TALENT MANAGEMENT AGENDA IN A POST COVID-19 WORLD

Identifying Critical Roles Several factors determine which role or roles are critical to an organisation depending on what goal(s) it is set to achieve. Understanding the critical positions of an organisation is a very important step in the talent-succession process. Which positions are critical to the continuous existence of your organisation? What makes these positions critical? Where are the positions located? Please note that at this stage of the process, it is all about the roles not the people (incumbents) in these roles. Critical role identification is an integral part of the talent-succession process and should be considered seriously. It is also important to understand the peculiarities of your business/industry as this also informs role criticality. Having criteria that is consistent with the strategic intent of the talent process lays the groundwork for success. It is often recommended that with a thorough assessment process, not more than 15% - 20% of the roles in an organisation should fall within the criticality zone. If your organisation has the resources to extend the scope, that’s fine, but remember, it takes a lot of efforts to effectively manage this process. So, whether you decide to embark on an exclusive, inclusive or hybrid talent management strategy, be mindful of the resources at your organisation's disposal i.e. budget, HR capabilities etc. to handle expectations and support the process. In chapter one, I noted that I am often asked if everyone in an organisation is a talent. I have also had encounters with people who believe that everyone in their organisation is a talent. Although, I have already discussed and made clarifications regarding this view, I would like to share an added perspective on the matter. If everyone in the organisation is a talent, how do we maintain a balance across the entire workforce to better serve the business' purpose? For example, as talent custodians, what should we tell a young, smart employee serving as a dispatch rider in our organisation, who wants to know if he is considered a talent? What would your response to this dispatch rider be assuming your main business is retail distribution using dispatch channels, including dispatch riders? And, would your response be different if your main business is banking operations or heavy equipment manufacturing where the dispatch rider is only used for mail distribution? Consider also, a housekeeping staff in a 5-star hotel whose role is comparable to a cleaner in a multi-national telecommunications company. How would you view the criticality of these roles from the business’ perspective? These are fundamental perspectives that should drive the definition and understanding of critical roles in any organisation, regardless of the industry of operation. Identifying critical roles extends beyond just the leadership positions. It encompasses all roles (regardless of level) with direct impact on the achievement of the core objectives of an organisation either now or in the future (or both). So, ensuring a viable succession plan for these roles signifies that the organisation has a pool of talents who have been prepared and are willing to assume critical roles whenever the needs arise. Therefore, in assessing role criticality, some key questions to ask include: i. Which positions primarily impact customers, revenue and the market? If the organisation doesn’t have people occupying those roles, what would the organisation be losing? ii. What sort of damage would the business have to deal with should the organisation lose any incumbents in such roles to a competitor? iii. What degree of interruption could occur if the role is left vacant for an extended period of time? iv. How complex is it to acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities and other attributes that are required to perform on the roles? v. How difficult will it be to hire the right candidates for these roles? vi. How complex are the barriers to entry into these roles, particularly as it relates to expert or specialist skills or even roles that exist with strict regulatory requirements and expectations? vii. How well do these roles satisfy regulatory requirements? Would the business be denied a license to operate if such roles do not exist in the organisation? Or, will there be a denial of renewal of licenses to operate if such roles are left vacant? Again, the reality posed by COVID-19 would trigger a major shift in what constitutes critical positions in many organisations. So, organisations would have to be agile in dealing with this reality. Thus, understanding and determining the factors that help an organisation identify the criticality of roles should be given due attention in the talent-succession process. This further helps the proactivity of the process by ensuring proper development of the incumbents in those critical positions, building the required talent pipeline and managing the roles such that none is left vacant unduly. When you have some designated critical roles vacant for a period of three months, six months, and in some cases one year – it is either those roles are not critical, or if they are critical, the organisation is losing a lot because it has not considered the imminent losses or risks. Else, it would have immediately placed talents in those roles so they can deliver on the organisation’s objectives. The impact of departures in critical positions are usually grave, and if the roles are left vacant or filled by underperformers, the organisation would miss several opportunities both in the short and long term; discontinuity and underperformance should not be tolerated. Immediate transitioning of prepared talents into vacant critical roles should always be considered as a top priority.