Ireland's Executive Talent Management Commentary 2012 - Back to the Future

ireland’s executive talent market commentary 2012
Back to the Future –
The link between talent, performance and future organisational success

Employee Value Proposition -
Competing for Talent
-----------------------------

Navigating a Changed Reward
Landscape
-----------------------------

High Performance Leadership -
Is the Leader Performing?
-----------------------------

Shattering the Glass Ceiling

hrm – the inside leadership series 2012

contents:

01 introduction

04 article one
Employee Value Proposition - Competing for Talent

07 article two
Navigating a Changed Reward Landscape

11 article three
High Performance Leadership - Is the Leader Performing?

14 article four

17 final note

introduction

Before the global economic crisis we Organisations will either adapt or cease to exist. Having been through

lived in a world of optimism and periods of cost cutting, hiring freezes and budget constraints, the

ambition. We expected a future of transformation challenge that businesses everywhere now face is getting

personal and economic growth, of back to having a future. A transition that means building confidence and

security balanced with risk, of enterprise developing the capacity to take on the challenges of new growth. Central

and development. Since the financial to this is the issue of talent.

crisis in 2008, every generation in every Despite the continued rise in unemployment in many countries,

developed country in the world has been organisation leaders and their HR teams know that a lack of the right skills

impacted by the most difficult economic and personal competencies is the biggest obstacle to organisational

period since the Great Depression. For growth. With workforces generally aging fast and with little current

many if not most, the journey to appetite for graduate recruitment, the competition for talent is rising in its

recovery is far from over. intensity. Talent management therefore, will be a core strategy for years to

come for any competitive organisation.


02 introduction

ireland’s executive talent market commentary 2012
Back to the Future –
The link between talent, performance and future organisational success

Our 2012 commentary Back to the Future, proposes that Reward is naturally a key element of any talent
organisations of all shapes and sizes who wish to grow management strategy and rarely far from the minds of
must get back to planning for a positive future. The leaders and HR specialists in these economically
themes we reflect on here, relate to aspects of Talent constrained times. We invited leading compensation
Management and in each case we have invited subject consultant Pat Gurren of Gurren Compensation to share
experts to share their perspective. how global organisations are currently re-designing their
compensation systems to achieve a more effective reward
We begin with Graham Morris, HRM’s Managing Director structure and the steps your company needs to take to
on the subject of Employee Value Proposition (EVP). This maximise its value from this investment.
coincides with the release by HRM of the largest survey
ever conducted in Ireland on EVP. The research across ten While attracting, retaining and developing talent all
professional categories and twenty industry segments require their own talent strategies, the overall goal is high
looks at the challenges of managing other people’s performance. We are delighted that one of the most
perception of your organisation as an employer and its interesting strategy consultants we have met on this
impact on their decision whether or not to engage with subject, agreed to share his thoughts. Brian MacNeice is a
you as a candidate or as an employee. partner at Kotinos, who draw their intellectual property


introduction 03

on how to create a high performing organisation, directly HRM’s core differentiator is the outstanding judgment we
from the source. Their research interviews span some of bring to our clients, borne from our commitment to high
the most exciting organisations in the world, from the All quality research. Our Research Team provides clients with
Blacks to NASA and draws on the type of performance a range of services including executive research and talent
insights few of us ever get to see first hand. mapping. In addition, they support our own research
agenda leading to the release of highly valued market
In looking to the potential for untapped talent within reports throughout the year. “Showing a Lot of Promise –
organisations, we asked former journalist and broadcaster What matters in your Employee Value Proposition”,
Orlaith Carmody to pen some thoughts on the barriers released in February 2012 and available at www.hrm.ie is
that women all too often seem to face in their an essential guide to the steps organisations can take in
organisations. A communications expert, TV producer, order to achieve better quality talent pipelines and higher
media trainer and Non Executive Director at RTE, Orlaith levels of employee engagement. We hope you enjoy and
works with female executives on how to overcome glass find value in the content of our 2012 commentary. If you
ceiling obstacles and identifies a key step women can take would like to know more about any of the contributing
to help realise their potential and drive the development authors, get in touch through the address below.
of their own careers.
Michael O’Leary | Chief Executive
HRM Recruitment Group
michael.oleary@hrm.ie

