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The importance of strategic talent management: Lessons from Boeing and Beyond. The loss or forced removal of senior talent can expose companies to the folly of youth.
Boeing’s Talent Management Crisis
The starkest example of this is at Boeing. Under CEO Jim McNerney, the company devalued the expertise and experience of Boeing’s workforce, favoring cost-saving measures and shareholder appeasement. McNerney’s strategy shifted the company’s perception of knowledge, marginalising the human element in favour of intellectual property and data.
He neglected talent management in pursuit of short-term gains.
The repercussions of McNerney’s approach were evident in the development of the 787 Dreamliner. By outsourcing to inexperienced suppliers and removing engineers who supervised quality control (as McNerney called them phenomenally talented assholes) Boeing faced massive cost overruns and delays and it was almost inevitable when two major crashes (346 casualties) occurred. It has got sobad that the flight booking site Kayak is now offering an option filtering Boeing out should the consumer prefer to mitigate risk!
Boeing’s debacle underscores the importance of talent management in today’s competitive landscape. In the war for talent, companies face a dilemma: the need to attract fresh perspectives from Generation Z while retaining the invaluable experience of seasoned professionals. Neglecting experienced talent in pursuit of youthfulness risks eroding institutional knowledge and disrupting continuity.
Lessons from Other Companies
IBM
Layoffs during “Project Phoenix” targeting experienced long tenured and experienced staff led to a loss of institutional knowledge in IBMs products, which meant it struggled to adapt these to new marketing conditions. The loss of this expertise also hamstrung its efforts to bring new products to market.
Toys “R” Us
A failure to innovate and compete effectively can be attributed, in part, to its decision to cut costs and lay off experienced staff, leading to diminished customer service quality, which saw a once loyal customer base run into the open arms of Amazon, and they didn’t return.
Ogilvy
Campaigns have struggled to connect with older demographics, which was attributed to their emphasis on hiring young and digitally savvy talent to keep pace with technological advancements and shifting market trends but forgetting that it was the older generation that had all the purchasing power.
Conclusion
Effective talent management requires a blend of fresh perspectives and seasoned expertise. By learning from past mistakes and prioritising strategic talent management, companies can thrive in an ever-evolving business environment.
