Improve Pool of General Manager Candidates

Challenge:

Improve Pool of General Manager Candidates

A large manufacturing company was struggling to fill its GM ranks because it lacked clear insights about the key competencies needed to succeed in the position as well as a talent management approach to increase the number of qualified internal candidates.

Solution:

Launch Targeted Effort to Identify and Develop Internal GM Candidates

To help the company expand its pool of qualified GM candidates, the Chatfield Group made three key recommendations: first, conduct “need-and-gap” analyses of internal talent; second, expand the use of employee self-assessments; and third, identify the key core competencies necessary for success as a general manager at the company.

After gaining company buy-in for these recommendations, Chatfield consultants worked with the company’s senior leaders, department heads, and current General Managers to identify the skills, knowledge, and key competencies required to succeed in the GM role. Then the Chatfield Group compared the company’s GM needs against the skill sets of internal GM candidates as identified through employee self-assessments and observations from senior leaders.

After identifying the key competencies needed for general managers, and assessing the relative strengths of its internal candidates, the Chatfield Group designed a series of integrated training workshops and hands-on work assignments to strengthen the abilities of its GM prospects. In addition, Chatfield consultants developed a system of on-going curriculum support to ensure sustained training success.

Tags: #TalentDevelopment