Talent Management - January 2009 - (Page 38)

individual to react and raise questions. Offer support, but not in terms of reversing a decision. Handle the reaction with appropriate understanding, but return attention to the next steps in the separation process. Be aware of company policy on providing references. 5. Transition work responsibilities. Give thought to the transition of work if the individual is separating immediately. It is important the manager is clear and deﬁnite with the transitioning employee about how this transition is to take place. If the individual is staying on for a speciﬁed period of time, the separation manager should clearly communicate work requirements and expectations. • Managers need to be prepared to lead employees through change-strategy implementation. Talent managers can help line managers by providing training to ensure their enhanced competence and conﬁdence will keep employees motivated during uncertain times. • Individual employees need guidance to get them aligned and engaged with the change strategy toward more effective change implementation. Talent managers should establish a communication plan, implement training, provide support for employees and develop a retention strategy. Redeploying the Workforce Choose an appropriate time and a neutral setting. The separation meeting should last no longer than 10-15 minutes. 6. Connect with outplacement assistance. Introduce the person to the on-site outplacement consultant who can review career transition assistance. Redeployment means ﬁnding ways to leverage the skills and talents of existing employees and reassigning them within the organization. Implementing a redeployment program is complex, but it can help retain valued talent by giving them new and challenging opportunities, avoid the high cost of turnover and leverage the internal knowledge transfer and skills required to keep a company competitive. Consider following these best practices: 1. Align all levels. Align all levels of the organization to the goals for the redeployment program to ensure managers and employees understand the objectives, purpose and anticipated results. 2. Create a portal. There should be a mechanism through which employees can post proﬁles and resumes, and view all available positions. The portal also should enable the organization to track the process, measuring how many candidates have used the system and what jobs they’ve landed. 3. Provide career resources. Give employees resources to help them learn effective interviewing techniques, how to network in the organization and write a resume, as well as identify their interests, values, needs and strengths so they can evaluate what jobs and roles might effectively use their skills and add value to the organization. 4. Identify champions. Candidates looking for new jobs within a company may have difﬁculty understanding what the new roles require and how to connect with the appropriate hiring managers in those areas. Consider assigning redeployment coaches in various functions or geographic locations to assist employees in understanding what different jobs entail so they can make more informed decisions. Navigating a workforce restructuring is tough. But if handled well, the initiative can send a positive message to the remaining employees. It is in an organization’s best interests to take care of departing and remaining employees, as it will affect future recruiting and retention efforts and elevate the organization’s brand. Douglas Matthews is president and chief operating ofﬁcer for Right Management, a global human capital consulting solutions provider. He can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com. Managing Change for Those Who Remain During times of change, such as that experienced from an organizational restructuring, people protect the past and defend the status quo. Key characteristics of resiliency include creativity, eagerness to learn, adaptability and courage. Resiliency enables people to propel change forward and focus energy on the future. Employees who excel in change create dynamic and empowering states of resourcefulness. Recognizing and confronting the personal resistance to change following a signiﬁcant event is the ﬁrst step in the discovery process leading to opportunity and growth. Gaining perspective on the change process allows remaining employees to approach change with greater ease, ﬂexibility and determination. The goal of each employee should be to clear the hurdles of perceived limitations around “what was,” in order to launch the possibilities of “what could be.” Everyone needs to be engaged in the change process to move to the desired end state: • Senior leadership needs to ensure stakeholders understand the change process, know the current level of motivation and morale, and be prepared to drive organizational strategy and change. Talent managers can help them by measuring existing levels of motivation, morale and understanding for change, and identifying blockers and enablers that impact successful outcomes. 38 January 2009 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - January 2009

Talent Management - January 2009 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Integrate Web 2.0 Into the On-Boarding Experience Show ’Em the Money: Compensation Trends 2009 Transition at the Top How Hollywood Manages Talent and What You Can Learn Get the Most Bang With Limited Training Bucks Life After Layoffs Attract Specific Talent Groups Performance Management: Its Time Is Now Helping the Helpers Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.