colleagues the same
age as their grandparents. As 72 million Baby Boomers
(born between 1946 and 1964) prepare for retirement,
members of Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980)
and Generation Y (born between 1981 and 2000) are
getting ready to fill their shoes. The impact of these
changes will be significant; Generation Y, also known as
the Millennials, is the biggest demographic to start work
since the Baby Boomers, and is expected to make up 30%
of the workforce by 2013. So how can HR prepare for
the different working styles of a multi-generational
workforce? Just like sports coaches, HR profession-
als are responsible for managing this diverse mix.
Inside every organization, the Millennials
A multi-generational are demonstrating new ways of working. This
technologically savvy generation is mobile,
workforce calls for connected, flexible, and fluent in social net-
working. As social media becomes an in-
new approaches to tegral part of the work world, on the field
and off, mobile devices are emerging as the
management. Is your dominant communications and interaction
platform, allowing employees to manage al-
organization toeing
most every aspect of their professional life.
There are almost 1 billion people on Face-
book, and over 4.6 billion cell phones are
the line? in active use. Millennials sometimes refer to
their mobile device as their “command center”
and can’t imagine a day, much less a week, be-
ing disconnected. For some, the work morning’s
first task is to check Facebook on a smart phone.
As these trends (often referred to as “business social”)
continue to grow, so will their impact on HR.
In past generations, loyalty to the enterprise was
paramount; the ultimate goal was to attain a “job for
life.” However, newer generations are a different breed
that switch jobs on average every two years.1 Millenni-
als are career-focused with high expectations for their
development, and if their employers don’t meet their
expectations, they won’t stick around for long.
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3. Fighting the Global War for Talent
With the ability for people to easily and readily
collaborate and network, and with about 50%
of people able to work remotely, it’s not a
huge surprise to see a decrease in employee
retention. In a recent survey, Express Em-
ployment Professionals found that 77% of
leaders say retention was not a problem or Employees are increasingly
only a slight problem in 2011.2 Yet, accord-
ing to a recent survey by CareerBuilder, willing to switch jobs. What
are you doing to keep them?
91% of employees are willing to switch
jobs, and 55% of leaders are not expecting
it.3 In fact, according to a recent Employee
Performance Survey, 21 million Americans
are considering changing jobs in the next
year.4 With the cost of employee turnover
estimated at up to 250% of the annual sal-
ary per exiting employee, such effects could
be detrimental to employee retention and
organizational growth.
The global war for talent is continuing to be an
issue in various regions and industries. While the
spike in growth has slowed somewhat in China, Aus-
tralia, India, and other parts of Southeast Asia, the over-
all demand for talent everywhere has not. With talent
already in short supply, ensuring you can develop and
keep what you have and win over the talent you don’t
have is critical to your organization’s success.
We have all heard the stories of CEOs of large
companies leaving with no replacement. Total
chaos ensues. Stock prices drop and share-
holders are angry. This scenario is a night-
mare for an HR professional. But with the
right strategy and tools, you can avoid Social media has and
will continue to play a
this scenario and identify which positions
are at high risk, define how many people
should be ready if and when the need
arises, and have clear insight into what role in finding, retaining, and
talent can fill them.
What’s Your Game Plan for
developing talent. Organizations
Stepping Up to the Talent
Management Plate?
must speak the language of
Evidence shows that many organizations
are not prepared for succession manage-
tomorrow’s top talent.
ment. According to Bersin & Associates, 77% of
organizations have little or no view of existing
talent gaps in their business.5 This is not surpris-
ing, considering that only 35% of organizations do
any succession planning at all — and of that 35%,
planning is only performed for the top 10% of the busi-
ness. In a 2011 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, CEOs
rated talent management as the number-one area where
they expect dramatic change during the next year.6 Given
this increased attention, it’s even more critical that HR
executives set aside time to identify where they are and
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4. HR must become
a strategic business where they need to be. It’s time for HR to step
up to the plate.
partner, driving What factors should organizations consider
when developing an effective talent pipeline?
executives to develop It starts with understanding how to engage
the next generation of talent. As we’ve iden-
a strategy that engages tified, Millennials are digitally aware, hyper-
connected, and in control of their careers.
the entire enterprise They are demanding more input into their
advancement, and if they don’t receive this, they
in an ongoing, flexible won’t hesitate to switch teams. When developing
talent management strategies, organizations
talent management must consider these new work styles. So, what
should HR organizations do to create an effective
process.
talent pipeline?