04 article one

commentary

It seems paradoxical that talent Ireland’s employment landscape is
management should be such a critical changing more rapidly and more
strategic issue for companies in Ireland permanently than at any previous time
at a time when unemployment is and with it the skills and experience
running at its current level. Yet the demanded. As global markets become
competition to attract and retain more competitive and more challenging
professional talent is as high today as - acquiring, developing and retaining
experienced just before the peak of the the skills necessary to achieve
boom. This may well be because, organisation goals become central to
despite the high numbers of organisational strategy.
unemployed in Ireland, the Central
Statistics Office indicates that the In the first of our articles Competing for
professional / technical / managerial Talent, Graham Morris, Managing
group represents just 10% of the overall Director at HRM Recruitment Group
Live Register. While this is no comfort to talks about how Employee Value
anyone out of work, it explains why Proposition can boost your Talent
supply in professional labour categories Management Strategy. The article
is not as fluid as some might believe. To discusses how to make your
this add current emigration levels, at or organisation more attractive to passive,
around 60,000 to 70,000 people discerning talent in the external labour
annually, of which the peak age range is market and increase commitment from
between 25 to 44, an increasing current employees.
majority of whom are Irish nationals
and the challenge becomes more
apparent.


article one 05

Employee Value Proposition -
Competing for Talent

E
mployee Value Proposition (EVP) in many ways, of talent pools with organisation goals and values. For
shapes your organisation’s overall Employer existing employees retention levels are generally much
Brand. Whether you apply strategic perspective or higher, while performance and effort also improve. Many
simply ignore the subject altogether, by design or well known studies point to a clear correlation between
default your company has its own Employer Brand. EVP levels of employee engagement and cost of sales. The
therefore, is how the external labour market characterises Employee-Customer-Profit Chain developed by the US
your organisation, it feeds the decision making process for department store chain and online retailer, Sears Roebuck
a candidate considering whether to apply or work for you. in the late 90’s, links Employee Value to Customer Value to
For your current employees, EVP represents the value or Shareholder Value. Engaged employees grow service
deal an employee receives as a consequence of being experience and profit.
employed by you. This “value proposition” is not limited to
compensation elements of their relationship with your We know employment relationships have both physical
company, but also includes many other factors, such as and emotional elements. While the former includes
the quality of your managers, the stability and success of “hard” aspects such as reward and working environment,
your organisation, the kudos that may be attached for an emotional elements include the often more powerful
employee by working for your company, the career “softer” characteristics of a workplace. For example, the
opportunities you provide and the work/life balance you relationship with colleagues and the esteem in which a
create. person may be held by them, the satisfaction of a job well
done and knowing that the effort and contribution an
Competitive organisations who develop clear and employee makes, actually matters, along with the belief in
implementable EVP strategies, report substantial tangible being part of a bigger worthwhile mission. We spend as
returns from their EVP activity and investment. These much if not more waking time with work colleagues as we
include; greater access to passive talent, better alignment do with family and friends, so it is not hard to see how the


