27-10-09 Acerta's first Talent Conference – Belgacom Surf House, 2 October
Talent management should be every employee’s business
Brussels, 2 October 2009: “On paper, it seemed as though it would be a completely different sort of conference to what we are used to. In practice, this promise has been upheld. It was entertaining and extremely interesting,” and even: “The morning flew by. That says it all.” These two reactions from conference participants show that Acerta has been successful in planning its first Talent Conference. Its innovative approach and solid content meant that participants left the conference inspired and with different points of action to consider.
- We are in a crisis, so now's the time
- No HR management without people management
- Lessons to be drawn from the art world
- There's no lack of talent
“Talent management is not a matter for top talent alone,” said Geert Volders, general director of Acerta Consult, in his introduction. Volders comes back to what prompted Acerta's interest in Talent in each company by means of a short film about Tia Hellebaut. “Two years ago at the start of this collaboration, Tia Hellebaut's story corresponded perfectly with Acerta's philosophy on talent. This athlete helped us all realise that raising the bar by five centimetres can only be done if the person to clear it is concentrating one hundred per cent on her goal. Tia's story illustrated that a person's strength is the basis of their success. Today, we want to emphasise the fact that this principle of strength applies to each employee. To this end, we have carried out a survey together with the Catholic University of Leuven that is targeted at all employees. The fact that 6,200 people responded to our call also shows that it concerns employees.”
We are in a crisis, so now's the time
Luc Sels, professor and dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, began his presentation of the survey by highlighting that the crisis is still prevalent, a fact that illustrates the very importance of such a survey to employees: “The ageing of the population continues to threaten the demographic pyramid; key roles do not suffer from the crisis; and meanwhile companies still want to attract the best people and remain concerned about their image on the labour market. For these reasons, a survey such as the one undertaken today – which is the only one of its kind – shows that talent management is an essential part of HR strategy.”
Professor Sels, like any academic worthy of the name, did not take part in the semantic discussion over the exact meaning of the term 'talent management' but took a clear stance regarding its meaning in the strictest sense: “Talent management still appears too much like its precursor, so-called 'succession planning'. The survey shows, however, that coaching and – above all – monitoring each employee within a company clearly influences aspects such as affiliation with the company, the right evaluation of over- and under-exploitation and, above all, of staff turnover.” The figure of 43.6 per cent seems all the more poignant: this is the number of employees that felt their talents were not fully exploited within their company.
No HR management without people management
As the responsibility for good talent management does not lie with HR alone, the survey also focused on the role played by the three main stakeholders: the head of the company (CEO and HRM), the direct managers (the 'line managers'), and the employees themselves. In the debate that interrupted Luc Sels' threefold presentation, these different stakeholders were also represented. Saskia Vanuffelen (CEO of Bull) spoke as a CEO; Murielle Haniken (Electrabel) and Marc De Durpel (National Pension Office) represented HR; Paul De Schepper spoke on behalf of Acerta; Stijn Kolacny (Scala) defended the artistic point of view; and Ed Goris, head of tourism for the Flemish Brabant province, spoke for line managers. At the end of the panel discussion and the day as a whole, it was seen that the line manager was the hero of the day. This argument for a line is surely 'keep your feet on the ground'. Line managers must deal creatively with the administrative processes set up by HR. In practice, for Mr Goris for example, this means that employees themselves must draw up their own annual schedules, objectives and evaluations.
The case of Exki, the quality, healthy fast-food chain, also showed the importance of line managers. General director Laurent Kahn said that his company did not have an overall HR manager, but left HR responsibilities to restaurant managers.
Lessons to be drawn from the art world
Given that the word 'talent' has a much clearer meaning in the artistic world, Acerta had opted for a metaphor from the art world. Thus the Kolacny brothers explained how an idea for pop songs sung by a local girls’ choir developed into global success and the two brothers (originally pianists) were forced to organise themselves. “It is important that we use each other's strengths and compensate for each other's weaknesses,” said Steven Kolacny. “Therefore we only collaborate with independent people and people that believe in us and are better than us.” Stijn Kolacny also said that Scala's website is now run by someone that previously ran a fan website: “We saw that his website was much better than the official Scala site and we asked him to work for us.”
Similarly, Gunther Broucke, general manager of the Brussels Philharmonic, captured the audience with a tale about a dying Flemish radio orchestra that was saved by new management: a Golden Globe for the soundtrack to 'The Aviator', a new name and a new rehearsal room enabled the musicians that had been barely motivated before to suddenly take heart once more, rediscover their self-confidence and give their utmost for the good of the whole.
There's no lack of talent
As though agreed beforehand, the conclusion by Bruno Segers, CEO of Real Dolmen, followed the same thread as that of Gunther Broucke: “The fact that our Red Devils are not playing well at present is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of management,” he said. “I find it shocking that Acerta's survey showed that 61 per cent of employees have never had a career talk. I think it's serious if an HR manager is not present on the board of directors. It's even more serious if the same HR manager has to report to his CFO and it's quite simply scandalous if a CFO carries out HRM duties.” Segers called on the audience to hold talks with all employees as from Monday, an open discussion held in private, with a view to asking the following four questions: What do you want to do? What do want to achieve? How do you intend to do this and what do we need to do to help you reach your goals?
Not everyone will have undertaken this task, but one thing is certain: Acerta's first Talent Conference gave rise to concrete tips and plenty of food for thought.
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