Elevate your business’s agility and performance by evolving your talent strategy, as shared by Christina Schelling, Chief Talent Officer at Verizon. Discover how to modernize succession planning, invest in data-driven decision-making, and create a culture that attracts top talent every day.
As a leader, recognizing the importance of talent management is crucial for driving business success. A well-executed talent strategy can enhance performance, increase agility, and foster a culture that attracts and retains top talent. In this video quick take, ‘Christina Schelling, Chief Talent Officer at Verizon, shares her insights on how to evolve your company’s talent strategy.’.
Understanding the Evolution of Talent Management
Christina Schelling explains that Verizon’s initial talent practices were solid but needed modernization to keep pace with a rapidly changing world. The organization focused on leveraging new technology, AI, and data to inform its talent strategy. By adopting a combined top-down-and-bottom-up approach, focusing on leadership succession and internal mobility, ‘Christina aimed to create a more agile and competitive workforce.’.
Modernizing Succession Planning
One of the significant changes Christina implemented was modernizing Verizon’s succession planning process. The organization began studying its competition and best-in-class benchmark companies to better understand leadership strengths and qualifications. This external lens helped steer workforce plans more strategically. With AI, ‘Christina’s team analyzed data to identify gaps in leadership capabilities and made informed decisions about hiring externally for additive capabilities.’.
Key Takeaways for Leaders
Christina Schelling offers several key takeaways for leaders building out their skills infrastructure:
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Be clear about what you’re solving for: Align your skills strategy with business goals and growth strategy.
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Invest in data: Match skills to jobs and people to unlock opportunities.
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Focus on the foundation: Create a clean job taxonomy, invest in data, and push for progress over perfection.
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‘A skills strategy is iterative: Continuously evolve and improve your approach.’
The Future of Talent Management
Christina emphasizes that talent management is not static and requires continuous evolution. By embracing new technology, leading with data and talent intelligence, leaders can help reinvent and reimagine their business to build a culture that attracts top talent every day.
