DDI’s Talent Management Intelligence

Is the Pipeline Clogged?

By Rich Wellins, Ph.D.

DDI’s CEO, Bill Byham, is always thinking.  In 2000, he wrote a best-seller called Grow Your Own Leaders (Financial Times Prentice Hall Books) and reinforced the “war for talent” which he predicted would be especially acute at higher leadership levels due to an aging workforce.

That was back then.  Fast forward to 2010, the “leadership world” according to Bill has changed.  The war for talent may well be over for many parts of the world.  And, the leadership pipeline may become clogged. 

Why? For one, advances in healthcare make it much more likely that people will live for longer.  The traditional 10-15 golden years could extend to 15-20.  Many people, (not all) find this a bit long for “retirement” and are increasingly worried they will outlive their savings.

Perhaps a bigger reason is the enormous economic losses we faced in the last two years—many people are simply unable to retire.  The potential consequences are enormous:

• What happens to younger high-pos interested in rapid progression?  Will we be able to hang on to them?  Are they likely to start their own “younger Incs,” competing with traditional corporations.
• What do you do with senior managers coasting to retirement?  It’s one thing to tolerate a bit lower productivity for the final years of a career.  But what happens if “coasting” goes on for five years or more?
• Will the clogged pipeline lead to stale business models, less innovation, and diminished chances for change?  Diversity, especially at leadership levels, is key to business success.

So, do you think the war for talent has ended–at least for the next five years?  Are you worried about a clogged pipeline?  We’re interested in what you think can be done about it.

Rich Wellins is senior vice president at Development Dimensions International (DDI).

What is Your Legacy?

By Rich Wellins, Ph.D.

I was reading a column by Jack and Suzy Welch in BusinessWeek (March 11, 2009) entitled Layoffs: HR’s Moment of Truth.

They thought HR should focus on making sure managers—not hired guns—do the letting go, ensuring people are treated fairly and helping to absorb the pain.  I found the article disturbing as most HR people I know are well-aware of their job and do it because they care about people.

But what worries me is that the article relegated HR’s job in the company, when their role is much larger. We learned our lesson from the last recession that slash-and-burn leads to a slow and painful recovery, so HR needs to make sure they’re laying off the “right” people. And, what about HR’s role in saving jobs by proposing alternate labor reduction approaches, and keeping up the morale of the “survivors?”

But truthfully, layoffs are not HR’s moment of truth—even in a recession. Here are some things I think are:

• Keeping engagement as high as possible and communication wide open.  Employees are scared, and it’s showing up in their work.

• Guiding managers on the talent they will need to maintain their businesses in the tough times while getting ready for better times.

• Creating new roles and stretch assignments for A-players, who can add immense value to their organization.

• Focusing on the basics of great talent management. Use downtime for training time and make sure every new hiring decision counts (because there are fewer of them).

So, at the end of the day, I hope HR’s moment of truth is not how they fired people (yes, it is still important), but how they maintained a culture of trust and performance and ensured their companies have the right talent when business gets good again. Because it will.

Rich Wellins is senior vice president at Development Dimensions International (DDI).