BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges
Author: John Winsor & Jin H. Paik
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
List Price: $32.00
Format: Hardcover, 276 pages
Publication Date: 2024
ISBN: 9781647823887
Reviewer: Christa Ward, PMP
Review Date: January 2024
Introduction
Every facet of the traditional talent management process is in disruption. Business leaders need to fill skill gaps, improve employee retention, and increase engagement. Individuals are going beyond corporate walls to supplement their income, pursue passion projects, and explore new interests.
Overview of Book’s Structure
In Open Talent, pioneers and co-authors John Winsor and Jin Paik present a playbook for this growing talent management strategy and discuss potential pitfalls, success measures, and key ecosystems. There are advantages to this approach for both enterprises and employees but two important concerns are culture and governance.
Highlights
Companies that have found success with open talent understand there is no one-size-fits-all approach. What is true across these organizations is a growth mindset and a comprehensive approach to governance. They optimize the skillsets of internal and external employees across the enterprise and protect these relationships with a central center of excellence (CoE) and digital open talent platforms. As decision-makers consider whether open talent is the right for their organization a sense of curiosity is key.
Building an open talent strategy begins with a structured period of reflection. First, a sponsor, champion, or program manager should be named to oversee the work. The next step is an assessment of the company’s environment. The authors write that reaching open talent’s full potential “means a comprehensive shift in organizational culture toward encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing, as well as implementing robust operational changes that promote flexibility and responsiveness.” Ultimately, they explain, “the goal for deploying open talent is to transform our hierarchical organizations into networks — and then develop and deploy networked strategies.” Here are some guiding questions the authors present to foster an environment that leads to a networked organization:
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How to cite this work: Ward, C. (2024). Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue III, March. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pmwj139-Mar2024-Ward-open-talent-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Christa Ward
Dallas, Texas, USA
Christa Ward is a Lead Project/Program Manager and accomplished leader in the technology industry. With a strong background in project management and communications, she has successfully launched startups and led transformation programs. Known for her innovative approach to increasing operational efficiency, Christa recently spearheaded a broad change initiative that resulted in significant cost savings for her organization. She holds an MBA from Texas A&M University-Commerce and is certified as a PMP and 6 Green Belt. Christa has received awards for driving change through values-based practices. She enjoys reading memoirs and journaling.
Connect with Christa at linkedin.com/in/christaw.
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