Start by taking a talent inventory, says Barton, who is chief operating officer of Willis North America Human Capital Practice. She made her suggestions at the recent SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition in Orlando. You might start by populating a chart such as this, she says:
Then think about what you can offer to each type of employee:
- Projects
- Taskforce membership
- Job rotations
- Temporary accountability
- Stretch assignments
- Fix-it/turnaround
- Development plans
- Cross-functional moves
- Internal and external leadership development
- 360 feedback
You’ll have more success if you include stakeholders in your evaluations and planning, Barton says.
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Start with Some Open-Ended Questions
Also, says Barton, answer some questions about your program:
- What are our key challenges with respect to attracting, retaining, and motivating the right talent?
- What is our current employer-employee value proposition?
- What makes our organization an attractive place to work? Why do employees stay?
- Why do employees leave?
- What message is our current total rewards program sending to employees?
- What message should it be sending?
Prioritize
Identify core elements (3 to 5 rewards), Barton says, that your organization can use to drive recruitment, retention, and engagement of talent.
Evaluate your choices:
- Would delivering on this program help our organization achieve strategic objectives?
- Line managers are likely to cooperate if asked to support the delivery of this program?
- Would senior leaders at our organization see the link between this program and business objectives?
- Do we have the capabilities within our HR team to deliver this program well?
- Do we have the infrastructure (e.g., technology, tools) to deliver this program well?
- Can we secure the budget necessary to deliver this program well?
- Can we commit to delivering on this program long term?
- Should we terminate the program because it adds little actual or perceived value? What would be the impact to recruitment, retention, and motivation?
Communicate
Honest, clear, and consistent communications about positive and negative developments help maintain leadership’s credibility and build confidence in management. Many times, says Barton, employers are doing the right things, but employees don’t know about it.
Who Does What?
Barton shows the tasks for managers at all levels:
|
Level |
Communication Role |
|
CEO and C-Suite |
|
|
Directors and Senior Leadership 25 to 100 key leaders |
|
|
Managers and Supervisors 10 to 100 to 1,000 managers |
|
Final Tip
Remember that it’s an ongoing process, says Barton.
Manage your high potentials, but don’t forget to maintain internal equity and external competitiveness and control turnover. Right. Comp’s never easy.
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