Συνέντευξη του Γενικού Διευθυντή της Prestige Business κ. Μιχάλη Χατζηαντωνίου, στην κα Αθηνά Κομνηνού Οργανωσιακή Ψυχολόγο,

στο πλαίσιο Περιγραφικής Μελέτης του τομέα «Στρατηγική Διαχείριση Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού» του κολλεγίου Deree.

Talent Management in contemporary organizations

Mr. Michalis Chatziantoniou gladly accepted to answer our questions and give us his own views on Talent Management.

“Talent Management is not just a trend”, he says, “Even if only big companies give the proper attention on attracting and retaining talented people, when you are focused on people even if you have a small company, you can actually make a difference”. Through his experience he came to realize that the human capital is not something static, but a dynamic force which with the proper guidance and support can flourish and provide every company with a competitive advantage. “when you are trying to build a strong team you have to be just, but justice doesn’t mean equality. Every employee has a potential different from the other, but everyone can become better given the proper environment. If I distinguish one or two A’ players, I have lost the team. But if I know what to expect from everybody, what they can do better, what they are afraid of, what holds them back, my job is to help them overcome those obstacles and reach their full potential”. For Mr. Chatziantoniou two are the main components to help the talents of the employees emerge: listen cheerfully what they want and why and make it their motive. “Some people want safety, others prefer money bonuses, development opportunities, more creative decision making power, more flexible working time. It is important to know what the employees value the most and then create a goal for them. In a way it’s a selling process: you estimate what the other person can sell and what you can give to him as a return”.

Discriminating explicitly the employees is an approach that will most probably create more problems than then ones it solves. According to Mr. Chatziantoniou everyone must feel important because everyone is. “I always keep in mind the Pareto rule, 80/20: 20% of the employees are responsible for the 80% of the work. 80% of the outcome is due to 20% of the effort. You have to reward this 20% of the workforce because you rely on them. But you can’t disregard the remaining 80%. You have to motivate them. If you give them the proper motivation they will perform better in what they do. They may not be talented, but they can become better”. To stress out his opinion he uses a sports metaphor: “You see a football player in a team with a certain coach and he is not performing. He leaves, goes to another team with another coach and he is performing. Was the football player less talented when he was in the first team? No. The difference was made by the coach: the second coach new how to motivate him, to engage him, to make come out the best of him”.

When creating a talent pipe-line Mr. Chatziantoniou supports the idea that it is better to utilize the current employees before searching outside the company for talented people. What he stresses as the most important advantages of internal resourcing are: its less costly, less risky, more motivating, and creates a more solid team. “Not all people have the same potential nor the same ambition. I respect that. But when I evaluate that somebody has the capabilities to excel and he wants to excel, I will make sure that the company will not waste this potential”.

Conclusion

“If implemented correctly, talent management not only gives an organization the necessary leverage in a constantly changing and challenging environment, but also motivates employees to stress their potential to their limits. It further affirms their need for self-actualization. 0However, an elitist approach focused not on distinction but on segregation may lead to disappointing side effects creating a climate of unfairness and sabotaging the advancement of a firm. As the advanced west civilization is becoming more and more individualistic, being special, being appraised for our unique talents, making a difference, leaving our mark, are the goals of almost every millennial. In that context, to paraphrase Voltaire, if talent management didn’t exist it would be necessary to invent it. Yet, when working with people we must always keep in mind that those notions that we scornfully call unquantifiable, like ethics, justice, respect, make a quantifiable difference”.