Bupharm Talent Mgt

Talent management – competencydevelopment: key to global leadership

Rakesh Sharma and Jyotsna Bhatnagar

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw lessons on how building a talent management strategy

based on competency profiling becomes a critical impact area within the field of strategic HRM.

Design/methodology/approach – The case study discusses an Indian pharmaceutical organisation,

the environment and the issues arising in context to talent management. The case discusses a well

designed talent management strategy.

Findings – The talent mindset has helped the organisation in recruiting the best talent from the best

pharmaceutical organisations. The attrition of the top and valued talent segment has come down. Some

of the key positions have been filled through succession planning.

Research limitations/implications – The case study is in a lesser known but emerging sector of the

Indian economy. The case has concentrated on attracting and developing and retaining key talent, it

does not concentrate on developing average talent into key talent.

Practical implications – The implications lie in whether to grow talent or buy talent. What signal through

a communication strategy should a HR manager give when determining for talent segmentation? How to

develop talent and retain employees when there are not challenging options available in the internal

labour market?

Originality/value – This paper provides insights to HR practitioners on how to attract, acquire and

manage talent in a tight internal and external labour market. It also provides empirical support for, and

theoretical understanding of, the strategic HRM literature on talent management theme.

Keywords Competences, Globalization, Assessment, Employee development

Paper type Case study

Backdrop

India’s pharmaceutical industry is poised for change. Enactment in early 2005 of patent

protections that comply with the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on trade-related

aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) has brought India to the forefront of potential

outsourcing venues for the world’s pharmaceutical multinational corporations. European and

US companies are being drawn to India for both manufacturing and research and

development (R&D) due to rising costs of developing, testing and marketing drugs. Over the

past decade, some of the large Indian Pharmaceutical companies also have branched out,

selling their generic products abroad (particularly to developing nations) and establishing

foreign subsidiaries. The globalization trends have put onus on Indian pharmaceutical

companies to reinvent themselves. As expected, the question oft debated at various forums

is whether India’s pharmaceutical firms rival and grow to compete with Big Pharma Multi

nationals. The analysts maintain that the potential certainly exists, but Indian pharmaceutical

companies will need to think strategically about their resources – human and financial – in

order to take advantage of the opportunities.

Such is the environment Bupharm has to survive in. Bupharm is a young and growing Indian

Pharma Company operating in specialty space with a turnover of close to 80 million USD. It is

PAGE 118 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAINING j VOL. 41 NO. 3 2009, pp. 118-132, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0019-7858 DOI 10.1108/00197850910950907

Rakesh Sharma is based at

Dabur Phrama Limited,

India. Jyotsna Bhatnagar is

based at the Management

Development Institute,

India.

driven by the vision of ‘‘To become world’s leading player in its industry’’. It is essentially a

family owned setup and, like most family-owned businesses regardless of location or

industry, it operates with a high level of owner involvement, though it is trying to acquire a

more professional image.

The organization is realizing that most of its prospective alliance partners and prospective

hires are interested in working with Indian partners who have not only owners, but also

managers with experience to build the necessary global relationships. Being a family owned

organization it is also experiencing that the nature of this work requires a different type of

management style. It is encountering a marketplace where management supply is quickly

becoming a deciding factor. The organization also faces the added talent management

challenge of blending different cultures. The family owners are progressively dealing with

individuals who expect access to technology and a working environment at least as

up-to-date as that of an MNC, as well as policies and procedures more in keeping with what

they experience abroad. Programs that help these new employees integrate into the

organization also are critical.

The decision-making environment is critical for high-level employees. In the USA and

increasingly in Europe, companies generally operate in a de-centralized and

collaborative mode. Department heads have high degrees of autonomy in budgetary,

staffing and other matters. Boards of directors set strategy, but managers generally

have the task of designing and implementing its execution. Thus, traditional top-down

management styles may seem cumbersome or constraining to innovative individuals

accustomed to speedy decision making. A bit of ‘‘bending the rules’’ may be necessary

in certain situations.

Deciding how tightly – or loosely – to hold the corporate reins as an organization grows are

never easy. The owners are being called on to define ‘‘Everything decentralized-but’’

strategy. Managing expectations among all parties, therefore, is crucial. The organization

will need to learn to accommodate and adapt as the situation dictates.

The organization has presence across the globe in over 40 countries and is striving to

capitalize on the product patent regime and strengthen its position in the highly regulated

markets. Its workforce is highly specialized with skills in R&D, Manufacturing, Supply-chain

and logistics and of course specialized relationship based selling and is moving together

towards its mission of ‘‘Making its therapy available to more and more people’’.

