The LHH/DBM Talent Management Blog

A surprisingly large number of organisations still see the unpleasant task of downsizing as an ad hoc and disruptive event for their business.

In a business world that is in a constant state of flux, changes in your workforce are inevitable and a constant feature of corporate life. Therefore workforce reduction should be a carefully planned, ongoing business process and form part of your wider approach to career transition. It sounds simple enough, but many businesses make the mistake of allowing it to become a disruptive event without a clear protocol.

To ensure the best outcome, a business needs to continually assess their state of readiness and be prepared. That way they can minimize disruption and maximize results. After all, the effects of reductions in your workforce extend not only to those being let go, but also those being retained.

There are a number of aspects to the downsizing process that every business, small or large, should take into consideration:

There are a number of problems leaders face when it comes to transferring their skills and experience.

LHH and  the Human Capital Institute gathered data as part of a research study from over 400 companies across the globe.

Here's what they found:

• Senior leaders struggle with a lack of time to spend developing others
• Most leaders are not held accountable for teaching or coaching their employees
• Many leaders do not have the proper skills or information necessary to be effective mentors or coaches
• Many organizations lack the appropriate infrastructure and access to information that leaders need in order to effectively participate in development activities
• Many organizations have an unclear or inconsistent leadership development philosophy that does not properly support and promote a “Leaders Developing Leaders” program

As we reach the one year anniversary of the terrible floods in Queensland it's timely to remember how important it is for companies to prepare for potential disasters.

Many organizations have developed disaster preparedness plans. They have invested heavily in protecting infrastructure like buildings, IT and financial systems – areas which have historically been the main focus of these plans. However, when it comes to protecting their greatest asset – their employees – their human capital, some company's leadership struggle to determine an appropriate plan.

Today's post is taken from the Best Practice Conversation Series, where we aim to share valuable insight gained from industry experts. To start us off, Christine DiDonato, Director of Talent and Organisational Development at Sony Electronics' Human Resources division, has so kindly allowed us to pry her mind on the link between leadership, core values and change management.

Today we are “in conversation with” two of our Lee Hecht Harrison colleagues - Bruce Anderson, MD A/NZ and Dr Travis Kemp, Head of Leadership and Coaching. Prior to its acquisition by Lee Hecht Harrison, Travis was the Managing Director & Chief Psychologist of corporate performance psychology firm The Teleran Group.

We managed to grab some of Bruce’s and Travis’ precious time to pick their brains on the topic of trends in leadership in Australia and New Zealand.

In a new joint research study between The Human Capital Institute - The Global Association for Strategic Talent Managementand and LHH, the number one way organisations can really "move the needle" with regards to employee engagement is by investing in career development. Its is shown to be the most effective and affordable weapon in the HR team's arsenal.

Now we are offering you the opportunity to download this complementary research report, "Connecting the Dots: Comprehensive Career Development as a Catalyst for Employee Engagement."

Among the numerous challenges facing leadership today is the need to develop leaders at all levels of the organisation. It should be the most serious of commitments by any leader, as good leadership development produces leaders who can coach, mentor and develop other upcoming leaders in the organisations.

Over time, poor leadership may have as great an impact on the organization’s success or failure as a recession. Today’s leaders must simultaneously lead change, develop talent, address complex issues rapidly, and prepare for a different kind of future, all during an extended economic downturn.

Lets take a break from the relentless talk of recession, debt crises and layoffs and focus instead on what has been shown to generate real long term growth and stability for organisations - Innovation.

"Imagine if every corner of your organization was pulsing with radical, rule-breaking concepts for new products, providing you with a continuous flow of innovations to delight your customers, confound your competitors, and richly reward your shareholders. Imagine you could go online 24/7 and get a comprehensive, real-time window on your company’s global innovation activities. And imagine if every single one of your employees everywhere were trained in the principles, skills, and tools of innovation so they could generate novel ideas. Well, stop imagining. At some of the world’s leading companies, this is really happening — in organizations like GE, P&G, IBM, Whirlpool, and W. L. Gore, just to name a few. They’ve turned innovation into a core competence. Most senior executives say they get the message, yet very few have managed to pull it off."

— Innovation to the Core by Skarzynsky & Gibson

Almost anyone working in Human Resources can tell you that, in times of economic uncertainty, human capital development programs are often among the first budget casualties. But before you slash the budget stop and consider this. Successful organisations do not question their investments in leadership development during periods of recession. They recognise that having strong leaders at all levels is always important, especially when organisations are struggling in the midst of turbulent economic times.

Are You Getting the Most From Your Generation Y Staff?

Opinionated, headstrong and always questioning the status quo are words frequently used to describe Generation Y. While they have other traits that make them invaluable employees, managers who don’t find ways to rein this youthful enthusiasm will be faced with unproductive teams where dissension rules. However, there are strategies that you can use to turn Gen-Yers into the powerhouses that they are.