Purpose of Talent Management

Talent management is a key succession planning tool that provides an integrated means of identifying, selecting, developing and retaining top talent within our organization which is required for long term planning.

Talent management provides a means of

• accelerating the development of employees by identifying opportunities for career growth & development within the organization
• identifying internal talent pools and transferring knowledge to others within the organization
• evaluating and planning for the projected departure of positions identified as critical for reasons of retirement or otherwise
• continuing renewal among employees of GNB.

Permanent employees identified in corporate and departmental talent pools, who meet the four-point criteria for assessing talent, namely performance, readiness, willingness and criticalness.

The Program is targeted at Pay Band 5 and above and equivalents and is broken down into 2 parts: Corporate and Departmental.  See Chapter 5 for additional information on the appointment process.
 

Succession planning ensures a continuous supply of highly qualified candidates within New Brunswick’s Civil Service.  It is a systematic process for

• identifying critical positions that are instrumental to achieving strategic and operational goals
• anticipating gaps in those positions due to retirements and other factors
• defining the qualifications and competencies required to perform successfully in the positions
• implementing focused strategies to attract and develop pools of qualified candidates who will be ready to assume critical positions as they become vacant
• enabling individual employees to become “the best they can be” and helping them to get ready for emerging opportunities
• facilitating the timely transfer of knowledge from incumbents to successors
• ensuring that supportive strategies and processes are in place to retain and fully engage employees.

There are a number of factors taken into consideration when defining whether a position is critical for succession planning purposes. These include

• Organizational impact – the position plays an instrumental role in the overall organization and a prolonged vacancy would cause serious difficulty in achieving operational and strategic goals.
• Likelihood of a vacancy – the position is at-risk due to the imminent retirement of the incumbent or vulnerable due to intense skills shortages and competitive pressures.
• Difficulty to fill – the position requires specialized or unique expertise that is not readily available in GNB or the labour market.

Talent pools are groups of high-potential employees who are being developed to meet the competency and other requirements for critical positions that have been identified through the succession planning process.
 

Knowledge transfer refers to the act of transferring knowledge from one individual to another by means of training, mentoring, coaching, documentation, or other methods such as the use of technology to capture, retrieve and share information.
 

Four point criteria for assessing talent includes

• Performance – refers to the employee’s current level of performance, relative to the performance goals and objectives set out in their current position.
• Readiness – reflects an employee’s ability to take on greater levels of responsibility in a higher level position or in a more complex role based on demonstrative behavioral and technical competencies, assuming reasonable opportunities for development are available.
• Willingness – indicates the degree to which the employee is prepared and willing to assume a new role as well as the organization’s capacity to accommodate.
• Criticalness – indicates that the employee has been identified as critical for succession planning purposes in achieving operational and strategic goals.

Employees can be placed into 1 of 4 talent categories which assesses their readiness and potential for movement

• Optimize Promote/Move Now - Currently demonstrating competencies at or above current role, fully effective/outstanding performance rating, willingness for a lateral move or promotion, ready for additional challenge broader scope. (Permanent or temporary assignment)
• Invest Develop Higher Skills - Currently demonstrating competencies at or above current role, fully effective/outstanding performance rating, willingness for a lateral move or promotion, focused development required to prepare for additional challenge or broader scope in next role within 1 year. Target activities to fulfill developmental requirements. (Stretch Assignment)
• Maximize Contribution - Currently demonstrating competencies in current role, development based on career goals, focus on retention and recognition. (lateral move, exchange, special project, knowledge transfer).
• Focus Current Performance -Currently demonstrating most competencies in current role, focus on further development in current role or in another role to determine proper fit for position. Provide opportunity for a new challenge. (Recommend additional development & temporary short term project.)

Developmental opportunities include any opportunity that ensures that employees with an interest in and the potential for filling key positions are provided with the appropriate development opportunities.

Examples of challenging assignments that can be used as core developmental opportunities to build key strengths include (but are not limited to) the following

• leading a cross-functional team or committee
• working directly with senior leaders on a special project
• building a team from the ground up
• playing the role of mentor
• engaging in cross-training
• inclusion on a major strategic initiatives
• accepting a secondment or rotational assignment
• being promoted to a new role.

The following are the types of development assignments:

• Stretch Assignment / Special Project – This type of assignment would provide employees the opportunity to “stretch” beyond their current abilities and further develop the employee’s behavioural, technical and leadership competencies.  Examples of this type of assignment may be being assigned as lead of a corporate special project for a 6 to 12 month period, or 6 to 12 month secondment to a central agency or line department.
• Rotational / Lateral Exchange Assignment – This type of lateral assignment would involve an exchange of similar level employees (i.e. ADM for an ADM, Officer for an Officer). Purpose is to further develop the employee’s competencies and bring a new perspective to the department.
• Permanent Assignment - This type of assignment would involve a lateral move or a promotion to a permanent vacancy.  This would provide an employee with a new experience and the opportunity to enhance their current competency levels.