Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #114

Covers HR structure and operating model, scenario planning, human capital intelligence, a Josh Bersin talent acquisition guide, and LinkedIn's learning report.

April 17, 2022

Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly—the weekly newsletter for human resources practitioners, bringing together insights about work, the workplace, and the workforce from various sources.

If you find value in this issue or any of its resources, please share them with your network by using the social media icons at the top of the newsletter.

Have a great week, and I look forward to sharing more ideas in next week’s Edge!

Brian 

Brian Heger is a human resources practitioner with a Fortune 150 organization and has responsibilities for Strategic Talent and Workforce Planning. To connect with Brian on Linkedin, click here.

THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

  • 3 Resources for Optimizing HR Structure and Operating Model | Gartner and McKinsey | I share multiple resources HR leaders can use to reevaluate their HR structures and operating models to optimize efficiency, cost, and impact.

  • Four Views Scenario Planning Worksheet | Xplane | A one-page editable PDF that enables firms to identify a set of scenarios they may face in the future and anticipate how they will respond.

  • A Field Guide for Human Capital Decision Intelligence | Deloitte | A 32-page paper on how firms can move from insights to action when it comes to work, workforce, and workplace data.

  • The Definitive Guide to Recruiting Human-Centered Talent Acquisition | Josh Bersin Company | A 10-page executive summary paper on how talent acquisition can strive to attract and hire the best talent.

  • 2022 Workplace Learning Report: The Transformation of L&D | LinkedIn Learning | A 56-page report that shares insights into how the L&D function will continue to evolve.

THIS WEEK'S EDGE

HR leaders continue to reevaluate their HR structures and operating models to optimize efficiency, cost, and impact. And given the various ways they can achieve these goals, CHROs must weigh different options when making these decisions. As HR leaders think through these decisions, I include three resources that can be leveraged. 1) Using Shared Services to Drive the HR Operating Model of the Future. This Gartner article argues that many operational HR activities that are most suitable to be wholly owned by a Shared Services Center (SCC) still fall into HR teams outside of SSC. It offers a four-component model that separates operational and strategic work and promotes operational efficiency and strategic impact. 2) Five Steps to Build an HR Center of Excellence. A Gartner article that helps establish COEs that drive economies of scale and experience and “which do not distract the entire HR team from business-as-usual activities.” 3) Redefining Corporate Functions to Better Support Strategy and Growth. This McKinsey article provides criteria for decision-makers of organization design when choosing a centralized or decentralized model. It bases decisions on the strategic rationale for the current design and how it drives business value. These resources can help HR leaders evaluate which design options enable effective and efficient HR operating models and structures.

Many organizations increasingly recognize the importance of strategic scenario planning (SSP) in light of the pandemic. SSP is a tool that helps organizations envision, describe, and plan for possible–but alternative futures an organization may face. SSP enables firms to prepare for uncertainties, considering such factors as the amount of economic growth, labor market conditions, and the introduction of new technologies, to name a few. This one-page editable PDF helps organizations identify four “what-if” scenarios they may face in the future, define the “conditions” that would trigger each, and develop a response for each scenario. After establishing the base-case scenario (what is expected), firms can build out specific scenarios related to: 1) A “Go Faster” scenario for accelerated growth, 2) A “Pump the Brakes” scenario for responding to a foreseeable decline in revenue and a need to conserve resources, 3) A “Stop the Car” scenario where firms respond to significant shifts in strategy to ensure sustainability in the face of adversity, and 4) A “Break Glass” scenario in the face of a crisis that will require a major retooling for survival. Within the context of strategic workforce planning, firms can use these scenarios to determine each scenarios' workforce implications and responses. This strategic exercise enables firms to be prepared and adjust more quickly when their context changes.

