At London Business School, a third of all staff positions are filled by internal candidates, which is an indication the school has had success in developing and retaining its staff. In addition to the school's learning and development programs — and a focus on building an internal brand within the organization — in recent years, its HR department has developed a management development program to improve cross-departmental thinking, brand awareness and performance in the workplace. The program's goal is to promote HR employee recognition and development, thus promoting staff productivity and motivating recruiters to find and retain the best people.

Today's job market is increasingly competitive. Talent managers must consistently evaluate and reassess employees and their roles in order to retain the best talent. They also must put programs in place to help recruit top-notch employees.

However, a policy offering development programs may not immediately resonate among staff and may not be enough to maintain the school's workforce. Stefan Thau, assistant professor of organizational behavior at London Business School, emphasized that there is a risk individuals and teams may display self-defeating behaviors when asked to learn new methods or work in new teams. To avoid this and generate leadership learning, staff development and attainment of performance goals must be supported.

"The problem is everything which is new carries some uncertainty about whether what's going to happen will create good or bad outcomes for me. In some ways, it's only natural to stay on the side of caution and not change," Thau said. "We recognize the psychology of self-defeating behaviors and are committed to challenging students and staff to be adaptive and flexible."

Staff working in the school's Career Services office supports key sources of talent for global organizations and assesses, trains and coaches students and alumni as potential employees before they are hired by recruiters.

However, after a previous director implemented a successful operational turnaround, it was apparent staff turnover was high and morale was low. Diane Morgan, then a new-hire as director of Career Services, built a cohesive team to support productivity and increase performance, as well as reflect the needs of the business and the new leader.

"It became immediately apparent that, for me to be successful in my role, the team had to achieve success and recognition as individuals, team members and contributors at the greater organization level," said Morgan. "So my first strategic priority as director was to build and develop a high-performing team."

Source: http://www.talentmgt.com