2023 Pacific Lake Conference: Navigating the Seas of Talent Strategy and Optimization
Navigating the Seas of Talent Strategy and Optimization at Predictive Index
Mike Zani, CEO
Predictive Index is a leading talent optimization platform that leverages behavioral and cognitive assessments to align people strategy with business strategy, enabling data-driven decisions throughout the employee lifecycle. CEO Mike Zani shared valuable insights on talent strategy and optimization, informed through the work he does as the leader of Predictive Index as well as through his own experience as a three-time CEO.
Talent assessment is vital: When evaluating a business to acquire, most searchers and investors have a robust diligence process around business strategy and financial plans, but talent assessment is sometimes overlooked. In Mike’s case, during the diligence process for a company he and his partner ultimately bought, they underestimated the importance of assessing the talent they’d be acquiring, and ultimately had to make significant (and painful) changes to the team post acquisition. Eighteen months after buying the business they had retained less than 10% of their 45-person workforce.
Talent mapping during diligence helps identify gaps: It can be useful to map the to-be-acquired company’s talent profiles in the diligence process to identify talent gaps and be better prepared for recruiting. Mapping profiles can also be helpful to determine the optimal board composition. Tools like Predictive Index provide a framework and common language for this work.
Consider behavioral fit for specific roles: By understanding the key behavioral requirements of different roles (in addition to cognitive requirements), organizations can make informed decisions when selecting and developing talent for specific positions. Some roles may require specific behavioral strengths (in-person sales) while others roles may be more accommodating of different personality types (eg. software product manager). Understanding different types of behavioral patterns gives leaders tools to assess talent and ensure individuals are matched to the appropriate roles.
Want more 2023 Pacific Lake Conference highlights? Find additional CEO lessons here from our four part series: Scaling The Team For Growth at Banyan Software, Getting Value From Customer Partnerships at HigherMe and Eleven Software, and Building Enterprise Value at Datacor.