06 article one

employee value proposition - competing for talent

psychological impact of our work can contribute to our The HRM EVP Report “Showing A Lot of Promise – What
overall sense of well being. matters in your Employee Value Proposition” covers all
aspects of employee proposition including ”Career
In the largest ever external survey on EVP to be conducted Development”. The top influencers in this category are the
in Ireland, HRM undertook to evaluate what matters to perception of your “Organisation’s Stability” and the
Irish professionals to the extent that it would attract quality of your organisation’s provision of “Performance
them to, or keep them at any particular organisation. Over Feedback”. Female respondents to the survey in particular
10,000 people participated in the survey, the full results of regard this latter aspect as “Highly Important”.
which published in February 2012, outline the key
determinants that make up a strong EVP for any company. As recruiters, one of the most frequent mistakes we see
A comprehensive analysis of the responses is detailed in organisations make is mishandling the recruitment
the report including how ten different occupation types process, often without even realising it. The top four
responded, how needs change up the career ladder and a “Hiring Process” related factors that would significantly
gender based breakdown. On that last point and linked to impact a professional candidate’s decision, whether or not
an article later in this report by Orlaith Carmody, of the to accept a position with your organisation are:
five career levels (Director - Functional Head - Senior
Manager - Middle Manager - Specialist/Stand alone 1. The level of rapport between them and their likely new
professional) that respondents to the survey were given to manager during the interview process.
describe their current position, males outnumbered 2. The level of interest shown at interview by the
females in percentage terms at the top three levels of interviewers.
seniority by two to one. The ratio at the highest level 3. Timely communication throughout the recruitment
“Company Director” between male and female process.
respondents was almost four to one. Women only 4. Being met by a relevant senior manager at the first
outnumbered male respondents at Middle Manager or meeting.
below.
As your organisation works to get back into the habit of
Developing an EVP strategy can be challenging as in effect planning for a successful future - particularly if you are in
you are dealing with the management of perception, the aftermath of headcount, compensation or operational
particularly in terms of the external labour market. Ask cut backs - developing a sustainable EVP is essential. An
yourself how much today is known about your company? effective EVP simply reduces costs, improves talent
What is being said about your organisation on the pipelines and grows performance. As you seek to commit
internet and not just as a place of work? What do your your employees to using their “discretionary” effort and
current employees say about your business when they get align them to your high performance goals, creating an
home to their families at night, or meet friends for overall “deal” that touches on all the elements of the
dinner? From our EVP survey report, we can tell you that employment relationship makes total sense. In an article
the top five organisation characteristics or behaviours later in this report, compensation consultant, Pat Gurren,
that professional candidates identify as influential on the talks about steps you can take to create more value from
perception of your organisation as an employer are: the pay aspects of your total rewards programme. The
contention made here is, that as your organisation seeks
1. How your organisation shows respect for employees. to emerge from the global economic crisis, the ability to
2. Your organisation’s approach to ethics. attract and retain the right talent will be essential. This
3. Your organisation’s approach to quality standards. means understanding the total experience an employee
4. Your organisation’s reputation with customers. or prospective employee has with your organisation and
5. The level of employee empowerment that is the value they place on each and every element of that
encouraged. experience.

With these in mind, go back and ask yourself again the
questions contained in the previous paragraph.
Graham Morris is Managing Director of HRM Recruitment

Group. For more information, visit www.hrm.ie

graham.morris@hrm.ie


article two 07

perfection
Contingency & Retained Search, Contract &
Interim Selection through 3 Practice Areas:
professional services group
science & technology group
commercial & support group
HRM Recruitment Group | p: (+353 1) 632 1800 | e: info@hrm.ie | www.hrm.ie

commentary

Graham Morris’ article on EVP makes it It is in this climate, that organisations must
clear that performance and engagement is find methods to attract, grow and retain
about so much more than just high performing talent. In reviewing their
compensation. Yet, Reward remains a Reward systems, many companies have
central component around which many HR learned that far from being at the heart of
strategies are based. These are challenging driving their businesses, their “incentive”
times for Reward professionals. Attitudes to pay barely related to individual output or
money changes dramatically in a recession. organisation goals. Having been through
Those who risked capital to grow value in rounds of salary reductions, withdrawals of
good times, are deemed to have received benefits etc., companies now face the most
their “just desserts” if all comes tumbling important change in their reward structure;
down around them. With less disposable making it count.
income available, employees often
Against this backdrop, with growing competition for the
question much more than just their rate of
best talent and a need to justify every cent, HR, Line and
pay. Society influences much of this shift. Reward managers must address this challenge. In
Consider that the word “Bonus”, previously Navigating a Changed Reward Landscape, Pat Gurren and

the key link word between performance Brid Cudmore, Reward Consultants at Gurren
Compensation, outline how to ensure the lessons of
and pay, now more associated with greed
previous years are learned and steps to take to ensure
and avarice. your Reward system drives future organisational success.


