Friday, September 27, 2013

Only a 'Fit' is a Hit!

A formula one driver may be one of the smartest drivers on the circuit but he may fail miserably driving on an Indian Road and vice-versa.

Formula one track is of a certain quality, rules are set; maneuvering and speed remain key skills. On any Indian road, rules are meant to be broken, chaos is the only order and you need a lot of luck to survive the potholes, monster trucks, erring cabbies and scavenging animals, especially cows, freewheeling on the roads.

Talent Management is also similar. A 'Star' in one context may fail miserably in another context. The key factor is that of 'Fit'. Marc Effron, author of the book 'One Page Talent Management' (Harvard Publishing Press), in his key note address, in HT HR Summit (25th Sept. 2013, Bangalore, India) beautifully portrayed this concept of Talent-fit with the organizational strategy and environment.



Different capabilities are required in different environments that determine the ‘fit’. The success of organizations is highly dependent on their ability to find the ‘talent-fit’ or rather the talent that is the right fit.

'One page Talent Management' is all about ability of a company to write the talent specifications in a clear concise manner so as to define ‘fit’ in its context. 

Talent Engagement depends a lot on whether the right talent-fit is found by the company or not.

A Star-Talent brought-in a company whose environment & context poorly match with his competencies would do no good to the fortunes of the company, frustrate the star talent and leave him disengaged. Vice-versa, if the talent is brought-in the company based on his/her fitment with the context and the environment, would not only be the right choice for the company but it would also lead to effective engagement of the talent with the company.

So do not just follow the 'Star', follow the 'fit', for only a Fit is a Hit!

1 comment:

Vishnu Raghavan said...

A poem i read at an earlier age echoes similar sentiments- of course that was more individual centric
the poem was by Scottish Poet James Thomson(1700-1748)called Gifts


Gifts

GIVE a man a horse he can ride,
Give a man a boat he can sail;
And his rank and wealth, his strength and health,
On sea nor shore shall fail.

Give a man a pipe he can smoke,
Give a man a book he can read:
And his home is bright with a calm delight,
Though the room be poor indeed.

Give a man a girl he can love,
As I, O my love, love thee;
And his heart is great with the pulse of Fate,
At home, on land, on sea.


Fascinating that the poem captured what all organisations need to recognize today and try and implement. Almost prophetic. very fascinating