TM - March 2008 - (Page 56)

Application continued from page 53 same time we’re working on employee development plans for those identified successors. By following this process, Sunbelt is able to gauge which areas of the business have either a surplus or a paucity of talent, as well as do a gap analysis to ascertain where skill shortages exist within the business — both on an individual and an organizational level — so they can be filled as quickly and smoothly as possible. From the Top Down TM: Hinson: What compensation and incentive practices does Butterball employ to help manage talent? We try to remain competitive in both our compensation and incentive packages. We have annual bonus programs, and we do an annual review of what we’re offering to make sure we’re staying competitive with the market. We have been pretty successful in attracting talent to our organization, and I believe that is part of our compensation and incentive packages. Tell us about succession planning at Butterball and what challenges you’ve had. Succession planning is currently in our implementation phase, so the challenges are getting the programs and processes in place, educating everyone on what those programs and processes are and then, in the second half of the year, to initiate those talent assessment processes for the senior-level positions, hold those first talent review meetings and continue to deploy the process through the rest of the organization. TM: Hinson: A talent management framework cannot exist unless it is tied to a business need and has executive support. Without buy-in from senior management, most programs will quickly run out of gas and might even sabotage future initiatives because business partners will view it as just another HR program being pushed by corporate. In contrast, if done the right way, and with full executive and business-partner support and commitment, talent managers will create a win-win situation for their employees and for the business. For example, with the continued growth and expansion of Sunbelt’s business, more outside sales representatives will be needed within the next two to five years. Consequently, Sunbelt has taken a proactive approach to recruiting by creating a six-month sales trainee program aimed at entry-level to inexperienced candidates in the rental or sales business. With a clear business need behind it, top-level executives can support this initiative, and talent ultimately benefits from having more available opportunities. Moving Forward Everyone is on board. In fact, I had a meeting recently with some senior leaders in our operations team, and all of our leadership seems very excited about it and realizes the necessity of that in today’s business world. TM: Hinson: TM: Hinson: Do people understand why Butterball is undertaking these large-scale changes? Have your workforce performance management activities contributed to Butterball’s bottom line? I don’t have any hard data to provide for you, but through our supervisor development program, we have seen a decrease in the number of supervisors that we’ve had to hire externally. This certainly has an impact on our recruiting and relocation costs. Also, through our top grading, performance reviews and performance improvement plan process, we’ve seen a positive shift in our overall performance and productivity within our organization and within the specific business units. What’s next for Butterball talent management and workforce performance development? Our main objective is to get the talent management software implemented and roll out the succession planning processes to the entire organization. It’s not going to be an overnight process. It involves a change in the way we look at hiring, promotion, performance and development activities. We’re also going to place much more emphasis on building a culture of employee development, and we’ll implement the development initiatives to support that culture. That’s been in the process for the last few years, but we’re really trying to drive into the organization the culture of employee development and developing talent from within so that we can see a turnaround in the number of people we have to hire externally, especially for senior-level positions. TM: Hinson: To create the most effective talent management strategy, Sunbelt will train managers how to coach direct reports, execute development planning and reinforce and provide feedback for employees. Also, talent managers will educate supervisors and line managers how to hold career development discussions. This will ensure such discussions are timely and include performance feedback, which will encourage managers to identify their employees’ potential. Additionally, it’s important to make it abundantly clear that as managers they can continue to cultivate and develop the talent within their departments by providing training and growth opportunities and linking their employees with the appropriate resources and people. Also, talent managers shouldn’t forget their role as employee advocates. Open up the lines of communication with employees. Prompt them to initiate career development discussions with their managers and set multiple career goals. Encourage them to market themselves and seek out developmental opportunities, and help them implement and execute their individual development plans. Ty Burton is a recruitment manager at Sunbelt Rentals. He can be reached at editor@TalentMgt.com. 56 March 2008 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - March 2008

TM - March 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance - The Paradoxically Gifted Leading Edge - Reverse Engineering: Shifting Focus to HR's Cause Learning Connection - Sharing Talent On the Hunt for Talent Unlock Employee Motivation Through Personality Testing HR Crucial to Executive Compensation Process Downtown Management: Surfing May Not Be Slacking Think Tanks Aid Government in Talent Management Creating Consistency: Enterprise-Wide Succession Plans Battle Retention Deficits With On-Boarding Sunbelt Rentals: A Mid-Level View of HR From the Trenches Butterball: No Chicken When It Comes to Talent Management Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources Full Potential - Choosing Change

TM - March 2008

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