Placement & Talent Management

Whatever happened to the concept of “placement?” I can remember, in the not too distant past, talking with client organizations about “selection and placement.” They still talk about selection, but placement is now largely ignored.

Placement is critically important to both organizational and individual effectiveness. Placement is related to selection, but placement should be considered as a separate and distinct function in its own right.

Selection, as it is now practiced is the process of selecting a particular person for a particular vacancy in the organization. That sounds fine until we consider the negative consequences of such narrow thinking. Consider the following example:

I recently had lunch with a young professional who was hired by a large financial services company. He liked the company, but he quickly realized the particular job did not play to his strengths. As time went by, he became more and more frustrated because his unique talents were not being tapped. His energy level (as well as his motivational and productivity levels, I suspect) dropped steadily as his job called upon his weaknesses, instead of his strengths.

Eventually, the talented young professional updated his resume and prepared to leave the organization. The day he was going to resign, he heard about an opening in the IT department. He was perfect for the position. He knew the technology, as well as the culture and processes of the organization. He put his resignation letter back into his briefcase and applied for the job.

The following week, he was told that he could not be considered for the position. He could not even be granted an interview. He could not be considered for the job because of company policy. Company policy stated that “an employee cannot be considered for any different position in the organization until he/she has completed at least one year in the position for which he/she was hired.” Ridiculous? Obliviously!

How does the organization or individual benefit by keeping a talented person in a position for which he/she is not well-suited for at least one year? When questioned about the policy, the company said, “The one-year demonstrates loyalty.” Loyalty? Should companies be spending limited resources on loyalty or productivity?

Placement is about putting talented people in positions were they will be most productive. Selection is about getting talented people on board. Jim Collins talks about getting good people “on the bus” before you decide where to go. Selection is about getting good people on the bus.

Keeping people in positions where they are not highly productive demonstrates the worst management practice that I can imagine.

In the twenty-first century, management's responsibility for managing talent is more important than ever. Managing physical assets is no longer top priority for many organizations. Maximizing human capital is now job number one for most management teams.

Selecting, developing, and retaining talent must be seen as critically important in every organization. Does senior management in your organization understand this essential responsibility?