08 article two

navigating a changed
reward landscape

T
he economic environment over the last three Signposts for successful navigation
years has confronted organisations and HR
professionals with reward challenges and 1. Stick with the knitting. The Total Rewards Model (see
opportunities not experienced in over a Figure 1) still holds. We start with this premise as the
generation. Organisations have dealt with these model that has both stood the test of time and
challenges or opportunities with varying degrees of continues to have the virtue of common sense
success. Some have surprised themselves with what has underpinning it. We know that come what may in the
been possible to accomplish either because of, or in spite future, organisations will continue to need the ability
of, the economic environment. Here we seek to set out to attract, motivate, retain and most importantly
some signposts for organisations or HR professionals on engage their employees. The emphasis and application
how best to navigate the changed reward landscape. of particular elements of the reward strategy may
These steps are drawn from our experience in the design change over time due to environmental factors but
of compensation systems for many different fundamentally the model continues to apply.
organisations in Ireland and overseas, facing a wide
variety of compensation challenges and opportunities.


article two 09

Figure 1: Adapted from WorldatWork’s Total Rewards Model

2. First things first. An organisation’s total reward b. Demonstrate clear linkage between every reward
strategy can only be effective if it is integrated with programme implemented and how it fits with the
and driven by the organisation’s business strategy, organisation’s business strategy, organisational
organisational culture and overall HR strategy. One culture, HR strategy and overall reward philosophy.
“blessing” of the economic turbulence over the last Typically, successful organisations are merciless in
three years is that a lot of the “fluff” in terms of eliminating or not implementing in the first place,
communicating and creating linkage between an programmes that do not fit overall business strategy.
organisation’s business strategy, organisational culture c. Focus on reward strategy in a holistic manner
and HR strategy was eliminated as organisations over the medium to long term. Reward professionals
focused on survival. As the economic environment must have a clear vision of the desired end state for
stabilises and begins to improve, organisations should the organisation’s total reward proposition. They
resist the temptation to fall back into their old ways. should manage consistently in a strategic manner to
Organisations that retain the ability to crisply achieve this end state. In the absence of this clear
communicate and articulate both business strategy vision, it is easy to lose direction over time.
and organisation culture, will retain a competitive d. Understand what employees value when it
advantage as the foundation for both their HR and comes to reward. Organisations who have
Total Reward Strategy will be robust. For example, they mechanisms (for example employee engagement or
will have the ability to effectively link performance organisation climate surveys) to establish how
related pay programmes to business strategy. employees perceive various reward programmes are
best positioned to design an integrated reward
3. It’s all about synergy. The individual elements of the strategy. It is particularly important that when
Total Rewards Strategy (See Figure 1) are relatively employees are surveyed on how they value reward
straightforward to design and implement within programmes that they are forced to prioritise
organisations. The real challenge for an organisation their responses via forced ranking of preferences.
lies in creating the synergy between all the elements
(compensation, benefits, performance etc.) so that 4. Get the basics right. Reward professionals tend
they work in harmony with one another. Creating this to be relatively conservative in nature. There is good
synergy is easier said than done. Sustaining this reason for this which many organisations have learned
synergy over the medium to long term in an ever the hard way during the economic downturn. Many of
changing environment (internal and external) is even the elements of the Total Rewards Strategy are
more difficult. Organisations who are the most structural in nature i.e. they have cost and/or legal
successful in sustaining the synergy required tend to entitlement elements which once implemented are
do the following; extremely difficult to dismantle or remove from the
a. Focus on designing a finite number of reward total reward proposition. Furthermore as organisations
programmes very well rather than designing an have also learned during the economic downturn, the
infinite number of less relevant programmes. Reward cost of providing reward programmes is not as
professionals must continuously challenge and decline responsive to economic cycles as they may wish. Going
requests for new reward programmes that are either forward organisations should take the following
unnecessary or incompatible with the overall total lessons into consideration when seeking to best
rewards strategy or business strategy. manage the structural elements of their reward
programmes;


