Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsHR strategyTalent management

Aviva HR chief calls on firms to develop in-house talent

by Kat Baker 18 Mar 2009
by Kat Baker 18 Mar 2009

A private sector HR boss has called on employers to stop wasting time focusing on the ‘war for talent’ and instead concentrate on internal employee development.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Managing Through a Downturn’, hosted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development yesterday, the group talent management director at insurance giant Aviva, Arvindar Dhesi, urged organisations to develop more creative approaches to talent management.

Dhesi told Personnel Today: “We have been cooing over the war metaphor for several years now. Fighting a war isn’t really relevant in today’s climate. The real onus on us is to become more responsive and able to experiment with what we have.”

For the past decade, companies have been battling against one another in a ‘war for talent’ to attract and retain the best employees.

While the current recession has led to skilled jobseekers outnumbering the vacancies on offer, HR directors are seizing less busy trading periods to motivate and engage staff internally, at little extra cost to the business.

Akber Pandor, head of partner development at KPMG, revealed that the professional services firm was using the time created by fewer service demands to rotate its top 1,000 high performers around different departments, offices and clients to broaden their experiences and skills, and to set up a mentoring system to train partners.

He said: “There is more time available now to focus on talent management. We were too busy in the good times. When we come out of this, we will never go back there will be a new world with different expectations and we are taking the opportunity to really prepare our top performers for a different future.”

Meanwhile, Jeremy Day, employee and diversity manager at Boots, reminded HR professionals that staff must be kept informed and have a say in any changes or planning for the future to ensure they remain motivated and committed.

He said: “We need to listen to our employees and understand what they are saying. Making sure everyone knows what we want to achieve and how we are going to get there is an important part of our engagement process.”

Avatar
Kat Baker

previous post
French Connection cannot rule out further job cuts in the UK
next post
Legal dilemma: Racist remarks outside work

You may also like

Nationwide: almost 500 head office jobs at risk

11 Dec 2023

Oxfam workers suspend first ever strike

11 Dec 2023

Minister encourages employers to offer ‘midlife MOTs’ to...

11 Dec 2023

How to avoid creating ‘accidental managers’

11 Dec 2023

Strikes: Mayors pledge to avert use of work...

9 Dec 2023

Rejoice! Be merry! The season of HR warnings...

8 Dec 2023

Weak economic outlook slows hiring decisions

8 Dec 2023

Civil servants campaign for four-day week

8 Dec 2023

Oxfam workers begin first-ever strike

8 Dec 2023

Television executive in hospital after bullying report

8 Dec 2023

  • How to spot and tackle imposter syndrome in the workplace PROMOTED | Half of all UK adults...Read more
  • BetterMe for Business: How to Build Wellness Culture at Work PROMOTED | Ever encountered a...Read more
  • Global growth with simple HR compliance (webinar) WEBINAR | In an increasingly global marketplace...Read more
  • Talent acquisition: How AI can complement a ‘back to basics’ approach PROMOTED | Artificial intelligence is now...Read more
  • What will it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (webinar) WEBINAR | As we approach 2024...Read more
  • HR Budget Planning for 2024: Preparing your People Strategy PROMOTED | As organisations continue to adapt...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+