White paper

The Future of
Talent
Management
Chris Kerridge, 2016
WHITE PAPER - 2016

2016 © Midland Software limited. Page 2 of 15
Contents
The Future of Talent
Management 1
Executive Summary 4
The Future of Talent
Management 5
The demand for automated technology and tools 5
Talent Acquisition 6
What is talent acquisition and why has it changed? 6
The new way to hire – Collaborative Hiring 6
Learning and Leadership
Development 7
How people learn is changing 7

Performance Management 8
The importance of technology 9
Succession Planning 9
The role of succession planning 9
Employee Engagement 10
The rise of feedback and recognition tools for engagement 11
The need for Analytics 11
Conclusion 13
About the author 14
About MHR 14

Executive Summary
Organisations are changing, and as structures within the workplace move
from the traditional top-down, designed for control and alignment to more
collaborative, flat structures with a borderless working environment, the role
of automated technology will be crucial. Rapid business change, new
specialised roles and intense competition mean organisations are striving
for social tools to improve engagement, collaboration and continuous
feedback. As the workplace changes to become borderless, the need to
access information and to manage employees and applicants will increase.
Employees now expect the amazon experience, the individualisation of
information to help support their decisions. They are taking ownership of
their own succession planning and career development. Data driven
decisions on talent will be the norm, not the exception.
Organisations will continue to look for tools which improve collaboration,
continuous feedback and use employer brand to attract the best talent.
With the transformation to a knowledge based economy, with increasing
demands for innovation and adaptability, organisations will need to
transform to an agile workforce, supporting and encouraging the dynamic
capabilities of its people, cultivating a growth mind-set and adapting to
change.
With the technological shift to support talent management, the focus for
the managers can be having good conversations with their people. Having
those good conversations on roles and career development sends a
message that the employee has something to offer, is valued and has the
potential to develop and evolve.

The Future of Talent Management
Businesses, cultures and employees are changing and we are now living in a
VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world. We are
becoming a knowledge based economy with increasing demands for
innovation and adaptability. Organisations need to change to adapt to
these demands. They need to transform into an agile workforce, supporting
and encouraging the dynamic capabilities of their people, cultivating a
growth mind-set and above all –adapting to change.
To support these changes, organisation structures are moving from the
traditional top-down, designed for control and alignment, to a more
collaborative, flat structure with a borderless working environment.
The demand for automated technology and tools
The role of automated technology is crucial. Rapid business change, new
specialised roles and intense competition mean organisations are striving
for social tools to improve engagement, collaboration and continuous
feedback. As the workplace changes to become borderless, the need to
access information and to manage employees and applicants will increase.
Mobile employees connect to work anywhere, anytime, blurring distinctions
between personal and professional life.
Data driven decisions on talent will be the norm, not the exception. For
example being able to identify an employee’s flight risk due to a number of
factors such as increased sickness absence, decreased employee
engagement feedback and productivity is vital for employee development
and succession planning.
“Mobile employees
connect to work
anywhere, anytime,
blurring distinctions
between personal
and professional
life”
“Data driven
decisions on talent
will be the norm,
not the exception”

However without the right technology to analyse and make sense of the
masses of people information available to us, it just sits there in silos - a
system of record, just like a filing cabinet that is never opened.
Talent Acquisition
There have been huge advancements within the recruitment world.
Applicant tracking systems are at the core of many organisations’ talent
management processes. However, these are now more than tracking
systems, they are systems of engagement for not only the manager, but the
candidates too.
What is talent acquisition and why has it changed?
The term Talent Acquisition is a view of not only filling positions, but also
utilisation of the candidates and their skills as a means to fill similar
positions in the future.
These future positions can be identified today by looking at succession
planning, analysing the history of attrition for certain positions or workforce
planning. I.e. Looking at how the organisation needs to be structured to
handle business plans. This makes it easy to predict that specific openings
will occur at a pre-determined period in time.
With talent acquisition the focus is on the talent that the person possesses
or their capability to learn, and not just the educational background or the
experience / working years one has. To be simple, it is about attracting,
recruiting, inducting and making use of the right talent.
The new way to hire – Collaborative Hiring
This new recruitment method ‘ Collaborative hiring’ moves away from top
down management decisions regarding new hires, and enable candidates,
as part of the recruitment process, to interact with future teammates and
hiring teams. These hiring teams are made up of employees outside of the
“Talent acquisition
is about attracting,
recruiting,
inducting and
making use of the
right talent…”
“The focus is on
the talent or
capability to
learn, not just
educational
background or
working years’
experience…”

