Talent Management and Support in Notts FRS

Context NFRS has some 900 staff. 250 in supervisory positions. 40 in middle manager positions. 10 in strategic manager positions. Approx % are non- operational staff.

Old School Routes Prior to Old and established route of National Fire Services exams with practical skills examinations at each rank level. Very set training patterns usually at Fire Service College.

2005 – 2010– Assessment and Development Centres Open access to ADCs. Practical management scenarios, with generic national management PQA suite and detailed behavioural indicators. Supervisory and Middle managers. Expensive to run even on a regional basis. Required significant staff and money resources. In NFRS successful candidates filtered by scores to meet anticipated numbers. Management development by combination of local and central training courses Staff put into posts without training and development. Feeling that staff were being carried along by process without ownership. Concern that operational incident command skills were not being properly weighted.

2010 to Now-ish End of regional ADCs, moved to NFRS specific progression policy applications supported by line managers – with set and quantified training pattern for each role. Clear and simple application process. Met organisational training requirements. Costly due to high numbers applying – no selection process. Directive approach. Engagement was passive? Organisation, not learner led, transactional in nature. Backlog of trained and developed staff, but without substantive promotion.

Forwards Now moving to a more agile process, less hidebound and prescriptive. Recognition that current progression process was too regimented and did not meet organisational needs particularly for MMs. In line with and driving our emerging organisational development programme and changing organisational ethos and values. Self-selection with hopefully self- actualisation and engagement with process.

More forwards Staff to be given freer access to initiating their own learning to develop their potential, not tied to set development programmes and start dates. Move away from mandated training. Onus on individual to be self motivated. Demonstrate engagement with learning process not put onto a spoon fed process. Coaching and mentoring as development approaches for and by managers. Just in time training for new, necessary competencies rather than sheep-dip all staff. Opportunities for development placements and beginnings of Talent Management. High potential leadership programme. Concepts around learning organisation.

Issues Organisational sub texts and hidden relationships What does the organisation want? Talent from inside or outside the organisation; demotivator or enabler? Operational context. All operational leaders started as FFs, but we select FFs to be FFs not for future potential.

Equality of Access Costs of self-directed development routes. Tensions between individual development and organisational requirements. Time constraints on development for staff with primary employment –RDS. What about 10% non – operational staff – retention of talent them. Opportunities for development and progression. Who owns talent management?