Assessing And Developing Emerging Talent At Telefonica

Telefónica is a world leading integrated operator in the telecommunication sector, providing communication, information and entertainment solutions, with presence in Europe and Latin America.

YSC Consulting’s role was to help Telefónica galvanize the learning and growth of their emerging leaders as part of its Graduate Development Program.

YSC’s goal was to provide a clear platform for the on-going development of their emerging leaders. This was done by providing a comprehensive read-out on where they have potential, along with setting expectations for them as future leaders within the organization.

YSC delivered a series of individual developmental assessments that presented the emerging leaders with a series of challenging, yet insightful and developmentally-focused conversations. The output was a detailed understanding of how each of them demonstrated their potential, using YSC’s JDI Model of Potential that had been adopted globally by Telefónica.

The individuals first completed a series of online psychometrics tools, in advance of their assessment discussion. They then spent two hours with a YSC consultant, who asked them a series of questions that provided evidence against the Model of Potential. The outputs of the psychometrics were fed back during the session, which were then used as a conversation facilitator in order to understand the individual’s potential further.

The YSC consultants then produced a report on each individual, describing how they demonstrate potential across three core areas of Judgment, Drive, and Influence. Key strengths and development themes were also captured, and shared with the individual during a 30 minute telephone feedback session. It was during this session that they were encouraged to reflect on the findings, and to tackle the big question of ‘So what should I do about it?’

They also began development planning with their consultant, which they could evolve further within their roles.

The final stage was a one-day development session attended by the emerging leaders, key Telefónica stakeholders and the YSC team. This was an opportunity for the cohort to celebrate their journey so far, and to reflect on what was required developmentally of them in the future. They obtained fresh insights through engaging group-based activities and individual reflection exercises, considering how they define ‘success’, along with developing their leadership brand.

The assessment and feedback discussions gave the individuals a clear sense of their leadership potential: which strengths they can leverage and where they may need to focus their development efforts. Combined with the group development day, they were able to consider their career journeys, building detailed development plans that reflected their strengths, preferences and future aspirations.

• YSC also conducted an aggregate analysis of the results. We used a series of variables available to us, including:
• Four psychometric profiles (over 30 scale ratings).
• Ratings for Judgment, Drive and Influence (18 scores).
• Qualitative themes for both strengths and areas for improvement.

In doing this, we also helped Telefónica Europe to identify higher-level themes regarding strengths and development areas of their emerging leaders. This insight has enabled them to target specific development initiatives for the group, in order to remain competitive and achieve sustained business performance.

“I was very satisfied with the coaching session I had with my YSC consultant. She was very dedicated, asked the right questions and really helped me understand my strengths and how to build on them. I also have a much clearer idea of where my career is going and what goals to set in the near future”. – TMS Sales Operations Analyst

“We wanted to understand where our emerging leaders were at the end of the two-year Leadership Program in terms of development and potential. All of them went through the developmental assessment and the outcome has been extremely positive. Each individual has a clear understanding of where they stand and the confidence to build compelling next steps in their careers. They found the individual conversations with the YSC consultants invaluable, offering them a space to be challenged yet supported. From my perspective, the product is straight forward and powerful; the process easy and quick to set up. We are very pleased and looking at repeating the experience with the next generation of emerging leaders!”– Talent Consultant: Telefónica Europe