Our Annual Publication
SNAPSHOTS 2025
Managing
Frontline Talent
This edition of Snapshots explores three pressing talent themes that have emerged from deep conversations with our clients over the past year: Succession Planning, Emerging Talent Priorities, and Inclusion by Design. Each theme reflects the real-world challenges and shifts organizations are grappling with—from leadership continuity and evolving talent needs to the intentional shaping of more inclusive workplaces.
Grounded in the principles of wabi-sabi and the belief that lasting change comes from within, this edition invites leaders to reflect, renew, and act.
Theme 01
Organizations are striving to improve the quality, credibility, and efficiency of talent decisions across the entire talent lifecycle by making them more data driven.
Organizations are striving to improve the quality, credibility, and efficiency of talent decisions across the entire talent lifecycle by making them more data driven.
Top 3 takeaways for Leaders
Organizations are striving to improve the quality, credibility, and efficiency of talent decisions across the entire talent lifecycle by making them more data driven.
Success requires viewing such initiatives from a change management perspective and creating comprehensive stakeholder engagement plans to align and train key stakeholders.
Improving the data orientation of processes requires HR teams to develop analytical & process design abilities, along with awareness of Infosec issues.
Succession planning is no longer just an HR function—it has become a critical board-level agenda. With rising regulatory scrutiny, shifting business models, and global talent competition, senior leadership and boards are increasingly driving these efforts. This article explores the key factors influencing this shift and highlights the growing urgency to build a future-ready leadership pipeline.
Succession planning has traditionally focused on identifying a few star performers and grooming them for leadership roles. However, this one-to-one successor model often results in fragile, narrow talent pools that cannot withstand the pace of business change and increasing talent mobility. Recognizing this limitation, many organizations are now adopting a more resilient and scalable approach—building broader talent clusters that ensure a continuous flow of capable leaders across all levels.
at a Leading Power & Infra Company
As the company expanded its workforce from 7,000 to over 25,000 employees, traditional talent identification methods became unsustainable. To address this, the organization redesigned its approach—liberalizing eligibility criteria, digitizing administration, and focusing on development. As a result, the program evolved from a niche initiative into an enterprise-wide talent engine, with a 10x increase in coverage and significantly improved employee feedback.
at a Leading Private Bank
A leading private bank embraced the philosophy that “everyone is talent” and introduced a virtual competency assessment for all first-level managers and managers of managers. This initiative provided every participant with feedback and individual development plans while creating a detailed, data-driven competency profile for the organization. This approach democratized talent management, enabling more rigorous and inclusive succession planning processes.
Middle managers in 2030 will operate in flatter, tech-enabled organizations, managing a hybrid mix of people, machines, and external experts. Success will require integrating tools and talent, recognizing patterns, adapting quickly, and maintaining depth in key domains. This piece explores how the role is evolving—and what it will take to stay future-ready.
Promotion assessments are evolving from a basic yes/no decision to a more holistic, future-ready approach. Organizations are adopting talent profiles that capture strengths, development needs, and aspirations — while also moving beyond manager feedback to include immersive tools like role plays and case studies. The focus is no longer just selection, but also targeted development.
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Theme 02
Insert AP text here
Top 3 takeaways for Leaders
Organizations are striving to improve the quality, credibility, and efficiency of talent decisions across the entire talent lifecycle by making them more data driven.
Success requires viewing such initiatives from a change management perspective and creating comprehensive stakeholder engagement plans to align and train key stakeholders.
Improving the data orientation of processes requires HR teams to develop analytical & process design abilities, along with awareness of Infosec issues.
Most organizations often prioritize skills; however, neglecting the ‘self’ can significantly impact the leader’s effectiveness. For instance – a leader’s insecurities can manifest in their interactions with the team, organization, peers & customers. If you skip addressing their insecurities & just focus on teaching skills such as design thinking or empowering them, you won’t bring about fundamental & lasting change.
Syed Azfar Hussain
Senior Vice President – HR
Bajaj Finserv
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Theme 03
Insert AP text here
Top 3 takeaways for Leaders
Organizations are striving to improve the quality, credibility, and efficiency of talent decisions across the entire talent lifecycle by making them more data driven.
Success requires viewing such initiatives from a change management perspective and creating comprehensive stakeholder engagement plans to align and train key stakeholders.
Improving the data orientation of processes requires HR teams to develop analytical & process design abilities, along with awareness of Infosec issues.
To scale programs, making them employee-centric is critical. The first thing we do is to try & understand the psyche of the participant, their priorities, their learning styles, their language around issues, the way they engage with and consume content. The same program, when designed for senior leaders, will be different than when designed for middle managers.
Trupti Nayak
SVP & Head – OD, Employee Engagement & People Analytics
HDFC Bank
Discover 5 transformative strategies, backed by real-world examples, to scale your programs effectively. From agile pilots to hyper-personalization & data-driven nudges, revolutionize your approach to learning & development.
*Data is for illustration purposes only.
Succession planning has traditionally focused on identifying a few star performers and grooming them for leadership roles. However, this one-to-one successor model often results in fragile, narrow talent pools that cannot withstand the pace of business change and increasing talent mobility. Recognizing this limitation, many organizations are now adopting a more resilient and scalable approach—building broader talent clusters that ensure a continuous flow of capable leaders across all levels.
As the company expanded its workforce from 7,000 to over 25,000 employees, traditional talent identification methods became unsustainable. To address this, the organization redesigned its approach—liberalizing eligibility criteria, digitizing administration, and focusing on development.
As a result, the program evolved from a niche initiative into an enterprise-wide talent engine, with a 10x increase in coverage and significantly improved employee feedback.
A leading private bank embraced the philosophy that “everyone is talent” and introduced a virtual competency assessment for all first-level managers and managers of managers. This initiative provided every participant with feedback and individual development plans while creating a detailed, data-driven competency profile for the organization. This approach democratized talent management, enabling more rigorous and inclusive succession planning processes.
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Disclaimer: All quotes mentioned on this page have undergone editing for conciseness, with a focus on retaining the contributor’s intended message and context.
Snapshots 2024
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