For organizations it is important to recognize, exploit and retain the skilled talent and knowledge of their employees. The new way of working is, therefore, a perfect example. Employees are able to balance their work and private life more effectively and get more control over their working locations and working hours. This enables not only employees with children, but also less mobile people, to fully participate in the workforce.

Generation Y
For Generation Y, the new way of working is of high importance. This generation is not willing to work during office hours from nine-to-five. They demand to be more in control over their work and life balance. Perhaps even more important and crucial for harnessing talent, they desire better ways to collaborate and share knowledge. In line with expectations, the younger generations expect a different perspective on technology from their employers. Generation Y views bringing their own devices including hardware, software and apps as a “right”, embedding own preferred technologies into the workplace. In order to seamlessly adopt and facilitate this, organizations need to embrace the new way of working.

The talent gap cannot be filled by tapping external talent pools alone. Many organizations do not fully realize they already have a goldmine of talent in their organization. In times of scarcity, employees are the organization’s most precious possession. Therefore it is necessary to nurture and provide individual opportunities for good personal career perspectives. Only when organizations are willing to provide extensive personal development programs, they can achieve a competitive advantage. The new generation not only thrives in taking matters into their own hands, but also thrive in developing new sets of skills and knowledge.

Technology plays an increasingly important role in talent management. It enables organizations to set, target and monitor goals, feedback, skills, preferences and ambitions. Furthermore, with these tools and information it is easier to develop skills in line with organizational priorities. Although many organizations still find these developments challenging, I am convinced that an innovative approach which includes technology solutions enables us to attract and retain potential talent to fill the talent gap. This way the best talents can continue working on the progress of our beautiful country, the Netherlands.

This article has been published in ICT Update, 31 December 2012.

Differentiating in workforces is therefore not without consequences. Differentiation is however something that is desired by employees, as for instance can be seen in their desire for individualizing parts of their employment relationship (eg. adjusting their employment relationship to fit the individual in terms of content, scope, training needs, way of working, flexibility in working hours and location). Allowing this kind of differentiation between employees should be handled carefully, but has a huge potential in engaging and retaining (talented) employees.

Idiosyncratic deals
A way for organizations to meet this desire for differentiation of  individualization is by negotiating i-deals (idiosyncratic deals) with employees. The idea behind these i-deals is that they are beneficial for both parties engaged, employer and employee. I-deals can be used to bind employees to your organization, which often is a hard to reach objective within organizations. I-deals might therefore be a powerful talent management tool. Research confirms that a majority of highly educated employees expects to arrange an i-deal with their employer. A less well explored area of research is the effect of i-deals on other employees within the organization, for instance in terms of experienced fairness.

In this article Vera van Zijderveld and I present the results of an academic study done by Accenture and Tilburg University towards i-deals in the context of talent management. Results are based on data gathered in 2010/2011 within six large internationally focused organizations in the Netherlands (>1200 FTE). Participating organizations were asked to provide a sample of minimally 200 employees, consisting of 100 employees considered as talent and 100 other employees. Employees of both samples were asked to fill out an identical questionnaire, which lead to a sample of 642 respondents (310 talents, 332 other employees).

• The results of the study show that i-deals focused on development and benefits are significantly more often negotiated by talents than by other employees. Although these talents are already part of specific talent development programs, they still have more often an i-deal  in this area than other employees. Apparently there is a need for individualizing Talent Management development practices towards the specific interests of an individual. A suggestion for organizations is to lower the investments in standard Talent Management practices and to provide more room for individuals to make arrangements with the organization on the way to fulfill their specific individual development needs.
• The results show that it is important to pay attention to fairness in the context of i-deals. Employees who have negotiated an i-deal find their own i-deal significantly more fair than the i-deals of colleagues. This raises questions on how to cope with this trend of individualization in your organization and the (undesired or desired) effects of talent differentiation on fairness. It requires for instance that managers are able/ have the capability to decide when to agree on an i-deal with employee; that the reasons for granting i-deals can be clearly explained to other employees in the organization; that individualization becomes part of the culture of the organization.

The publication has been released on June 19th 2012 in Tijdschrift voor HRM (Van Vliet uitgevers). Please find the complete publication here (in Dutch).

According to The Wall Street Journal, insurance ranks 97th out of the 100 least-attractive industries for college graduates to enter. In addition, 50 percent of the current workforce will retire in the next ten years and retention rates are about 15 percent after four years. This implies that the pool of current college graduates can only replace half of the workforce set to retire. Therefore, insurers must transform their human capital strategy  to be able to achieve high performance in this challenging environment. Three aspects of the human capital strategy are critical in facing this challenge: retaining top performers, recruiting top talent, and providing an operating model in which talent can thrive.