Being an organization operating in a niche market, the skills are rare to find and being one of

the pioneers in its area of operations Bupharm is becoming a training ground for many. The

attrition among critical and high performing individuals therefore, has become critical. At the

same time attracting the best talent is becoming increasingly challenging. Retaining the

people is as important as hiring the right people.

Talent management amidst change

Bupharm is in an industry that is facing an acute talent shortage. The skills required are

diverse. The ability to detail and diligently do the job is a great requirement. The demand is

not being met with the supply. We now see a lot of turnover in manpower with the limited

supply being chased by everyone. Candidates also have a short ‘‘shelf life’’ in organizations

due to lack of fit. Recruitment and retaining of right kind of person is real challenge for HR.

In this scenario, definitely the talent pool is not catching up with the requirement. The

organization feels the need to keep on educating its employees to meet the ever-increasing

technical demands after recruitment.

Owing to its global spread Bupharm faces an added talent management challenge of

blending different cultures. Bupharm HR (Structure – Figure 1) acknowledges and

incorporates – at all levels – the importance of culture, the assessment of cross-cultural

relations, vigilance towards the dynamics that result from cultural differences, the

VOL. 41 NO. 3 2009 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj PAGE 119

expansion of cultural knowledge, and the adaptation of services to meet

culturally-unique needs.

In many cases it has hired Westerners or non-resident Indians (NRIs) to fill key positions

domestically or abroad. It has experienced that these individuals expect access to

technology and a working environment at least as up-to-date as that of an MNC, as well as

policies and procedures more in keeping with what they experience abroad. Programs that

help these new employees integrate into the organization are also critical.

Talent management strategy

Bupharm has realized that realizing strategic vision through human resource shall begin at

assessment of talent needs of business. Through the talent assessment it has mapped out

Competencies relevant globally in this new environment which it needs to harness and

develop. It is now investing in competency based talent recruitment and creation, creating

environments, evolving appropriate management styles and developing their leadership

pipeline to compete globally.

After due deliberations and brainstorming, the Bupharm management decided to do talent

segmentation, based on a highly competitive competency framework, both for getting talent

into the organization as well as existing talent. The management team clearly felt that the

depth and quality of the organization’s talent pool will determine whether they will lead its

market and industry, or merely follow other companies that attract better, brighter, more

talented people.

Talent acquisition and management strategy

The talent acquisition and management strategy involved:

1. Defining the competency framework relevant for the organizational growth:

B For the senior management (refer Figure 2).

B For the middle managers (refer Figure 3).

2. In-depth talent assessment based on competency framework for:

B new hires;

B existing employees.

Figure 1 Organogram – Bupharm Limited

PAGE 120 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj VOL. 41 NO. 3 2009

3. Identifying lynchpin positions as per the current organizational strategy:

B Classification in terms of ‘‘Cannot afford to lose’’, ‘‘Critical now’’ and ‘‘Can go’’

4. Making sure that the ‘‘Cannot afford to lose’’, ‘‘Critical now’’ resources are not leaving –

making position attractive through:

B development focus;

B challenging assignments;

B fast track growth;

B higher education sponsorships, etc.

Figure 2

Figure 3


The talent acquisition process

The organization partnered with some of the leading search companies across the globe.

The organization realized the need to tap into the global market and get the best talent to

know the organization, its future plans and the excitement that they would be able to get

through a challenging role. The CEO personally ensured that he was recruiting for most of

the key positions.

The organization adopted the following process to identify the right person for the given

job:

Step 1. The detailed job specifications of the position were documented. The methodology

used was as per Hay. The position specs ensured that the detailed competency

requirements from the role are clearly articulated.

Step 2. Appropriate psychometric tools were identified and considering the global reach,

were administered online or onsite. The tool used was Thomas profiling which was coupled

with a leadership style indicator in case of specific positions.

These tools map (Figures 4 and 5) responses of an individual in terms of:

B strengths of an individual;

B weaknesses of an individual;

Figure 4

Figure 5


B behavior under pressure;

B value to organization.

The leadership style indicator (Figure 6) maps the:

B working style;

B leadership style;

B thinking style;

B personal style;

B career beliefs;

B career motivation.

The reports from these tools are validated by reference check feedback and competency

based interviews to see if a defined pattern emerges to base recruitment decision. The

report was then being used to decide the further course of action for the possible

recruitment.

Step 3. A comprehensive docket that outlines the leader’s profile on criterion established

earlier was generated. It underlined areas of strengths and opportunities. The docket

included a confidential page outlining a metric ‘‘Recommendation’’ on employability to the

organization.

