Engaging and Retaining Talent Through Better Career Management

Company Industry – Global Retail Company

The Situation:

  • Financial professionals were all developing themselves as specialists.
  • No internal talent was being developed to fill VP and CFO-level positions in individual brands/division.
  • Morale was low because high performers were getting passed over for desirable promotions as the company turned to external talent with broader skills.
  • The company was overpaying for executive-level talent because they always had to hire from the outside.

What We Did:

  • We clarified generalist and specialist career paths and helped employees understand which path was right for their personal career goals (within or outside of the function). The generalist career path looked more like a web of experiences than a traditional career ladder.
  • We defined the competencies and technical skills needed to advance in one’s career and self-assessment tools to understand where skill gaps existed.
  • We trained managers how to have conversations with their employees about career goals and helped them to proactively manage career development early in a person’s career to help them achieve their long-term goals.
  • We structured development offerings around the career paths and provided tools to help individuals plan development that would drive their career success.

The Outcome:

  • The company now strategically rotates talent through various positions within the function.
  • They have developed a track-record of promoting from within, resulting in an increase in employee engagement and retention.