management team, who are able to collaborate and share evaluations on
applicants as part of the recruiting process. This enables organisations to
appoint candidates that are a better fit and improves transparency of the
recruitment process.
Learning and Leadership Development
Learning management systems are at the core of many organisations talent
management processes; however, we are seeing changes in the approach.
70:20:10 learning is a concept that was first published in 1996 as an
approach to blended learning. The idea being that not all learning happens
in the classroom or on formal training, but a combination of 70% on-the-
job experience, 20% informal learning such as coaching and mentoring and
10% formal learning. However, most learning management systems today
are tailored towards only recording formal learning through courses
attended.
How people learn is changing
Employees now expect bite sized learning, which is driven by user choice
and not prescribed. Employees are also expecting ‘just in time’ learning,
where they are able to learn new information when they need it to support
their role and career development.
As learning happens everywhere, systems must adapt to become learning
record stores with the ability to record all types of learning, not just the
traditional formal learning. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google and YouTube have
been identified as the top ways in which we consume new information and
learn. Knowledge sharing and identifying knowledge experts within
organisations also support peer to peer learning, providing employees with
recommendations on how to help them achieve their goals based on how
other employees achieved their goals, with self-learning and user choice
content.
“As learning
happens
everywhere,
systems must
adapt to become
learning record
stores…”
“Twitter,
LinkedIn, Google
and YouTube
have been
identified as the
top ways we
consume new
information and
learn”

The competencies, knowledge and expertise employees have is essential to
understand what the organisation requires to achieve its goals, as well as
help define what is required for the employee to develop. Peer feedback
enables not only the manager to comment on goal progress but also
individuals within the team and across the business.
With the changing demographics there are now 5 generations within the
workforce. Many Millennials are already in leadership positions with many
more aspiring to those positions. The Millennial generation continually
challenges HR professionals, who are still figuring out how to engage and
retain them. Flexible working arrangements and plenty of opportunities for
growth and development, with both formal and informal learning
programmes are fundamental for organisations to develop not only this
generation, but all employees within organisations.
Performance Management
Performance Management as a business process and concept is in the
midst of a major change. Failure to improve performance management
threatens the future growth and competitiveness of small and large
companies. Many organisations are removing the traditional performance
management approach in favour of real time feedback and check-in’s.
The shift towards real-time check-in’s and peer feedback will enable
managers to have clear sight of how their employees are performing and
what developmental areas are required, rather than waiting until the
traditional annual performance review process. It should form an integral
part of people strategy and enables the organisation to make best use of
their assets to support the organisations mission and goals.
“The use of
technology to
support real time
feedback will
enable managers
to focus on
having good
conversations
with their
employees…”
“Failure to
improve
performance
management
threatens the
future growth
and
competitiveness
of all companies”

The importance of technology
Leveraging the use of technology to support check-ins and real time
feedback will enable managers to focus on having good conversations with
their employees and explore their roles, career development and career
agility. Having those conversations will not only make the employee feel
valued and support their potential to develop, but also increase employee
engagement. Furthermore, it allows the employee to take ownership of their
development because they can request check-ins with their manager,
without having to wait for annual performance reviews to discuss and
review their career development.
Succession Planning
Organisations need to view how an employee is performing versus their
potential; to identify their career path; to identify key positions and establish
successors. Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing
internal people, with the potential to fill key business leadership positions
within the organisation. It increases the availability and visibility of
experienced, high potential employees that are prepared to assume key
roles as they become available. Traditionally succession planning was limited
to the topmost posts in the company – the C-Suite or Directors. The
average tenure for a CEO in a FTSE 100 organisation is 4-6 years, succession
planning is key. However, for succession planning to be successful it should
also focus on the lower levels throughout the organisation.
The role of succession planning
Effective succession or talent pool management enables organisations to
build a series of pools of potential employees to fulfil key business roles,
matching key competency and skill requirements to that of the individuals
and providing a clear pipeline of potential successors and their readiness for
promotion. Succession planning utilises key performance data together with
“For succession
planning to be
successful it
should also focus
on the lower
levels throughout
the organisation”

employee potential data to identify those high performing specialist against
the unpolished diamond, or the top talent against the low performers.
Those responsible for succession planning need to be highly knowledgeable
about how the business is likely to evolve and relies upon a close
relationship at senior level (including the Chief Executive) and the HR
function. While succession planning should be owned by line managers, and
actively led by senior management to ensure it is aligned to the business
strategy, HR also has a crucial role in supporting the process.
Succession planning will become more powerful as the information
becomes more automated and predicted. An employee’s potential will be
captured as part of the talent acquisition process and their achievement
towards the goals they have been set. An employee’s flight risk can be
based on their performance, completion of goals, levels of sickness and also
location, i.e if they have recently moved 50 miles away from the office.
Identifying an employee’s personal values, career values, motivators and
career agility will enable the employee to plot their own succession
planning within an organisation, as well as supporting redeployment.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a workplace approach resulting in the right
conditions for all members of an organisation to give their best each day,
to be committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to
contribute to organisational success, alongside enhanced sense of own well-
being.
According to Deloitte (2016), the number one topic on the minds of CEOs
and senior HR leaders in 2016 is culture and engagement. The competition
for top people is fierce; we have new tools to help us find and attract the
people we want. In addition to this, we have entered a world in which
transparency and open feedback are expected.
“The number one
topic on the minds
of CEOs and HR
Leaders in 2016 is
culture and
engagement”
(Deloitte 2016)
“We have entered
a world in which
transparency and
open feedback are
expected”

