GROWTH
CASE STUDY / Talent Review
Using a Talent Review as Strategic Leverage for Future Success
An organization's success greatly depends on its people.
Still, many underutilize the competitive advantage that a strategic talent assessment can provide.
One global financial company underwent a talent review to determine if their workforce of today was capable of meeting their objectives of tomorrow.
The assessment unveiled vital answers — along with multiple, mission-critical blindspots that, left unaddressed, would have jeopardized the organization’s entire talent strategy.
+ Risk Analysis, Change Management, Organizational Design & Development
At a Glance
THE PROBLEM
A global financial organization faced pressing technological advancements, leaving their workforce at risk of being obsolete. This posed a significant challenge as outdated skills would lead to stagnation and decline in the face of market changes.
THE MISSING PIECE
A comprehensive examination of the current workforce’s skills and capabilities was needed, as well as a clear vision of future talent required. Without these insights, the organization lacked the foundation for effective strategic planning.
THE SOLUTION
A strategic talent review was conducted. The results verified and detailed the need of six new talent profiles, exposed multiple, mission-critical blindspots and revealed the necessary steps of a new and effective talent strategy. A strategy map was crafted, paving the way for the highest transformational success.
OBSERVED CHALLENGE
In support of a division within a global financial organization, a strategic talent review became a critical advantage as technology developments were rapidly emerging and the existing workforce faced the risk of becoming obsolete.
The organization recognized that relying on antiquated skills might lead to stagnation and decline in the face of rapid market changes.
The organization was uncertain whether their current workforce could meet these burgeoning technical demands or if a new talent profile was necessary. However, the nature of this profile (or profiles) remained unknown.
A talent review — an integral yet under-leveraged part of strategic people operations planning — was needed to assess the existing workforce and identify gaps, if any, in the talent required for the organization’s future success.
SMARTWORK APPROACH
DETERMINE OBJECTIVE INDICATORS | Reviewing the organization's talent required viewing it as a snapshot in time. This approach provided a current pulse on workforce talent and systematically determined gaps in an objective way, informing the development of the future workforce.
A comprehensive review of objective factors — including location, profile, skills, tenure, compensation, promotional history and growth potential — allowed for an evaluation of the organization's readiness to achieve its goals. It also took into account future workforce considerations, considering factors such as availability, assessment abilities, and leadership potential.
1
CONDUCT SUBJECTIVE + INCLUSIVE REVIEW | A talent review must never rely on system information alone; incorporating practical and subjective feedback is essential to avoid critical blindspots.
This meant engaging leaders at different levels and select subject matter experts (SMEs) for a holistic workforce view, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and fostering receptivity to future changes.
2
DETAIL THE FUTURE | A vital element to success in this organization’s talent review — and every subsequent talent strategy — is the detailed state of the future workforce. Without this insight, there's a risk that organizational changes may disrupt team dynamics, crumble retention rates, or neglect the secondary and tertiary consequences of your primary decision.
3
USE DATA TO MITIGATE RISK | A crucial step of a strategic talent review lies in leveraging your data to improve risk awareness, the foundation for an effective talent strategy. This involves categorizing:
4
IDENTIFIED KNOWLEDGE: Knowledge we are aware of and understand
IDENTIFIED RISKS: Risks we are aware of but do not yet understand
UNIDENTIFIED KNOWLEDGE: Knowledge we think we are aware of but actually aren’t (e.g., biases)
UNIDENTIFIED RISKS: Risks we are neither aware of nor understand — often the most costly
A comprehensive talent review seeks to verify identified knowledge, solve for identified risks, expose unidentified knowledge, and uncover and solve for previously unidentified risks.
DEVELOP EFFECTIVE TALENT STRATEGY MAP | A talent strategy map is a visual plan for an organization's current and future workforce, detailing roles, team sizes, leadership, and growth. It is ideally designed using insight gained from a talent review.
In this organization's case, the success of their talent map hinged on proactive strategies derived from identified and unidentified risks in their talent review.
These mission-critical blindspots, if unattended, could have jeopardized the organization's entire talent strategy and future workforce viability.
5
OUTCOME
Within 90 days, the organization transitioned from a talent strategy operating on outdated assumptions to a new talent plan that precisely aligned with the dynamic realities of their current market landscape.
The assessment yielded transformative results for the organization by:
Confirming the changing industry landscape and pinpointing areas of critical skill gaps within the current workforce.
Verifying the need for six new talent profiles and specifying the skills required for their creation with both objective and subjective metrics.
Exposing unknown organizational biases related to the new talent:
The belief that current leadership had the technical knowledge to effectively manage the new profile
The assumption that current recruiting team was successfully equipped to hire for the new profile
The idea that the existing team structure could seamlessly integrate the new profile alongside current subject matter experts and high-performers
Investigating and uncovering three major and unforeseen risks that ultimately reshaped the organization's new talent approach:
Current leadership lacked the technical insight to effectively mentor the new profile, risking poor future retention. This necessitated decisions on upskilling existing leaders, hiring new talent, and reorganizing the leadership structure.
The current recruiting team was unequipped to hire the new profile. Recruiters required upskilling and supplementation to remain competitive.
A new team model was necessary to effectively integrate the new profile while harnessing the potential of existing high-performers and subject matter experts. The heightened risk of losing current employees due to changes demanded strong retention rates to preserve key knowledge within teams.
Upon completion of this talent review, the organization successfully bridged talent gaps within their workforce, bolstered leadership and recruitment efforts around the new hiring profiles, and sidestepped costly pitfalls — all while forging a finely attuned talent strategy that met market conditions and their greater organizational goals.
A talent review, whether minimal or extensive, is one of the most valuable strategic decisions that an organization can invest in.
When making organizational changes, the best operational outcomes result from the highest quality decision-making.
Visual Summary
CASE RESULTS
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Understanding Your Current Talent Determines Your Future Success
To build the most effective workforce, the organization needed a firm grasp on their current talent's capabilities. This understanding was crucial in finding the right paths to meet their new objectives.
Your Recruiting & Leadership Strategy Matters Just as Much as Your New Talent
The talent review revealed unanticipated risks in recruiting and leading the new profiles. To effectively attract, manage and retain these hires, it was crucial to understand their needs, offer appropriate support, and ensure adaptability in a new environment.
Assumptions Rarely Stay the Same as the Situation is Examined
Without this talent review, the organization may have faced failure when shifting objectives. It was initially thought that their existing workforce could meet these new goals, but the review located large skill gaps in their current talent — indicating this was not the case.