Managing Talent Retention

Using Scorecards to Assess a Program’s Impact on Individual and Organizational Performance

In the past, training and development activities were assumed to work.  Reporting was focused on a number of participants in attendance, number or programs offered, and reaction and satisfaction data.  Today, things have changed.  There is a need to develop key talent so that their performance is reflected in bottom-line outcomes as well as other intangible measures.   Programs must be linked to business strategy and there are greater expectations to provide a comprehensive approach to measurement and evaluation. 

 

Much of this change is reflected in the way top performing organizations run their talent management function.  For example, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) has tracked the characteristics of the BEST, Award-winning organizations since 2003.  Award-winning companies are identified by their previous year’s financial and operational data such customer satisfaction, quality of products and services, cycle time, productivity, retention, revenue, and overall profitability.  The 2009 BEST Award winners continued to validate the same eight characteristics as identified in 2003, which include clearly defined processes to link learning strategies and initiatives to increases in both individual and organizational performance.  Additionally, the BEST organizations indicated that they used a balanced scorecard to assess learning’s impact on individual and organizational performance metrics by gauging key performance indicators or performance objectives (ASTD, 2009).

 

A scorecard is an effective way to provide critical information to client groups, including senior executives.  The scorecard also provides a useful way for talent management staff to track success and ensure their approach is focused on the key objectives of the business.  

Who Cares About Learning Data?

While there are many stakeholders, there are two primary groups: consumers and clients.  Consumers are the individuals who participate in the program; clients are those who fund, support, request, or approve programs.  Both groups have a vested interest in the scorecard and a recent survey shows that 22 percent of CEOs say they have a learning scorecard (Phillips and Phillips, 2010). 

 

To ensure that programs are effective, the talent management staff must have feedback in the form of data from the consumers of the programs.  Not only do they need to know to what extent the participants believed in the program, but they must also know that the participants learned new information and applied that new knowledge to their work situation.  Ideally, the talent management staff must also understand which programs are making an impact to the business and to what degree. Finally, talent management staff should gain insight on the return on investment (ROI) of the programs.  All of this data combined gives the talent management team important information they can use to develop, refine, and improve their approach.

 

The client group is interested in knowing how participants changed their behavior, the business impact of those behaviors, and the resulting ROI of the program for the organization.  They are also interested in knowing that there is a clear linkage between what the business needs and the program outcomes.  More often, senior executives are looking to see actual return on investment to ensure the programs have an important payoff for the organization. 

 

The needs of both the consumer group as well as the client group can be met through a scorecard.  Collectively, the needs from these different target groups create a demand for a measurement system that will collect, distribute, and interpret the necessary data on a routine basis.

Measurement: Crucial for Today’s Talent Management Professionals

The 2008 global financial crisis forced many organizations to re-think the way they manage and develop talent.  After organizations responded to the initial crisis by making significant cost and headcount reductions, many talent management professionals scrambled to demonstrate the value of talent management related programs to the organization.  More importantly, executives recognized the urgent need to quickly innovate after cutting costs in order to retain market share and speed ahead of the competition.  The role of the talent management professional emerged as an important piece in the organization’s ability to survive the recession and thrive beyond the crisis to succeed in the future.  Talent management professionals continue to be faced with a challenge to demonstrate the monetary value of talent development investments targeted to the right people, at the right time, and for the right reasons.  The key to success is in measurement.  Without measurement, talent management professionals are at risk of failing to demonstrate value. 

 

For example, consider the OD leader of a large healthcare provider whose entire team was eliminated because the leadership was unable to see the contribution the work of this team made to its competitive advantage or the bottom-line.  Or, think about the training leader of a regional non-profit whose role and team were under consideration for elimination because the head of the organization had no data about how the work of this team made a difference to the operational efficiency of the organization.  The ability to demonstrate the value the talent management team makes has never been more critical than it is now.

Call for Talent Retention Case Studies

With the pressure for organizations to increase revenues, gain market share, reduce costs and improve profit margins, one of the greatest variables for success is the talent within the organizations. This increased pressure requires that HR professionals deliver specific solutions that produce results and ensure value is created. This is particularly important for expensive, high-profile, and highly visible (even controversial) talent retention programs. Value must be expressed in terms that top administrators and executives understand. Today, this means impact, sometimes monetary value and intangible benefits, and, yes, the financial return on investment.

 

While Managing Talent Retention: An ROI Approach provides a framework for measuring the impact of talent retention programs or initiatives, it is often helpful for organizations to have examples of how others have accomplished this to provide them with additional tips or inspiration.  Because of this we are currently working to create Managing Talent Retention in Action: A Collection of Case Studies, a book which will outline several successfully implemented talent retention initiatives or programs.

 

Publishing a case study in Managing Talent Retention in Action: A Collection of Case Studies is an excellent way to show the great work of many HR professionals. It provides recognition and respect to the important and valuable retention projects. It is also a great way to recognize those individuals who make the difference in designing, developing, implementing and supporting retention solutions.

 

If you would like to submit a case study for publication in this upcoming book or for more information about what is required, please view the Call for Talent Retention Case Studies Submission Form.