What is an Employer Value Proposition(EVP)

Is it a buzzword or is it a necessity in the hyper connected world.. It is validated once you understand the concept and its relevance that it is imperative for any organization worth its salt to work on the current and potential offerings and convey the message to all its constituents . In the internet of things  I read somewhere your EVP is as good as the Glassdoor reviews you get from interview candidates , current employees and employees who have left .Hence a carefully sculpted  EVP is required. However what is important is the overall ethos and values of the organization ; how does it treat its employees –current and the leavers, interview candidates !!

There are good tools available to create an EVP and a few things I believe are important :

-an overall approach as a company if you are global one

- region specific/local  offerings  along with the other overarching attributes

-top down sponsorship

-continuous communication of the value proposition at all appropriate forums and using all media

The importance of EVP is only increasing with every passing day according to me . It is in fact on a lighter the Executive Presence exhibited by the organization !!

Leadership Paradox or Antithesis

Given below are a few questions related to the Leadership practice . It could be anywhere –corporate , educational institute , not for profit organization etc. .There are not finite answers to these queries or observations. The actual solution might be a combination- heady at times of experience , intuition, expertise , advice ,information , insight ,business context , goals , head heart combination etc. that will help give shape to the storm of questions I have raised !!

·         How much to influence and where

·         How to say NO and when to say NO

·         How to tell an adult that You are wrong(read –mainly male if you are in the Indian corporate world)

·         How to be a close confidante  –have a warm heart and a cool head as N S Rajan said

·         How to influence to get things  done

·         How to assimilate and synthesize

·         How to be innovative and have a real perspective

·         How to be in the moment and yet be above it to have that perspective

·         How to support and guide others

·         How to take appropriate risks and solve problems

·         How to be people oriented and yet have Big Hairy Audacious Goals(BHAGs) [Suggested by James Collins and Jerry Porras in Built to Last ]

(ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hairy_Audacious_Goal)

·         How to take all types of people along with you to accomplish difficult goals

·         How do you treat incompetent people? How long should be the  rope given to them

·         How to learn to ignore and manage the apotheosis of the insignificant and focus on the core

·         In all this keep yourself superbly updated about your field and have a healthy network !!

Polarity management  is a good lens to examine the multiple paradoxes mentioned above

http://www.margaretseidler.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Polarity-Management-Executive-Summary.pdf

REVIEW OF THE SUCCESSION PLANNING ARTICLE

I stumbled on this article published by the international training and consultancy firm Achieve Global on the critical issue of succession planning .Article link is : http://www.hreonline.com/pdfs/03022007Extra_AjilonSuccessionPlanning.pdf

The article mentions the importance of succession planning in today’s competitive business environment. It further builds a historical and socio economic context to strengthen the case for strong succession planning in organizations. The important generic factors mentioned are a) impending retirement of the baby boomers b) Generation X and Y characterized by high volatility and low loyalty c) Lack of a strong middle management level  in most organizations

Keeping these factors in mind the article suggests a three pronged way or three different models of succession planning. They are:

a)Contingency model based on emergency replacement

b) Long term planning model based on long term organizational needs and a strong strategic framework

c) A Mixed model which comprises of the emergency replacement method and long term planning model

The article cites successful examples of organizations like Johnson and Johnson , Eli Lily Microsoft , Proctor and Gamble who have taken visionary steps to have a robust talent pipeline and have embarked on focused initiatives to develop leaders . The various tools and techniques range from identifying high potential people , using different  assessment tools and techniques , communication of the intent of the management to the employees .The article further sates the three critical factors that should be considered by human resource professionals during the process of succession planning and they are   

Strategic planning -This involves a review of the organizational strategy and building systems based on the internal and external factors

Knowledge and criticality of the role –Here the HR professional will have to identify the critical roles for effective retention of talent and knowledge

Talent Management as a holistic process- Finally succession planning has to be viewed as a sum of multiple inputs and hence on should  have a talent management philosophy where recruitment , career development , learning , retention are viewed as various dimensions of the entire process . The organization thus should have an integrated approach to manage and develop employees and plan for their career advancement  .Thus  a lot of focused efforts need to go in this direction where the Leadership team of the organization will play a very vital role in defining and executing the talent management philosophy .

My take is that most companies have realized the importance of the succession planning process. But it is a complex process at the end of the day . To be successful we will have to view the entire talent management process holistically and have a well defined yet flexible approach to handle each dimension of the talent management process with a sharp eye on the business realities . This is a job which the HR function has to do in consultation with the senior management for the company . For this the HR professional needs to have to right tools , information and technique to carve an organization specific succession plan . These tools and techniques could comprise of :

• Appropriate business knowledge ie organization’s products , revenue streams , competition intelligence
• Knowledge of critical roles and possible career paths for them
• Knowledge of various assessment methods ie 360 degree  method , psychometric tools
• Information of practices in other companies
• Facilitation and coaching skills
• Literature related to career development and talent management ie sites , books , certifications
• A perspective or view based on the information about possible solutions and alternatives to the talent pipeline issue