Growing your talent from the inside - HR Manager's Bookshelf (Books)

The War for Talent
By Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones and Beth Axelrod, 200 pages (2001), Harvard Business School Press. At bookstores or 1-800-565-5758, www.mcgrawhill.ca
“Although the size of the total workforce is projected to grow by 12 per cent between 1998 and 2008, the number of 25 to 44-year-olds — the demographic segment that will supply companies with their future leaders — will decline by six per cent during the same period. Over the next two decades, the demand for talented people will continue to reshape the workplace as companies compete for a limited supply of capable managers.”

This new book predicts the situation will persist while people remain highly mobile. In other words, the balance of power has shifted from employers to talented people. Companies need talented people, yet most organizations are poor at managing talent.

The authors’ research includes survey input from 13,000 executives and case studies on a wide range of companies.

The War for Talent challenges employers to adopt new ways of thinking:

•all managers, starting with the CEO — not just HR — are accountable for managing talent;

•recruiting needs to be more like marketing, less like purchasing; and

•it’s important to invest in people differently, because not everyone is equally capable.

Most of the book is devoted to five fundamental ways to win in the war for talent:

1. Embrace a talent mindset. “Every leader in the company must be committed to and held accountable for strengthening the talent pool.” This responsibility can’t be delegated, nor can it be assigned primarily to HR. It means aggressively building a talent pool, not just making the best of the available people. It also means that talent management is a central part of everyday activity, not just a periodic exercise in succession planning.

2. Craft a winning employee value proposition (EVP). The dimensions of the EVP include exciting work, a great organization, attractive rewards, opportunities to grow, and a fulfilling lifestyle. Every company’s EVP should be tailored to attract the specific kind of people desired, and needs to continually evolve to address changing trends.

3. Rebuild your recruitment strategy. The authors favour bold new approaches: hunting for great talent all the time, not just when there’s a vacancy; hiring at all levels, including the most senior, from outside as well as through internal promotion; and turning to new sources to find diverse candidates. They also advocate breaking the compensation rules to get the best people, and developing a distinct recruiting strategy for each type of talent required.

4. Weave development into your organization. Training and development programs remain a part of the strategy for development of talent, but only one part. Stretch assignments, coaching, mentoring, frequent performance feedback — these are the hallmarks of organizations that have a serious commitment to building talent. These practices are not peripheral or random — they must be planned, active and deliberate.

5. Differentiate and affirm your people. It doesn’t pay to invest in everyone equally, to distribute praise uniformly or to compensate the top performers only a little better than average ones. The message in the book is to “invest heavily in A performers to challenge and retain them, grow the solidly contributing B performers, and act decisively on the underperforming Cs, either moving them to roles where they can perform better or out of the company.”

In line with the five imperatives, readers will find challenging questions:

•Does each unit in the organization have a robust written recruiting strategy, similar in rigour to your marketing strategies?

•Does your organization have a culture of candid feedback and helpful coaching?

•Does your organization have a talent review process that has the importance and intensity of the budget process?

•Is your annual forced attrition rate in the five to 10 per cent range, and are you continuously dealing with underperformers?

The intended audience is senior line and functional leaders, as well as HR leaders in their emerging, strategic role as architects of the company’s development strategy at the top level.

Obviously this book is not about a quick fix, but note the title of the final chapter: “Get started — and expect huge impact in a year.”

Creative Solutions: Perspectives on Canadian Employment Law
By Randall Scott Echlin and Malcolm J. MacKillop, 230 pages, Aurora Professional Press (2nd ed., 2001), (905) 841-6472 or 1-800-263-3269, www.canadalawbook.ca

What should you do when you suspect substance abuse in the workplace? How can you approach the question of employee moonlighting? Is a fired employee obliged to seek other employment? When does procrastination amount to risky condonation of behaviour?

Legal experts Echlin and MacKillop offer a digest of short discussions of practical, sometimes perplexing, issues. Based on the authors’ Globe and Mail columns, the tone is non-technical and emphasizes day-to-day guidance for employers.

