Chapter 9: Talent Management
Other approaches have been developed in companies to better utilize women’s
talents in the workplace. In particular, partnering women with senior executives,
rather than less influential managers, can be useful because these individuals can
function as strong advocates for competent female leaders. Getting women the
proper mentors who are willing to act as sponsors in getting them better, more high-
profile positions is the key.
Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling issue describes the situation in which women fail to progress into
top and senior management positions. Nationally, women hold about half of
managerial/professional positions but only 10% to 15% of corporate officer
positions. Inflexible beliefs about women’s roles and placement in the workplace are
some of the likely causes of these disparities.
HR Perspective: Women Develop Holistic Mentoring Program
A pilot program was designed to accomplish many objectives, including the
selection and accomplishment of career aspirations, the enhancement of women’s
KSAs, the creation of diverse employment partnerships, and the development of a
corporate philosophy that supports mentoring in the workplace. The program
included a total of 40 women who worked with high-level mentors representing
different functional areas of Qualcomm.
Chapter 9: Talent Management
C. Dual-Career Couples
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 80% of all couples are
dual-career couples. Marriages in which both mates are managers, professionals, or
technicians have doubled over the past two decades. Problem areas for dual-career
couples include family issues and job transfers that require relocations.
Family-Career Issues
For dual-career couples with children, family issues may conflict with career
Relocation of Dual-Career Couples
Traditionally, employees accepted transfers as part of upward mobility in
organizations. However, both employees and companies often find relocations
undesirable because individuals must move away from friends/family, the process is
expensive, housing is a challenge, and decreasing numbers who are willing to move
Chapter 9: Talent Management
D. Global Career Concerns
Global career management can be even more perplexing than managing domestic talent.
The movement of managers and employees can be challenging because the corporate
policies and cultural characteristics in different countries are often very different, and
individual expectations about the success of global assignments can vary greatly, thus
affecting motivation and commitment. Successful companies develop a culture that
champions the movement of talent globally. Further, they create sound mobility
Repatriation
The issue of repatriation involves planning, training, and reassignment of global
employees back to their home countries. For example, after expatriates are brought
home, often they no longer receive special compensation packages available to them
Many expatriates have had a greater degree of flexibility, autonomy, and independent
decision making while living overseas than their counterparts in the United States.
Back in the home organization, repatriated employees must readjust to closer
working and reporting relationships with other corporate staff.
Chapter 9: Talent Management
flexible assignments, mentoring efforts, meetings with key managers, and guarantees
of temporary employment after the early completion of foreign assignments.
Organizations should also provide career support to expatriates by ensuring that there
is good communication during assignments and that proper repatriation training is
provided.
Global Development
Global managers are more expensive than home-country managers, and more
problematic as well. Most global firms have learned that it is often a mistake to staff
foreign operations with only personnel from headquarters, and they quickly hire
nationals to work in a country. So, global management development must focus on
VI. Developing Human Resources
Development represents efforts to improve employees’ abilities to handle a variety of
assignments and to cultivate employees’ capabilities beyond those required by the current job.
Development can benefit both organizations and employees. Employees and managers with
appropriate experiences and abilities may enhance organizational competitiveness and the
ability to adapt to a changing environment. In the development process, individuals’ careers
also may evolve and gain new or different focuses.
A. Possible Development Focuses
Some important and common management capabilities that may require development
include an action orientation, quality decision-making skills, ethical values, and
Chapter 9: Talent Management
In numerous studies that asked employees what they want out of their jobs, training and
development ranked at or near the top. The primary assets that individuals have are their
knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and many people view the development of their
KSAs as an important part of their jobs.
Lifelong Learning
Learning and development are closely linked. For most people, lifelong learning and
development are likely and desirable. For many professionals, lifelong learning may
mean meeting continuing education requirements to retain certificates. For other
Redevelopment
Whether due to a desire for career change or because the employer needs different
capabilities, people may shift jobs in midlife or mid-career. Redeveloping people in
the capabilities they need is logical and important. Helping employees go back to
B. Development Needs Analyses
Like employee training, employee development begins with analyses of the needs of
both the organization and the individuals. Either the company or the individual can
analyze what a given person needs to develop. The goal is to identify strengths and
weaknesses. Methods used by organizations to assess development needs include
Chapter 9: Talent Management
Assessment Centers
Collections of test instruments and exercises designed to diagnose individuals’
development needs are referred to as assessment centers. HR can use assessment
centers for both developing and selecting managers.
