David Benson

Joining Oxfam GB from the financial services sector wasn’t as big a jump as I’d imagined. There was as much focus on cost and income, on resources, on impact and on people management. The only difference was the motivation driving the organisation. A focus on supporting others to bring about an end to poverty and suffering around the globe can be a very strong driver.One of the challenges I faced was in understanding how talent management would fit with an organisation working in more than 60 countries. Much of our work is campaigning for equality of treatment, so there was resistance to the notion that the organisation should be identifying and developing its top talent. There were a number of difficult meetings in the early days as I sought to engage the organisation in the practice of talent management.