Four Key Pillars to Developing Internal Talent

By Rick Arnold, human resources director, Smithers

With an ever-evolving labor market and high demand for industry experts, many companies are struggling to find and retain quality talent, especially for leadership roles that require technical expertise. One effective strategy an organization can deploy is to prioritize the development of its current employees.

There are many benefits to developing leadership talent pipelines within an organization. First, employees in these pipelines already are well-versed in company culture and know the processes and systems used. In addition, they have established relationships with other employees, which gives them a head start on building trust as a leader.

The Smithers global leadership team has a proven track record of individuals who began in entry-level roles and, through gaining multiple experiences, have accelerated their career paths. This includes multiple examples of people who entered the organization as bench chemists, sample preparation technicians or entry-level engineers and now are lab managers or members of the executive leadership team.

Another example – and one of my favorite stories – is Amanda Cool. Cool started working at Smithers in 2015 as a physical and chemical testing technician in the rubber testing labs in Akron, Ohio. Today, she is the chemistry and tire services supervisor in Akron, a critical role in the company’s Materials Science & Engineering division.

Cool’s career trajectory is a prime example of what happens when a talent development strategy is invested in and executed. Her story will be used to illustrate four fundamental tactics and cultural touchstones that have contributed to the company’s success with prioritizing internal development opportunities.

Understand What the Company Is Looking for in Leadership Team Members

Success profiles have been created for critical leadership roles within the organization. Each profile is built around four main pillars: Technical leadership, business leadership, operations leadership and sales and marketing.

Each profile includes durable skills and competencies that will enable success, such as agile and strategic thinking, openness to feedback, enabling a culture of accountability and courageous communication. These profiles are fantastic to have when creating and managing talent pipelines and identifying future leaders. Knowing what the company is looking for makes it easier to find excellent current or future leaders within the existing talent pool.

It was clear that Cool had a penchant for leadership, but she did not have the experience necessary to immediately be placed into a leadership role. Through coaching and investment from her direct leader, the company identified a few potential career paths and used that information to identify areas for her to further develop, which set Cool on a path to success.

Leverage a Talent Development Strategy to Include “On-the-Job” Experiences

One of the tenants of a talent development strategy is the basic concept of a 70-20-10 development model. Briefly, this model explains development in three areas:

● 70% of development happens on the job, encouraging people to stretch outside their comfort zones.

● 20% comes from direct feedback from others, including having a good coach and/or mentor.

● 10% comes from formal education, such as continuing education, seminars or leadership summits.

Placing job experience at the forefront of a talent development strategy is a fundamental principle for Smithers leaders. Challenging assignments, as an example, build leadership capabilities and deepen expertise across an enterprise while fulfilling self-directed learning for an individual.

Cool’s career trajectory demonstrates the efficacy of a career ladder in practice. As an example, she briefly left the rubber lab to work in the company’s Medical Device Testing division as a quality assurance specialist. After time in quality assurance, she also gained two years of experience specializing in dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), a new technical area for her. Her technical knowledge and leadership skills grew in those roles, providing Cool with the additional skills she needed to step seamlessly into her current leadership role. A critical component of this process was her manager’s full support and mentoring during the process.

Encourage People to Take Risks

Employees are encouraged to think like entrepreneurs – to come up with bold ideas and take ownership of new projects and assignments. Of course, there are business benefits to this approach, but it’s also a valuable strategy for identifying future leaders, for two reasons:

1. It reveals how people think. Someone who leverages the freedom and possibilities of an entrepreneurial environment is likely to show similar initiative and creativity in a leadership role.

2. It shows how people handle multiple expectations and their resiliency to bounce back from occasional failure. Having advocates to help leaders learn from their mistakes while improving performance is a vital part of an organization’s talent ecosystem.

From day one, Cool has done all the right things, from taking on new assignments to learning from her setbacks. Now, as a senior leader, she has ample experience to coach and guide her team to achieve results through open and honest communication that creates better alignment.

Prioritize Coaching and Feedback

When identifying those who aspire to be future leaders, I always look for people who are open to feedback and coaching. It’s not difficult to find people who are open to positive feedback, but being open to receiving critical feedback is an invaluable part of the growth process.

In an ideal workplace, ongoing coaching and feedback are embedded in company culture. From entry-level employees to senior leaders, early exposure to receiving coaching on both effort and results makes for a stronger and more sustainable organization overall.

Cool had a strong, trusting relationship with her first supervisor from the beginning, which meant she was able to accept feedback, understanding that it was delivered with positive intent. Because she aspired to be on a leadership track, Cool listened to the advice she received from the leaders she admired, and she worked hard to apply it to her daily work activities. This willingness to learn has made her transition to a senior role much smoother, and now, as a leader herself, she can pay it forward by offering constructive feedback to her team.

Creating the type of environment that fosters internal development, as well as creating coaching and feedback opportunities takes time, but success stories like Amanda Cool and many others make it well worth it. n

Rick Arnold is the human resources director for Smithers and an experienced global human resources leader with a history of working in the specialty chemicals, transportation and financial services industries. Founded in 1925 and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Smithers is a multinational provider of testing, consulting, information and compliance services. With operations in North America, Europe and Asia, Smithers supports customers in industries essential to human lives, including transportation, materials and components. For more information, visit www.smithers.com.