01 July 2009
That adversity drives creativity and innovative solutions in organisations is one of the key lessons from a hot topic report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Fighting Back Through Talent Innovation is the second part of research on the War on Talent? and explores the different ways in which ten organisations are finding creative solutions to talent management in the recession.
The report echoes earlier findings from the first phase of the CIPD research War on Talent, which found that talent management has become even more important for organisations in the recession. It also shows that a wide range of innovative ideas and practices are being implemented in order to meet the challenge of engaging, developing and retaining talent when purse strings have been tightened. These practices include: building employer brand and profile, providing business critical training to develop key talent and developing innovative business suggestions through internal talent pools and leadership exchange groups.
The case studies demonstrate that efforts to up the ante on engagement and development in creative new ways are paying off. Employee engagement, particularly for those identified as talent, has increased partly due to the intensified focus on talent performance, engagement and retention, but also because many employees are working on higher profile projects and thereby increasing their visibility with senior management.
More broadly, in these challenging times, absence and performance management, employee engagement and line manager support and development have become the priority for most organisations.
Claire McCartney, Adviser Resourcing & Talent Planning, CIPD, says:
“It’s encouraging to see that talent management has increasingly come under the spotlight during the recession. It proves that organisations do realise the value of their employees and are keen to retain existing talent in order to survive and thrive in the upturn. But while these initiatives and practices have been kick-started in response to the adverse economic climate, the organisations featured in this research are also keeping a longer-term perspective and thinking about sustainability.
“Organisations should be clear about how any new measures fit with their long term talent strategies and should avoid any temptation to abandon some practices that are working well when the upturn emerges.”
Case study organisations include:
• Stanza Consulting
• Gala Coral Group
• International Personal Finance
• National Express
• National Policing Improvement Agency
• The London Borough of Tower Hamlets and NHS Tower Hamlets
• The National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare
• British Telecom
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Tesco