Administrator ' s Corner
ARE YOU PRAYING FOR TALENT OR PLAYING FOR TALENT ?
By Murad S . Mirza
Effective Talent Management has increasingly become an indispensable competitive advantage and the survival of educational organizations , is critically staked on their ability to attract , develop , engage and retain desired talent by indulging in robust strategic and tactical initiatives that are geared towards the healthy replenishment of the talent pipeline . It is no secret that attracting talented educators to the Middle East has become a real concern for private and public schools .
The following simple analytical tool has been created to assess the key strategic focus of an organization seeking to attract , develop , engage and retain desired talent within its ranks . This will enable / facilitate the creation and application of the most appropriate corrective / preventive actions for refining / improving the existing Talent Management strategies / initiatives .
Praying for Talent
This refers to the talent strategy or tactical initiative that is reactive in nature . It is generally characterized by pressurized moves , laborious actions and wistful thinking that frequently results in the accommodation of less than desirable / whatever is available / forced to accept workforce . Such negative measures are later magnified by incurring huge costs in multiple ways , e . g .:
• Recurring Training and Development
• Embarrassing Product / Service Failures
• Inevitably Increased Testing and Appraisal
• Stinging Client / Customer Compensation
• Painfully High Attrition Rates
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• Unforgiving Regulatory penalties
• Sullied Organizational Reputation
• Low students ’ performance results
Playing for Talent
This refers to the talent strategy or tactical initiative that is proactive in nature . It is generally characterized by calculated moves , insightful actions and progressive thinking that frequently results in the accommodation of desirable / delightful / deserving workforce . Such positive measures are later rewarded by relishing huge savings in multiple ways , e . g .:
• Optimum Training and Development
• Rare Failures
• Reduced Testing and Appraisal
• Increased Client / Customer Appreciation
• Pleasantly Low Attrition Rates
• Regulatory Adherence Champion
• Envied Organizational Reputation
• Better students ’ results
Questionnaire for Talent Management Introspection
1 . Do you have an enlightened senior management that prioritizes talent management ( TM )?
2 . Do you have a suitably qualified person leading the TM function ?
3 . Do you have a defined TM strategy that has been thoroughly reviewed and unequivocally approved / embraced by the senior management ?
4 . Do you have a defined tactical plan for TM that has been thoroughly reviewed and unequivocally approved / embraced by the key stakeholders ?
5 . Do you have enough time to deploy the tactical plan for TM ?
6 . Do you have enough resources to enable deployment of the tactical plan for TM ?
7 . Do you have enough intelligence on the competitors for effective response / counter actions to ' talent cannibalization ' moves ?
8 . Do you fulfill the applicable regulatory requirements for TM ?
9 . Do you conduct timely strategic and tactical reviews on TM ?
10 . Do you take timely and effective corrective / preventive actions pertaining to TM ?
11 . Do you have a good reputation in the talent market with respect to the triple bottom line ( http :// en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Triple _ bottom _ line )?
12 . Do you have a distinct recognition as a ‘ Desirable Employer ’ school or brand ?
Result Tabulation
Sr . Response Answers Assessment
1 . ‘ No ’ to any of the first six questions Praying for Talent
2 . ‘ Yes ’ to the first six questions and ‘ No ’ to any of the last six questions Prone to Praying for Talent
3 . ‘ Yes ’ to all twelve questions Playing for Talent
Food for Thought
The best way of ensuring success in the ‘ War for Talent ’ especially teaching talent , is by taking efficient and effective measures early , to ensure talent management in your educational organization is a top priority .
Murad Salman Mirza is an innovative thinker and an astute practitioner in areas within and associated with the fields of Organizational Development , Talent Management and Business Transformation . His LinkedIn profile can be viewed at : https :// www . linkedin . com / in / muradsalmanmirza /