Assignment 4: Southern Company Case Study Essay

Words: 1652
Pages: 7

Assignment 4: Southern Company Case Study
XXX XXXXX
Professor XXXX XXXXX
HRM 532 – Talent Management
May 27, 2012

Abstract Southern Company is an electric utility company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The company owns electric utilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi and services roughly 4.4 million customers. Southern Company also provides fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Historically, Southern Company hired at the entry level and promoted individuals internally to fill leadership positions. The company typically had a very low turnover
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Methods vary depending on the type of business being evaluated. Southern Company can use a Balanced Scorecard method to identify succession and talent gaps, distinguish elements driving employee performance, and gauge employee satisfaction. Southern Company can also use the Return on Investment (ROI) method to measure the success of its training initiatives. Another proficient way to collect data to measure the effectiveness of a talent management strategy is by reviewing certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of strategic talent goals. Some of those KPIs would be the cost of turnover, benefits, and training, the percentage of employee satisfaction, employee motivation, and demographics, hiring cycle, and the average length of employment (Lennon, 2012). All of the collected data could be used by the organization to better manage the workforce to successfully meet the needs of the business.
Critique the components of your talent management strategy and suggest alternative ways to achieve effective results. Southern Company’s talent management strategy puts considerable emphasis on leadership development, high-potential development, and succession planning. The review performed by Southern Company’s CEO in early 2004 indicated that senior leaders were engaged and dedicated a great deal of time to leadership development. Southern Company built a common leadership framework by