As a manager, you often have limited time to mentor starters on your team. A talent manager can relieve you of this burden. Whereas as a manager you keep an eye on the development of the young professional from the point of view of content, our talent managers do that for the personal development of the young professional. Floris Foekens explains why a talent manager helps you as a manager.
The role of the talent manager
When a young professional joins your team, this starter receives two years of intensive guidance from a talent manager. In this way, the young professional is prepared to grow as much as possible during those two years. During the initial period, a talent manager ensures, together with the client, that the young professional can land well in his or her new role. Then the young professional can focus on the work and use his or her full potential. Floris: "We keep a close eye on the young professional, help with practical matters and offer in-depth guidance for the development of soft skills."
Floris has been one of our talent managers for five years now, and like Sophie, Tim and Floris, among others, he has a group of young professionals under her wing. "It is special to witness up close how young professionals grow in a short period of time. The transition from student to full-time worker is big and a lot comes down on the person. Talent management is then important to ensure that this transition goes smoothly, so that the manager of the young professional is relieved."
After all, managers often have little time to supervise juniors. Also, as a manager who has grown through the profession, it can be quite challenging to guide a starter on his or her personal development. The talent managers use their HR background to help you as managers by coaching the young professional in the area of soft skills, so that he or she becomes more effective, has a clear view of his or her ambitions and is better placed in the company.
What do you, as a manager, gain from a talent manager?
A talent manager keeps the supervisor actively informed about the young professional’s development. “Every three months, we organise a quarterly meeting where the young professional, the manager, and the talent manager come together. This is when we discuss the young professional’s progress,” explains Floris. Before these meetings, Floris speaks with both parties to gauge the current situation. By taking on this role, you can focus more on the young professional’s development of hard skills, namely the technical aspects of their job. The talent manager coaches the young professional on topics like MBTI, helping them discover their personality style, and how to handle setbacks. Floris adds, “We work collaboratively around the young professional. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that creates a dynamic synergy.”
Recognize and highlight talent
Managing talent is important. "As talent managers, we have a signal function, both in a positive and negative sense," says Floris. "When the young professional is doing well, I look at how we can grow the person further using our study budget." From smaller training courses such as Power BI to heavier courses such as Financial Risk Management (FRM) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), each person's needs vary.
But even when things are not going as well, the talent manager raises the alarm. "High workload and putting in lots of hours means that personal problems can become more visible, especially during that drastic transition from study to work. Within the work context we can think along, but if things are not going well psychologically and this affects work, we indicate that the young professional could benefit from external help." Floris emphasizes that they are not psychologists.
"A boy worked through us at ABN AMRO as a business analyst," Floris illustrates. "The first year he worked incredibly hard. The manager saw it, but didn't really see it. While the manager really has gold in his hands with this young professional." So Floris's coaching with the young professional focused on being less modest and showing yourself. Proudly, Floris says, "He has since advanced to lead and is hiring young professionals himself."
And this is no exception. Other young professionals are also growing, making a difference and now coaching talent themselves. Ferdi Leenders of ABN AMRO Hypotheken and Peter Ahsmann of ABF work closely with our talent managers. Discover their experiences.
Why talent management is customized
Different generations need different forms of leadership. Because people grew up in different times, they value different things. The stability a Gen X person seeks in the workplace contrasts with the constant growth opportunities a Gen Y person values. Gen Z considers hobbies more important than earlier generations, and would like to have time for them. In addition, young people - some of whom grew up during the coronagraph - are less tied to fixed work hours and places. By knowing what the different generations need, you can facilitate this flexibility or, on the contrary, stability. But as a manager, how do you make sure you pull this off?
Bridging cultural differences
With internationalization, this customization comes in even more handy because of cultural differences between employees. Floris: "In our work, it is important to respond to the influence that culture has on work and the perception of work. For example, it is not effective to have a conversation about personal performance with someone from a collective culture. The trick is to build the bridge between the culture someone knows and how it works here in the Netherlands. This can be practiced well with the talent manager." In the preliminary process of the young professional's traineeship, the talent manager also takes the manager along precisely to bring the cultural worlds together.
Floris, like our other talent managers, has taken a training course to be able to coach internationals better and to advise their managers about it. Thus, the talent manager helps a team, which is becoming increasingly international, to eliminate cultural misunderstandings in the workplace. Floris: "We really want to think with managers, especially now that more internationals and Gen Z talents are entering the workplace, and work together from knowledge sharing."
Want to know more?
Interested in discovering how talent management can revolutionise your team? Floris is eager to discuss this with you. Our expertise extends beyond just recruiting and selecting young professionals for your organisation; we also offer comprehensive mentorship to ensure their success.