10 article two

navigating a changed reward landscape

a. Know the numbers. Reward costs tend to represent economic downturn organisations should ensure that
a significant percentage of an organisation’s total they communicate their reward strategy effectively. In
operating costs. Organisations and reward particular as organisations make changes or decisions
professionals must be on top of these numbers. in relation to pay programmes, how these changes
Companies need key metrics in place to monitor will be applied and the impact upon employees must
performance in this area; Total Reward Costs as a be thought through and communicated thoroughly.
percentage of Total Operating Cost, Total Reward Cost Communication is central to capitalising on the
per employee, Year on Year Changes in reward costs, contribution that reward can play in enabling
Variable Reward Cost as a percentage of Total Reward organisations to drive high levels of employee
Cost etc. engagement. For high levels of employee engagement,
b. Clarify the fixed versus variable percentage of its employees must perceive that their reward
reward costs that best meets the business model of programmes are fair both internally (relative to
the organisation. The variable element should flex up internal peers) and externally (equitable with the
and down with the performance of the organisation. external market rates). How effectively the
While variable pay programmes like bonus/long term organisation communicates its reward strategy is at
incentive plans have been in place for decades, it is least as important as the quantum of the rewards
surprising that in most organisations today the provided.
variable pay element represents a very low percentage
of the organisation’s total reward cost. In most cases As with life, times of great challenge and adversity test
this percentage can be measured in single digit and teach us much more than times when all is going
figures. There is a real opportunity for organisations well. As we emerge from the economic downturn it will be
who wish to have more pay contingent on the tempting to put it behind us as soon as possible and get
organisation’s performance to design this into the mix back to undertaking what we perceive as more “positive”
so that future pay costs will flex more with economic initiatives. However, the challenge that reward
conditions. professionals face going forward is how to ensure that
c. Manage the structural elements effectively - these hard learned lessons are applied and maintained to
salary ranges, merit matrices, job sizing/pricing optimise the success of their organisations in the future.
processes. Some organisations found to their cost
during the economic downturn that their salary ranges Pat Gurren is Principal Consultant and Brid Cudmore is a
were no longer fit for purpose, range mid points were Senior Reward Consultant at Gurren Compensation, an
not properly aligned to target market position and
employees had been allowed drift up within the salary independent HR consultancy specialising in compensation
ranges. The management of these “basics” is essential and benefits. See www.gurren.ie for more information.
to the structural integrity of total reward cost
management over the medium to longer term.
5. Communication. One of the more interesting
developments to emerge during the downturn is that
in some organisations, employee engagement scores
have increased considerably. At a first glance this may
appear counterintuitive but on reflection it makes
logical sense. In most cases this increase in employee
engagement levels can be linked back to an increased
level and improved effectiveness of communication
within organisations as they grappled with surviving
the challenges they faced. In the economic downturn
many managers needed to put more emphasis on
ensuring employees understood what was going on in
their organisations and what performance levels were
required of the employee. As we emerge from this
facing changes?
Interim & Contract Professionals from HRM


article three 11

commentary

In a 2011 article global consulting firm McKinsey ask “Do you have
the right leaders for your growth strategies?” They investigate
whether there is a confirmed link between growth and specific
leadership traits by comparing their own data on organisation
growth performance, with a database of performance appraisals
belonging to international search firm Egon Zehnder. Ultimately, they
arrive at the conclusion that “leadership quality is critical to growth,
that most companies don’t have enough high-quality executives, and
that certain competencies are more important to some growth
strategies than to others.” It is for this reason that proportionately
speaking, the current volume of change at executive level in most
international recruitment markets is several times that of middle
management or lower.

