Talent needs managing differently in long term

08-July 2009 | By DeeDee Doke

Organisations attempting to build high-performance global workforces as they emerge from the recession will need to make long-term, structural changes to how they manage talent, according to a leading consultant.

To effectively manage their talent, organisations must abandon so-called ‘silos’ of self-sufficiency to create greater business synergy and talent flow across business units and ask themselves questions such as, “what makes our company what it is, what is our core culture”, urged Peter Cheese, managing director for talent and organisational performance at Accenture.

Speaking in London on 26 June, Cheese said pressure will increase on organisations to understand their workforces to drive innovation and creativity. “What’s your understanding of your workforce?” he asked. “We will see increased mobility of the workforce.

We will see different models of working. We need to recruit from different talent pools, and we will recruit in very different ways,” Cheese said. “We will have to be more creative about how we access talent, in very many different ways.”

A priority must be to help line managers better understand talent management and its benefits, Cheese emphasised. Line managers do not get enough training to positively affect organisations’ capability to manage their talent — and in many cases, their impact is negative, he said, adding. “We must do something about educating line management.”

“Reskilling and upskilling” workforces at different stages in their careers must also receive more attention, along with “making learning a much more strategic function”, Cheese said.

Cheese was among the speakers at a day-long conference hosted by The Economist on talent management.