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What can you do if you grow fast and you’ll need more senior leaders in the future? The answer of this case study is not succession planning, but a carefully designed talent-development program.
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The company we’re discussing today is a large e-commerce business in southeastern Europe, with around 5,000 employees across three countries when they launched the program discussed below.
Anticipating growth and expansion in the coming years, they explored the challenges ahead. One key concern, drawn from past experience, was the low pool of prepared senior leaders.
Typically, a company of this size would address this by setting up a strong succession planning process. However, at that time, they didn’t feel ready for such an approach. Instead, they took a different path: what if, rather than having managers select their successors, employees could express their own interest in future promotions? This idea sparked the creation of their talent development program.
Launched in 2016, the program aimed to recruit 25 potential future leaders. These individuals would participate in a 2-year learning program, with each year culminating in a pitch to the C-Level Executives. Throughout the program and beyond, they would receive support in their career development to help them grow within the company and eventually become its senior leaders. Given the program’s importance, a significant budget was allocated for each participant.
Although not directly related to learning, it’s worth mentioning that the recruitment process involved several stages, from completing a form to both individual and group assessments. Additionally, the marketing campaign for the program was carefully designed to attract employees to apply and keep everyone updated on its progress. Both in the first year, and in the upcoming year, approximately 5% of the organization applied to join the program and went through the recruitment process.
Now that we’ve set the stage, let’s dive into the three components that made the program's design stand out: a blend of long-term group and 1:1 support, experience design to foster community, and the final pitches to the C-Level Executives.
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As mentioned earlier, this 2-year program offered participants a wide range of learning experiences: initial individual assessments, 1:1 coaching, 1:1 mentoring, learning sessions with internal colleagues, access to a fast-track MBA, group practice, and, in later editions, support from alumni.
As editions went by, the design team learned that while the variety of activities was extensive, some needed to be mandatory, while others had to be optional, depending on each participant’s needs and career goals.
The program’s objectives were to support participants on-going in every stage of their career development, immerse them in the e-commerce industry and business development practices, and expose them to every aspect of the company.
Recognizing that a thriving community needs to be built not only intellectually but also socially and emotionally, the designers carefully crafted experiences that connected participants on multiple levels.
On the emotional side, the program used key milestones to create lasting memories, starting with a retreat filled with meaningful moments and ending each year with celebrations that marked the group’s achievements.
Socially, the designers ensured that participants had plenty of opportunities to build relationships, both personally and professionally. This was achieved through a mix of reflection sessions, collaborative working groups, and fun activities that allowed them to bond beyond their professional roles. The clear vision and identity of the program further strengthened this sense of community, making participants feel they were part of something bigger, with shared goals and a common purpose.