personalizing talent management and the mass customization of people practices

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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

Copyright © 2010 Accenture All Rights Reserved.

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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Copyright © 2010 Accenture All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2010 Accenture All Rights Reserved.

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


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


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”?



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


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%


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


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


It’s time to rethink our game plan



Catalysts for customization

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3

4

5

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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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Workforce of One challenges and solutions

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Fairness Privacy

Control Alignment with Business Strategy


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