GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUPPLEMENT
RE SKILLING
© 2024: Relocate Global & Think Global People
INCLUSION & CAREER ACTIVISM Encouraging line managers to regard talent as an organisational rather than a team resource, especially when backed by transparent internal talent frameworks and platforms to support internal talent mobility, is one solution. “This takes the emotion out for managers because they can see how to backfill the role from within the organisation,” said Sophie Holmes. Such openness and collaboration also link well with
DEI approaches, as consultant Woosh Raza, former executive director of people at NCVO, highlighted in the CIPD panel. “When people look to the future, it moves DEI from being a standalone to what it actually means in terms of skills and skills development. There’s so much opportunity here to think about how you bring your whole workforce along. “When I talk to my clients about reskilling, they
parent company, Adecco, has seen the benefits of looking at careers and skills this way. “As I talk to our clients in HR across a variety of industries, I think companies are finding they are really good at putting together these skills ontologies. The very best ones are on the front foot of figuring out what are the skills of the future, the skills gaps people are going to have from where they are now and where they need to get to. However, the uptake of these systems is very low among their employees. They are saying it’s as low as 3%.” Detachment and employees withdrawing their
discretionary effort suggest more communication needs to happen about the growth opportunities. Creating safe places to develop and build future skills, adding value to individuals’ careers, and cultural alignment and transparency in hiring practices and career development – including fairness and equity – are likely to be key. “Our research has shown that at least 50% of people
right now are looking for their next career move,” said JC Townend. “The problem is that less than 10% are looking internally. So we asked why is this happening? Companies are really good at showing career paths and helping employees understand how they need to close those skills gaps and it’s just not happening. The thing we realised is that we need to draw employees in to take charge of their own careers; not just in getting the skills they need in the next job, but actually thinking about the next job they want to do and then all the ways you go about landing that job. “The things we’ve learnt in career transitions is that
it’s not just about having the right skills. You’ve got to be well-networked; you have to have a personal brand that shows the skills you have. You’ve got to have experience that demonstrates the areas you are interested in. So what we are trying to do is teach employees how to do these other things, how they interview for the job – even internally. We think that makes a big difference. Managers are the gatekeepers to the employee’s brand and reputation in the company and training opportunities. Allowing and even pushing them into gig assignments. We need to not only motivate managers to do this, but also give them the skills.”
are very quick to go to their younger workers and try and engage people. They have this bias that when you are at a certain stage of your career, you are not necessarily as willing or able to pivot. That comes out quite prominently in digital skills. We [also] don’t talk about social mobility enough when we talk about work and skills. Gender too. We know women are less likely to put themselves forward. That plays out in terms of career development. This is why taking an intersectional approach is really important.” “One of the things we talk about is career activism
and putting the power in the hands of employees themselves,” said JC Townend. She talked through LHH’s Career Navigator programme. This was set up 18 months ago to accommodate 20 high-potential candidates and the retention challenge of there not being enough roles for them to go on to. “These are the amazing performers that are asking me every six months, ‘what’s my next job?’ Two years is too long. So we developed this careers navigator programme that’s teaching them how to take charge of their careers, giving them a career coach for six months, giving them access to career transitions if they are made redundant. What’s been amazing is three of those people are already in new roles. The other 17 are still with the company. We’ve given them patience because they can now see their career trajectory.”
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Networks, mentors & role models
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Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) can be undertaken by all employees to improve their competencies. CPD is carried out through individuals’ own actions but organisations can support CPD efforts as part of talent development initiatives.
DEFINING CPD Continuing
professional development
(CPD) refers to the practice by which individuals take control over their own learning and development. It
involves
curiosity and reflection on experiences encountered and using these to develop competencies through action.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CPD AND TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CPD differs from organisational training and development programmes because it puts the individual learner in control. It is future-focussed and can have long-term and well as short-term objectives.
CPD can address all aspects of life,
not just employment, and can embrace a balance between work life and personal objectives. Even if an employer is unsupportive of training and development, individuals can use CPD to pursue their own goals – both career and personal.
KEY PRINCIPLES Professional development as
a continuous process.
is pursued Individuals
Access to networks, mentors and role models can play a significant role in talent identification and individuals’ career opportunities and progression.
GLOBAL MOBILITY MINI FACTSHEET: TALENT & CAREER MANAGEMENT
Minorities tend to have lower access to these
forms of employment support, reducing diversity in the talent profile.
Competencies for international working
SOCIAL CAPITAL Social capital refers to networks of work- based social contacts that provide advice and support to individuals which can help them to advance their employability and career prospects. Social capital can be used to enhance individuals’ human capital (education, training and career development) to gain advancement into leadership and international positions.
WOMEN & MINORITY GROUPS Research indicates
When organisations select people to work internationally they must ensure that these individuals possess appropriate competencies if they are to fulfil assignment objectives.
The list
engaging in CPD can follow its principles throughout their lives as it has no formal end point. Each person decides their own learning needs and how best to meet them. Goals can be pursued to the degree that individuals feel most comfortable. There is no pressure to reach formal targets. CPD works best when it is recognised
RECORDING CPD of desired attributes can be
lengthy and detailed but it is important to ensure that key capabilities are included in the selection process.
