I know I am tired of reading about all the bad news in the world, and I am sure you are as well. The news has been all about the meltdown in the financial sector, frozen credit markets, rising foreclosure rates, and greedy bankers on Wall Street. So what does that news have to do with organizational development and Talent? We have seen banks literally disintegrate in the last 6 months and the last two Bulge Bracket investment banks (Goldman and Morgan Stanley) converted to bank holding companies a couple weeks ago. There are fundamental changes underway in banking and is it clear that financial institutions cannot operate like they did before. Whether those changes are reflected in who they loan their money to, or the investment decisions they make, it is undeniable that things have changed.
Despite these changes, I find myself wondering if the banks are thinking through the critical talent issues that are inherent with any mass reorganization. Are the banks actually looking at the skills and competencies required to operate in this new model and putting the best people in those positions – or more importantly keeping the best people around – amid record layoffs? The star trader who made the bank a ton of money in commodity derivative trades may not have a future if the bank shuts down that operation, but perhaps he or she can be trained in a new area or is looking for a career change. This may be naïve since many people would argue that bankers are all greedy and will just chase the money to a hedge fund or a different bank (remember the wise quote from the great financial genius Gordon Gekko – ‘Greed is Good’ – the scary thing is that this clip is 20+ years old). But let’s face it, banks are moving into a conservative period and a new mode of operation.
It is getting even more complicated with the recently passed bailout package, the government takeovers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the government actually taking equity stakes in banks. The tsunami that is building around increased regulation is about to crash down on Wall Street and that will place significant demands on their training, organizational structures, compensation, and compliance. Will these banks take the time to think about organizational development, the people they have in place, their competencies, and how they align with this new world order in financial services?
The short answer is they better. These changes are moving at a frenetic pace, and now is the time for HR and OD professionals to take the lead and (re)establish the value they can offer in a situation like this. The banks need to figure out where they are going (okay, that is not easy), what skills are needed to support that operating model, what skills and talent they have today, and develop a plan to close the gap. That sounds like common sense, but let’s face it common sense is not always common knowledge (as we have all witnessed firsthand over past several weeks).
Editor's Note: Jeff Kristick is the SVP of Marketing at Plateau Systems, a global provider of Talent Management solutions. He is living large in Vienna (Virginia that is, not Austria), and just getting used to the DC/East Coast after spending the last 8 years in San Francisco. Technology marketing is his thing, but he spends most of his time at work convincing his boss that Talent Management does include managing your Fantasy Football team.
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I think similar questions will come to the automotive industry as well.