GKN, in association with Kiddy & Partners, developed a coaching-based programme to support the company’s senior talent
For a number of years, global engineering group GKN has been working on a talent management strategy covering its 38,000 employees at all levels of the company. This strategy focuses on key transition points in people’s careers – assessing them against the roles they aspire to fill and creating development plans that will meet the needs of the business.
But the development of GKN’s most senior executives has, historically, been patchy, with the result that there were some difficult transitions into new roles. Two years ago, we decided that a different approach was needed: new executives need to be able to formulate a clear vision, and engage their people in its delivery, without taking months to find their feet. This approach would need to be primarily developmental, though with sufficient assessment to provide an objective view of GKN’s senior talent.
We also recognised that developing a programme to meet the needs of the whole group would mean working across the business with key stakeholders. After talking to a range of external providers, we selected Kiddy & Partners because of their willingness to develop an approach specifically for GKN, as well as for their global presence and credibility at executive level.
Working with this external partner, we developed a coaching-based programme to support GKN’s senior talent. Unusually for a coaching programme, it included an element of assessment.
An aspect of the programme that contributed greatly to its success was the highly collaborative approach used before each individual started the coaching process. We worked closely with each executive and their executive line manager to determine the objectives for the programme, and then tailored the development solution to their particular needs. This was then cross-checked with their divisional HR director to ensure that the programme would support the delivery of that division’s business strategy.
Kiddy then identified the right coach to work with the participant, based on a good match with the executive’s programme objectives and personal style. Divisional HR directors, who had helped to identify individuals who might benefit from this intervention, supported them both during and after the programme. This partnership – between GKN’s HR community, the executive line management and Kiddy – ensured that each participant felt that the programme was designed specifically for them, which, indeed, it was.
In 2009 we ran the programme on a pilot basis with key executives from all of GKN’s major divisions. Some participants were at first sceptical that development could make a useful difference at this stage in their careers. However, the fact that they were all at transition points, and therefore outside their comfort zones, made people willing to accept help. Certainly, feedback from the pilot suggests that individuals got most value from this type of executive development when going through some sort of transition in their careers.
While the executives themselves valued the development they were given, more importantly key stakeholders have identified visible changes in the approach and performance of the 18 individuals who have so far been through the programme. For example, one individual who was previously focused on his own part of the organisation is now developing collective agendas and networks across the group.
From an organisational perspective, information from this programme feeds into our executive succession planning by providing an objective view of the individuals who make up this key population.
Key team members
Louise James, director, group talent management and resourcing; Andrew Moss, Andrew Harvey, Stephen Spencer, Karl Friedrich Roth, divisional HR directors