Accelerating the Development of International High Potentials
Challenge
A global utility company with more than 120,000 employees in 60 countries around the world was formed to include transport, transmission and energy distribution components. It was formed as a 50/50 joint venture between two, large European companies. In June 1998, it went public as an independent company, with listings on the Paris, London, and New York stock exchange.
Over the course of its ten-year history, the industries and markets it serves have undergone extensive transformation. For example, the customers used to be regulated national public utilities in Europe who were most concerned about high reliability and technical soundness; today, the market is a deregulated and increasingly privatized world market, where speed and cost are major factors and prices have dropped by 40 percent.
The organizational challenge put forth was to "change now." One of the major changes needed was for greater cohesion, communication, and mobility across the diverse business units. In addition, leaders at all levels needed to be prepared to meet the future business needs.
The Solution
PDI first developed a leadership profile that defined the competencies and behaviours required for company leaders of the future, based on interviews with the executive team and information about their business challenges and strategies. The company decided to use a development center approach to be able to benchmark their peoples' competencies against those of other organizations. High-potential young managers were nominated from various business units and countries to participate in a development centre. Line and HR managers from the various units were then briefed on the process.
PDI designed a case study that captured many of the key challenges that they would face in higher-level positions in the organization, including: working in a matrix, a rapidly changing environment, and increased financial responsibility. Because the common corporate language is English, the case study was designed and conducted in "international" English: the design team included people from four nationalities who worked to ensure that the vocabulary was understandable rather than heavy with jargon. To ensure that the participants were able to discuss the nuances of their career history and aspirations, lead coaches were assigned to participants based on mother tongue. Throughout the course of the three days, participants received feedback from four different coaches on four different simulations. They also received "news from back home" through the use of a 360° feedback instrument completed prior to the center. The design and coach assignment ensured a highly personalized experience for each participant.
The Results
There were positive outcomes both for the participants and for the organization. Participants were delighted with the experience, especially the realism of the case study and the usefulness of the feedback. They also appreciated the chance to get to know colleagues from other parts of the business. A few people decided that they preferred to stay in technical or creative positions rather than progressing into management.
Corporate was able to assess their internal talent pool, through individual and group reports prepared by PDI. Each participant created a development plan based on the results, and several of the participants were offered new assignments in the months following the centers.
After the pilot, improvements were made in the nomination process, to ensure that the most appropriate candidates were selected to benefit from the experience. An ongoing challenge is keeping development alive through the action of the individual, the active involvement of the line manager, and the support of the Human Resources organization.