THERE has already been a proliferation of “chiefs” in the corporate world. (Yes, they don’t cook.) There is even a name for this collection of organizational fauna — the C-Suite. These managers report directly to the CEO, “the chief of chiefs.” The C-Suite includes the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), and new-fangled ones like the Chief Risk Officer — does he raise risk or lower it?
Renaming functions to make them more awesome to outsiders is the job of what used to be called “Admin.” The department in charge of people needs a lift too and has opted in the past to call its role simply, “Human Resources.” Recently it has appropriated the title: Chief Talent Officer. The head of this unit wants you to know he does not just handle sick leave and job descriptions, but something more cosmic — the recruitment and nurturing of gifted individuals.
Managing talent is a serious corporate endeavor. (Our greatest assets are people.) The paradigm for designating employees and managers as “talent” borrows from the entertainment industry, like film and television.
There are some similarities.
Casting is an important aspect of management. In the acquisition of a company, the new stockholders ask what kinds of talent are needed. Is it the villainous and formally attired cost-cutter or a dressed down and nurturing father-figure? It all depends on the plot, or corporate strategy.
Do you grow talent and promote from within or just poach them from other studios? Home-grown talents are seen to be in a rut. They embrace the status quo too much — yeah, we tried that before, and it didn’t work. Plucking stars from other planets not only brings up the talent fees; they also upset the existing compensation structure, encouraging underlings to plot revenge.
Is the outsider’s advantage of starting with a “clean slate” an admission of cluelessness? What does a food franchise marketer have to do with managing a hospital?
Only in an entertainment-based organization does talent management really apply. Selecting the right actor for the role can turn a movie or mini-series into a blockbuster… or a flop.
“Divas” are the hardest to manage. Are their demands, both emotional and financial, more than made up for by revenues generated? Are they too obsessed with titles and hierarchies? The delicate balance between pleasing a prima donna and building a high fence around her (also called a retention strategy) should be driven by costs and benefits.
And when the diva doesn’t bring in the ratings? It is time to let go, pointing to health reasons and her desire to spend more time with her family. The script is simply adjusted with the demise of her character in the mini-series — she was kidnapped by terrorists.
The adroit talent manager needs to find a landing spot for the costly overhead to be ditched. Can he foist the diva on a competitor who may even pay a premium to recruit her? (In professional basketball, talent swapping is almost routine.) Passing on a headache to the competition is the height of finesse.
Managing talent is a matching game. It determines what the organization (or movie) needs and then hiring (or casting) the right star at a reasonable cost. Getting the ingredients and the mix right leads to the perfect dish — not too wet, not too sour, and matched with rice of the right gooey texture. If the pairing (say, the cost of the talent versus the value she brings) doesn’t work, the dish may not be edible.
Talents too have an expiry date. The blockbuster movie in the talent’s resume’ may not even have been due to skill on her part but simply good timing with the absence of competition.
It’s still the numbers that tell the story. It’s a tricky thing to assess what each talent brings to the table. Claiming credit for somebody else’s effort has been raised to a high art. The real question is how the whole organization is performing. Is it a winner?
Managing talent is like conducting an orchestra. Not every talent can play the soloist. And the volume of the performance needs to be synchronized as some parts need softer renditions. To get the right performance and the proper blending of the music, the talents need to understand their roles. Are they all on the same page?
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