Retaining the best
Keeping the best members of the workforce requires a transformation in how insurers manage ability, motivation, processes and tools. Insurers must ensure that employees have the right skills and knowledge to be effective, and are rewarded for their high performance.  They must develop talent and learning programs that are targeted to individual needs. One size fits all is no longer effective to retain the best performers.  Simply stated, educating, motivating and supporting the workforce can help insurers retain the competencies that drive business results.

Recruiting the most promising
Insurers need to attract talent that can build relationships, solve problems, cooperate with others, and deliver differentiated services. This requires clear, consistent communication about the employment opportunities that resonate with their potential pool of recruits. For instance, to recruit Millennials communication should include information related to their preferences for the use of cutting-edge technologies and flexible work schedules. And insurers need to tailor these messages for each recruiting channel they utilize, whether it is professional recruiters or campus recruiting.

Creating structures where talent can thrive
Leading insurance companies increasingly realize that they must integrate their people, processes, information and technology to create more effective operating models. To unlock human value in today’s insurance industry they must provide hard-won employees with an environment in which they can thrive. Unfortunately, insurers’ predominant organizational structures often are insufficient to achieve this goal.

New technologies are making it possible for insurers to truly transform sales, and many are making technology investments in their distribution models. Insurers also can, for instance, benefit from consolidating and facilitating easier access to enterprise data, and using analytics to manage their business more effectively.  New workload balance models and operations management can support an excellent execution. The ultimate goal is to enable the workforce to deliver optimal business value.

By developing a human capital strategy that is firing on all cylinders through viable retention tactics, enhancing recruiting practices and creating efficient operating models, insurers can position their organization for success and for gains in market share when the economy improves. By investing in these three critical aspects around their workforces, today’s insurers can power through the gathering talent storm and make solid headway toward high performance.

Dit artikel is afkomstig uit de april editie van Informatie: maandblad voor de informatievoorziening.
Informatie, April 2012

Het is tegenwoordig voor bijna elke professional mogelijk om plaats- en tijd onafhankelijk te werken. Het Nieuwe Werken dus. Dit zorgt er onder meer voor dat talentvolle, hoogopgeleide ouders (met name moeders) werk en privé beter kunnen combineren. Dit komt niet alleen henzelf ten goede, maar ook de economie in zijn geheel. Bovendien helpt het ons bij de aanpak van de naderende vergrijzing. De komende jaren zullen zich immers kenmerken door een grote uitstroom van oudere werknemers.

Als werkgever vind ik het van groot belang om mee te denken over hoe we het enorme potentieel dat we in Nederland hebben, zo goed mogelijk bereiken en benutten. Dan heb ik het niet alleen over het feit dat bedrijven hun huidige talent intensief en individueel moeten begeleiden en helpen ontwikkelen. Maar het gaat met name over de bereidheid om de aloude ‘werkweek’ aan te passen. De huidige, nog steeds meest gangbare werkweek – vijf dagen, acht uur per dag – is een constructie die stamt uit 1953. In die tijd voldeed deze structuur prima. De tijden zijn sindsdien echter enorm veranderd. Het eenverdienersmodel, waarin de man fulltime werkt en de vrouw voor de kinderen zorgt, gaat tegenwoordig veelal niet meer op. Bovendien woonden we vroeger doorgaans dichter bij ons werk en was het fenomeen file nog niet een dagelijkse realiteit. Ook hadden we nog geen beschikking over een pc of laptop op ons werk, laat staan over allerlei andere mobiele communicatiemiddelen.

Maar als er zoveel is veranderd, waarom houdt een overgrote meerderheid van de werkgevers dan zo klassiek vast aan een werkweek van vijf keer acht? Moderne werknemers kunnen en willen niet meer van negen tot vijf op kantoor zitten. Niet alleen vrouwen vragen om andere werktijden, maar ook de nieuwe generatie Y. Zij willen meer invloed op de balans tussen werk en privé. En de vrijheid om duidelijk gestelde doelen op een alternatieve manier, en op andere tijden te halen. Ook in managementfuncties, waarvan veelal wordt gedacht dat die echt op de “kantoorlocatie” vervuld moeten worden, kan veel vaker dan mogelijk wordt geacht op afstand gewerkt worden. Als werkgever moeten we alleen wel bereid zijn die verantwoordelijkheid op ons te nemen. En wel door te sturen en managen op basis van vertrouwen, in plaats van op controle.

