Discover Talent Management: The 2-Minute Guide.

Did you ever wonder what Talent Management actually entails?

Our Talent Managers Clotilde Hallet and Sally Van Isacker tell you all about it in this 2-minute guide.

How would you define Talent Management and what specific role does it play in promoting a community of trust with consultants?

Clotilde: It's all about supporting and guiding our consultants on a daily basis. We are true talent partners and our aim is to work with our consultants over the long term and to aim for development over a 2 to 3-year horizon. Our initiatives also depend on the consultant’s profiles and we try to implement ones that are custom-made for each of our consultants.

Sally: Yes, it really is career coaching. We help them grow and become the best version of themselves.

Why do you think talent management is important and how does it contribute to the overall success and growth of a consultancy?

Clotilde: I believe it's even more important than before because careers are changing. People generally don't have the necessary analytical grids or hindsight to identify their strengths and weaknesses. That's why we help them identify their strengths and support them throughout their consultancy mission.

Do you work with other teams, such as the HR department, to ensure effective talent development?

Clotilde: We are part of the Talent Squad, which includes all the Talent Managers from each branch of the Sisu: group, Strand Associates Consulting, Catalay, Ariad and Prosource and we regularly hold meetings to implement joint projects at the group level. 

Sally: On the one hand, Clotilde and I are consultants’ first points of contact in order to help our overworked support functions, such as the payroll - or fleet departments. This also allows us to offer our consultants the fastest response possible. 

Can you give examples of talent management initiatives that have significantly impacted the professional development and engagement of consultants within Strand?

Sally: I'll leave it to Clotilde to talk about the Learn & Share aspect, but when it comes to engaging our consultants, our in-house Epione app has a big part to play in keeping our community connected. On top of this, to further consolidate our community, we organise a lot of fun events: team building weekends, summer afterworks, cultural visits and so on.

Clotilde: We also have our technical coffee corners. These are sessions given by the consultants themselves during which they can share more about their experiences. Some experts are also invited to discuss their career aspirations. This helps them to feel more reassured about their own situation.

Do you use indicators to measure the effectiveness of your Talent Management initiatives?

Clotilde: We need more hindsight to measure our efforts, but we have already noticed that our participation rate is high and that our consultants discuss our initiatives as a group. There's a real interest in getting together.

Sally: As Clotilde says, it’s a bit complicated to measure the effectiveness of our initiatives because it’s not something that’s necessarily tangible, but we notice that we have very little turnover.

What is the mentoring programme?

Clotilde: It's an enriching programme that brings together senior - and junior profiles and aims to embrace collaboration between them. 

On the one hand, working with a junior can help seniors be inspired and learn new and interesting things. On the other hand, juniors typically have less experience, and collaborating with someone older can help them grow in their career. 

So the aim is twofold: to provide an educational dimension and to foster soft skills development.

Sally: This initiative is not mandatory at all, of course. We focus on consultants who are motivated to go a step further and to develop their soft skills for instance. It’s a really valuable and enriching experience for both senior and junior profiles. 

What do you find most fulfilling about Talent Management? 

Sally: What I love most about my job is accompanying our consultants, whether juniors or seniors, through their careers and helping them to continually develop their skills. I'm also very proud of the close-knit and friendly community that's formed, which is an integral part of Strand's identity. 

Clotilde: I love the fact that I need to be creative in my job! I support people in their day-to-day work life and their professional careers, and I have to adapt to each consultant. I am also creative for multiple Talent Development Projects. It’s only the beginning and I am looking forward to launching great initiatives for our Community. 

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Want to find out more about Talent Management’s initiatives at Strand? Look back on multiple activities on our social media page. 

Want to join Strand? Have a look at our open opportunities.