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Workforce of OneRevolutionizing Talent Management through Customization
Susan M. Cantrell
Personalizing Talent Management and the Mass Customization of People Practices
CHO Group SessionJanuary 12, 2011
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Workforce of One
Following on the success of six books written by Accenture authors with the C-suite in mind….
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2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2010
….
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Workforce of One
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• Workforce of One: Revolutionizing Talent Management through Customization
• A joint research and writing effort between Accenture’s Talent & Organization Performance service line and the Accenture Institute for High Performance
• Publication date: May 4th, 2010
• Published by Harvard Business Press
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Hello, John Doe. We have recommendations for you.
EducationProducts and Services
Marketing SupplyChain
CustomerService
Web 2.0 Medicine
The power of customization
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Customization has revolutionized entire fields of human endeavor – it is now the age of “granularity” and the individual
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Why then can’t customization revolutionize talent management too?
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Instead of treating a workforce as a single monolithic entity….
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Why not treat each and every employee as a “workforce of one”?
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The case of Helen and Jill
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Yet Different:•Goals•Learning Styles•Work Styles•Job Activities•Career Plans•Skills•Motivations•Needs
Same:•Nationality•Gender•Job Titles•Performance
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But customization isn’t just good for individuals – it’s good for organizations too
Companies we call workforce of one pioneers have greatly benefited from a customized talent management approach
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Business benefits can be achieved through customization for both customers and employees
Benefits of customer customization Benefits of employee customization
Increased revenues Increased workforce performance & productivity
Improved customer satisfaction Improved employee engagement
Attract & acquire the most profitable customers Attract & hire the most talented employees
More effective use of marketing resources More effective use of HR resources
Flexibly respond to changing consumer tastes Flexibly respond to changing employee tastes
Create a competitive customer advantage Create a competitive talent advantage
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A look at the data…improved business results start with improved employee performance
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My performance would improve at an organization where the following are customized:
Workforce of One Survey, 2008 n=557
When I work
Where I work
My benefits
My compensation
My incentives
My performance appraisal
My learning
My career path
My job responsibilities
My organization's recruiting approach
My organization’s hiring decisions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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I would be attracted to and more likely to remain at an organization where the following are customized:
Customization also helps organizationsattract and retain the best talent
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
When I work
Where I work
My benefits
My compensation
My incentives
My performance appraisal
My learning
My career path
My job responsibilities
My organization's recruiting approach
My organization’s hiring decisions
Workforce of One Survey, 2008 n=557
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My organization’s human resources practices are highly relevant
The human resources department significantly supports and improves my performance at work
Yet few employees believe their organization provides relevant, tailored HR practices
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strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree
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It’s time to rethink our game plan
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Catalysts for customization
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Technology now enables customization
Employees are customers too
Knowledge work is changing HR fundamentally
The C-Suite now cares about workforce performance
Competition for talent will only get tougher
Today’s workforce is getting increasingly diverse
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Workforce of One
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Workforce of One is about
• Scalability, control and manageability
• Meeting the needs of the business AND employees
• Extending the diversity paradigm• Capitalizing on standardization
work already done
Workforce of One is not about
• Free agents • Empowerment• Customizing for critical workers
or knowledge workers only • One-off arrangements that are
difficult to scale and manage
But how can we practically customize without devolving into chaos?
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“If companies can figure out a way to acknowledge and respect the uniqueness of each person – and then figure out how to do that in a reliable and scalable way – we will make an enormous impact on individual employees’ success and on our companies’ collective success. The paradox is that we need to establish a norm that is itself abnormal.”
– Joe Kalkman, Leader of HR Centers of Excellence, Best Buy
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The four workforce of one customization approaches
Segment the workforce
Offer modular choices
Define broad and simple rules
Foster employee-defined personalization
HR creates
HR creates
HR creates
HR supports
A variety of practices
A variety of options
A broad and simple rule with clear boundaries which can be interpreted in a variety of ways by each individual
Individuals in defining their own personalized people practices
from which all individuals can choose
customized for specific groups of individuals
Group A
Group B
Group C
HR-Driven customization(More control; Less customization)
Employee-driven customization(Less control; More customization)
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Approach #1: Segment the workforce
HR groups employees based on shared preferences or needs and tailors people practices to each group
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Segmentation for retail banking staff
BoardBoard
Premier Executives
Premier Executives
Other Executives
Other Executives
Branch Managers
Branch Managers
Admin / Sales
Admin / Sales
NEW ENTRIES
NEW ENTRIES LOW
PERFORMERS
LOW PERFORMERS PROGRESS POTENTIAL
PROGRESS POTENTIAL
EX
PE
RIE
NC
IED
HIR
ES
EX
PE
RIE
NC
IED
HIR
ES
NE
W H
IRE
SN
EW
HIR
ES
LOW
PE
RF
OR
ME
RS
LOW
PE
RF
OR
ME
RS STANDARD
PROGRESS
STANDARD PROGRESS
HIG
H P
OT
EN
TIA
LSH
IGH
PO
TE
NT
IALS
TA
LEN
T M
AP
TA
LEN
T M
AP
Spanish bank Banesto segments its employees just as it segments its customers
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Ways to segment
Healthy & Happy or Stressed & Burned Out?
