A new talent detection program initiated by employees
Designating the future talents of tomorrow has always been the prerogative of top management. At Engie, as elsewhere around the world, management, managers and “talent directors” – a kind of agent who internally prepares high potentials to evolve – meet every year in a conclave behind closed doors to appoint those who will later occupy the key managerial functions in the group. Once identified by this process, these talents enter a career accelerator, a program called “Boost” which prepares them for 18 to 24 months to join the group’s management elite.
But in 2020, the Boost program (that’s its name) no longer works as expected. It must be said that a Covid crisis, the departure of the CEO and a reorganization have been there. It was at this moment that 8 talents from the “Boost” program had the idea of dreaming out loud. What if, at Engie, we introduced a little democracy into the Boost program, do they say to themselves? What if the future top managers were chosen in complete transparency by the employees themselves rather than in the secrecy of the people review ?
It must be said that until then, the beneficiaries of the Boost program tended to be more men, more of French nationality and more seniors… Approved by the management, the small group of agitators then launched a parallel talent designation process called Shake iTake. It is no longer the managers who propose names but the talents of the Boost program themselves who propose employees they consider to have potential.
Promising results
Results ? 15 of the talents retained by this method (out of the 100 of the promotion in total) are actually more diverse, more international, more feminine, younger and certainly less complacent.
Far from headquarters, sometimes invisible by their own manager who did not want to take the risk of losing them (sic), these talents passed under the radar of the classic selection. Managers let it go and HR played the game. Incidentally, this program has become very popular within Engie and the fact that the idea came from the base has boosted the commitment of a large part of the employees. , delighted that their employer is able to let themselves be disrupted for a good cause.
#SHAKE ITAKE co-exists with the historical process
For now, the Shake iTake selection process continues to co-exist with the classic process. Each appoints some of the future managers. The talent management software is called “iTake”. As it was “shaken”, the innovation was dubbed “Shake iTake”.
HR Innovation Award 2022
The Shake iTake program received the 2022 HR innovation prize, which was awarded to it on June 22 at a ceremony organized by Cadremploi, Le Figaro Emploi, Morgan Phillips, and Fyte.
The 2022 HR Innovation Award Jury welcomed Karima Silvent, Axa Group HRD; Xavier Savigny, HRD of Saur; Michel Barabel, Professor at Sciences Po; Raphaël Reclus, Managing Director France, Middle East & Africa of Morgan Philips Executive Search.
If you wish to compete next year with an HR innovation, an application file will soon be available here.