Leaseplan
LeasePlan, the market leader in Belgium for vehicle leasing and fleet management, is proud of its reputation as ‘Truly the best place to work’. The company is convinced that the quality of its services depend on the quality of its employees. LeasePlan also invests continuously in an optimised programme to support their existing talent. One of the current success projects is “Talent Journey”, a coaching course in which a limited number of the highest performing employees can participate in a thorough and targeted personal development plan.
Renee Agneessens, HR Director at LeasePlan, has been working with the company for 16 years. She is highly motivated about making the HR slogan “Truly the best place to work” a daily reality. Renee herself is the driving force behind the “Talent Journey” project. An admirer for years, she called on the external expertise of Quintessence for the project.
Renee Agneessens: ‘Every year, the management team at LeasePlan nominates a number of employees who ‘stand out’ because of their expertise, professionalism or potential. We call this first phase of our Talent Journey “I stand out”. From the nominations, anything from three up to a maximum of seven people are further examined by the management team. We invite them to run through the Talent Journey. It gives these people the opportunity to intensely examine themselves and their careers with professional guidance. This allows them to come to new insights and draft personal development plans for themselves.’
As a partner, Quintessence is involved in the next phase of the Journey: “I want to grow”. Annemie Van de Vondel, Senior Consultant and Coach at Quintessence, explains: ‘We enter into a dialogue with the participants in two personal depth interviews. During these talks, we examine the talents, personalities, ambitions, etc. of the participants, inside and outside the contexts of their current professional lives. Together, we develop a detailed view of how the participants see their own futures and development, both at work and in general.’
Renee Agneessens: ‘The impact and enrichment the Talent Journey participants derive from this phase is enormous. The feedback we receive shows that the interviews are surprisingly intensive and actually bring people to new insights about their lives, work and functions. The final results can differ greatly: a strong desire to develop internally towards a managerial function, a drastic career switch, or any number of other possibilities.’
The intake phase is followed by a feedback and assessment meeting, during which the participants receive feedback about the results of their interviews and follow a development centre to highlight their current and desired competences.
Renee Agneessens: ‘Based on everything that has already been completed, and with guidance from our HR service, the participants work out a personal development plan with a learning trajectory that responds to their new insights into their future career plans. It is the third phase of the Talent Journey: “I have a plan”. The company gives them a personal development budget to put towards the realisation of this development plan.’
Apotheosis: the moment of coming out
For select employees at LeasePlan, the Talent Journey is an uplifting programme that concludes with a fitting climax. During a celebratory ‘coming out’, the participants, as well as those from their direct environment who have played a part in their Talent Journey such as colleagues and even family members, are invited to take the final steps in the journey together. The participants provide personal testimony about their experiences, which for some, is a challenge in itself.
Although this trajectory is only offered to a limited number of employees, there is a noticeably positive effect that extends further throughout the company. As the participants share their experiences with their colleagues, there is a collective sense of pride about the well-performing colleague and the project itself is perceived as an appropriate form of appreciation from the employer.