Build bench strength you can count on. Not only
should you plan for emerging technologies like social
media and mobility, but HR organizations must also
ensure an iron-clad strategy for the age-old cliché:
have the right people, with the right skills, in the right
place (including remote workers), at the right time. To
do this, you need the right information. And as we all
know, with so much information out there, we can’t
do it on our own. Choosing technology that caters and
adapts to your business processes, not vice versa, is
key. We need technology that has effective analyti-
cal capabilities built-in so that we can construct
the best strategy for our organization. With this
technology, we can predict, execute, monitor,
and analyze to make the correct decisions for
our organization’s success.
Choose the right tools for a winning
Effective talent pipeline succession plan and talent pipeline.
Choosing tools that speak the language
management begins with of the Millennials, while still supporting
your Generation Xers and Baby Boomers,
effective information
will help you retain and nurture talent.
Solutions that allow your next-generation
talent to interact with the latest technolo-
management. gies, such as motivational games and social
networking sites, will enable them to col-
laborate and work in ways familiar to them.
Flexible access to data anytime, anywhere,
is also vital to maximize user adoption across
all generations. Web-based, real-time solutions,
delivered through a single, intuitive user inter-
face and available on multiple devices, prove to
be the most successful. Tools that incorporate these
modern technologies will make talent easier to de-
tect throughout the organization by creating a unique
way for your employees to regularly chart and share
their developmental aspirations. This will ultimately
lead to higher engagement levels, better perception
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5. Oliver Conze (oliver.
of the value add of HR services, and increased conze@sap.com) is Vice Pres-
retention rates. ident of Solution Management
Develop a “people-centric” approach. It’s at SAP. He leads the team
not just about employing the latest technologies.
responsible for strategy and
Organizations must develop a “people-centric”
approach to succession planning in order to
Go-to-Market for SAP’s global portfo-
secure the commitment of talent. Research shows lio of talent management solutions, en-
that Millennials expect regular and transpar- abling organizations to attract, retain,
ent feedback on their progress and a clear idea develop, and better engage top talent.
of where they are going and how they will be
Oliver has been with SAP for over five
rewarded. Embedding career planning into the
years in various positions in corporate
succession planning process will provide valuable
information for HR professionals, enabling them strategy, portfolio management, and
to highlight potential multi-generational talent product management. Prior to SAP, Oli-
from all areas of the organization. ver worked for an international manage-
ment consulting firm. He holds master’s
Stay Ahead of the Game: Integrate
degrees in management science from
Succession and Career Planning
with an Enterprise-Wide Talent Stanford University and Karlsruhe Insti-
Management Strategy tute of Technology, and a PhD in busi-
To build a sustainable talent pipeline, succes- ness administration from the University
sion planning can’t be managed as a standalone
of St. Gallen.
administrative HR activity, but must be part of
an integrated and enterprise-wide talent manage-
ment program with career planning weaved into Lillian Reaume (lillian.
the process. By integrating recruiting, compen- reaume@nakisa.com) is the
sation, and performance management systems, Vice President of Human
learning and development programs, and men- Resources COE at Nakisa.
torship and recognition programs, future maver-
Her scope is to provide
icks can be identified and cultivated at all levels
of the company, leading to a much more sustain- thought leadership and as-
able bench. sist with the development of solutions
To stay ahead of the game, HR must continu- for Nakisa’s global portfolio, enabling
ally have its finger on the pulse of business needs organizations in their strategic human
and make talent pipeline management part of
resources efforts. Lillian also leads the
the company culture. HR departments must con-
centrate on developing a strategy and a range HR team at Nakisa and has over 17
of tools that provide real-time functionality and years of diverse senior leadership expe-
engage every member of the enterprise in an rience in the automotive, financial, and
ongoing, flexible talent management process. By high-tech industries. Lillian holds a mas-
doing this, organizations can ensure they have the
ter’s degree in business administration
best talent in the best place at the best time. Only
then can HR “bring it home,” earning its seat in from the University of Windsor and is
the board room by delivering bottom-line bene- nearing completion of a PhD in business
fits and a sustainable, committed bench of players administration from Capella University.
that will keep the organization on top of its game
for seasons to come.
1 Kaye, B. and Jordan-Evans, S. “Love ‘em or lose’em, getting good people to stay.” San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (2008).
2 www.cioinsight.com/c/a/IT-Management/Employee-Retention-Failures-Revealed-145261/ ; http://employers.expresspros.com/ca/
3 www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/retention--a-top-concern-for-employers-130731538.html
4 http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/act-now-to-prevent-a-talent-exodus-in-2012
5 www.bersin.com/Practice/Detail.aspx?id=103311599
6 www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/ceo-survey/pdf/15th-global-ceo-survey.pdf
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