Why Do Businesses Need A Strong Talent Strategy?

What Are The Challenges Or The Core Trends You Have Seen Over The Years In Talent Management?

We just started with talent management at first Republic bank, where our bankers are doing talent planning with their teams to identify high potentials candidates. However, it’s been kind of in silos and on vertical slants. We are not sure how they can help us in other parts of the organization. As a result, we wanted to see how a skills-based approach helps identify talent. We used our learning and development systems to acquire specific skills to perform a job better. We have been in this business for nearly 40 years and have used our entrepreneurship to expand our company to about $30 billion. However, we have reached a stage where scalability and getting the leaders to speak in the same language on identify high potentials will be our major difficulties going ahead.

What Is Your Approach When It Comes To Designing Skillful And Centralized Leadership Programs?

We approach leadership development in a unique way, and Wharton built the majority of our program. For me, it’s important to have a common and shared language to identify high potentials and offer talent and mobility opportunities within the organization.

We have a lot of really talented individuals at first Republic, but they may not be doing the right work right now for their careers. Michael Jordan, a legendary basketball player, is my finest example. When he shifted to baseball, he did well, but when he returned to basketball, he won three more championships. Therefore, it’s about finding the same individual and making sure we can recognize their abilities, passions, work histories, and other traits to offer them a path so that they can assist us in expanding our business in the future.

What Steps Did You Take To Make Room For Remote Work?

Although working from home was somewhat perfect, it didn’t really become popular until the pandemic hit. I believe some businesses will always require face-to-face interactions, and our business model is unquestionably based on interpersonal relationships. Therefore, we adopt a different strategy in attempting to zig when everyone else zags. That’s the reason why our business has been so prosperous. We always wanted our colleagues to understand that working remotely is flexible, but it may lose that person-to-person connection, even over zoom.

Therefore, it has taken me a long time to ramp up my position and vision for the future and gain buy-in and collaborate with other parts of the company. However, I believe the pandemic has shown colleagues a route where the nine to five jobs are now more flexible than ever with WFH. This is what I believe is transforming the industry as a whole. They require that flexibility to go to work at specific times and stay at home.

We make investments in digital platforms, but we do not rely on digital aspects for our survival. Because we view our customers as extensions of our community, we provide the greatest customer service in the sector. I believe retention will be crucial during the recession, especially in keeping our high potential. Given that First Republic Bank leads the banking sector in terms of customer satisfaction (NPS), we need to continue providing excellent customer service even during a downturn because we might be able to increase our market share there.

What Would Be Your Advice For The Upcoming Professionals To Be Successful In This Field?

I believe it’s important to understand the models you want to build in an organization. The employer must have solid job architecture and strategy around the skill sets and interests they are looking for. I would advise everyone to have a strong DEI strategy and talent planning.

Additionally, talent AI is also important in helping to define your work broadly. Thus, failing to define your task broadly when your business is growing might result in several silos and market segmentation. However, once we had that, it enabled us to develop an excellent talent strategy focused on mobility and individuals’ career clarity.