Talent Management and the Older Worker Graeme Martin

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Talent Management and the Older WorkerGraeme
Martin
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Outline

• Why the interest in talent management?
• How good are the underlying theories/assumptions
  and evidence on which talent management rests?
• What are the implications for older workers?
• What practical questions remain to be answered?

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The War for Talent Revisited Something
New?(Martin Hetrick, 2006 Economist, Oct 7th,
2006, CIPD, 2007, etc)
Brainpower and talent in knowledge-based
economies/organizations
Population changes worldwide, international
labour markets and HR supply chains
Talent drives reputations and is attracted by
reputations, but talent can also damage
reputations

• The rise of idiosyncratic careers and the cult of
  celebrity

Employee loyalty and trust fading employers
reaping what they have sown (CIPD, 2006)?
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The truth about markets why some nations are
rich but most remain poor?

• The distinction between the role of shareholders
  and employees was clear when shareholders bought
  the plant and employees worked in it. But the
  principal assets of the modern company are
  knowledge, brands and reputations, which are in
  the head and hands of employees
• (John Kay, 2004, p. 58)

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Some Evidence
Intangible assets now worth 70 of value of
companies (SP index) From 20 in 1980
By 2025, no of people of working age to fall in
Europe sharply coupled with retirements the
Tayside problem

Three quarters of senior-human resources
managers said that attracting and retaining
talent was their number-one priority (Wooldridge,
2007)
The irrational search for the Charismatic CEO
and growing inequality/returns to talent
83 of workers are likely to search for new job
1990s employability and death of careers
rebounding on employers
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So Whats the Solution?

• Talent Management and its assumptions?

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Talent Management Some Core assumptions?

• A focus on human capital in a knowledge economy
• individual performance equals organizational
  performance
• A focus on scarce and valuable people (the power
  curve) the exclusive rather than inclusive
  approach
• A focus on buy rather than make
• Outsiders create innovation
• Easier to buy rather than make we need to hit
  the deck running and we can talent spot
• A focus on potential rather than experience
• a liquid modern or unknowable world in the
  face of change, the experienced are helpless an
  inch wide and a mile deep

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The Human Capital (or Talent) Equation
HR Leadership Drivers
Talented Individuals
HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND DEPLETION
IQ OF EXTENDED ENTERPRISE (ITS INTELLECTUAL
CAPITAL)
INNOVATION AND ENTERPRISING PUBLIC SERVICES
HR Leadership Drivers
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The Human Capital/Talent Delusion?
HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND DEPLETION
Delusions 1 2
SOCIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT (GOODWILL, TRUST,
BONDING BRIDGING)
IQ OF EXTENDED ENTERPRISE (ITS INTELLECTUAL
CAPITAL)
INNOVATION AND ENTERPRISING PUBLIC SERVICES
Delusion 3
ORGANIZATIONAL CAPITAL (DATABASES, STRUCTURES,
ROUTINES AND PROCESSES
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A Talent-based Recipe for an Enterprising
Organizations and Public Services (based on Dyer
and Ericksen, 2007)
Top-down plan
Bottom-up shared mindset
Workforce alignment
Acquiring talent pre-qualify source
Workforce Scalability Right numbers Right
types of people Right places Doing right things
Releasing employees outplacement
Enrich talent pool diversity, fit and (serial
in)competence
Workforce fluidity
Facilitate interpersonal connectivity Increase
absorptive capacity
Expand role orientations
Unleash talent pool
Align incentives
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The New (super) Capitalism and Social Deficits
(Richard Sennett, 2006 Robert Reich, 2007, Mark
Moore, 2007)

Liquid modern world of short term relationships with careerless organizations Potential (serial incompetence) celebrated and craftsmanship devalued Four social deficits Decline of loyalty, which depends on being valued Organizations need talented people more than talented people need organizations the identification problem Decline of trust in organizations and leadership Decline of organizationally-specific knowledge The tension between shareholder consumers on the one hand and citizens and public value on the other
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Throwing babies out with the bathwater Dealing
with the Universal Paradox in Management
integration and innovation
Can create reputations talented people with unique human capital create difference and value But also destroys them the Enron effect and legitimacy
Sometimes good for knowledge acquisition and innovation But not so good for sharing and exploitation
Promotes aggressive competition and dynamic organizations and an /enterprising public sector At the expense of expressive/connected organizations the ruthless organization
Focus on internal organization At expense of organizational networks
Focus on potential and serial incompetence At the expense of experience and craft
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Some Key Questions for the Older Workforce Agenda

• What do they want from work?
• How does this differ among different groups
• How can we best make use of what their skills and
  talents?
• To what extent are employers planning now for the
  ageing workforce?
• What will this mean for performance management in
  organizations?

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Thank you g.martin_at_mgt.gla.ac.uk www.managingpeop
lebook.com www.gla.ac.uk/crmp
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Selected References
CIPD (2006) Talent Management Economist (Oct 7th, 2006) A survey of talent, Economist Newspapers Christensen, C., et al (2006) Seeing whats next using the theories of innovation to predict industry change. Boston Harvard Business School Press Groysberg, B., Nanda, A. and Nohria, N (2004) The risky business of hiring stars. Harvard Business Review, May, 92-100 Lepak, D., et al., (2007) Value creation and value capture. Academy of Management Review, 32 180-194 Martin, G. and Hetrick, S (2006) Corporate Reputation, Branding and People Management. Oxford Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann Michaels, E., Handfield-Jones, H. and Axelrod, B. (2001) The War for Talent. Boston, MA Harvard Business School Press Pfeffer, J. Sutton, R.E. (2006) Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense Profiting from Evidence-based Management. Harvard Business Review Press Rosenzweig, P. (2007) The Halo Effectand Eight Other Business Delusions New York Free Press. Sennett, R. (2006) The Culture of the New Capitalism, New Haven, Ct Yale University Press. Spector, B (2003) HRM at Enron the un-indicted co-conspirator. Organizational Dynamics 32, 207-220 Subramaniam, M. Youndt, M. A. (2005) The influence of intellectual capital on the types of Innovative capabilities. Academy of Management Journal, 48 450-463.
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CIPD Survey 2007

• At 65, 38 propose to carry on working, half
  full-time one-third undecided
• Different motivations for different
  socio-economic groups
• More flexible working arrangement
• Opportunity to use existing skills
• Worthwhile job
• Flexible leave
• Financial benefits they value
• Participative and friendly culture
• Few employers considered the impact of ageing
  workforce on their HR policies/rewards
• Rewarding loyalty and service can be appropriate
• Well-being a key issue