Does your company seek high-performing talent or does it
settle for people to fill vacancies?
Does the organization set objective performance measures for
employees or does the firm demand that you conduct arduous and ineffective
performance reviews that focus on behavior? How about the organization’s
contractors, consultants and temporary staff? Is their performance measured?
Does your firm even assess a candidate’s ability to perform before they are
hired? Does the enterprise use a benchmark as a standard for evaluating
performance levels? And most important, does the organization measure and
reward people based on their individual performance or the contribution of the
team they are a part of?
My guess is that you firm does not do most of these things
right and it won’t, if it continues to operate as it always has.
Why not?
Because you have a Human Resource person in charge of
“people management” or “talent management” and they do not know how to take
responsibility for increasing the value of the human capital that your firm has
invested in.
Try This
Try posting a job on a job board. You’ll receive resume upon resume that
demonstrates that tasks and activities the individual has performed and was
responsible for. You will not discover how they contributed to their employers
in a meaningful way that impacted the success of the business.
The Quarterback
Imagine if an NFL quarterback’s resume stated something like:
“Assigned
responsibility for the quarterback position where I called out and executed
plays under senior management’s direction. Practiced regularly and exercised
vigorously to prepare for the weekly game. Worked well with fellow teammates
and cheerleaders.”
Would we know more about the quarterback’s accomplishments
and potential value if he communicated in this manner?
“As the quarterback,
I led my team to four playoff appearances in five seasons and two championship
wins in five seasons. No other
quarterback in the league led their team to more than two playoff appearances
during this same time period.”
Accomplishments,
Contributions and Value
Seldom will you receive a resume that demonstrates
accomplishments, contributions and value.
Why? Because employers do not
communicate that they need high-performing people who make contributions and
create value.
Do you think it would be better
if we expected business professionals to communicate their worth in terms of
accomplishments, contributions and the value the can add to the business?
A Strategic Solution
We propose a solution where a “Chief Talent Officer (CTO), is
on par with other executives such as the CFO and the CIO. Under this
arrangement the CTO is held responsible for the company’s ability to retain,
attract and benefit from the human capital that contributes to the
organization’s goals and objectives.
Human Capital includes; employees, consultants, contractors,
temporary staff and even the people that represent the myriad of vendors
employed by the company. Human Capital
includes all of the staff that the company pays compensation to.
CTO Responsibilities
- The CTO should be responsible for establishing benchmarks, metrics, objectives and reporting mechanisms that reinforce the company’s commitment to talent development and performance.
- The CTO should be responsible for moving the company from filling vacancies to creating an environment that fosters high-performing teams.
- The CTO should be well-connected for networking purposes. They should proactively screen and build relationships with industry-leading sources of talent and encourage all of the firm’s vendors to share in these sources of talent. This includes working with recruiters when the company needs to tap into professional networks that only highly qualified recruiters possess.
- The CTO should be responsible for establishing performance metrics to measure and reward team performance.
- The CTO should foster coaching, education and professional development. As the capabilities of the staff improve, the abilities of the team expand; the performance of the company can be expected to grow.
What are your thoughts or contributions to this discussion?
Mike Salisbury is the
Principal of Human Resource Alliance, which delivers human capital management
services and solutions to growing organizations. Mike is an MBA graduate from California State
University and he has a BA in Business Administration from Loyola University of
Los Angeles. Mike’s background includes
responsibility for all areas of Human Resources. He has a solid record of streamlining
processes and contributing to clients by delivering both measurable and
valuable results.
Jeff Snyder is the
President of J.A. Snyder & Associates, Inc.
Jeff has recruited technology professionals since 1990. Jeff holds a BA in Business Administration
from the University of Kentucky. Jeff is certified as an EQi-2.0
Emotional Intelligence Performance Coach and an EQ360 Emotional Intelligence
Performance Coach through Multi Health Systems, Inc. He is a Certified
Mastermind Executive Coach from Executive Coaching University and a Stakeholder
Centered Coach through The Marshall Goldsmith Group.
