Case Study

An NHS Foundation Trust opted to be a pilot organisation for the introduction of talent management. The pilot was sponsored by the Chief Executive and the Executive Group who wanted to introduce a talent management process with their next in lines in order to:

• To gain greater insight into the leadership talent at the top of the organisation to inform development and succession planning at this level
• To give senior managers experience of participating in the process so that they could then lead this with their direct reports with credibility and direct experience
• To inform investment in talent development and better ROI post development

After a successful pilot, talent management is now being implemented within each division.

The talent management cycle shown here was introduced with performance and potential lying at its heart. With the support of occupational psychologists, the trust was able to audit and map talent consistently onto a talent management grid.

Talent Management was seen as hugely valuable by the Executive who reported it had deepened their insight into each member of the senior management population and built a shared ownership for the development and management of this talent pool. It was also well-received by participants in the process.

Client feedback from Anthony Shipley, Learning and Development Manager, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

“Our work with Jo Hennessy has focussed on her introducing a structured Talent Management approach to the organisation, concentrating on maximising the potential of our workforce through effective conversations, delivery of well thought out feedback and facilitation of development solutions. Jo’s role was to design, develop and deliver the Talent Management strategy as well as coach our Executive Board on its application and to subsequently facilitate Talent Review Boards with them, incorporating 9 Box Grid placement for our Senior Leadership Team. Jo Hennessey has been absolutely instrumental in helping us to transform our organisation in this context. She has skilfully and expertly been able to help us embed Talent Management concepts within the organisation, directly supporting the Learning & Development team in rolling out the approach throughout our Healthcare Trust. She has been totally focussed on our needs and committed in helping us succeed with this project. What has been particularly appreciated is her ability to cut through the inevitable politics of the project whilst engaging positively with all key stakeholders. She has, and continues to, deliver beyond our expectations.”