Talent pool

Leveraging hidden resources It is not uncommon for an organization's management to be asked to do more with less, with fewer staff, smaller budgets and in less time. But for managers and supervisors who are asked to implement new in-house projects with existing resources, hope can be injected into the situation by looking at the relationship among three elements: Skills needed for a specific project Hidden resources in staff and coworkers Team selection for a project based on those resources and skills Finding those resources, matching them to the right project and bolstering them with an appropriate team can pay dividends for the company and give the employees a greater contributory role in day-to-day operations. Identify hidden resources Hidden resources are skills employees have from education, hobbies and previous work experience. They can expand your options in assigning tasks and managing projects. They're easy to identify. For example, take five minutes during a staff meeting, give each employee a page with their name on it and ask them to answer the following: List five skills they have that aren't used at work Ask which one they most enjoy doing and why Ask what they like best about their current work Ask what they like least about their current work This "resume review" captures skills everyone has above and beyond those in a job description, and they are often skills people will gladly use if given an opportunity. Here is how those skills were used successfully to solve one organization's dilemma. Case history: managing departmental web presence At Mount Holyoke College, a professional web developer set up and helped populate each department's web pages. Now that updates were needed the college wanted each department to be responsible. In response, the college notified the departments that they would be required to update and maintain their Web pages and to assign a staff member to take that responsibility. The college would provide Web training for the chosen employees. The challenge was that no department had an employee with the required skills. They were in a quandary over whom to assign. The skills needed: The first step was not to ask "Who can do it?" but "What are the skills needed for the project?" Here are the primary ones. 1. Digital photography and manipulation of photos with software. 2. Page layout skills with a sense of style and composition. 3. Skills in writing, editing and presenting information. 4. Computer skills including updating pages, transferring and maintaining files, and web software. Picking the team: The second step identified the hidden resources in the test department using a "resume review." And instead of attempting to single out one employee, the process identified four employees each with a talent in one of the needed areas. Here is what they found: Digital Photography - They looked to the employee who showed up at department events with a digital camera and by the next day had emailed the photos to everyone in the department. The person demonstrated an interest in covering events, knew how to download photos from a camera, format them and email them to others. Page Layout - They looked for that person who displayed a sense of style and eye appeal. In this case, it was the person who cleaned and organized the bulletin board. It could be someone who initiated a department newsletter, or the one person everyone asked for help formatting documents. Writing and Editing - All departments did not have a writer on staff, but an employee in one department had written manuals and procedures. If such skills were needed, the recommendation was made to trade services, with one department providing a photographer in exchange for writing services. Computer Skills - Lastly was the computer "guru." They looked at the resume review and identified the person who spent most of their free time at home on their computer, who had an exploring attitude and wanted to learn the skills needed for Web maintenance. In the end, they found four people with the needed skills and trained them to work as a team. Each person spent one-to-two hours a month contributing to maintaining the department's web page, versus relying on one person to spend eight hours or more, assuming they could find one person with all the needed skills. Which they could not do. Save time and money The same process was used for the support staff in an administrator's office. The results allowed the administrator to assign special projects to support staff with matching skills instead of following hierarchical lines. It boosted morale among the support staff because they could work on a project directly with the administrator. It also provided a method for addressing special assignments that normally were beyond the purview of the department. This same process was used with the Director of Facilities at Wycliff Associates in Dallas, Texas. In taking over a new group or staff and needing to blend them into a volunteer program, the process helped the director find common ground by focusing on individual strengths as a way to move forward as a team. Any small-and medium-size business can develop the interests/skills profile for each of their staff and break down each project to the skills needed and then identify individuals who would be best to carry out a new project. It increases the odds for success because those involved will be working from their strengths and interests. This is a win-win combination.