We’re revamping the way that you see and use the TalentAlign website – to make it easier for you to find the information that interests you. We’re not finished yet, so you can expect some more information over the next week or so.
You will notice that we have rebranded – the ITJobCompiler is your repository for creating, storing and managing you IT Job Descriptions and Competency Profiles. StrategicHRCoach is how we can work with you, as a Coach, on your Strategic IT/HR issues. The ITHR Guru Blog and the Books@TalentAlign bookstore remain.
We’ve converted all the PDF articles to Pages on the website. This means that you get to them quicker and easier, but you can either print them directly from the site or convert them to PDF to save on your own computer.
Just to remind you, here is the list of articles available on the website. Take some time to have a look, there is a lot of valuable information available to you free of charge.
Workforce Intelligence – Better Ways of Achieving Operational Effectiveness
Workforce Intelligence is a Journey! Have you ever climbed, or hiked, up a mountain? The experts all tell you – walk with your eyes on the ground in front of you, not looking up. You look up only occasionally to make sure you are still on the right track and to address any unexpected problems that could arise on the journey. The Workforce Intelligence Journey is no different. In this article we describe the different elements that constitute Workforce Intelligence. This is to help you to map your journey and ensure that you are on the right path. It’s a kind of “Route Map” for you to understand and decide what you want to do when on the journey.
Human Capital Management – Our Dysfunctional Workplace
There is a lot going on between HR and Line Management in most companies today. Trying to decide what their roles are in relation to “people management” in the organization, who is responsible for what, and how they will play an effective part. There are many ideas and the development of “people management”, or Human Capital Management, as an organizational function, follows a “maturity” pattern that is now fairly well defined.
Human Capital Strategy – What is Human Capital Strategy Planning?
” One of the greatest ironies of management is that the processes of building and utilizing our organizations’ “most important resources” in the most productive and effective way possible is probably the least understood of all the dimensions of management. ” Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School.
IT Staff Selection – Searching and Selecting IT Talent
The process involved in IT Staff Selection is probably one of the most time-consuming activities for HR Consultants in an IT environment. Between the calculated risk of making an appointment and what you have to weed out, hiring is the most dreaded and difficult activity performed by any HR Consultant because failure to hire correctly is statistically NOT in your favour.
IT Staff Development – Blended Learning.
Whether working on an employee engagement initiative, or a leadership development program, it’s not enough, for IT Staff Development, that you design, present, communicate, and deliver your content in a logically convincing manner. To ensure success, you must also engage people emotionally.
Human Capital Strategy – An Approach to Creating a Human Capital Strategy Plan
If you don’t have a Human Capital Strategy, all “talent” related issues become “operational”, and, to be quite honest, really miss the boat when it comes to realising very REAL Return on Investment (ROI) in investments in “talent”.
Change Management – People-centric Process Change Management.
Why is it that Human Capital Management (HCM) projects realise meaningful returns on investment in some companies and not in others? Why is it that HCM projects create significant benefits in some organisations and not in others?
IT Staff Selection – Hiring the “Right” People – a Management Responsibility!
IT Workforce costs constitute upward of 50% of the total IT budget. A “wrong hire” can cost a company more than the annual total cost of employment of an employee in terms of productivity loss, cost of replacement, and impact on the morale of other staff. So, “hiring”, or IT Staff Selection, should be one of the most critical aspects of a CIO’s overall strategy.
Organization Design – What is Organization Design?
The word organization is used in a number of contexts. An organization can be a whole corporation or just one part of it. It can comprise tens of thousands of people or just a few dozen. Organizations are nested inside one another. The smaller the organizational unit, the fewer design choices and decisions there are to make, and the more those decisions will be influenced by the larger organization.
IT Job Descriptions – The “Role” of the “Job Description”.
Human Capital Management is VERY different from the traditional “Personnel Management”. Primarily – it acknowledges that the people of the organization are ASSETS of the organization – that is – sources of revenue!. So there are things that need to be considered when compiling your IT Job Descriptions.
Competency Management – Use Competencies to Manage Better.
