The feedback from participants is good, as are the results.
Almost 1 in 3 people who have participated in talent development under the auspices of FRONT Leadership have moved on to new roles before the program has even finished. This autumn, Amedia is therefore launching a new round of leadership development for internal talents in the organization.
- The ability to attract, develop and retain talent is very important for Amedia to continue to be a leading player. Being an attractive workplace means giving our employees room to develop their own skills. It is often employees who are already managers who are offered leadership development. We run similar programs for existing managers, but for us it was important to look beyond those who already have leadership roles today. Our employees hold the key to the future. We therefore also wanted to provide a concrete offer to talents with leadership ambitions within the organization. In this way, the talents can influence their own careers in addition to getting to know their own leadership skills and practicing situations that managers often end up in," says Yvonne Cyren, Senior HR Partner at Amedia AS.
Written by: Marte Aasmundsen
Many management talents wanted to participate - had to go through the application process.
There is a lot of management talent at Amedia. An extensive internal application process was therefore required to find the right candidates for the Talent Program - Future Leaders in Amedia. The search for talent was advertised via a film that was published on Amedia's intranet pages. With around 80 applications received, it was no easy task to select the talents, and the applicants had to go through several rounds of assessments, interviews and tests. In the end, there were two committed groups consisting of talents from different business areas, with varied professional expertise, a wide range of ages and of all genders. These groups met excitedly for a physical start-up gathering in the fall of 2021.
- With an overall goal of giving talent the tools to reach the next step on the career ladder, it's not enough to just attend the program. Active testing is essential. FRONT Leadership's leadership development program therefore differed from the alternatives in one critical respect. Short digital sessions with the opportunity for practice along the way provided anchoring in everyday life and greater perceived benefit for the participants. Feedback has included that awareness of communication has increased since different scenarios have been played out. In addition, the talents themselves feel that they have gained a clearer understanding of what the leadership role entails and more self-awareness of areas for improvement. The talents are encouraged to maintain close contact with their own manager throughout the development process. We therefore also see an effect throughout the organization and a contribution to development at the next level up," Cyren continues.
Leadership development and talent development go hand in hand
Stine Melfald is a leadership developer at FRONT Leadership and has been responsible for the planning and implementation of Amedia's leadership program with a focus on talent development. She gives all credit to Amedia for planning for the future and investing in internal talent. The program is designed for these talents to develop relational skills and feel better prepared before taking on a potential leadership role.
- The fact that Amedia offers this program sends a clear signal both within the organization and to potential employees that there are opportunities here if you have leadership ambitions. As a management developer, I think it's positive that managers are being prepared so that they have a better chance of success when they take on a management role. It's common to recruit the "best professional" as a first-time manager, with the assumption that this is a good choice. But there is a big difference between the job content of a professional and a manager. To ensure a seamless transition, future leaders should have the opportunity to develop their own leadership skills in advance. Running their own talent programs to prepare potential management candidates for a leadership role is therefore something more companies should prioritize," Melfald concludes.