We understand in general what traits a good leader must In High Performance Leadership – Is the Leader

have, depending on the challenges they face. But defining Performing? Brian MacNeice of Kotinos Partners talks

what great leaders actually do to create a high about the results of his organisation’s research in to some

performance organisation is not always so easy. What are truly remarkable organisations. MacNeice’s own career as

the elements and activities that a leader brings, that drive a top management consultant with leading global firms,

an organisation to greatness? along with his experience in sport as a Heineken Cup

Referee and an Irish Cricket Selector gives him first hand

experience of the essential dynamics that enable great

organisational success.


12 article three

High Performance Leadership –
Is the Leader Performing?

O
ver the last seven years we have been 1. People change when their circumstances change – as
researching the world’s greatest performance Darwin proved we are adaptive beings, shaped by our
environments to help us develop a deep environment and will react or adapt accordingly.
insight into what drives better performance
from any group of people. The research has taken us all 2. Certain changes in circumstances will stimulate
over the world from sport (New Zealand All Blacks), the improved performance in the population of people
arts (Julliard School of Music, New York), military (US Navy impacted by those circumstances – this is a logical
Seals), science and technology (MIT and Harvard), conclusion from above. In other words if we are
business (Google) and many other examples of genuine shaped by the environment around us and adapt
high performance. Each year our research continues and accordingly surely there is a specific set of
our understanding deepens. We apply that thinking to our circumstances that can be created that will lead to a
work with CEO’s, Leadership Teams and Executives to reaction called improved performance.
deliver great outcomes for our clients.
3. Our role as leaders is to implement the specific
There is, however, a constant underlying premise that lies circumstances that stimulate improved performance
at the core of our research and is of profound importance in our population of people – if 1 and 2 are right then
to any executive with responsibility for managing the natural progression of this theory is that any
performance of people. leader (CEO, Senior Executive, Manager, Team Leader,
etc.) has a duty to ensure that they create the right
The premise comes in three parts: conditions in their environment that will lead to
improved performance from the people within.


article three 13

If you are in a leadership role - executive, functional, or Promoting Development Through Effective Feedback – they
line – then a key part of your role is creating and create and foster a feedback rich culture.
managing a high performance environment for the
people under your responsibility. What our research has Measuring What Matters Effectively – they isolate and
helped us understand is that as a leader if you are not identify the measures that give an accurate picture of
creating the right conditions for delivering better current performance in the areas that really matter and
performance from your people, then bottom line, you are they ensure these measures are effective.
not doing your job!
Creating Performance Pressure – they create mechanisms
But how do you go about setting the right environment to ensure that the performance pressure is strong within
for performance in any group of people? This continues to the environment and there is no room for complacency.
be the unique focus of our research. We have found that
great organisations are made, not born. They are made on Injecting Meaning – they develop a strong sense of
the back of a set of organisational capabilities that, over purpose or meaning that drives people and this is
time, are built into the DNA of the organisation and that reinforced through action not just words.
lie at the heart of its performance environment. We have
also found that these organisational capabilities can be The core of every leadership role in any organisation is
developed by the leaders within the business to ensure about creating and maintaining the right conditions for
that better performance is delivered and sustained over people to deliver better performance. This is a
time. fundamental and is non-negotiable. The performance
pressure on every business today is greater than ever. As
Our research has shown that the same organisational we have found, great organisations are made not born.
capabilities are common across virtually all of the high What are you doing to make your organisation great?
performing institutions we have studied and more After all it is your job ...
particularly they have been cultivated over time in a
deliberate way by the leaders of these institutions. We do Brian MacNeice is a founder and Managing Director of
not explore each capability in depth here – that is the Kotinos Partners Limited, a niche advisory firm working
focus of a series of articles that tackle each one
to help CEOs and their teams achieve sustained high
individually. However, the following is a summary of what
we have found. performance. For more information, visit
www.kotinospartners.com.
Setting Unreasonable Ambition – the best institutions are
constantly setting and aiming for great challenges.

