America’s Got Talent: Tapping the Existing Corp d’Elite
Published: Fortune Magazine (December 2011)
John Ryan was interviewed as a subject matter expert on talent, for a Fortune article exploring how corporate America is looking for internal hires and promotions with greater frequency.
A growing ratio of inside vs. outside hires…
In a global economy marked by chaotic market conditions and ferocious competition, however, nurturing talent inside an organization makes strategic sense too, as companies seeking a competitive edge make sure they have the right people in the right roles.
“You can be as scripted and analytical as you want with respect to a business plan,” says John Ryan, a managing director at RSMR / TRANSEARCH, a leading executive search firm. “But if you don’t have the right people making the right decisions, the business will probably not succeed.”
Often those people are already in the company and have been for a number of years. “These are people who know the organization really well,” Ryan notes. “So when companies are talking about bringing somebody in from the outside, part of that conversation really should be about moving someone from department A to department X.”
On retaining Grade A players…
The hallmarks of companies that are paying close attention to attracting and retaining talent, executive searchers say, are the kinds of things good management should always do: listening, identifying and cultivating high-potential individuals, assessing workers regularly and through objective processes, and communicating.
“One of the clues that an organization is going in the right direction is that it’s conducting reviews frequently,” says TRANSEARCH’s Ryan. “Annual reviews don’t make any sense anymore. Real-time conversations should take place every week, and they should move from being purely about chemistry and camaraderie to being about objective things like skills and competencies.”
Employees also need to know how the company regards them. “If you think Bob is more high potential than Dennis or Cole, well, Bob should know that,” Ryan adds. “Because you don’t want to walk in one morning and find that Bob has left.”
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. For more information, please visit http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
