Talent Management 3.0

What is the ultimate goal of talent management?  The answer depends on whom you ask within the field.  For recruiters, they may say it is to find the best people for the job.  For trainers, developing employees for success in their current and future roles may be the end goal.  At the HR director level, the goal may be retention and succession planning for the best and brightest.  Talent management has many different facets, making it tempting to focus on the most immediate and salient goals within an HR professional’s job responsibilities.  But all of these facets have one very important thing in common: to meet business needs.   If you work in a company that has a global presence or reach that means that many, if not all, employees will require a global mindset to be effective in meeting business needs.  This is talent management 3.0, and it is going to require an update for many organizations.  As talent management professionals, how can we do that?  Here are a few suggestions:

Attract and select globally minded employees.

Our research shows that leaders who have passion for diversity combined with a strong quest for adventure and self-assurance are more successful in global roles.  We call this Global Psychological Capital.  Global experience alone doesn’t cut it.  Plenty of expatriate employees end up coming home early, for example, because they do not have good experiences.  There are many reasons why, but those who have a deep desire and motivation to work in other cultures will be more resilient in overcoming the inherent challenges of global work.   Be sure to include interview questions to this effect when screening potential employees.  You can also use the Global Mindset Inventory (GMI) with employees in your succession plans to help them develop for global roles. 

Develop global perspectives and skills among your employees.

Global mindset is in short supply.  This holds true in our work with multinational corporations, international non-profit organizations, and government departments with a global reach.  Why?  Our clients often lament about the limited global education and experience they had in their career preparation.  If your organization is global or headed in that direction, global mindset development should be a key component of your development efforts; not a one-time session or program. 

Retain and further develop those with strong global mindset within your organization by using them to coach others.

When identifying globally savvy mentors in your organization, make sure to look beyond corporate headquarters to your field locations.  These leaders have relevant and current experience to share with others and tend to receive less development attention due to their geographical dispersion.  Invite them to share best practices and lessons learned in virtual team meetings, and host meetings in their locations when possible.  Most importantly, connect them with less experienced employees for mentoring.  Their shared perspectives will keep leaders in the field connected and engaged while developing future leaders.