Future Proofing Education: Designing a Talent Strategy for Digital Transformation

The world's oldest distance education university transformed its HR function in 12 months using Peopletree Group's four-pillar talent framework and Talentprint.

Industry: Higher Education Geography: Global Company size: 7,000 staff, 400,000 students

Overview

The oldest distance education university in the world, with 7,000 staff and 400,000 students, needed to prepare for a digital future. Siloed HR teams and disconnected processes were preventing the institution from communicating people goals clearly or operating as a unified talent function.

Challenge

The challenge was to integrate siloed HR teams and existing processes into a single cohesive talent management strategy that would enable them to communicate people goals to various stakeholders across the business and allow all HR teams to operate within a clearly defined and well-integrated talent framework. The strategy needed to be flexible enough to cater for an agile environment but structured enough to provide clear guidance to all stakeholders. It needed to integrate across the entire HR value chain, pulling together data, information, processes, policies, tools, and technologies into a single unifying framework.

Solution

Peopletree Group created a four-pillar talent framework - inspired by the institution's business objectives - that focused on attraction, development, deployment, and retention. The framework was designed to drive value for four key stakeholder groups: Employees, Line Managers, Human Resources, and the Executive. Various formats of the talent strategy were made available to each stakeholder group, and Talentprint was implemented to create a supporting foundation of people intelligence as the building blocks for the growth of their new strategy.

Results

In less than 12 months, the project transformed the HR department into a high-performing people function, with clearer responsibilities, reduced duplication of effort, and a more motivated, inspired team. 7,000 employees had a view of their strengths, were able to showcase their talents, and understood their role in the strategic vision of the institution's future. The institution created a culture of continuous learning and development that increased retention, reduced time to hire, and improved employee engagement at all levels.