Talent management cycle

The aim of the talent management cycle is to identify and develop future talent within Humberside Police, by implementing targeted development interventions to support individuals in achieving their career goals.

The intended outcomes of the talent management cycle are to:

• improve how the force identifies future talent
• improve the workforce’s skill set and capabilities
• increase the number of development opportunities for staff and officers
• improve the workforce’s confidence in achieving career goals 

In 2024, Humberside Police launched the talent management cycle as a pilot scheme in response to the absence of an objective way to identify talent within the organisation. The purpose of the pilot was to raise awareness and understanding of the cycle. The pilot was open to sergeants, inspectors and staff equivalents from all departments from across the force. During the pilot, the stages of the cycle and the responsibilities of the stakeholders were outlined. Stakeholder representation included human resources (HR) people partners, senior leadership teams and specialists within the talent development team. The implementation of the talent management cycle was approved by the chief officer team, with briefing documents shared with the senior leadership teams to support the rollout. 

Talent management cycle

The talent management cycle consists of four phases:

• identification
• fairness and consistency (F&C)
• activate
• nurture

The cycle runs on an annual basis, and each phase has been designed to represent a specific stage in the talent lifecycle as part of an individual’s career progression. 

Identification

The force developed a '9-box' talent grid which collects data as part of the annual personal development review (PDR) and is consolidated for each area. The grid grades their current job performance and their future growth potential. The nine areas reflect the following ratings:

• inconsistent
• effective
• expert
• early promise
• good
• high impact
• high potential
• excellent
• outstanding

The data is then used to identify suitable talent exercises. During this phase, the data is shared in advance of the F&C meetings with the senior leadership team to allow for discussions on individuals’ performance and potential. The individuals categorised in the top four boxes: high impact, high potential, excellent and outstanding, are considered as future talent and would be in-scope of the identification exercise. Individuals with a rating that falls outside of the criteria would not be considered for the cycle, unless their line manager advocates for their performance and potential during the F&C meeting. The data collection is undertaken and managed by the talent development team.

F&C 

The purpose of the F&C stage is to add scrutiny to the data, to ensure fairness and consistency across the organisation. It is recognised that the 9‑box talent grid ratings are subjective and depend on line managers’ interpretation of the grid when completing the assessment. Therefore, the introduction of the F&C process aims to reduce the levels of subjectivity and the impact on individuals. Throughout the F&C phase, there will be a reduction in the number of individuals identified as future talent. This is due to the calibration and refinement of the data across each area. Th HR people partners, or a specialist from the talent development team lead the F&C meetings to ensure consistency across the command area and the force. Following the F&C meetings, a new list of talent data is created to reflect any revisions to the data. 

Nurture

Individuals who have been identified as talent are invited to join the future talent pathway. The six-month pathway aims to support individuals working towards and achieving their career goals, by using targeted development interventions. They are supported by the talent development team and the senior leadership team. The pathway includes the creation of an individual development plan and regular 1-2-1 follow-up meetings, with their assigned talent development advisor who monitors their progress against the objectives. Individuals are encouraged to join leadership continued professional development (CPD) workshops, which provide tangible support in achieving their goals.

Activate

Activate is the final stage of the talent management cycle and ensures individuals receive ongoing support. During this stage, the force’s existing leadership framework is utilised to ensure individuals achieve their potential throughout the year.

The talent management cycle has created an organisation that is supportive of talent management practices. This initiative encourages the senior leadership team to have open and honest discussions with individuals on their performance and potential.

While the reaction from the workforce has been positive, the force recognises that this is a growing initiative and feedback is integral to the ongoing success and development of the work.

• During the initial stages of implementation, a series of briefings were delivered at different levels. The briefings were well received and supported stakeholder engagement, enabling a foundational understanding of the purpose of the cycle, which was integral to the launch of the pilot.
• Initially, the quality of data during the identification stage was not optimal, which posed a challenge. In response, the talent development team focused on communicating with line managers on how to fill out the 9-box talent grid, to ensure they provide more accurate data on individuals. 
• It is essential that PDR reviews are completed to a high standard. The PDR rating forms the basis for this exercise and underpins the identification stage.