Developing People—All Hat No Cattle!
While it is currently de rigueur for organizations to spew pious platitudes about talent management, it is generally a case of mostly talk sans walk. Here are a few of these high sounding but phony baloney phrases.
“Our inventory goes home at night.”
“Employees are our most important assets.”
“Developing employees is Job #1.”
“We are a talent driven organization.”
Before you drink the kool-aid, ask a few questions:
1. Have you banished the standard annual appraisal system?
2. Have you formally identified key employees?
3. Do you have a written and on-going Talent Development Plan?
4. Are mentors assigned to new employees?
5. Does your company have a Director of Talent Management?
6. Is HR involved beyond benefits, salaries, and annual appraisal gathering?
7. Are managers evaluated and bonuses paid for developing people?
8. Have you heard of or are you a member of CorpU?
9. Do you measure morale every six months and report the results publically?
10. Have any of your managers ever been demoted for people problems?
Three or more no’s indicates an organization that is on life support in the next decade. Let the buyer beware!