Being Strategic – they have a clear understanding of the
two or three things that matter more than anything else
in determining success.

Maintaining High Standards & Expectations – they set
ridiculously high standards in the areas that matter most
and are explicit about what represents acceptable and
more particularly unacceptable performance.

Being Decisive, Promoting Decisions – they build a culture
that allows, encourages and expects people to make
informed decisions and take responsibility at all levels
within the organisation.

changing faces?
Interim & Contract Professionals from HRM


14 article four

commentary

The environment in which organisations have found
themselves over the last few years, has resulted in a
continuous need to drive to improve employee and
organisation performance. Necessity is the Mother of
real talent analysis and petty biases are begining to be
put aside. Yet while the level of female presence in
boardrooms and senior management teams is slowly
rising, statistics show females still lag behind their
male counterparts in achieving higher office.

In any organisation today, how much talent sits untapped, In Shattering the Glass Ceiling, former journalist and
simply due to gender? How often does the very leadership broadcaster Orlaith Carmody discusses some of the subtle
potential companies seek to secure their future, remain communication elements that women need to adopt to
overlooked within, purely because it is female? Why do so propel their own careers. As a Non-executive Director and
many Irish companies today have no females on their leading media/communications consultant, Orlaith
board or in their CEO positions? Carmody argues, that organisational elements women
often dismiss as irrelevant, such as internal politics are key
While the basis for this has historically been regarded as for them to embrace. And that there are many
being down to institutional bias, many commentators opportunities available today for women to break through
now suggest that it is in fact women who need to adapt to the highest levels, if they are prepared to invest
in order to thrive. The challenges are to understand, how thought and time in developing a strategy.
frequently superior female people skills, can be developed
to achieve more productive relationships between
executives and help to work mutually through periods of
organisation conflict. That female executives, rather than
adopt the perceived stereotypical behaviours of their male
counterparts and risking the “ball breaker” tag, need to
balance their personal strengths more effectively with
organisation dynamics.


article four 15


I
was once told that you should publicise your plan but significant part, is our ability to relate, negotiate and
keep your strategy secret, and it was good advice. A manage relationships. If we want to demonstrate that we
plan is a stated commitment to growing sales, can manage people down the line, we must be able to
increasing turnover, expanding the customer base or manage them up the line too.
making it to management level. Proudly stated, a plan
shows drive, ambition and the existence of goals, all of Politics is not a dirty word – it is simply opening lines of
which imply career focus and direction and generally communication with decision makers within the
impress the management team. organisation. It is about building networks and finding
ways to get your ideas aired in the right place, and to take
A strategy is a different thing entirely. It is more about the credit for things you have achieved. It is about
moves you will make today, quietly and often unnoticed, understanding where power comes from and how it can
in order that the plan will fall into place tomorrow. It is be harnessed and used well.
about having a clear picture of the end of the road, and an
understanding of the twists and the turns that have to be Some people describe it as a bit like running for office, at
negotiated in order to get there. the office. That is, presenting your case in the best
possible light to the best possible audience all of the time,
The problem is that women often mistakenly think that not just when a job or promotion is coming up.
spending time on this sort of thing is playing politics, and
something that they don’t have the patience to dwell on. And it is also about confidence, the confidence to know
Typically, women focus on doing a job really well, and that we can employ skills we use in all kinds of real life
believe that this should speak for itself. situations every day, and apply them to the workplace. We
expertly manage homes, parent-teacher relationships,
But when Mary, who is running her department like community projects, elderly parents and a whole range of
clockwork, is passed over for promotion and John, running other commitments and we can easily do the same on the
the department next door – she would suggest not half as job.
efficiently – gets the management job, Mary is left
wondering what on earth happened. Perhaps the answer Unfortunately, despite all the advances made towards
is that no one knew how well her department was gender balance in the workplace, studies are still showing
running! While she had her head down attending to the that women have less career confidence than their male
micro, John was putting less time into the day to day, and counterparts. In a survey on the subject last year, only 50%
his extra available time into the macro – his strategy of of women state that they have high career confidence
networking and making sure that everyone important compared with 70% of men. And very interestingly, while
knew about all his achievements. over 20% of men will ‘chance’ going for a job or promotion
above their skillsets, only 14% of women will have a go.
Taking the John and Mary analogy further, in the tall
building with the slow lift John lurks in the foyer in the There is no magic wand that will create confidence
morning until he sees the CEO about to get in, and hops in overnight, or erase the ‘imposter syndrome’ that many
beside him for the ride up and the golden opportunity to women report – a feeling that they got the current job or
tell him how well that project turned out. Mary is about promotion by accident and they are bound to be found
to get into the lift beside the CEO one morning, out soon. But by starting to campaign for your career, and
completely by accident, but she pauses instead, checks gathering ‘votes’ from people that matter, you will begin
something on her mobile phone, and catches the next lift to feel a small surge of confidence that can be the
up instead. Why? Because she thinks she would have platform for further development.
nothing to talk to him about - she doesn’t play golf, and
he hardly wants to hear how her kids are doing. By gathering ‘votes’ I mean working out the hidden lines
of communication within an organisation, as opposed to
The change in mindset obviously needed here is that the formal lines of communication, and finding a way in;
office politics is not an optional add-on to the job, it is the developing a personal ‘brand’ within the organisation;
job. Skills and accomplishments are only part of what gets building relationships with people who may mentor you,
us jobs in the first place. The other part, and a very or eventually even actively campaign for your


