SMARTalent Things to Think About Why do SMMs have a hard time finding and keeping employees? What should they be doing – internally – to manage their workforce talent? How can we help them manage their workforce without the process becoming burdensome to them? How can we ensure that the MEP focus on growth, automation and innovation is connected to and supported by SMMs’ workforce choices?

SMARTalent EX: Recruitment and retention is a critical problem for SMMs, states the MEP survey. This problem is complex, but can be simplified by demonstrating how workforce decisions and business goals are connected at a deeper level than just hiring “warm bodies”. The costs of employee turnover can be staggering, ranging anywhere from 1/2 to 5 times an employee's annual wages dependent upon his or her position. If you have a turnover rate of 25% and employ 40 employees each earning $25,000 annually, the costs of turning over 10 of these employees over the course of a year will be at least $125,000.

SMARTalent MEP began conceptualizing a technology tool in This tool will enable SMMs to look at business targets and compare them to workforce investments and practices, and see if they have “gaps” between the what they need to be successful and what they have. It will stimulate their thinking and provide data about the larger picture of hiring, retaining, training, talent management and succession as aligned to their business goals/targets. Business Drivers Diagnostic Questions Scoring Logic Visual Output Actions

SMARTalent In using the diagnostic, SMMs will know more about their: Alignment between business targets, business practices and talent management practices. Gaps will be inferred by virtue of gathering data and either: 1) comparing their data to benchmark data or 2) comparing their business goals to their workforce investments and analyzing what the problems are that keep them from being more competitive. MEP Centers will help SMMs prioritize actions toward improvements in practices and processes.

SMARTalent SMMs that analyze their workforce investments in ways similar to their other business investments (process control, inventory management, product development, finance and accounting) will find that their use of diagnostics for talent management will provide them with: Greater Productivity: Employees’ skills will become better aligned to the skills needed by the company, resulting in greater effectiveness and efficiency in their operations. Better Trained Employees: As skill needs and requirements become standardized, and employers gain more and better access to training customized to those requirements, employees will be better-trained in industry-specific skills aligned to business goals. Reduced Turnover: With a focus on workforce development as a system, employees will be better matched with their job descriptions, and with access to training and career ladders, and they will be more inclined to stay where there are opportunities for advancement. Better Pool of Job Applicants: As more community or regional resources are devoted to training people in the appropriate skills needed for the company and industry, the pipeline of qualified applicants will expand to support business growth. Cost Offsets: As productivity goes up, turnover goes down, processes become more efficient, and barriers to productivity are reduced. With a workforce system in place, workforce investments are optimized and risks reduced.

SMARTalent SMARTalent helps CEOs understand their current practices and gaps; the modules manage and implement talent planning decisions as they align to business goals. SMARTalent is a knowledge management and process implementation tool.

SMARTalent Job Occupations Company Profile Industry Benchmark Data Company Info & Stats Company data compared with: - Industry benchmark data Company data compared with: - Industry benchmark data - Workforce data (benchmark data) Company WF & TM Company Organizational Practices Company data compared with: - Industry benchmark data - Workforce data (benchmark data) - Organizational data (benchmark) Company Strategic Direction Company data compared with: - Industry benchmark data - Workforce data (benchmark data) - Organizational data (benchmark) - Potential WF needs Company data compared with: - Industry benchmark data - Workforce data (benchmark data) - Organizational data (benchmark) - Potential workforce needs - Workforce gaps to be corrected

SMARTalent Data gathering Gathers data on client’s business goals/targets and common operational practices Gathers data on client’s workforce/talent management operational practices Strategic alignment Provides relevant key information and knowledge about the workforce to support the strategic direction of the business Takes client’s business goals and practices data and talent management data and provides feedback in the form of gaps between the two Displays talent gaps to analyze potential solutions and maximize operational success Ask SMARTalent Clients can ask SMARTalent questions related to WF challenges - SMARTalent provides insight, relevant good practices, industry benchmarks, comparisons and relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) Centers can suggest cost effective way to close and manage apparent talent gaps to help businesses become more competitive

SMARTalent

Max Knowledge Output Min Data Input

Max Knowledge Output Min Data Input Disconnects Between Goals, Stated Priorities and Actual Practice

Recruitment Module Strategic Planning Module Talent Management Module Succession Module SMARTalent Completed Oct 2012 completed June 2013 Oct 2013 completed June 2014 Roll-out completed completed Roll-Out 2014 To selected centers To selected centers System Roll-out Timeline For SMARTalent Completion And Roll-out