Identify, Retain & Refresh!
Four successful DSPs from around the world, Kay Kutt (Asian Tigers Mobility) as Moderator, along with panel members Rob Burns (IOR), Raman Narula (Formula Group), and Isabelle Premont (The Map Group and Board Member of EuRA), shared their views on what they have done in their organisations in regards to talent development. In a landscape where people are critical to their success each participant shared their views on how they ‘IDENTIFY’, ‘RETAIN’ and ‘REFRESH’ their human capital, with some insights on the unique factors of their locality’s labour market.
The panel first discussed how they ‘IDENTIFY’ the right talent while also embracing the financial investment and time that is required when hiring and onboarding new team members. The conversation then moved on to how they ‘RETAIN’ the talent once they’ve joined the team. Subsequently, and equally important, the final discussion topic centred around how they ‘REFRESH’ the talent. This topic covered not only the employees we have brought in to the organisation but also how we refresh ourselves as leaders.
Raman kicked off the discussion sharing how he ‘Identified’ the right type of people based on the qualities that he feels are important to his organisation. To Raman, personality traits and character are qualities that have proven successful for his group. Similarly, Isabelle shared her thoughts about the recruitment process and the importance of attitude while emphasising the importance of a cultural fit in for a dynamic workplace. Isabelle also highlighted the importance of a formal onboarding and training program.
As the panel moved on to discuss the retention of human capital Rob shared the 4 Key Pillars that IOR embraces to retain talent:
- Flexibility: flex-time and technology to support remote access work solutions
- Culture: importance of on-boarding to the job and company culture, company hosted social events and Summer Stress Relievers
- Opportunities for growth and development: Hiring from within; succession planning and the importance of company growth to provide new opportunities
- Competitive compensation and benefits: benchmark salary analysis each year vs. similar size companies plus internal employee satisfaction surveys
Raman discussed a simple to remember acronym: ‘H A P P Y’ – H = Higher Purpose, A = Appreciate; P = Pay Well, P = Progress and Y = You. Isabelle reminded everyone of the importance of strong values in conjunction with flexibility, leveraging IT tools and the use of part-time staffing options.
The heart of Isabelle’s strategy to retain and refresh talent is the value of empowering her team in a lean management structure. Isabelle invests in formal training as well as fun team activities in order to REFRESH the team and create stronger team bonds all of which helps further embrace the culture of the company. This drives long term engagement while empowering team members to lead from within. Rob reminded us all of the value of Personal / Professional Development Plans to align personal goals with the company mission. Rob allocates funding for industry certifications and training to ensure he keeps his talent performing at the highest professional levels which has also supported loyalty and tenure.
The panel closed out the session by sharing their insights in to the one area they each wished they had more resources in; the top challenge they each identified related to ‘I-R-R’ for their organisation as they grow their business and the ‘secret sauce’ for their group’s talent management successes.