Recruitment Innovation Summit 2011 Interview - Shawn Elliot, AVP, Talent Management, Munich Reinsurance

Recently, Joe Minaudo, Social Community Manager of the upcoming Recruitment Innovation Summit spoke with Shawn Elliott as part of a dynamic line of speakers that will lead sessions on October 26 and 27th 2011 in Toronto. The theme of Shawn’s presentation will be “Talent Calibration.”

JM: With more than 15 years of experience in Recruitment and Talent Management, how would you describe the evolution of our industry and where is there continued room for growth?

SE: Certainly it is evolving, and that is a good thing.  I think the prominence of technology and social media has taken the industry in a direction that has enabled recruiters to step up their game and really add value beyond what we were seeing. Even as recently as two or three years ago. That said, I do think there is more work to be done in integrating talent acquisition (or ‘recruitment’) into the overall talent management strategy of an organization.  Some companies have done this well, but my sense is that this is not the norm.  My hope, is that HR and Business Leaders will see that by having recruiters more involved, it will significantly enhance the quality of candidates that are presented for consideration.

JM: How would you define Talent Calibration and why is it important within HR and Recruitment?

SE: For me, Talent Calibration is all about setting benchmarks and evaluating individual skills against the benchmark(s).  That’s a rather simple statement, and one might ask, “why have recruiters involved?”  It’s simple really- when recruiters have greater awareness of the benchmarks and what skills are present within a particular team, they will do a much better job of sourcing and screening candidates. 

JM: What were the challenges in implementing Talent Calibration within your organization and what are some things other organizations can do to avoid experiencing these issues?

SE: I suppose the biggest challenge is preparing managers and coaches for the sessions.  Creating an environment of trust, where managers can openly discuss individual strengths and areas of opportunity.  At Munich Re prior to implementing talent calibration, we went down the path of identifying a core competency model that went on to form the basis of our calibration sessions.  I will speak more to this in my session at the RIS.

JM: With Munich Re being a global organization, what are some of the considerations you have incorporated into your Talent Calibration strategy to ensure your regional and international stakeholders support you through this initiative?

SE: In many ways, this is where the real benefit comes in to play with talent calibration.  Across the globe, we now have a common language and can make comparisons that we were otherwise unable to do.  This has helped us with the implementation of our leadership development programs. It has also been a big help when seeking out talent for global projects and initiatives. Not to mention filling vacancies as they come up.

JM: After implementing a Talent Calibration strategy, what are the next steps in progressing as an HR organization?

SE: Holding everyone accountable to the process, and the overall objective which should always be to ‘continue raising the bar’ with regards to building and maintaining a high performance workforce.

JM: Talent Calibration seems like a fairly high level leadership strategy. Do you have any suggestions as to how to make it understandable and relevant to Recruiters?

SE: I spent many years working in recruitment and the greatest advice I think I could give recruiters is to ‘look beyond.’  Don’t be satisfied with funneling candidates and closing requisitions.  Get involved, and really understand your client’s talent strategy. Get a clear vision of what high performance looks like, and allow this to guide you in sourcing new talent.

JM: Which areas and levels within HR do you believe would find value in attending your session at the Recruitment Innovation Summit?

SE: HR Leaders and recruiters who have the opportunity to get more involved with their clients.

JM: Thank you for your time Shawn. I look forward to learning more during your presentation “Talent Calibration” at the Summit.

Shawn Elliott is Assistant Vice President, Talent Management – North America (Life) for Munich Re.  In this capacity, he is responsible for ensuring talent strategies are in place to support the current and future needs of the organization.  His focus is primarily on performance management, learning and development, succession planning, and employee engagement.  Shawn shares his time between the US and Canadian client groups, located in Atlanta and Toronto respectively.