Purpose and expected benefits
Imperial College London sets out the mission statement for its talent development strategy as a framework and mechanism for investment in staff and the building of a culture of learning and high performance; also as a contribution to managing diversity and to the college’s branding and employer-of-choice agendas. The aims of the strategy are to:
- Provide a talent development framework for Imperial staff;
- Support Imperial’s mission, values and strategic plan;
- Build on existing learning and development provision, and complement college policies and procedures particularly the personal review and development planning process;
- Place a clear responsibility on senior managers across Imperial for the identification and support of talented staff at all levels;
- Contribute to the succession management agenda;
- Involve individual staff more explicitly in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of their own development.
The strategy currently encompasses two talent development frameworks, the goals of which are:
- To identify those staff with the potential to fill key leadership roles in the future;
- To demonstrate to participants that the college values them and is committed to developing them over the long term;
- To broaden the experience, awareness and aspirations of participants;
- To help participants both increase the value they are adding in their current roles and develop their leadership and management capability for future roles;
- To see graduates of the scheme applying for and moving into more senior roles;
- To retain individuals who have participated in the programme;
- To create an active and supportive cohort of programme alumni.
Managers regard the programmes run under the strategy as critical to the identification, development and retention of talented staff. Although participation in the programmes does not guarantee promotion, it does provide opportunities for professional development.
What does it look like? Size and scope
Imperial’s first talent development programme was Horizon, intended for professional services staff at middle-manager level ranging from departmental administrators to members of specialist teams, for example HR, ICT or Finance. Of the total of 450 staff at this grade, around 10% have so far participated in Horizon.
Initial development of Horizon began before the global financial squeeze. As the programme has developed, it has increasingly been seen as an important mechanism to improve the college’s ability to retain and promote internal staff, thus making the best use of limited resources.
During 2010 it became clear through the identification of a number of hard-to-fill vacancies that there was a further need to develop staff at a slightly more junior level, namely those approaching or holding their first management position. As a result the Pegasus programme was developed for staff at this level. Pegasus focuses on supporting those who are seen as capable of moving into broader administrative and management roles. Of a total of 700 staff at this grade, around 5% have participated or will participate in the Pegasus programme during 2011-2012.
The Horizon and Pegasus programmes run over a 10-12 month period, and involve a time commitment of approximately one day per month. All participants have welcomed the opportunity to take stock of career options, and although there are no guarantees of promotion they have benefited from a focused talent development programme that has developed their leadership capability and their networks with other staff and with senior managers within the college. Alumni of the programme become part of a professional management group that is recognised by senior managers within the college, and are invited back to attend ‘alumni’ workshops and events.
Who should be involved? Roles, stakeholders and engagement
In its talent development strategy the college makes explicit and transparent the responsibilities of each stakeholder in the context of its implementation. The main stakeholders are line managers and heads of divisions and departments, the individual, and the talent development function. The breakdown of responsibilities is as follows.
Line managers and heads of divisions and departments are responsible for:
- Proactively developing the talent within their teams and developing succession plans;
- Identifying staff who have the potential to benefit from one of the talent development programmes;
- Supporting those individuals through the programme, and working with them afterwards to identify further options.
Individuals are responsible for:
- Reflecting on their work and future career aspirations in order to assess the extent to which they might benefit from a talent development programme;
- Discussing with their manager and colleagues how best to manage their time and balance priorities;
- Applying new knowledge and skills in their current role;
- Taking advantage of the opportunities of the programme, both in the initial 12 months and afterwards.
The talent development function is responsible for:
- Putting in place appropriate systems for identifying talented staff;
- Leading the design and delivery of targeted talent development programmes;
- Working in partnership with departments and divisions to support the ongoing development and possible deployment of participants and ‘alumni’ of the programmes;
- Engaging line managers to ensure they are committed to organisational approaches to talent management and support;
- Working in partnership with the Learning and Development Centre and the equality and diversity team;
- Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of talent development programmes and processes;
- Tracking the performance and progress of participants and ‘alumni’ of the programmes;
- Continuously reviewing talent management processes to ensure that organisational requirements are still being met in the light of changing business priorities.
How does it work? Selection and assessment methods
Both Horizon and Pegasus are essentially based on line manager nomination, with an additional supporting statement provided by the nominee. The nomination form for Pegasus can be found in Imperial College London - Pegasus Programme . Line manager nominations are sent to local development panels which, supported by comprehensive guidelines, either endorse or reject those put forward. The guidelines are available in Imperial College London - Appendix 2.
A third stage was added for Pegasus nominees where applicants are invited to participate either in an observed group exercise (Pegasus 3a) or an online ability test in verbal and numerical reasoning (Pegasus 3b). These provide additional data for the development panels.
The college acknowledges that this process is of necessity selective. In doing so, and in order both to promote equality of opportunity and to increase diversity at senior levels, it supports and encourages managers to look for individuals whose talents may have been overlooked in addition to those whose talents are readily apparent. The college also stresses the importance of line managers providing feedback for staff who are not successful, and discussing with them alternative development options based on suggestions put forward after development panels by the talent development team.
How does it work? Development methods
Horizon runs over a 12-month period, and involves a time commitment for participants of approximately one day per month on average. The programme includes the following:
- A two-day development centre;
- One-day future leader development modules (Leading and Inspiring Others, Creating a Super-team, Promoting the Diversity Agenda, Networking Influencing and Impact, Strategic Thinking and Decisionmaking, Career Planning);
- Masterclasses – there are a number of lunchtime events with internal and external speakers;
- Development support (one-to-one support from a coach and/or peer-group action learning);
- An elective, which might mean project work, shadowing a member of senior staff or a pro-rector, or attending a college committee meeting linked to the responsibility area of the member of senior staff being shadowed.
Participants are required to make a final presentation to senior staff, reviewing the learning and potential impact of their elective, at the end of the 12-month period.
The Pegasus programme lasts for nine months, and involves a commitment for participants of around one day per month. The programme includes the following:
- An initial two-day diagnostic 'development centre';
- Future leader development modules (Stepping Up to Management, Contributing to the Diversity Agenda, Enhancing Influencing and Impact, Customer Focus, Career Directions);
- Optional modules on HR, health and safety and finance;
- Development support through mentoring from more senior staff, particularly those who have attended the Horizon programme;
- Coaching or action learning set support.
Participants are required to make a final presentation to senior staff, reviewing the learning and potential impact of their elective, at the end of the nine-month period.