Talent Audits: How to Hire and Inspire
There once was a company that sold insurance. Turnover in the sales team was upwards of 45%, with many employees leaving prior to reaching maximum proficiency. There was a growing awareness among management that the people being hired for the job weren’t a good fit. And the company wanted to become an employer of choice in their city.
Enter the talent audit, a remarkable tool that is used to develop job profiles, hire the right people and improve the existing workforce.
The principle is simple. Discover what you’ve got. Determine what you need. And develop a plan to get from the ‘got’ to the ‘need’. As with so much of organizational development, however, simple principles can become a complex and unwieldy process without the right support and guidance.
Using a validated assessment tool and a skilled facilitator, the insurance company developed a job profile for the sales position, compared the profile to their existing team of employees and developed a hiring process to find candidates who fit the profile. The results were impressive: turnover was cut in half, employees felt valued and were more productive, and the money that was saved in hiring and training new employees (a cool $2.8 million) was available for ongoing training, team building and celebrations.
Executive coaches who are certified to administer appropriate psychological assessments are very well-suited to facilitate a talent audit. A questionnaire provides information, but it is the interpretation of the information and the ensuing discussion that will result in an accurate job profile. How does the profile generated by the assessment compare to top performers in the organization? What areas of the profile would be considered priority in hiring and training? How can the profile be used to create a development program for existing employees? What process will help ensure candidates who best fit the profile are hired? Since no hire will be ‘perfect’, how can the organization compensate for the specific ways a new employee may not fit with existing culture or job requirements?
Sage Portfolio Group coaches can facilitate this process so that generic job profile information is customized and incorporated into hiring and training initiatives, whether it is for sales reps, middle management or the leadership team. To discuss a talent audit, call Melanie Parish at 800-592-2303 or email info@sageportfoliogroup.com.