Part one deals with beginning the employment relationship, and includes:

•how to avoid traps when hiring or applying;

•poorly worded job ads can break the law;

•no written contract? Workers and employers still face obligations; and

•how to create an independent contractor relationship.

In part two, the employment relationship is examined. Issues include personality conflicts, performance reviews, harassment and employee surveillance. Readers will find advice on intriguing issues like office romances, dealing with hostile employees or a bullying boss, and whether obesity, nicotine addiction or sexual addiction are deemed to be disabilities.

Ending the employment relationship is the focus of part three. Among the topics covered from the employer’s point of view are:

•structuring a severance package;

•managing the termination interview;

•reference giving; and

•when a resignation is not necessarily a resignation.

And from the employee perspective:

•what can get you fired;

•what to do when you get dismissed; and

•tips on quitting your job.

The final section of the book offers practical tips on a number of questions related to wrongful dismissal, selecting HR professionals and choosing an employment lawyer.

Canadian Labour and Employment Law for the U.S. Practitioner
By Douglas G. Gilbert, Brian W. Burkett and Moira K. McCaskill, 733 pages, BNA Books (2000), 1-800-960-1220, www.bnabooks.com

Two interesting comments can be made about the potential audience for this reference which compares Canadian and U.S. law on all aspects of workplace life.

First, HR and industrial relations managers will be able to benefit from the book’s contents, along with the primary intended audience of legal practitioners. Second, while it is nominally aimed at U.S. readers, Canadians will also find it to be an accessible, all-in-one source of information on Canadian legislation.

Significant differences exist between the two countries related to union organizing and collective bargaining, human rights and discrimination protection, workers’ compensation, health and safety, employee benefits and other areas. Each of these topics is explored in detail, with explanations in plain, non-legal language and back-up material on legislative and case law references.

One section is devoted to the individual employment relationship and the many facets to consider in cross-border settings:

•existence of an employment relationship;

•recruitment, including reference checks;

•written employment contracts;

•employment standards including hours of work, holidays and vacation, leaves of absence and complaint procedures;

•termination, statutory notice, layoffs, wrongful dismissal and just cause; and

•directors’ liability and obligations of the terminated employee.

Appendices compare legislative and administrative regimes across Canada regarding collective bargaining, employment standards, termination notice periods, human rights, harassment, workers’ compensation, health and safety, pensions and benefits.

Quitting for Good Reason: The law of constructive dismissal in Canada
By Randall Scott Echlin and Jennifer M. Fantini, 650 pages, Canada Law Book (2001), (905) 841-6472 or 1-800-263-3269, www.canadalawbook.ca

Constructive dismissal has always been a complex “grey” area: How is the decision made about an employer’s unilateral changes to the employment contract, resulting in a breach of the employment contract and the employee’s claim to have been constructively dismissed?

The authors are employment lawyers who wanted to bring greater clarity to the subject. A list of cases running more than 50 pages indicates the complexity of the subject. The book’s comprehensive survey covers:

•elements of and tests for constructive dismissal;

•the duty to mitigate;

•commencement of notice;

•the unionized context;

•statutory regimes in specific provinces and the federal jurisdiction; and

•practice considerations during pre-litigation, civil litigation and the trial.

Much of the book is dedicated to detailed consideration of the grounds of constructive dismissal, including:

•change in remuneration (salary, bonus, commission, overtime pay, benefits);

•change in job duties (demotion, promotion, reorganization, title, reporting relationship);

•geographical relocation;

•forced resignation, layoff, suspension, leave of absence;

•mandatory and forced retirement;

•change in working conditions, hours, workspace, support staff, infrastructure;

•employer conduct including abusive treatment, harassment, unwarranted allegations or criticism;

•temporary changes;

•probation; and

•sale of business, bankruptcy, receivership.

Ray Brillinger is a senior consultant with the IBM Consulting Group. He provides change management, business transformation and organization effectiveness services to client organizations. He can be reached at (905) 316-8733 or [email protected].

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