Identifying Leadership Potential: a MetLife Case Study Prof Hennie Kriek TTS- Top Talent Solutions, Inc Arnold Dhanesar MetLife SIOPSA, Pretoria, South Africa, July 2014
Objectives Discuss the Talent Management strategy and needs within MetLife Explore the theoretical underpinnings of an Integrated Leadership Talent Model with a focus on the identification of potential Design of the MetLife Leadership Model, method and findings Need for a Global Leadership Development Program (GLDP) Illustrate how we executed the assessment, selection and development of a Global Leadership Development Program
MetLife is a Fortune 50 Company with a 140 year Heritage v MetLife serves 100 million customers globally v Global revenue of USD 68 Billion v For over 140 years, MetLife has been insuring the lives of people who depend on us v Long history of social responsibility, strong leadership, sound investments and innovative products and services
How do we ensure we are selecting and advancing the right talent for leadership pipeline roles? Address Leadership Success Bench Gaps Accelerate Development 4
Understanding the client needs MetLife expressed an interest in the development of a new Leadership Model that will be used as the common language of leadership and be integrated across all of MetLife s talent practices areas, programs, processes and tools. This model should be completely aligned with MetLife s business strategy, talent agenda, and organizational health aspirations. The purposes of the model will be to: Sharpen MetLife s focus on world class talent management practices. Clarify expectations of leaders and provide them with greater opportunities to develop the capabilities required to execute MetLife strategy. Increase the probability of recruiting, hiring and promoting the right talent. Provide the Executive Group with insight into strengths and weaknesses in our leadership pipeline and overall leadership a capability. 5
Two fundamental approaches 6 Top-down Competency Modeling Executives Business Leaders Business Managers Professional Bottom-up Job Profiling Associates Support Technical
Our Approach Saville Consulting Wave Performance Culture Framework We leveraged this internationally benchmarked framework to guide our approach to examine competencies The Wave Performance Culture Framework is commonly used to examine leadership potential 7
The Wave Behavioural Model 8
Review of External & Internal Role Requirements MetLife Leadership Interviews Interviews were conducted with 26 MetLife Leaders Interview Type Number of Interviews Interviewees Visionary 5 Senior Executives with clear vision of the MetLife business strategy Leaders of leaders with understanding of behavioral success factors 12 General Manager Subject Matter Expert 7 Functional Managers Critical Incident 2 Functional Managers 9
Review of External & Internal Role Requirements MetLife Leadership Interviews All references within interviews regarding leadership competencies were noted In total, 305 statements were coded Generally, these competencies were clustered into the following higher order categories: Behavioral dispositions Skills Knowledge and Experience Skill 6% Proportions of Statements Knowledge 19% Behavioral Dispositions 75% 10
Linking Results Organisation Strategy External & Internal Role Requirements Benchmarked Frameworks Behaviors are critically important for selection, performance management and potential assessment Motivational leadership is a critical competency for the future Interview data revealed that behavioral dispositions are critically important Interview data showed behavioral dispositions related to adaptability, influence, and relationships as important Job profiler data revealed that behavioral dispositions related to reasoning, influence, and adaptability to be important Job Profiler results confirmed results from interviews All the MetLife values are important underpinnings to the leadership model International business, general profit and loss, and operational knowledge were most important 11
Foundations of Recommended Competency Model Kurz & Bartram, 2002 12
Companies with Better Talent in their Leadership Pipelines Perform Better
Designed to Address MetLife s GM & Leadership Pipeline Gaps World-Class Company World-Class Leaders Build GM bench strength over a long-term horizon Early visibility and focused career development deeper in the organization Action learning projects to provide innovative and fresh perspectives on business challenges
Our Approach MetLife sought a reputable and expert Assessment & Development consultancy to support with the design and delivery of a bestpractice assessment process for the Global Leadership Development Program. 4 Step process The ultimate goal is to assess and develop interns and outstanding professionals from world-class MBA business schools for a 4-5 year acceleration program. Step 1: Job Analysis Defining Success Step 2: Design Design of pre-selection process and Assessment Center process Step 3: Delivery Roll-out & delivery of the assessment process Step 4: Feedback Reporting, coaching & development planning
How do we define talent? Talent = level of performance + level of potential Aspiration Experience Skills Ability Engagement Extent to which an individual is excelling in their role Extent to which an individual has the ability to progress within the organiza8on
Potential Considers Ability, Aspiration and Engagement Ability (Current Ability + Ability to Grow) Ability Aspiration Engagement } Very High Potential Promotable Strong potential to move up two levels or more to a senior level in the organization with increasing responsibility throughout his/her career Obvious drive to get to the top Clear commitment to the success of the team and the company Potential to be promoted one level up Ambition to step up to more senior roles Interest in the success of the team and the company Aspiration (Interest + Motivation) Engagement (Self + Others) At Level Ability to perform in role Interest in taking on more in role Interest in their success in role
The Assessment of Potential Current performance and behaviour Backward-looking Attainted qualifications, knowledge, skills and experiences Forward-looking Motives, talents and capabilities leading to successful behaviour Information from CV, qualifications, certifications, etc Information from interviews, performance management, 360-degree questionnaires and simulations Information from occupational assessment, personality questionnaires, ability tests, etc Structured application forms and skills audit questionnaires 180 and 360-degree questionnaires, Interview schedules and e- Simulator Talent Match reporting and group level analysis cut-e, Saville Consulting Professional Styles, Hogan behavioural questionnaires, range of ability tests, integrity and dependability questionnaires
Selection Components Applications Campus Interviews & Screening MBA 1 st years Video Interviews & Shortlist On-line assessments Final Interviews at MetLife Regional Offices 10 week summer intern Experience 25 Summer Interns A Day in the Life of a GM Final Selection Into Full Time Program 15 Full Time Employees
Results v In 2014, we have almost 1000 applications for the program, and selected 23 (6%) for internships and plan to hire 15 (3%) for permanent positions v Selection decisions are data driven. The more data and facts you have, the better people decisions you can make v A leader led process, with leaders actively involved in assessing and selecting the next generation of leaders v Leaders and participants come away having a meaningful experience and more self-awareness
Conclusions The business value of Success Factors and the need for on target Leadership Behaviors are getting recognized The value of a robust Competency Taxonomy in the design of Leadership models should be emphasized The value of technology and remote online assessments balanced with the value of a traditional high touch assessment centers The importance of a strong partnership relationship between external and internal consultants By partnering with Business leaders, we are able to advance business results and the field of I/O Psychology through innovative solutions TTS-Top Talent Solutions, 2013 22