From Alexander Bell’s telephone creation to Apple’s latest invention of iPhones and iPads, both Bell and Jobs were certain that collaboration of great talent drives innovation. This is particularly evident in the fast paced technological and telecommunications industries. For these companies, it is fundamental to focus on best practices to achieve success.
Alexander Bell was adamant that “great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds.” Similarly, Steve Jobs was a passionate leader and a great talent scout, finding people with passion for what they do and nurturing their talent. Bell and Jobs were two of the world’s greatest inventors, although they existed in different eras, they, essentially, achieved their success through similar beliefs and values. Neither of them took credit for their people’s outstanding ideas, yet both believed that by bringing a skilled team together into one cohesive unit, one would be able to create some of the world’s most renowned successes. Most successful organisations strive to drive success in their companies in the way that both Bell and Jobs did. The difference in achieving success is in the way we are able to manage and inspire people. A great leader has a distinguishing ability to recognise talent and bring people together to execute their vision. Far too often, managers settle for average candidates when recruiting, especially in industries where resources are scarce. The difference between recruiting top talent and recruiting the average individual undoubtedly has a significant impact on an organisation’s bottom line results. Notwithstanding the fact that skill is highly important, especially in technological industries, it is of fundamental importance to recognize and engage people who have a great passion for what they do. In most cases, individuals who do not love what they do will experience varying levels of failure, will typically not be collaborative and will rarely contribute to innovation and success.
Recruiting top talent has become increasingly challenging especially due to technological advances, pressure for growth, and the ability to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Moreover, as a result of aggressive demands, the need for highly skilled individuals has increased drastically. Several companies in various industries are often faced with the challenge of battling for top talent. Employers must set themselves apart and establish themselves as key choices for talent. This goes beyond ensuring salary scales are appropriate. People need to feel that they are paid for what they are worth, and despite the fact that recent studies have shown that the financial aspect is not a primary motivator for today’s workforce, financial incentives remain an important factor for each individual.
It is clear to many employers that today’s labour force value flexibility, work-life balance, recognition, employee involvement, empowerment and possibilities for continuous learning and development, together with dynamic career paths. A combination of these factors is the perfect technique for companies to attract and retain highly talented people.
Learning and development has become critical to employees and employers alike. On one hand, today’s workforce is enthusiastic about enhancing further their own learning and development opportunities and this aspect has become as important as the financial aspect of employees’ total compensation package. On the other hand, learning and development should be strategically aligned to the company’s vision, since it is only through continuous investment in learning and development that organisations can be a step ahead of their competitors. The uncertainty that lies with most employers is often related to not knowing who to invest in and whether to train all employees or focus only on high potential employees.
Learning and development programmes related to job specific skills, processes and product knowledge should be made available to all employees. Continuous technological change has led to a constant redefinition of the skills required by an organisation from all employees at all levels. Dealing successfully with this reality entails an investment in developing the capabilities of all team members who contribute in one way or another to the results of the organisation. Through this process, an organisation ensures that it is increasing the knowledge base of its greatest asset, its employees. It also establishes a connection between employees to better share their knowledge, experience and ideas, and most importantly eliminate single points of failure.
Development programmes that exclusively target high potentials can restrict organisations. Nevertheless, these types of programmes are particularly important to develop leadership and management skills throughout the ranks. In particular, it is crucial to identify top talent at different levels and who are potential successors. Supervisors, middle managers and senior managers must equip themselves with people management skills that will enable them to effectively discover, develop, deploy and drive talent. In addition, they need to understand the business, and how the different parts of it work together to create value. By developing their business and management skills, companies build a better talent pool to fill future leadership positions.
Keeping up with technological change requires strong leaders who will drive, inspire and manage change effectively. Many people may feel threatened by change, or will not have the capabilities to cope with transformation. Change requires very strong leadership attention. It requires the top leadership team to agree on the direction, and set the example for managers and employees throughout the company. Having an objective in mind, communicating your vision, getting your team to believe that change can happen, encouraging and trusting in your people and, most importantly, inspiring confidence in them, will drive a team towards success. If we don’t manage change in this way, change will manage us!
People Development at Go: ‘From Alexander bell to Steve Jobs’ is one of the workshops offered at the 2012 National Annual HR Conference which is being held on 5 October at the San Gorg Corinthia Hotel in St Julian’s. For more information contact James Gatt on 2137 0685 or at [email protected]