Best practices in talent management across leading corporations

Whirlpool Corporation

Deltra Davis

Discuss what factors emerged at Whirlpool that impacted its talent needs

Since the emergence of globalization in the early 1980s, the Whirlpool Corporation has taken extensive efforts to transform employee relationships and work processes consecutive to shifts in capital and attendant labor forms in the international market. If change management marks the general business trend in strategic organizational growth, human resource management is perhaps the most reflective aspect of this transformation as multi-national enterprises (MNE) seek to optimize production and profitability in the face of environmental pressures.

What has permeated Whirlpool's decision making and leadership practice as result of globalization, is what David Harvey (1987) predicted was the future proposition of MNE; large scale production hinged on new methodologies of outsource production highly reliant technological inputs in the manufacturing sector. In an effort to constrain full cost pricing of its products to market, Whirlpool's global restructuring since the 1980s is respective to this larger economic picture; including sale of manufacturing planets and elimination of employees deemed outdated, too costly or readily replaced by outsourcing and technological facilitation in business and operational processing.

Typical of MNE in the last three decades, the appliance giant has undergone transitions in recruitment of talent and reduction of costs through streamlining systems of production according to technological and wage options. Long identified as an American national brand, the definition of Whirlpool's products and its stakeholders, including employee equity, the traditional 'value' of leadership has now been replaced in the shift from the United States to external markets. A breakdown of Whirlpool's acquisition and merger activities reveals the exceptional priority given to expansion of profit areas in concert with equitable investment in outsourcing services; strategic measures to the cut rising costs human resource management.

Question: Discuss how expanding globally changed the talent requirements at Whirlpool.

When Whirlpool's global expansion resulted in the lay off some 4,500 employees in 2006, efforts to consolidate duplicate functions was already underway in the both the Corporation's administration and manufacturing operations. This included the closure of a Maytag research and development center in Newton, Illinois and 700 jobs cuts in its Tennessee plants (Hoovers, 2011). Still, Whirlpool continues to maintain an overall 6% growth rate with approximately 71,000 in house employees.

With employee morale at an all-time low, the redirection of human resource prospectus to the Company was a core objective for former Whirlpool CEO Dave Whitwam. Guided by leadership of the executive committee a convenience sample, 75 employees were asked to participate in a laboratory of innovation. The focus group provided insights required to the "innovation board," which involved a range of roles from the Company, ranging from hourly workers to vice presidents (Pomeroy, 2004).

For employees the incorporation of their ideas has stimulated faith in the management team, as "employees see that their leaders support innovation" (Pomeroy, 2004). A pilot approach to feasibility assessment and front end risk management, the work group looked at problem solving, with special attention to the design phase. Once out on the market it was decided, issues such as price, segmentation and liability were hard to turn around.

Question: Discuss how Whirlpool used its Leadership Model to manage its talent.

In consideration of employee equity, investment returns, and related stakeholder interests, precision in application of an efficient and effective Leadership Model to the management of Talent at Whirlpool is found in VP of Global Human Resources, David Binkley's use of the 3 R. approach to analysis: Relevance, Rigor Results.

Question: Discuss how Whirlpool used metrics to improve the quality of talent hired?

Definition of employee equity is mostly defined by compensatory "ownership" or employee value added (EVA) capital contributions in calculation of confidence and return on investment (ROI) (Bates, 2003). Goldsmith and Carter (2010) describe use of a standard performance matrix in measurement of EVA potential at Whirlpool.