Following this cycle, individuals step
have learned from it. In this period of reflection, curiosity can be employed to consider how to use this learning for future development. When this is put into action, this creates another experience and the cycle continues.
meaning that women are disadvantaged in accessing leadership and international positions. For instance, where networks and informal contacts predominate in the international assignment selection process, fewer women are successful. If selection hinges on “knowing whom”,
they
A CPD plan helps to identify future goals for the short-, medium-, and long-term, using the following headings:
as beneficial and not seen as an additional duty. It can be particularly effective when it is linked to an individual’s employment goals but it can be practised to pursue dreams, not just everyday work requirements.
DEFINING COMPETENCIES Competencies refer to the combination of knowledge (what we know), skills (what we can do) and behaviours/value sets (how we adapt and apply what we know and can do to the situation). In an international context this requires cross- cultural adaptability.
BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYERS CPD is a professional requirement in some disciplines. If so, employers will be concerned that individuals undertake CPD and record it as required by the relevant professional body. Where CPD is voluntary, employers
should recognise the benefits it brings through competency development, thereby improving their workforce skills profile. CPD thus assists with succession planning. Employer support
• what do I need/want to learn? • what will I do to achieve this? • what resources/support will I need? • what are my success criteria? • target dates for review and completion.
potential women leaders/assignees must increase their social capital. Women are therefore required to cultivate networks, building the necessary social capital to find out about career opportunities, especially those at senior levels, if they are to advance through the organisational hierarchy.
that women have
back from each experience (an event/ activity) to think about what
lower social capital than men, due in part to time constraints in juggling work and family responsibilities and through exclusion from male buddy groups. Men advance more
because
STRATEGIC AWARENESS Strategy is about choice and this can require
Individuals will need to be able to work flexibly in their organisations in situations of intense global competition. Global managers should have strategic awareness of
the business and
its direction. This involves having a clear understanding of organisational goals and the objectives of the assignment. They must also be able to manage change and transition. Management
assignments must take into account these strategic requirements as well.
fast response capability. of this,
MENTORS & SPONSORS A mentor is a wise and trusted counsellor but does not necessarily hold responsibility for an individual’s career. A sponsor is defined as someone who vouches for and is responsible for a person. Sponsors are held accountable for supporting an individual’s development. When organisations set up formal mentoring or sponsorship schemes, it is important that the mentor/sponsor wants to be involved in this role and that the partners get on well together. Sponsors, who hold career management responsibility, must be at a senior level, communicate effectively and follow communication guidelines. They should be involved in the career pathway systems and they should be appraised on what they do.
ROLE MODELS Role
attribute models often do not focus Research has also indicated that other
minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community, also benefit significantly through access to networks, particularly from the support of allies. Once in managerial positions or on assignment, the requirement for women and minorities to build and maintain their social capital via networks of contacts globally and at senior levels remains critical to achieving further career contribution.
ORGANISATIONAL POLICY Organisational policy to support formal systems of mentoring, sponsorship, networks and role models can be very helpful in widening diversity in leadership and international positions. Research has shown that women’s networks are
formalised considered to
present significant advantages in helping women to learn of career opportunities and provide
them with professional
support. Notwithstanding this, male mentors and inclusion in male networks are
particularly helpful to women,
especially in male-dominated industries and in male leadership circles.
country nationals. Working cross-culturally will require flexibility in communication style
to seek the best way to get the
messages across to local colleagues. Team working capabilities will be
required. An understanding of the societal culture
on their personal characteristics (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation) but
their success to their development will be required for
effective team work. Individuals will need to possess multi-
capabilities. Role models are particularly inspiring to women and minorities as they are the living embodiment of what can be achieved. Communication between minorities,
PROFESSIONAL & MANAGERIAL CAPABILITIES Individuals must be trained and competent in their professional discipline. Professional capabilities are
functional heads and technical specialists. People
management
A CPD log is helpful to record learning events as they happen so that
these
can show progress towards the goals identified in the CPD plan. This might comprise the following headings:
• date/activity that took place • why the activity was undertaken • what were the learning points from this activity?
• how will this learning be used in future? capability is
dimensional vision rather than follow unitary thought as they will have to see things from different perspectives. They will also have to be able
who may be seen as role models by others, and those aspiring to senior/international positions should be facilitated.
particularly sought for
critical. Global managers will have to manage
information from many sources in an international environment. Global managers must be sensitive to the
to deal with
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needs of others, particularly when working in different cultures. They must also be able to delegate and trust their subordinates.
relocateglobal.com | cultural diversity and must
have cultural sensitivity. They will have to operate effectively across both their home and host cultures and possibly third cultures, depending on the cultural diversity in the
host environment.
They will have to be able to deal with interpersonal conflict and adapt their leadership styles to the culture(s) in which they are working.
for CPD, for
example, through the provision of resources for employees to pursue it, can improve talent retention.
HOW TO ENACT CPD CPD follows the principles of experiential learning: concrete experience; observation and reflection; theorising and planning; and testing out/using the learning in practice.
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CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY The ability to build relationships is critical to be able and socially
to operate in any
society.
A POSITIVE OUTLOOK Individuals will need to be willing to take some level of risk given they are operating in an environment of ambiguity. They will need to be action- oriented and have strong personal goals. This means that individuals need to have a degree of maturity to be able to cope with ambiguity and change. They will need to be able to examine situations constructively, not defensively. Individuals must be willing to learn,
to have a constructive attitude to the assignment, and a positive view of the host location.
professionally All who
work internationally need strong communications capability. This includes being able to speak the local language (at least to some extent) and to be willing to communicate in this language with host
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© 2024: Relocate Global & Think Global People
© 2024: Relocate Global & Think Global People
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