or
Motivations
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Employee demographicGeneration, Life stage, Gender, Ethnicity, Education level
Employee relationship to the companyTenure in the organization, Professionalstage, Level, Employee vs. contractor
GeographyRegion, Country, City
Work rolesNature of work, Workforce, Profession
ValueHigh potential, High performing, Most critical, Most sought after
PersonalityLearning or thinking style, Relationship or networking style, Strengths
Health Mental health, Physical health
Values and behaviorEngagement, Meaning and value of work, Most likely to leave, Mobility
Intended hires As a segment by itself, By any segmentation scheme described above
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Approach #2: Offer modular choices
HR creates a list of predefined, limited choices from which individuals can choose based on what suits their needs and preferences best
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Ways to offer modular choices
Learning Style
Choice in job activities
JOB
LearningModular chunks to be configured at will, Choices in learning channels
PlaceOffice/Home/Satellite Center/The Road, Menu of choice places in the office
Work activitiesDisaggregation into small modular tasks, Menu of optional assignments
Rewards/RecognitionMenu of choices
Performance appraisalsAssessment criteria options
CompensationMenu of choices
BenefitsCafeteria benefits plans, Build-your-own health plans, Total rewards plans
TimeSchedule, Career break, or Pace of promotion option
Career developmentDual career paths, Next job choices, Choice of starting over on a new path
TechnologyMenu of choices
Choice in learning
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JOB
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Approach #3: Define broad and simple rules
HR creates a broad and simple rule with clear boundaries so that it can be flexibly interpreted in a variety of ways
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Narrow rule
Broad rule
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Types of boundaries for broad and simple rules
Defined guard rails keep broad and simple rules a controlled approach
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• Results or outcome boundaries
• Strategic boundaries
• Values-based boundaries
• Time or money boundaries
• Abilities boundaries
• Organizational scope boundaries
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Ways to make rules broad and simple Work place and time Define results, not time or place
Competency management Define competencies by values or outcomes
RewardsLet the manager allocate rewards
JobsBroadly define a job rather than by narrow tasks
Time off Define paid time off
Performance appraisalsCascade your performance goals
HiringHire the whole person
CompensationUse broadband pay schemes or broadly define pay by contribution to the business
Career developmentBroadly define career trajectories and base promotions on contribution
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Broadly define a job
Mold the job to fit the person’s passions/ strengths
Instead of molding the person to fit the job…
Define results, not time or place
Working anywhere, anytime… …frees people from the time clock
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Approach #4: Foster employee-defined personalization
HR supports individuals in defining their own personalized people practices
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Ways to foster employee-defined personalization
Bottom-up career path profiling
TimeShift trading, Paid time off donations
Learning and innovationP2P learning, knowledge markets, social networks, experience-based learning, simulated games
Recruiting Employee referrals, social networks, relationship recruiting
HiringTry before you buy
CompensationJob auctions
Performance feedback & recognitionInformal feedback/praise from manager or P2P
WorkplaceWorkers define their environment
Mentoring & coachingTraditional and self-coaching technology
Jobs & careers• Bottom-up career path profiling• Employee-defined job titles• Open talent market and horizontal social networks• Job swapping and rotations
Peer-to-peer learning
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“We do what works for us; the same customization approach probably won’t work for everyone.”
– Charlie Bresler, former President of Men’s Wearhouse and Current VP of HR and Marketing
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Each workforce of one customization approach varies in key areas
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Segmentation
Modular choices
Broad and simple rules
Employee-defined personalization
Degree of customization
Ability to cope with change
Resources required(HR/Employees)Control
Perceived fairness
Low Very high
More/Less
More/Less
Less/More
Less/More
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Case studies of workforce of one in action
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Customization approachSegmentation
Modular choices
Broad and simple rules
Employee-defined personalization
The broad and simple rules plus employee-defined personalization model
The broad and simple rules only model
The four approach model
Low High
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Companies may choose different ways to customize but all will achieve benefits such as:
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Benefits of customizing talent management
…But no one ever said it would all be easy.
• employee engagement
• employee productivity
• reputation of being an employer of choice
• employee retention
• business results
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Workforce of One challenges and solutions
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Fairness Privacy
Control Alignment with Business Strategy
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Managing employees “my way” requires new skills and capabilities
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An analytic capability is needed
Analytics can develop insights into employees – and translate them into action and business results
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The human resources function may end up looking like the marketing function next door
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A look at the future of workforce of one
• Trends will grow stronger, pushing more organizations toward customization
• Customization will become easier to manage and implement
• Advances in customized work experiences today will become “hygiene factors” offered by everyone tomorrow
• The four workforce of one approaches won’t change, but the customization practices within each will
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Susan CantrellFellow, Accenture Institute for HighPerformance Business
[email protected]@gmail.com