Can we REALLY manage better with Competencies? Does managing competencies REALLY make THAT much difference to improving performance?
Performance Management – Goals, Objectives, KRAs, KPIs – What’s the Difference?
More and more we see the confusion between Goals, Objectives, KRAs, and KPIs when it comes to defining and measuring the performance of people in the organisation. In many instances these terms are used interchangeably – but this is wrong. Of course there is a relationship between these terms, but the meaning of each is clear and should not be confused with other terms.
Human Capital Management – IT Human Capital Management.
Why has IT Human Capital Management become such an imperative? The main reasons are: Worker Shortage: the shortage of people due to inappropriate education systems and population growth rates ….
IT Staff Selection – Qualification vs Certification – the Quandry?
Certification is more important than Qualification when it comes to IT Staff Selection! A bold statement, or a true statement? Let us try to examine this.
IT Job Descriptions – Their Role and Purpose.
The “structure” of an organisation refers to the formal way in which people and work are grouped into defined units. The structure sets out the basic power relationships in the organisation – how limited resources such as people and funds are allocated and co-ordinated.
Organizational Effectiveness – Why Talent Management?
Our country and our people are currently suffering from the grossly myopic strategic planning of both Government and Eskom – the “energy” crisis! But I wonder if our management are not going to be found guilty of the same myopia in the not too
distant future.
IT Job Descriptions – What’s in a Name?
It seems that in the IT industry nothing is that simple – take for instance IT Job Titles. Job Titles are an important element of
workforce information in human resource management. For various reasons we manage to really complicate this in the IT industry.
IT Job Descriptions – Why IT Role (Job) Descriptions.
Job descriptions are an important part of a well-organized company and are an integral part of the organization design and performance management and evaluation systems. They offer the basis for clear employer/employee communication and sound HR practices.
Organization Design – Sarbanes-Oxley and IT Organization Design.
Sarbanes-Oxley is having a global affect on organizations – even those that don’t operate globally. Most private sector organizations are finding it necessary to have some governance framework in place. But how does this impact on the IT organization? And what has this to do with Organization Design?
Human Capital Management – The Paper Trail of Strategic Human Capital Management.
In general, too little emphasis is placed on the documentation necessary for the strategic planning and management of the organisation’s IT Human Capital. Especially the expectations of IT staff in terms of current position and prospects within the organisation. An employment contract and a one-page description of broad responsibilities is about the most that an average IT employee can expect from their employer. And this is seldom kept current and up-to-date.
Organization Design – the Link with IT Governance and Knowledge Management
In the highly competitive business environment of today, the creative and effective use of information technology has the potential to transform organizations and contribute to enhanced and sustainable value. In many companies Information Technology is the second highest cost to employee costs, and IT employee costs are generally the highest cost in the overall IT budget.
Workforce Planning – Is Your Organization Ready for the IT Talent War?
We seem to go from feast to famine and back again at regular intervals when it comes to demand and supply of key IT skills. And, right now, like most organizations world-wide, you are probably struggling with key IT skills shortages – and the pressures of BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) do not make this situation any easier.
Competency Management – Build Competencies to Improve Performance
The concepts of competency building and performance management are imposing new thought-processes in IT organizations. Traditionally Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management has been guided by the concept of jobs being the “basic building blocks” of organizations – a concept that is founded firmly in the bureaucracy of the “industrial” era.
Human Capital Management – New Generation IT Talent Management.
The IT skills shortage is set to worsen leading up to 2010 – globally! And it has nothing to do with soccer!
IT Staff Motivation – What IT Employees REALLY want
Do you REALLY know what motivates your IT employees – what they REALLY want? Do they? Just how engaged are your employees – by engaged we mean do they really feel a part of the organization? Do they understand their role in the organization’s success? These questions are simple enough, but much more difficult to answer. What should you be focusing on for your IT Staff Motivation?
Please let us know what you think. We are doing this for you, to provide you with information that will save your organisation time and money – both short- and long-term. Your feedback is incredibly valuable – and thanks to those who have provided feedback.
Gail