Werkgeverschap 2.0 dus. ICT maakt het mogelijk om die rol te vervullen. Het kabinet heeft arbeidsparticipatie hoog op de agenda heeft staan: Waar wachten we nog op?

Door Anja Montijn-Groenewoud, Managing Director Accenture Nederland

By visiting children in hospitals, schools and at home, and using a crystal as an illustrative tool (let the sun shine through it – and a real rainbow appears), the foundation reminds children that it is not their illness that defines them, but the princess or superhero they dream to be. Inside each one of them lies true beauty and greatness.

Do you know that there is a great business case for talent management? High investment in Talent Management practices leads to 30% higher fulfillment of the Psychological Contract, 20% higher commitment and 19% lower turnover intentions.

Talent Management is the capability to create and continuously optimize the talent resources needed to execute a business strategy. Research shows that Talent Management receives minimal attention within organizations (e.g. Accenture’s High Performance Work Study 2010). Investments are low and organizations find it often unclear how to best design Talent Management, what practices are most effective and by what talented employees are driven.

Yearly Accenture and Tilburg University perform a academic based study within large organizations in order to gain more insight into the effects of Talent Management and into what talents desire in their employment relationship. This week’s Round Table on the 3rd of May featured 26 attendees, Representing 22 multinationals, including HR Directors and Talent Managers recognized for mastery in their fields of expertise. The Round Table was organized because the results of last year’s Talent Management study reveals interesting insights into what organizations need to know about attracting and retaining top-notch Talent: the effects of  Individualizing your Employment Relationship.

The afternoon started with a brief introduction of all attendees and a discussion about what their concerns about Talent Management are at the moment. All agreed when said that the main concern faced is the challenge to attract, develop and retain the right talents and employees in your organization. Other concerns mentioned were “the expected tightness in the labor market”, “how to locate and identify talents”, “when to include (or exclude) talents into the Talent Program”, “new expectations and behavior of the NetGen” and “how to make Talent Management an important issue in the boardroom”.

With revealing presentations of AdJan Brouwer (Accenture), dr. Mariëlle Sonnenberg (Accenture & Tilburg University) and Lia Belilos (VP HR BeNeFrux of Shell) on how your organization can differentiate from other organizations and concepts like ‘Idiosyncratic deals’, ‘New way of working’ and ‘Psychological Contract unreplicability’, insight was gained into the latest shift in employees’ desires of individualization of the employment relationship and the effects on attitudes and behaviors of employees. Also the effects of these themes of the design of Talent Management in a large global organization as Shell and subsequent best practices were discussed.

Talent‐powered organisations anticipate and take advantage of the rapidly changing talent landscape shaped by sustained worldwide growth, the rise of new economic sectors, and the increasing role of human capital in creating value for organisations. The idea of talent as the force that powers companies is taking centre stage. The essence of Talent Management is to offer High Potentials the right challenges with the needed support at the right moment. Support and especially challenge is what you should try to offer, so that they can grow even more than they imagined. Without the people, you cannot succeed, and people are emerging as the prime source of value, sustainability and innovation.

For further information about Talent Management, please have a look at our published research report or contact:

Mariëlle Sonnenberg
Senior Manager
Talent & Organizational Performance
marielle.sonnenberg@accenture.com

AdJan Brouwer
Senior Executive
Talent & Organizational Performance
ad.jan.brouwer@accenture.com

In this era of uncertainty, trust is an important, but sometime still undervalued, asset for understanding how your business can achieve high performance. At a time when trust in business has suffered significant damage, Accenture outlines the issues and recommends a concrete strategy for building, measuring and improving an organization’s trustworthiness in a new study that Accenture has launched, titled: “Trust: Managing the scarcest commodity of all for high performance”.

The study highlights how business leaders can create shared value and reurn on investment for companies and stakeholders by managing trust as core business across the enterprise. It uncovers the key building blocks of trust, among which:

• Product/service quality, reliability and innovation
• Marketing and pricing
• Manufacturing and supply
• Compliance and ethics
• Customer communications and service
• Environment, health and safety
• People and the workplace
• Country and community investment

What focus the company’s efforts take can vary by industry. For the banking sector, in the wake of the financial
crisis, transparency might be the most important driver in rebuilding trust with its key stakeholders.

You can download the entire report, and more information about managing trust in your organization here:

https://microsite.accenture.com/sustainability/research_and_insights/Pages/Trust-Managing-the-Scarcest-Commodity-of-All.aspx