The use of data and analytics to make better talent and human capital decisions is a strategic objective in many organizations. However, firms vary in their ability to translate data intelligence into meaningful actions impacting business outcomes. This 32-page paper provides ideas on how firms can move from insights to significant action on their work, workforce, and workplace challenges. It covers obstacles to using data intelligence, how to identify data that truly matter, and guidelines for taking action. Figure 3 on page 17 provides examples of twelve questions that leaders can ask to anticipate future talent needs and risks. A few examples include: Human capital brand: How are our culture, workforce, and leadership portrayed externally? Future leader readiness: What new trends, challenges, and scenarios are leaders being prepared for? How many of our leaders have the attributes required to succeed? Page 20 begins a section on how firms can translate the answers to these types of questions into meaningful actions. For additional bonus resources, check out: 1) SAP Thought Leadership paper that includes 100 questions (spanning eight talent categories) to help firms think critically about their talent management issues and 2) McBassi & Company paper that includes an additional 100 questions. Firms can use these resources to select and answer a few questions that enable business strategy execution. 

Last week, I posted how firms continue to express concerns about their ability to attract and hire the right talent. A few tactics I shared to address this issue include: a) expanding selection criteria to identify hidden talent, b) activating the internal talent marketplace to deploy internal talent quickly—where and when needed, and c) simplifying the application process to reduce candidate drop-out rate because of lengthy and complex application procedures. In that post, I shared an 18-page Gartner paper, Advancing Recruiting’s Value Through Uncertain Times: Shaping the Workforce, that builds on some of these tactics. As talent acquisition teams strive to attract and hire the best talent, this new 10-page executive summary paper by The Josh Bersin Company provides five recommendations. Recommendation #3 is “It’s time to get serious about internal mobility.” According to the paper, only a quarter of companies are proficient at internal mobility—presenting an untapped opportunity. The paper also includes a few useful visuals, such as a Talent Acquisition Framework in Figure 2 on page 3. The framework comprises seven major elements (made up of 24 dimensions), each contributing to hiring success differently (e.g., governance and operations, trusted employer brand, technology). Figure 3 on page 5 shows the top ten recruiter skills for the future. It notes how many firms are rethinking the roles of recruiters by favoring more human-centered capabilities like empathy, business acumen, and adaptability over traditional skills, such as pitching the firm’s employee value proposition. Other ideas are discussed. 

The Learning & Development (L&D) function is critical to achieving an organization's talent priorities--ranging from upskilling, internal mobility, and employee wellbeing. But for L&D to support the rest of the organization in each of these endeavors, they must identify ways to build their capabilities and future-proof themselves. This 56-page report provides insights into how the L&D function will evolve. Page 26 shows a model from RedThread Research’s recent survey of over 300 L&D professionals on what skills they believe they need for the future; the research identified 39 skills in 7 skills groups. Skill groups and specific skills range from Leadership (e.g., strategic alignment, storytelling) to Data & Decision making (data literacy, external environment analysis). This additional visual by RedThread expands on the one in LinkedIn report by showing how high-performing organizations vary from everyone else in these skills. Other ideas are discussed. As a bonus article, I am resharing this BCG article, Three Steps to Turn Your Company Into a Learning Powerhouse, which provides tools and questions that can help firms assess and identify opportunities for enhancing their L&D capabilities. Among the various tools is a 5-component framework–comprising 18 dimensions–that depicts the L&D ecosystem. 

MOST SHARED RESOURCE FROM LAST WEEK

Shares multiple resources on how firms can enable their internal talent marketplace through talent sharing and other tactics.

CHRO ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WEEK

This past week, 37 Chief Human Resources Officer announcements were posted on CHROs on the Go – a subscription that provides the easiest way to stay informed about CHRO hires, promotions, and resignations. This week's CHRO highlight is:

To learn how to gain access to all 37 detailed Chief Human Resources Officer announcements from this past week and +1600 archived announcements, visit CHROs on the Go .

If you are already a member of CHROs on the Go, you can log in to access all announcements and site functionality.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

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OUR RESOURCE LINEUP

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​Talent Edge Weekly is a free weekly newsletter that brings together the best talent and strategic human resources insights from various sources. It is published every Sunday at 6PM EST.