Slow Talent: It’s time we reclaimed the time to think

Are you working in a “speed culture” where productivity is linked to the speed in which things happen?

TA is famous for this, as evidenced by our Time to Hire metric. If things can be achieved faster, the assumption is that we are more productive. Higher productivity = better.

Stand Up meetings are a great example of this, they take less time so… they are better? As Margaret J Wheatley asked in Can we reclaim time to think?,  “No one measures the productivity of these meetings by asking whether people have developed wiser solutions, better ideas, or more trusting relationships. If we can pause for a moment and see what we are losing as we speed up, I can’t imagine that we would continue with this bargain. We’re giving up the very things that make us human. Our road to hell is being paved with hasty intentions. I hope we can notice what we’re losing-in our day-to-day lives, in our community, in our world. I hope we’ll be brave enough to slow things down. But I don’t believe anybody is going to give us time to think. We have to reclaim it for ourselves.”

“Thinking is the place where intelligent actions begin”

At a time where TA is working towards having more strategic input in the wider organisation, we need to critically think about how we will provide new levels of strategic value.

A former manager of mine was never in the office on a Monday because he claimed it as his “thinking day”. You’d find him out in nature, usually by his pool (famously looking like he wasn’t working) but it was his slow time. His thinking time. Where his brain had time to read, think, connect the dots and be creative.  Claiming a pool day likely won’t cut it in your work culture, but putting your Out of Office on to conduct some Horizon Scanning, Scenario Planning and creating Strategic Intelligence, just might. Otherwise known (by me) as the Power Trio for Talent Planning.

1. Horizon Scanning

Horizon Scanning is a method that allows you to spot emerging trends, risks and opportunities that could impact your organisation’s future. By examining the environment (labour market, economy, technology, automation, demographic shifts, visa and migration, evolving skills, political shifts industry-specific development, changes in labour regulations and social trends etc.), you can proactively prepare.  First to brief your C-suite and then to adapt your talent strategy to meet future demands. The goal is to broaden the organisation’s perspective and facilitate proactive decision-making by identifying potential disruptions or transformative shifts before they occur.

2. Scenario Planning/Scanning

Scenario Planning allows you to explore different plausible future scenarios and their potential implications. In the context of the labour market, that involves creating future scenarios that consider different talent-related factors, such as skill shortages, changing workforce demographics, and evolving work arrangements. Scenario scanning helps you prepare for a range of talent-related challenges, enabling them to develop contingency plans and adapt their recruitment and retention strategies accordingly. It is here that you will help your C-Suite to manage uncertainty, build confidence and position your Organisation to be in the best position to capitalise on opportunities.

3. Strategic Intelligence

Strategic intelligence (People Analytics is one factor of this) is a likely contender as the Talent Trend of 2024. Without intelligence, it’s difficult to provide expert advice and Advisory is where Talent aim to shift to. Collecting, analysing, and interpreting information to generate actionable insights that support strategic decision-making. Strategic intelligence serves as the foundation for informed decision-making by providing timely and relevant information about the organization’s external and internal environment. This data provides context helps an organisation and Talent Team with a “no surprises” approach disrupting plans and outcomes.

Horizon scanning, scenario scanning, and strategic intelligence are powerful tools that will allow you to Anticipate Disruptions, Identify Opportunities, Enhance Organisational Resilience and Create Better Decision-Making BUT only if we reclaim our time to think.