Bupharm is now working on adopting a more robust selection process especially when

recruiting for lynchpin positions. The process is expected to be used for both external and

internal recruitments. The proposed process steps are depicted in Figure 7

The psychometric tools to be used for testing are shown in Table I

Talent management process

The talent management process (Figure 8) was divided into the following steps:

1. Identification of talent – the people were assessed on the organization’s competency

framework. The methodology used was through the Assessment & Development Centers.

This method was adopted for all middle managers.

2. Based on the assessment results, the participants were plotted on a talent matrix

(Figure 9) which is a Performance versus Potential 3 £ 3 matrix (middle managers only).

The matrix was shared only with the CEO and the HODs. The employees are not aware of

either the matrix or their talent type.

Figure 6


3. Documentation of the individual development plan (IDP) (see Appendix 2, Figure A2) by

the individual. It captured the following:

B Aspirations – short and long term.

B Areas of strength.

B Areas of improvement.

The format has been annexed.

4. Individual then discussed the IDP with the reporting manager/functional head. There

were various learning strategies that could be adopted for leadership development.

A brief summary is as per Table II. Based on the individual’s learning curve, criticality of

role being performed, potential to do better, etc., one or more learning strategies was

adopted.

Table I Psychometric tools used for testing

S.No Test Purpose

1 16PF Psychometric instrument which profiles candidatestraits and thereafter their linkage with competenciesdesired for the job

2 MBTI Tells an individual about his/her personality ‘‘type’’. Itportrays behavior as stemming from basic differencesin preferences

3 Leadership styledescriptor

The tool discriminate elements of ‘‘directiveness’’ and‘‘command’’ as also ‘‘supportiveness’’ indicating thepreferred style in problem solving

4 Situation decision tree(SDT)

An incident based questionnaire which details in anormative manner the appropriateness and timelinessof the decision he makes (see Appendix 1, Figure A1)

5 EDGE A tool that benchmarks the ‘‘wisdom’’ band spreadand ability to make critically reasonable deductions

6 Situation reaction test(SRT)

Participants are assessed for their basic attitudetowards work life through the way they react to varioussituations

7 Critical incident review(followed by BEI)

A time-series analysis of an individual’s journey togrowth. Extrapolation readings help indicate likelihoodof reaction in different situational windows

Figure 7


5. Signoff between the reporting manager/function head was taken to have complete

commitment on the plan.

6. Individual then took charge of his/her learning and the manager enabled the same.

7. Reporting manager/function head conducted periodic reviews to ascertain the progress

on each of the areas. These reviews were done one on one and the same was shared with

human resources to facilitate the development.

The ground reality on the talent matrix

In total approximately 150 middle managers went through this process. The assesses talent

was segmented into (Figure 10):

B top talent;

B valued talent;

B talent under watch;

B incompatible talent.

Figure 8

Figure 9


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The organization adopted the following learning strategies based on the talent type:

1. Executive coaching for approximately 12 key middle management positions.

2. Formal training:

B for building management and leadership skills;

B for enhancing the problem solving and analytical skills;

B others, based on the development need analysis.

3. Provided job enrichment opportunities for high potential individuals.

4. On the job projects and stretch assignment opportunities to valued and top talent.

To make the learning happen, the projects and the special stretch assignments were linked

to the business strategies and were integrated into the individual’s goals. Therefore,

evaluation and rewards got built into the process (see Figure 11).

The above talent acquisition and talent management initiative has been operating for the

past 15 months. The organization has witnessed the following phenomena:

B The organization has hired rare and highly talented people across the world from some of

the best pharmaceutical companies.

B The attrition rate for the top and valued talent segment in the organization has come down

from 19 percent to 12.89 percent.

B Some of the key critical positions have been filled from within the organization.

Figure 11

Figure 10


B Bupharm will now be initiating a 360-degree feedback which will be based on the

competency framework.

Talent assessment

Bupharm is also contemplating initiating a formal comprehensive talent assessment review.

The steps for the talent assessment review.

1. Individual creates a self assessment document ‘‘know yourself’’, which includes the

following: an updated resume, assessment of strengths and development needs, career

goals and opportunities, details of annual achievements.

2. Face-to-face meeting between the individual and the reporting manager and/HOD to

compare the self evaluation with the manager’s assessment-to review career interests

and opportunities and agree on the development action plan.

3. After all such meetings, the HOD prepares:

B A career forecast docket for each individual. The docket consists of: career

background/experience; promotability/performance; detailed annual achievements;

360 degree feedback summary; and progress made by individual through IDP.

B Preparation of functional staffing plan considering the available talent and what skills

and competencies are needed in the team basis the organizational and functional

objectives.

B Succession plans with three replacements for his/her own position and those of his/her

critical resource.

4. Discussion with the CEO by the HOD.

The challenge

Bupharm’s HR has zeroed in the following propositions which they felt would work best in the

given industrial scenario (see Figure 12).

