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“Our
general manager is retiring at the end of the year and we just
don’t have anyone
internally who has the talent or is not planning to retire
within the next few years. We’ve been blessed
with loyalty and long-term employees but it has come to an
end. Our
heir-apparent just left the company. In fact, he ‘s taking
a year-long sabbatical to find a new career. I can’t believe it –
one step from the top and he quits “to find
himself”.”
This
dialogue is being repeated day after day. As today's
generation of top executives and middle managers retire or
contemplate second careers, there is a scarcity of talent
capable of filling the shoes of those who leave the
field.
What
has clearly happened is that there are quite a few deserving
employees but many are not qualified. They have managed their
specific areas very well, but few have the breadth, knowledge
and exposure beyond their department to allow them to climb
successfully to the next managerial or executive levels. The
pipeline of qualified successors to management and leadership
positions is commonly called bench strength (or management
depth assurance) and frankly the benches are empty.
Take
the very competent site manager who is promoted to regional
manager. He succeeded at the local level because he knew
“every inch of the plant.” If there was a
problem, he was right there to fix it. Now with multiple
sites to manage, several of which were recently acquired and
wrought with turnover and safety problems, he couldn’t be at
all three facilities at once. He was losing control
and his hands-on, approach just doesn’t work. Within six months on
the job, expenses rose, retention fell, more accidents
occurred, and he was intolerable to be around.
Finding,
training, and bringing along a pool of replacement talent is
something executives need to do in a hurry. Sure, there is lots of
talk - but little action. A
case in point: Only 15% of the executives surveyed by McKinsey
& Co. said improving the talent pool was a top
priority, even though 75% of those same executives said that
"a chronic shortage of talent" was one of the constraints on
their companies' growth.
But
how is building bench strenght done? What are, and will be,
the demands on managers and executives as personnel and
operations become increasingly complex? What qualities and
skills are important?
We
recommend a 3-step process called ACT. First identify the
essential Activities
of the job. Second, identify what Competencies
and skills are required to perform these activities well. Then
third, select the right Tools
and techniques to evaluate an individual’s proficiency at
these competencies.
For more information about ACT and building your
managerial and sales bench strength, click
here. Success Performance Solutions works with small
businesses as well as the Fortune 500 to provide convenient,
cost-effective solutions that quickly and effortlessly sifts
out unqualified candidates and matches, manages and motivates
employees.
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