Against such a backdrop, the traditional `Piping Model' can no longer hold water!

Career partnerships

Planning generates plans; but ideas spawn models. An honest and open dialogue with employees clarifies genuine career expectations and aspirations with time-frames. Today, employees are aware that their skills and competencies are rapidly losing out to technological and marketplace changes. They also realise that continuous learning is no longer an option but a survival strategy.

How does an organisation make use of this `contextual' insight in developing a narradigm?

Progressive organisations build likely scenarios and extrapolate or predict the skills and competencies that are likely to be required, say, three years hence. The result of such an analysis is the development of `capability demand' clusters, which allow the organisation to discuss with its employees `present' and `progression' capability coordinates on the organisational cluster map.

The organisation comes forward with opportunities and resources for the employee to gain mastery in emerging capability clusters, and the employee, in turn, enters into a `Development Contract' with the organisation.

Now multiply the above by a number, say, 1,000 and you end up with multiple development contracts spanning an array of roles and functions. When these are assembled you have a `Career Mosaic'. A rich, variegated and attractive organisational career mosaic can be a key marketing tool for talent attraction.

The Narradigm of succession planning

The traditional model for succession planning is a relay race. This assumes linearity, constancy of surrounding conditions and seamless flow across the system. In a dynamic environment, the narradigm would be a three-stage rocket being launched into outer space. Each stage of the rocket will involve different roles and dimensions in different environments. In a succession planning framework, key stakeholders of this change process will be required to play widely differing roles and responsibilities.

When a critical position in an organisation falls vacant — perhaps due to a promotion — it triggers a chain reaction, not an isolated movement. It is more likely than not that instead of a vacancy being filled up the entire portfolio of jobs may be redefined; roles reconfigured and work flow patterns reordered. While developing a narradigm in such a context, the career system should identify and manage clusters of fluid work roles that coalesce, form and reform into a matrix of activities.

A single resignation in a critical function can trigger an avalanche of vacancies in the organisation akin to a seismic disturbance pattern. You can compare a senior level resignation to a major earthquake of over 8.0 on the Richter scale and the corresponding spate of resignations down the line as after-tremors of lower intensity.

If one were to plot the intensity of the earthquake with the frequency on a logarithmic scale, a straight line will emerge as the pattern in accordance with what is known as the "Power Law Distribution". Large events are rare, but quite normal. Thus, a seemingly complex and random occurrence can now be reduced to a predictable mathematical model that lends itself to sensitivity analysis and inference.

Thus, one can have a narradigm to pattern `organisational seismology'.

Points to ponder

Perhaps there are more questions than answers, but then, for any narradigm to be effective, one needs to go through the system with a fine toothcomb to gain fresh perspectives and insights.

(The author is Vice-President, HR and Commercial, Henkel India Ltd and can be contacted at samchandar@henkel-india.com.)

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