P1. Every organization has a culture and only those candidates must be selected who

align with the values defining this culture.

Figure 12


The organization’s culture is expressed through its actions and decisions. Via these it places

its distinguishing mark on the establishment of the market position and the organization’s

brand.

It is therefore important that the organization knows and understands its value proposition.

To achieve such an understanding the characteristics must be understood.

An organization’s value proposition can be ascertained through an understanding of:

B the organization’s self-perception;

B how others perceive the organization;

B the way in which the organization wishes to be perceived.

The organization’s value proposition is also a methodology for identifying and describing the

values that are tied to the brand internally in the organization and externally with customers

and business partners.

It will be a value-add for any organization to attract candidates who can espouse the values

of the organization so that as employees they can feel committed to the organization. The

values can easily be translated into competencies which can become parameters for

attraction, management, development and engagement of workforce.

The dilemma. Can an organization in the given scenario of talent crunch act so fussily about

its talent recruitment?

P2. An organization must make the position attractive to bring high level professionals

on board and retain them.

High level professionals across the world want investment in their development and a robust

career path. The organization should let them know their potential and what opportunities

can be provided. They also want to work on cutting edge projects and know that they will

have the authority to manage those projects.

If an organization’s goal is a superior, high performance workforce that is focused on

continuous improvement, it needs to manage people within a performance management

and development framework. All high-performing employees want to visualize a career path

in their organizations or they will not hesitate to exit the system. They feel motivated when

their performance is periodically assessed, recognized and they are given feedback.

Keeping high-performing employees has become a top priority for today’s organizations. A

two-year study by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans reveals that managers,

supervisors, and team leaders play the greatest role in employee satisfaction or

dissatisfaction. Thus managers and supervisors can do a lot to create challenging and

meaningful work, opportunities to learn and grow the sense of being part of a group.

Competency based performance management and development framework gives this

effort objectivity.

The dilemma. Is it worth the investment of time and money on career development, in a

market with high talent mobility and employability?

Can an organization differentiate its transparency levels depending on the social culture

surrounding the office location? (West versus Orient).

Can an organization ‘‘afford’’ transparency in segmentation of talent and risk losing

commitment of non-priority talent?

P3. An organization should keep a full pipeline for lynchpin jobs by regularly identifying

high potential candidates.

A rigorous bottom-up analysis of the entire organization, cut functionally, should be done to

identify the jobs that are critical to achieving the organization’s objectives. These positions


should be effectively manned and the organization should invest in coaching employees

who can act as substitutes for these roles.

More investment should be done to determine which middle to senior management positions

are essential to the organization’s long term health. Keep a full pipeline for those lynchpin

jobs by regularly identifying high potential candidates. This has to be followed by increasing

their leadership skills by giving the high potential candidates lynchpin assignments coupled

with training and/or mentoring.

P4. Developmental progress made by an employee should be measured regularly.

Development is a long-term process. It is thus important to know whether the right people

are moving at the right pace into the right jobs at the right time. Measurement will help

ascertain whether the pool of candidates is shallow and when the number of attractive jobs is

limited to retain high potential managers.

The following are effective metrics:

B important positions filled with internal candidates;

B succession plans having two or more ‘‘ready now’’ candidates;

B same employees as ‘‘ready now’’ candidates on more than two succession plans.

The dilemma. How to ensure a solid slate of candidates for key jobs? How to retain

employees if there are not enough challenging options available with an organization?

The final question remains – On whom should the responsibility of an individual’s growth and

development be pinned – organization, manager or individual?

Further reading

Bassett, P., Buxton, C., Pathania, R. and Sharan, M. (2007), Talent Management is the Key to India’s

Pharma Future - Executive Insight, Korn/Ferry International, Los Angeles, CA, pp. 3-5.

Chugh, S. and Bhatnagar, J. (2006), ‘‘Talent management as high performance work practice: emerging

HRM dimension’’, Management and Labour Studies, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 228-56.

Cogner, J.A. and Fulmer, R.M. (2005), ‘‘Developing your leadership pipeline’’, Harvard Business Review,

pp. 2-5.

Garrett, S. (n.d.), ‘‘Competency mapping: what is it and how it can be done by individuals’’, Career

Planning & Adult Development Network, available at: www.careertrainer.com/Request.

jsp?lView ¼ ViewArticle&Article ¼ OID%3 A112409&Page ¼ OID%3A112410

Reindl, R. (2007), ‘‘Growing talent at Edward Lifesciences’’, T þ D Magazine, February, ASTD.


Appendix 1

Figure A1


Appendix 2

Corresponding author

Jyotsna Bhatnagar can be contacted at: [email protected]

Figure A2


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