Integrated Talent | The Holistic Talent Leadership Framework

Originally published on Medium by Graham Peelle on July 23, 2023

Rethinking the Talent & HR Dance

It’s time for a refreshed view and it’s time we put our talent first. Let’s make it the priority, and leverage our talent to build the group, business, or venture into what is possible. Talent possibilities, transformed for a holistic view, Integrated Talent.

Integrated Talent is the opportunity giving Talent a seat at the table, executive presence in the organization as appropriate, based on HR structure and alignment with Operations, Marketing, and other key departments. If HR has a completely separate people leadership agenda, Talent will always take a back seat. Talent should typically be one specialization within the overall HR organization, as long as TA gets its priority and voice, and should typically stand alone when Talent is prioritized for growth, focus, or a strategic purpose. Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and People, all make up the Talent Landscape within an organization, but do they truly work together in most firms?

Even in recessionary periods, your focus must shift to preparation for the recovery. Successful talent strategy starts before the need is critical, not once volumes spike. With a proactive and responsible approach, similar to what you may read about investing capital, recruiting before or during a recovery is actually an advantageous market to develop your talent pipeline and talent community for when it’s needed. Integrated Talent is the full holistic approach bringing everything talent together, ensuring we lock arms between HR and all Talent related groups.

Does your organization have a real understanding and clear delineation of value and responsibility across People, HR, Talent, and Operations? If not, a lot of cost, efficiency, and power is lost in that gap.

Below are some of the areas to consider to evaluate your One Talent Strategy to bring Integrated Talent to a reality:

• People Strategy

• Human Resources

• Total Talent Approach

• Talent Acquisition

• Talent Attraction

• Talent Development

• Talent Management

• Talent Leadership

• Comp and Rewards Alignment

• Total Talent Delivery

• Exec Search

• Direct Placement

• Contingent Hiring

• Independent Contractor/Gig

• Managed & Engineering Services

• Alignment with Operations

The list is long, and this isn’t even an all-encompassing picture, not to mention different owners, stakeholders, and priorities. So how can we address alignment and advancement? We need to consider efficiencies, business alignment and uncover the new way of working with talent for your own organizational structure and nuance, not simply following the crowd. Use best practices and case studies, but don’t blindly follow a path that doesn’t work for your organization. Don’t build someone else’s org, take the best of what you see in other systems, and go build your own. Even the most similar organizations can have a much different view of talent, how to approach it, or what the value of it is for various groups or roles, yet many organize it as if it’s all the same.

Remember, today’s HR is much different than it was in 1980, 1950 and 1890, and even compared to orgs in 2019, or 2000. HR didn’t even exist in many cases, and was mostly administrative in others, and now it’s one of the largest functional areas with a seat in the C-Suite for many firms.

Build an Integrated Talent Framework that works for your business, with the help of model or peer organizations, or a consulting partner for recommendations.

The art of talent is an evolving function and has potential to drive your organizational priorities and growth forward when successfully aligned. Create the art of your talent framework, don’t let talent drive you.

More to come on building your Integrated Talent Framework in future OpCo editions.

Hopefully, this added a little value to your business or your career. Thank you for reading.

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