Assessment centers provide an excellent means for determining individual potential.
Management and participants often praise them because they are likely to overcome
many of the biases inherent in interview situations, supervisor ratings, and written
tests. Experience shows that key variables such as leadership, initiative, and
supervisory skills cannot be measured with tests alone. Assessment centers also offer
the advantage of helping to identify employees with potential in large organizations.
Supervisors may nominate people for the assessment center, or employees may
volunteer. For talented people, the opportunity to volunteer is invaluable because
supervisors may not recognize their potential interests and capabilities.
Psychological Testing
Psychological tests have been used for several years to determine employees’
developmental potential and needs. Intelligence tests, verbal and mathematical
reasoning tests, and personality tests are often given. Psychological testing can
Chapter 9: Talent Management
Performance Appraisals
Well-done performance appraisals can be a source of development information.
Performance data on productivity, employee relations, job knowledge, and other
Development Metrics
Organizations can also use talent metrics to determine employees’ developmental
VII. Human Resources Development Approaches
Common development approaches can be categorized under three major headings (Figure
9-8). Investing in human intellectual capital can occur on or off the job and in “learning
organizations.” Development becomes imperative as “knowledge work,” such as research
A. Job-Site Development Approaches
To ensure that the desired development actually occurs, managers must plan and
coordinate their development efforts. Managers can choose from various job-site
development methods.
Coaching
Chapter 9: Talent Management
process of learning by doing. For coaching to be effective, employees and their
managers must have a healthy and open relationship.
One type of coaching that is growing is team coaching. This approach focuses on
coaching groups of individual employees on how to work more effectively as parts
of workforce teams. Such team efforts may utilize outside consultants and cover
many areas. Group coaching on leadership may help create high-performance teams.
Committee Assignments
Assigning promising employees to important committees may broaden their
experiences and help them understand the personalities, issues, and processes
governing the organization. However, managers need to guard against committee
assignments that turn into time-wasting activities.
Job Rotation
The process of moving a person from job to job is called job rotation. It is widely
Assistant Positions
Some firms create assistant positions, which are staff positions immediately under a
manager (e.g., Assistant to HR Director). Through such jobs, trainees can work with
Chapter 9: Talent Management
B. Off-Site Development Approaches
Off-the-job development techniques give individuals opportunities to get away from
their jobs and concentrate solely on what is to be learned. Contact with others who are
concerned with slightly different problems and come from different organizations may
provide employees with new and different perspectives. Various off-site methods can be
used.
Classroom Courses and Seminars
Most off-the-job development programs include some classroom instruction. Most
people are familiar with classroom training, which gives it the advantage of being
widely accepted. But the lecture system sometimes used in classroom instruction
Organizations often send employees to externally sponsored seminars or professional
courses, such as those offered by numerous professional and consulting entities.
Many organizations also encourage continuing education by reimbursing employees
Outdoor Development Experiences
Some organizations send executives and managers off to the wilderness, called
outdoor training or outdoor development. The rationale for using these wilderness
excursions, which can last one day or a week (or longer), is that such experiences can
Chapter 9: Talent Management
other management seminars. But companies must consider the inherent perils. The
decision to sponsor such programs should depend on the capabilities of the
employees involved.
Sabbaticals and Leaves of Absence
A sabbatical is an opportunity provided by some companies for employees to take
time off the job to develop and rejuvenate, as well as to participate in activities that
help others. Some employers provide paid sabbaticals while others allow employees
to take unpaid sabbaticals. The length of time taken off from work varies greatly.
Chapter 9: Talent Management
C. Learning Organizations and Development
As talent management becomes more important, employers may attempt to become
learning organizations. Learning organizations do their best to teach employees how to
be effective through formal learning processes such as seminars, job experiences, and
sound leadership, as well as through informal mechanisms such as social learning,
behavioral norms, and information sharing. Such a learning environment can be difficult
HR Ethics: Sabbaticals Reinvigorate Employees
Sabbaticals are beneficial for both employees and employers. The individuals taking
the sabbatical get the opportunity to “recharge their batteries” and pursue interests
that help them develop as business professionals. However, the workers who are not
on sabbatical also benefit because they get a chance to cover for the absent
employees and perform new job duties. Evidence suggests that these opportunities
are strongly related to employee attraction and retention because (1) job candidates
like sabbaticals and (2) the programs are usually tied to employment longevity.
Further, sabbaticals are not typically costly to companies because other employees
usually cover the workload of individuals who are gone, making the program a
resource-neutral HR function.