Talent Management - September 2008 - (Page 46)

insight by Kellye Whitney SAS: Connecting People, Process and Products Creating a uniﬁed, successful global talent management strategy is a tall order to ﬁll. But business anal ytics software and service provider SAS has linked process, people and products to create a well-known brand, aid growth and remain competitive in the fast-moving technology industry . Organizations that can link employee performance with the product or service delivery pieces of their business strategies are likely to be more successful than those that don’t. Jenn Mann said intelligence and predictive analytics software provider SAS has done just that. Mann, SAS’ human resources manager for research and development and worldwide marketing, with responsibilities for more than 10,000 employees globally, took a moment to share the company’s talent management strategy. Mann: At some point, a lot of companies begin to talk about how to attract, and retain employees. But this is something SAS has always had in the forefront since its inception, and I have to give credit to our CEO and Founder Jim Goodnight. Many of the programs we’ve had for 20-plus years, and the ones we continue to add, are really because he sees the value. It’s in our culture and has always been who we are to recognize the importance of employees. We’re a software company. We get things done through people. He understands the whole idea that in order to develop software, we’ve got to keep people in a creative, innovative place. Everything we do is with that in mind. What processes or programs has SAS established to improve workforce performance? TM: Mann: How would you describe SAS’ approach to talent management? All of our programs are linked. It isn’t just to improve workforce performance. It’s also how we hire, train, develop and reward people. The best place for me to start is with our core values. Many of our programs are centered around our internal and external brand, which are linked. When we recruit employees, we keep that in mind. The hiring process includes a competency-based recruitment process that not only looks for people with the technical skill set we’re hiring to, but who also exhibit our organization’s core values. Our performance management program — how our employees are linked to measurable objectives — also evaluates how employees exhibit the competencies, and we use that to help develop our employees against those competencies. Then we reward in recognition of the attainment of objectives, as well as demonstrated competencies. What kind of challenges impact talent management at SAS? TM: Mann: TM: Our industry has over 20 percent turnover. We’ve got under 5 percent, so our retention efforts are working — but we help that. Our challenge is keeping employees fully engaged. We offer incredible work-life balance programs: on-site recreation and ﬁtness, health care facility, day care, eldercare programs, lunch-and-learn sessions on parenting. And we have an array of convenience beneﬁts. Our challenge is keeping employees engaged because of development opportunities that we might have or making sure they have challenging projects. The type of people we hire 46 September 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - September 2008

Talent Management - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance: Stop Wasting Money on Training Leading Edge: No Whining, No Excuses Learning Connections: Do You Get It? The Untapped Resource Reinventing HR Doing Compensation Right: The Winning Spread Managing Performance in the Knowledge and Innovation Worker Age Stop-The-Clock Time Management Preparing for the Future in the Public Sector SAS: Connecting People, Process and Products Talent Transformation at Textron The Price of Finding the Right Gen Y Candidate Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential: Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Talent Management - September 2008

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