Talent Management as a Strategic Business Process

- an eBay Case Study

September 2011

Introducing eBay & the business case for talent management

Developing a talent mindset – how did we do it?

Key learnings & advice for HRSPs

Topics for Discussion

Introducing eBay & the business case for Talent Management

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Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

eBay

The world’s largest online marketplace —where practically anyone can trade practicallyanything at any time.

We connect buyers and sellers

Buyers

eBay

Classifieds

Shopping.com

StubHub

Mobile Apps

PayPal

Sellers

Global online classifieds portfolio with local brands

The business imperative for Talent Management

We believe Classifieds will be a leading e-commerce format in the future, and we want to be present:

…in all relevant geographies

…in all relevant categories

…on all relevant platforms

Talent is our only binding constraint!

Developing a Talent Mindset – How did we do it?

Challenge – focus on performance

Ownership – clear line of sight to results

Empowerment

Interesting new frontiers, an early stage in the industry

We defined our Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Our employee value proposition is central to our success

A culture of celebration

Unique rewards/recognition

Talent management is part of our DNA

Personal development in a growing, global BU

Culture of immediate feedback

Coaching & mentoring readily available

Inspiring mission

Innovative & fun

Trusted, values-based leadership

A start-up atmosphere with big company resources

We articulated how leaders “owned” talent mgmt

As people managers we have a number of different roles

Who we are: talented people are at the heart of our culture and our success

we play to win

We value passion, energy and commitment. We compete fiercely and we want to win, for ourselves and our users. Innovation and entrepreneurship drive that competitiveness. We are a high-performance culture. We believe in maximum accountability and high levels of autonomy.

we tell it like it is Open, direct and honest communication underpins our success. Constructive disagreement leads to better decisions; however once we decide, we commit.

we respect people

We create a challenging environment for people where personal & professional development come hand-in-hand with great business performance. We care about each other and want to treat people the way we ourselves would like to be treated.

we have fun We like to work with people who take their work seriously but not themselves; who keep their egos in check, who like to laugh frequently and who are fun to hang out with.

We were explicit about Values & Behaviours

We segmented our people based on engagement & acted upon it

Source: Corporate Leadership Council Employee Engagement Survey (2004)

We drove performance hard and ensured line of sight to business results & individual compensation

We were explicit about our assessment of potential – agility is a key predictor

We used a simple 9 box framework to bring it all together at an individual level

And agreed actionable talent outcomes at the business level

The Results

We’ve built scale, and grown revenues and people 10x in 4 years

We are #1 or #2 in 8 major markets

…and now

Operating Highlights

• 6B page views a month

• 18.3M total live ads

• >25 countries

• > 800 employees

• 100% top positions with successor in 2 years

• 50% top positions with ‘ready now successor

• 70% directors have been promoted internally

OnlineClassifiedsCompany in the World

comScore Monthly UVs

65M 52M

40M42M

#1

Our Learnings & Advice for HRBPs

Our Learnings - 3 Pillars of Success for Talent Management

Ref: Talent Management Handbook

Understand strategy & operations deeply and start your talent thinking there

Ensure the HR basics are in place

Accurately assess business & leadership readiness

Know the talent yourself

Speak the language of the business and avoid HR jargon

Focus on facilitating quality conversations, keep process light

Remember the ‘value zone’

It’s a multi-year journey, few quick fixes

Advice to HRBPs

Thank you!