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Talent Planning – FAQs From The Field

Posted on in Talent Strategy

In the blog post Be Advised: This Key Element is Missing from Your Business Strategy we introduced the first step in creating a winning talent strategy, the talent plan. In our second post, Seven Best Practices for Creating a Talent Plan, we walked through how to initiate this exercise. The posts sparked great questions, some of which are posted below.

Q. You reference a “talent expert” as being a key to success of this exercise. How do I know if my current HR person is a talent expert?
A: If your HR person:

  • Is strategic
  • Understands your business
  • Consistently demonstrates they are forward thinking
  • Is solution oriented
  • Has a deep understanding of talent trends in your target market
  • Consistently provides insight into compensation and benefit expectations of your target market
  • Regularly consults on people matters then they should be able to assist in this exercise.

Q. By talent expert, do you mean someone on my talent acquisition team?
A. Depending on the tenure of the individual on your team and their depth in your specific industry, they may be able to fulfill this role if they behave in the same manner noted above.

Q: We are a 25 person company. Do we need to start this exercise now?
A: Yes! Engaging in this exercise will ensure you have the appropriate discipline and experience to master this important planning exercise as your company scales.

Q. The business case for doing this makes sense, but we are too busy. Is it really worth it?
A. Failure to go through this exercise puts you at risk of not meeting your business goals. The time it takes to walk through this exercise is one of the best investments you can make. If you don’t have time to get this right, you won’t have time to do it over.

Q. Our business strategy isn’t calling for a major shift like an expansion to a new geography or new product launch. Should we still do this?
A. Yes! Even if you are looking at making small incremental changes, you still need to know what your current talent capacity is and where the gaps are. Identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats applies to your talent plan, not just the business plan.

Q. How does this make us more successful at recruiting?
A. For starters, when you have a documented plan, there is clarity as to who, what, where and when you are going to add to the team. When candidates come in to interview, your team will be clear on the purpose of hiring for the role and will be better equipped to answer candidate questions about the position, thus providing a better candidate experience.

Q. We went through this exercise and may need to hire 10 people in January and it’s November. There is no way our team can handle that. What do we do?
A. Lucky you! Awareness is everything. Get together with your talent expert and develop several hiring models based on your business assumptions, develop resource contingency plans and execute accordingly.

Q. We went through this exercise and need to replace more people than we thought. Is this normal?
A. As your business matures, it’s not atypical that some people may no longer have the skills to meet the business strategy or match the company culture. However, consult your talent expert on how you can upgrade those roles with as little disruption to the business as possible and without creating an excessive amount of noise in the market.

Q. As we evaluate this plan over the course of the year, what should we expect?
A. Expect to make changes to the talent plan as the business evolves over the year. Also, it will become very obvious where the “pain” is as it relates to how you attract, recruit and retain your talent which will enable you to make adjustments to processes and programs as needed.

Q. Why should we publish this to the entire organization? Do they really care?
A. Yes, they do. Publishing your talent plan unifies the team and reduces stress and noise in the talent acquisition system. There is clarity regarding who, what, where and when you’ll add to the team, which eliminates scuffles and helps people keep their eye on the recruiting ball when they meet new people in the marketplace.

Still have questions? We have office hours on Thursdays where we answer any questions about your talent challenges. Click here to schedule a consultation.


Learn how Talent Point Consulting can help you create a talent plan that aligns with your business strategy.

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