A leader’s lack of understanding of Talent Management……why specialists are not hired

Abhijit Bhaduri is an acknowledged thought leader in the HR field in the country.

Abhijit did a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi University in Economics and then did a Masters in Human Resources from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He has a Bachelors degree in Law also from the University of Delhi.

Abhijit’s career spans two decades across diverse industries and multiple countries. He worked for companies like Eicher Goodearth and Tata Steel and was part of the team that nurtured MICA (the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad) while he worked for the ad agency – Mudra Communications. In 1997 he joined the HR team at Colgate Palmolive in Mumbai. In 1999 he moved to a Regional role in the Asia Pacific Shared Services Organization for Colgate and was based out of Kuala Lumpur before moving on to a global role in New York at the Corporate Headquarters for Colgate-Palmolive. Abhijit Bhaduri has joined FritoLay – the Snacks division of Pepsico International as head of Human Resources.

He has also recently authored a book “Mediocre but Arrogant” (ISBN : 81-87981-81-4, @OxfordBookStore.com, @Amazon.com), a fictional novel about love and life in a Business School in Jamshedpur. The book has been on several bestseller lists in India and abroad and finds mention frequently as an example of contemporary Indian fiction. He hosted a long running popular radio show in US on Indian movies and film music. Most recently Abhijit acted in a cameo role in a Bollywood movie – Apna Aasmaan (*ing Irfan and Shobana) and is due for release in 2007. He is an accomplished musician as well and don’t be surprised if some day you find yourself hearing an album where he plays a part.

What are the principles of talent management?
The process of acquiring, nurturing and retaining talent is an ongoing challenge all corporations face. Like all HR practices, Talent Management starts with a deep understanding of the business strategy, over a 3-5 year scenario.

o What are going to be the key drivers of growth?
o What is the competitive landscape?
o Where does Talent Management fit into this strategy?

Then there is a ‘make vs buy’ decision. Do we grow our own pipeline of talent (eg through a Trainee scheme or through a systematic bench building approach) or do we just go ahead and acquire talent from other organizations. Succession Planning is the centerpiece of this process.

Are you saying that the context of managing in the ‘current’ should not be the focus of a Talent Management strategy?
There may be tactical responses that an organization has to take to acquire and retain talent. In the long run, talent will naturally get attracted to an organization that has a reputation for grooming and nurturing it. Such a reputation is built through a Talent Management Strategy that is drawn up, articulated and constantly practiced through various phases of an organization’s life.

How would you measure success?
The measures for acquiring, managing and retaining talent will vary. The strength of The Employer Brand helps in attracting talent, one could say. However each aspect of a firm’s HR policies has to support Talent Management, whether it is Compensation and Benefit or Performance Management or Career Planning.

You could measure Employee Referrals as a percentage of new hires or the percentage of vacancies filled internally to measure success. Any measure that tells us that the organization is seen as a preferred employer is an indirect measure. The most concrete measure is what percentage of vacancies are filled internally.

The best and brightest people are attracted to organizations that invest in building careers for them. If the employees feel that they have built their own capability and competency during their association with the organization, it gets reflected in the buzz about the workplace.

A firm that has a great Talent Management strategy will attract the brightest and best HR people. That is a HR person’s dream destination. So ask yourself how many of the superstars of HR are waiting in line to work in your organization.

What are the critical factors that lead to success of a Talent Management strategy?
The leadership team’s vision of the Talent Management Strategy is the starting point. Having said that, the CEO and the HR leader need to blend the business strategy and the part that the talent pool will play in the realization of that strategy. Finally the employees need to be the brand ambassadors for the Talent Management strategy to be successful.

Are ‘creative’ businesses different when it comes to methods, strategies and direct one on one handling of management of talent? Why has HR not become an established function in businesses like Advertising, media, and entertainment?
There have been media houses, Internet start-ups and ad agencies that have been at the cutting edge of talent management practices. In the 90’s, Chiat Day – the ad agency was the front-runner in starting some of the innovative approaches to managing people eg Making it easy for talented people to work for the agency by introducing “ta offices” where employees could go in only on the days when they had meetings and work from other locations on other days. We have all read that a Google or Microsoft get a huge number of applications from people who want to join them. So they acquire great talent, but I do not have data on what their talent retention rates are. The success of the Talent Management strategy is to see how the organization builds a bench of capable people who are being groomed to take on larger roles in a 0-3 year time frame. Talent Management principles are universal. One may acquire talent but the bigger challenge is to manage, nurture and retain bright people at all levels in all functions.

If HR has not become an established function in an organization, it probably indicates that the CEO does not have a long-term view of managing talent. The leader’s lack of understanding of the Talent Management process results in not hiring a specialist for the task. In the long run the organization is the loser.

In your opinion how has the Advertising, Media (A&M) and New Media businesses fared (in India and globally) in the area of talent management?
The popular business press and HR Journals seem to have more examples from sectors other than advertising, media etc. when it comes to doing cutting edge work in Talent Management. Ad agencies, media houses seem to be better at acquiring talent in the short run than in grooming and nurturing over time…that would be my hypothesis.

What do you think are the reasons for the crisis of talent in A&M? You know, even MICA graduates don’t want to look at advertising any longer.
I was associated with MICA when I was the HR Director for Mudra Communications from ‘94-’96. So there is a certain sense of disappointment that MICA grads are not joining the employers for whom the talent pool was created. On the other hand, maybe they are better equipped to work for other sectors. That’s what is getting reflected in their career choice. There could be many reasons why such a shift is happening.

If MICA grads don’t wish to join agencies and are getting opportunities with other employers, it also means that the course design is not specific enough to roles that agencies have to offer.

Or that agencies don’t pay as well at entry levels as do others. It could well be that agencies don’t invest in providing critical experiences that a fresh graduate is looking for. It is for the advertising agencies to introspect on the reasons for this choice.

What would you suggest as ‘first steps’ for the businesses in these sectors?
1. Start by articulating how the organization’s talent management strategy fits the business strategy.
2. Identify the talent gaps in the short term and long term.
3. Then create an action plan to bridge the gap.