The rise of feedback and recognition tools for engagement
There has also been a huge increase in the use of feedback and recognition
tools, and organisations are using software to help identify and improve
employee engagement. Engagement through gamification, such as ideas
generation via social collaboration tools are helping organisations not only
engage their employees but also support innovation. Recognition may only
be a small piece of employee engagement but it seems to be an essential
factor in improving engagement. Many companies are using gamification
that promotes points for giving and receiving awards and badges. Whilst
this can lead to an improvement in engagement, this does not focus on the
authenticity and meaning behind the recognition. The value of this
recognition is the difference it makes to peoples work. By linking this to
career development and giving managers clear visibility of why their
employees are being thanked, will also help managers have those good
conversations.
HR professionals are still relying on the old-fashioned, once-a-year
engagement survey to keep in touch with employees. Pulse surveys and
anytime questions will provide a continuous check on how employees are
engaged. They will seek to identify any trends, such as changing working
conditions, correlation between the amount and frequency of check-ins with
their manager and how the employee is feeling in their role and the
organisation.
The need for Analytics
Many organisations are still using descriptive and diagnostic analytics,
showing them what has happened and why. As the need for data increases
organisations are now looking at predictive analytics within talent to help
support their organisation and workforce planning. However, the value of
analytics is with prescriptive, supporting the organisation and its managers
with the information to help them understand how they make the required
“Employees now
expect ‘The
Amazon
Experience’”
“Organisations are
using software to
help identify and
improve employee
engagement...”

changes.
Employees now expect ‘The Amazon Experience’, the individualisation of
information to help support their decisions, i.e. what did other people buy
when they brought an item and how did they rate the item.
This trend will continue into the workplace, employees and managers will
expect prescriptive information presented to them on not only how they or
their current employees are performing, but what can be done to support
their career development and aspirations.

Conclusion
McKinsey (1997) coined the phrase the “war for talent” as part of its
research identifying talent management as a critical business challenge. The
concept of talent management has become an essential practice covering
many areas. Initially focused on recruitment it has evolved to cover
performance management, employee development, organisation capability
and succession planning. Organisations need to ensure they have the right
tools to attract, recruit and develop suitable candidates as well as
identifying the right people for the right job, knowing what skills they have
and what skills they need. It has been suggested that the war for talent is
over and talent won. Whilst talent may have won, the war is certainly not
over as competition intensifies for organisations to attract and retain the
best talent.
With the transformation to a knowledge based economy and with an ever
increasing demand for innovation and adaptability, organisations will need
to transform to an agile workforce, supporting and encouraging the
dynamic capabilities of its people, cultivating a growth mind-set and
adapting to change.
With the technological shift to support talent management, the focus for
managers can now be on having good conversations with their people.
Having those good conversations about their roles and career development
sends a message that the employee has something to offer, is valued and
has the potential to develop and evolve.
When we focus on people, and support them in being successful – aided by
technology – ultimately the business is more successful.
“Whilst talent may
have won, the war
is certainly not
over”

About the author
This report was written by Chris Kerridge, a member of
MHR’s product strategy team. With over 10 years’
experience in working for MHR, Chris has developed an
excellent knowledge of all HR/Talent Management
products and business requirements. Chris regularly attends conferences
and webinars, presenting at customer user groups and attending customer
site meetings to discuss how iTrent software can help support Talent
Management strategies.
For more insight and comment on talent management, please visit our blog
About MHR
MHR specialises in helping organisations to embrace the operational and
strategic challenges of modern business, covering talent management, HR,
payroll and business analytics. Our customer community is growing by the
day, meaning MHR is now helping to drive the performance of businesses
employing over 10% of the UK workforce, through specialist software,
outsourcing and consultancy services.
With over 30 years of experience, MHR provides specialist solutions to some
of the largest and most successful organisations in the UK and abroad. Our
solutions inject best practice processes into the entire employment lifecycle,
from recruitment to succession planning. This enables customers to
transform their business by removing administrative burdens, reducing
operational costs, gaining strategic insight, and developing and retaining
people in line with corporate goals.
Customers include: Cafcass, Freeths, Sytner, Laing O’Rourke, Nottingham
City Transport, Plymouth University, Powys County Council, The Salvation
Army, Swinton Group Ltd, TK MAXX, T.M.Lewin, and more.

See what our customers say http://bit.ly/MHRCustomers and for more
information about MHR, please visit: www.MHR.co.uk or call 0115 945 6000

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