TALENT MANAGEMENT AGENDA IN A POST COVID-19 WORLD
Managing Careers and Career Transitions: Work, Workforce & Workplace
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Talent Management is Not a “Fluke” Talent management requires deliberate and focused actions. Organisations that neglect these focused actions often end up in the “"home-alone"” talent crisis. It is still surprising that, despite the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of organisations are still not taking proactive steps towards mitigating the devastating consequences of potential talent loss, vacancy risks or succession risks. In the first edition of my book “Talent Management Agenda in the Post COVID-19 World”, I clearly detailed what I considered to be the definitions of “Talent” and “Talent Management”. I examined the contextual definition of “talent” from the viewpoint of what the essence of an organization is in relation to specific individuals who directly help the organization to achieve its core objectives. Invariably, a “talent” is that individual whose contributions directly help to achieve the core objectives of the organisation or business either now or in the future (or both). The “talent pool” therefore, consists of a cluster of high-performing individuals with proven records of dealing with role complexities (past and present) and hopefully, the propensity (potential) to assume increasingly complex or critical roles in the future. Consequently, every proactive activity which is required or channeled towards improving the contributions or managing the risks relating to key organisational roles and individuals regarded as “talent” could be termed talent management. Put simply, “talent management” is a proactive risk mitigation process aimed at individuals occupying critical roles and geared towards ensuring continuous sustainability of the business. I believe that the contextual understanding of these terms goes a long way in helping talent custodians and business leaders prioritize deliberate actions when planning and building a viable talent and leadership pipeline for their organisations. The impact of the pandemic is pervasive; from the employee career and job opportunities standpoint, it could cause a progressive disappearance of some roles and an increase in the demand for others. We experienced a rise in the demand for a technology-driven approach to work execution and service delivery, with a corresponding increase in the demand for employees with the ability to transition into meeting these new world-of-work expectations. A key challenge with the disappearance of some roles is the consequent loss of status attributed to such roles. We know that work status often correlates with the power privilege, and in most cases, the prestige associated with a specific role or profession. With some vocations being considered essential or non-essential during the pandemic, the societal and individual perceptions of this segmentation could potentially affect the value proposition and status attributed to some vocations in the long run. This may influence individuals to transition into such vocations. Consequently, the attraction rate of such roles could increase. If this happens, potential employers may have to enhance the wages, benefits, or value proposition offered to potential employees. Otherwise, it will become difficult to recruit the right candidates for available positions. Furthermore, on the event and sensemaking dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, while workers try to make sense of and evolve from the situation, it provides a good opportunity to evaluate and reconsider their current career patterns and figure out how to avert future career shocks. Hence, transitioning into a more secure career or vocation becomes a viable action plan. The disruption which COVID-19 has caused to work, society and the economy has also created a unique opportunity for the workforce to refocus their career interests towards vocations or career patterns that accommodate a balanced work life. Due to the emerging, widespread preference or acceptance of virtual, remote, and flexible working, the responses by various organisations in promoting enabling workplace policies will play a pivotal role in how the world of work is defined. Therefore, viewing this scenario broadly, the experiences and the initial career shocks created by COVID-19 could in the long term, create positive career opportunities and outcomes if properly managed and employees receive the support they need through favourable workplace policies. Exploring Career Options: The Plural Career Dilemma Employees find themselves heading in a new direction after facing career shocks, a layoff or other job loss. In making sense of this situation, employees may be forced to take deliberate steps or actions regarding their career choices and preferences. Their choices or preferences could also be premised upon the attraction offered by workplace policies which provide adequate support for balancing work with family responsibilities and other personal goals. Deciding to take a new job can of course, affect one's life in many ways and should be considered carefully. But making a career change is in most cases a life-altering decision which requires an even greater level of scrutiny before the final step is taken. Policy accommodation and flexibility to support employees during a career transition (particularly, in a pandemic or challenging situation) could provide varying options that might help employees to navigate the situation, respond positively with their coping strategies and progress in their careers. Individuals go through different phases while building viable careers and each phase is unique. The decisions taken in each of these phases also have far reaching implications for shaping the career trajectory, success or otherwise of the individual's career. At some point, in any of these phases, an individual may consider engaging in multiple professional activities instead of a singular vocation. The lockdown at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a major trigger of career reconsiderations for a lot of employees. Individuals who typically worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. suddenly realised they could engage in other ventures without necessarily quitting their regular jobs. Opportunities for “side gigs” became possible for many employees who were now bolstered by remote work options and technology-driven services.
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About the Book
The experiences of COVID-19 and the resulting disruptions on a global scale triggered new dimensions in the world of work. Several businesses are yet to recover from the effects of the pandemic; operationally and economically. Beyond these economic implications, there has been an enormous impact on individual careers and career transitions. Many employees suffered mental illness, career shocks, while others have ventured into careers they would not have previously considered but for the effects of the pandemic and their options to manage these effects. COVID-19 has prompted several reconsiderations not only in the ways we now define “"work"”, “"workforce"” and “"workplace"”but also in terms of how businesses operate and where businesses and employees operate from. Additionally, other key related trends namely, the ‘"Great Resignation"’ and ‘"Quiet Quitting"’ with other patterns have subsequently emerged. These trends and their impacts on talent management cannot be overemphasised. It does seem that the “workplace powers” have shifted to the employees as they now try to redefine what an ideal work and workplace should look like. Again, “compound talents” seem to be dictating/influencing the structure of contracts in organisations and, this determines what contract/s they are willing to enter considering their skills set. The disruption has influenced certain outcomes including, the immersive adoption of the use of technology, necessity for skills upgrade and the positive embrace of flexible work arrangements. There is an emergence of “uncommon leaders; leaders who ordinarily, would not have come on the scene if things were normal. Consequently, this book presents detailed insights into key trends that have now emerged in the new world of work. The author draws on experience and research in guiding business leaders, professionals and talent custodians on theories, methodologies, and tools that can be applied in dealing with these emerging talent management trends.
About the Author
Adebayo Akinloye is a global talent-succession professional with over two decades of HR practice and consulting experience. He specialises in all phases of strong internal talent benchstrength and organisational development strategy;—identifying employee development gaps, identifying talent-succession needs and goals, metrics, processes and tools, training and development to build internal capacity, creating talent-succession communication plans for business leaders, facilitating talent review meetings, coaching others for performance, creating high potential and leadership development programmes, designing assessment and development centre, competency framework, performance management, and graduate development programme to meet specific organisational needs. He leads the discussion, diagnosis, recommendation, and delivery of solutions across the talent management value chain. His experience cuts across the information technology, telecommunications, oil and gas, automotive, earth-moving equipment and heavy machineries, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors. Over the years, he has established himself as a highly skilled professional of repute. An associate member of CIPD, UK and member CIPM, Nigeria. Akinloye is an accredited user of a host of global talent assessment and development tools. He has significant experience in the development and provisioning of assessment services while working with HR, Business Leaders, and Industrial Psychologists in the area of individual assessment and development. Akinloye has handled various talent-succession and organisational development projects across different industries and countries. His professional experience cuts across multi-national, private, and successful family-owned businesses including, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria, DAL Group of Companies, North Africa, and as Group Head of HR in Century Group. Akinloye is a graduate of Management Sciences from the University of Jos, Nigeria, with a diploma in HR Management from Cornell University, USA, and a master's degree in International Human Resource Management from Cranfield University School of Management, UK. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in “Psychology of Work” from University of Leicester, United Kingdom.