16 article four

shattering the glass ceiling

advancement; and creating visibility by taking on high
profile projects.

There are still only thirteen women CEOs at the head of
Fortune 500 companies in the US, but there has never
been a better time for women to make their mark.
Worldwide research is showing that companies with more
women in leadership roles are actually giving higher
returns. It seems that the more consensus building and
collaborative approach of women is coming into its own in
the current age, and the bottom line will always be a great
driver.

At home, a range of state board appointments advertised
since 2009 have had a gender quota which made it very
attractive for women to apply, and in the UK the Davies
review recommended that by 2015, 25% of the directors
of publicly quoted companies should be women.

This is a time of great opportunity for women: women
who believe they have a right to a place at the table –
management, boardroom or political. You have the
education, the skills and the experience. All you need now
is the mindset.

Orlaith Carmody is a Director of Mediatraining.ie and sits

on the Board of RTÉ. She runs a workshop for executive

women, Shattering the Glass Ceiling. Details at

www.mediatraining.ie

Great Minds
(think apart)

Contingency & Retained Search, Contract &
Interim Selection through 3 Practice Areas:

professional services group
science & technology group
commercial & support group

HRM Recruitment Group | p: (+353 1) 632 1800 | e: info@hrm.ie | www.hrm.ie


final note 17

final note

Since our inception over twenty years ago, clients
have trusted HRM to deliver the very best talent
into critical Senior Executive and Middle
Management, Specialist and Senior Support
appointments.

We are a single-source for a wide range of talent
acquisition services including Contingency and
Retained Search, Contract and Interim Solutions,
Talent Mapping and Recruitment Outsourcing.

Today our client base ranges across industries,
from start-ups to global giants and is split
between Ireland, Western Europe and UK. Our
talent reach however is global. Our internal
research team and external research providers
build on our unique understanding of client
needs to deliver outstanding selection results.

HRM’s investment in technology, in training and
in selection tools means we can assess
candidates, not just for the immediate need, but
also for their likely future behaviour and stretch
potential. We seamlessly integrate process steps,
market research and outstanding judgement to
generate unique insights and solutions for our
clients.

HRM, an Irish Business with a European
Customer Base and a Global Talent Reach.


HRM Recruitment Group,
47 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2.

p: (+353 1) 632 1800
e: info@hrm.ie

www.hrm.ie

Ireland's Executive Talent Management Commentary 2012 - Back to the Future

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