TM - November 2007 - (Page 52)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & benefits performance management learning & development succession planning CROSS-FUNCTION EMPLOYEE MOVES HELP MAKE THE BEST MANAGERS Kellye Whitney There are usually two perspectives to effective succession planning: the talent perspective and the business perspective. Unfortunately, most organizations don’t connect the two, and their succession planning efforts often fail, or established processes don’t meet expectations. Mailstream technology company Pitney Bowes has undergone numerous revisions of its succession planning strategy since the concept first came into practice about 20 years ago, partly to avoid this type of disconnect. “In 2006, a team of senior executives played a major role in revamping our leadership capabilities model to make sure it’s relevant to where the business is going,” said Susan Johnson, vice president of strategic talent management and diversity leadership. “Constant refreshes and tweaks ensure that our talent strategies match our business strategies and help to keep the process alive.” The leadership capabilities model is the foundation for many of the company’s talent discussions, including those related to succession planning. Johnson said although the Pitney Bowes’ succession planning process enables Executive Chairman Michael J. Critelli to offer board members a report on the state of executive talent, a deeper talent look touches midline and front-line managers. “Our enterprise guidance is that business units use it at least to the middle-management level and also for some high-potential folks below that, so we can identify sparks in the organization and keep our eye on those individuals who are early in career and who are demonstrating a lot of potential from a leadership and performance perspective,” Johnson explained. Pitney Bowes’ succession planning process is a year-round activity, not an annual event. Talent discussions take place within the business units on a regular basis as managers’ query which candidates have cropped up as potential successors, what development opportunities are available for them, whether they have been engaged in those opportunities, and how the organization can better enable them to move from one function or business unit to another. “We’ve got some pretty good statistics around using the succession planning process to have more cross-business unit, cross-functional moves within the enterprise, and that’s something that’s very important to us because one of our business strategies is to become one company in terms of providing solutions for our customers,” Johnson said. “As we have talent move from one business unit to the next, we’re able to break down barriers and silos. Someone who worked in global mailing systems who goes over to Pitney Bowes management services brings a different perspective and solutions to the customer based on his or her experience in that prior business unit.” Additional metrics gathered during succession planning examine the depth of the organization’s bench strength, and they help identify key leadership positions so that there are at least two backups ready to step into those spots. “Another metric that we look at is internal movement within the organization, the degree to which we actually go back to the replacement forecasts that we develop in our succession management process and pull people from those when the opening occurs,” Johnson said. “Cross-functional, cross-business unit moves are another metric that we’re very excited to track.” Johnson cited an example in which two high-level leaders in global mailing systems (GMS) and Pitney Bowes management services (PBMS) successfully switched business units and roles to the company’s benefit. Both individuals were considered high potentials and had shown an interest in career development and growing within the organization. Their demonstrated continuous-learning mindset made hiring managers more comfortable about making the swap, Johnson said. “They were seen as quintessential GMS and PBMS people,” she said. “Their level of success in their new roles and the enterprise and the ‘one company’ thinking that they brought to their new business units, coupled with the fact that they were relatively visible, high-level, cross-business unit moves, enabled the organization to say, ‘Hey, maybe it’s a good thing for us to move crossbusiness units.’ “That was a couple of years ago. Since then, our numbers of cross-business unit, cross-functional moves have increased by about 44 percent. The second year they increased by about 66 percent.” 52 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - November 2007

Talent Management - November 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Viewpoint Finding Candidates with the Right Fit Turning HR Data Into Business Intelligence Compensation Technology: Drive Higher Performance, Gain Competitive Advantage The Art and Science of Influence Training the Ethical Workforce Making the Best Managers Application: Pre-Hire Testing Drives Down Employee Turnover at Advnace Auto Parts Dashboard: The Role of Learning Business Process Outsourcing Insight: Nationwide Insurance: On Employees' Side Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

TM - November 2007

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