{"id":14942,"date":"2019-03-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/identifi-global.eu.applyflow.com\/8-tips-on-talent-management-from-the-world-s-biggest-tech-firms\/"},"modified":"2022-12-09T06:14:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T06:14:16","slug":"8-tips-on-talent-management-from-the-world-s-biggest-tech-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/news\/8-tips-on-talent-management-from-the-world-s-biggest-tech-firms\/","title":{"rendered":"8 tips on talent management from the world’s biggest tech firms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Richard Branson, the most important thing in a business is its people. In this era of tight competition, quick turnarounds and narrow margins for error; finding the right talent and retaining them has never been a more significant challenge.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe world\u2019s most successful tech companies have come to understand this. Some at a cost. From Google and Netflix to Amazon and beyond, big tech now deploys whole teams of researchers to learn how to get the most from their workforce.<\/div>\n
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\n\tSo what do they have to say about talent management? And what lessons can we learn from them?<\/div>\n
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\n\t1. Be direct<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cIt sounds so simple to say that bosses need to tell employees when they’re screwing up. But it very rarely happens.\u201d \u2013  Kim Scott, former director of Google and co-founder of Candour, Inc.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tThe key to radical candour is to care personally about employees, and to challenge them directly. Consider the alternative. Which is really better: telling someone immediately when they are performing poorly, or waiting until the mistakes pile up and have to fire them? Un-think the \u201cif you don\u2019t have anything nice to say\u201d mantra.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n

\n\t2. Stop aiming for work-life balance<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cI get asked about work-life balance all the time. And my view is, that’s a debilitating phrase because it implies there’s a strict trade-off.\u201d \u2013  Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tYou may like: Are you showing your team enough love?<\/div>\n
\n\tBezos\u2019 view is that the relationship between work life and personal life is reciprocal. They should not be compartmentalised or allowed to compete for time constraints. If workers are happy at home, they\u2019ll come to work full of energy, then go home happy. And so it continues to the benefit of everyone. For bosses this means setting realistic workloads, allowing breathing space and not invading an employee\u2019s personal time.<\/div>\n
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\n\t3. Consider psychology safety<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cThe shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. A sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up.\u201d \u2013  Amy Edmondson, professor, Harvard Business School.<\/div>\n
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\n\t“Teams which value one another\u2019s input and ensure a safe collaborative environment will ultimately create more successful work.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tGoogle\u2019s Project Aristotle, a research programme into what makes the perfect team, recently made a surprising discovery. It was not the talent, experience or IQ of team members that led to effectiveness \u2013 but rather each member\u2019s freedom and confidence to communicate equally. The suggestion is that teams which value one another\u2019s input and ensure a safe collaborative environment will ultimately create more successful work.<\/div>\n
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\n\t4. Give your team what they need<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cTrain people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don\u2019t have to.\u201d \u2013 Sir Richard Branson<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tTalent should be treated just as you would like to be. Give every employee the training, support and understanding they need, not just because it will help them achieve your business goals, but because they deserve it and it is the right thing to do.<\/div>\n
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\n\t5. Keep it small\u2026<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cMy model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others\u2019 negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.\u201d \u2013 Steve Jobs.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tApple is famous for keeping its team sizes small: always under 100, and smaller if possible. Steve Jobs was even known to kick people out of meetings if too many bodies were around. The idea is that smaller teams take ownership of their work. They stay focussed and organised, and help large companies replicate the energy of smaller start-ups.<\/div>\n
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\n\t6. \u2026 and keep in touch<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cDevelopment happens organically through effective one-on-ones, coaching, developmental conversations\u2026 our philosophy is that if you do [this] throughout the year, there really is no need for an annual performance review.\u201d \u2013 Michael Kim, Head of HR, Spotify<\/div>\n
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\n\t“Employees respond well to small, informal, weekly conversations.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tThe concept of speaking regularly with talent may not be revolutionary, but it is often overlooked. Employees respond well to small, informal, weekly conversations from managers who pay interest. This is particularly true of Millennial employees who feel strong pride and ownership in their work. So keep talking.<\/div>\n
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\n\t7. Shift power from employer to employee<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cA company\u2019s job isn\u2019t to empower people; it\u2019s to remind people that they walk in the door with power and to create the conditions for them to exercise it. Do that, and you will be astonished by the great work they will do for you.\u201d \u2013 Patty McCord, Chief Talent Officer, Netflix<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tWithin most companies there will exist procedural practices that are, in effect, pointless. Whether it be multi-level sign-offs, unnecessary meetings or heavy-handed restrictions \u2013 they leave everyone feeling hampered. Instead, by letting employees tackle projects the way they see fit \u2013 without managerial second-guessing or systemic roadblocks \u2013 companies will be surprised with the results that come their way.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n

\n\t8. A diverse team will provide diverse solutions<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cA diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.\u201d \u2014 Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tIf bosses only hire people they understand or recognise as one of their own, a business will never grow past them. Nor will it have answers to questions they\u2019ve never faced. A diverse workforce allows a business to consider every angle and provide multiple solutions. Whether diversity of gender, race, disability or age \u2013 this can only be a good thing.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n

\n\tConclusion<\/h2>\n
\n\tThere are wise words from all the major players in tech. But while clever quotes look great on the page, they are much harder to put into practice.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tMany of these firms talk a good game, but whether it\u2019s controversies around Amazon workers\u2019 pay and conditions, the secrecy of Facebook or Apple\u2019s struggle to find new sparks post-Jobs\u2026 not every player in big tech practises what they preach.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tThe real key to talent management is company culture, honesty and true integrity. From these pillars, the above advice can flow and talent can flourish. But without them, employees are likely to see managerial efforts as little more than empty words and corporate niceties.<\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n
\n\tFor more on recruitment, management and inspiring talent keep up with our blog or get in touch to see how our team can help yours.<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Richard Branson, the most important thing in a business is its people. In this era of tight competition, quick turnarounds and narrow margins for error; finding the right talent and retaining them has never been a more significant challenge. The world\u2019s most successful tech companies have come to understand this. Some at a… Read More »8 tips on talent management from the world’s biggest tech firms<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}