109 : Jane Ferre on HR, talent and redundancy

Jane Ferre is a talent management expert and former HR professional at British Airways. She discusses her journey in HR and her work mentoring HR directors. She shares her experiences with redundancy, emphasising the importance of clear communication and managing emotions at times of change and uncertainty. 

Jane identifies retention and attraction as the two main challenges in talent management today. She stresses the importance of addressing the "so what" questions for high-potential employees and clarifying the psychological contract between organisations and their employees.

It’s astonishing that Jane should be expected to recover instantly from being told she was being made redundant and then have the emotional fortitude to have conversations with her own team immediately after. This demonstrates the importance of considering the impact of communication and the need to communicate in a timely manner, recognising that anything that affects people’s careers has an emotional impact.

Despite that her upbeat approach and focus on controlling the controllables is a good reminder not to get emotionally sucked into everyday challenges in work and life. I sometimes think we take life too seriously, and often when we look back later, what we thought was terrible is often just a turning point.

What challenge are you facing that you could reframe as a turning point?

Topics covered:

·      Jane’s personal experience with redundancy (00:05:15)

·      Coping mechanisms for leading through uncertainty (00:12:08)

·      Managing talent development (00:18:44)

·      Talent retention, talent attraction and organisational culture (00:20:03)

·      Different generational perspectives on job security (00:24:04)

·      Inclusivity in talent management (00:32:49)

·      Advice for career development (00:36:31)

·      Advice for new CEOs (00:31:10) 

Other free resources:

·       Buy the book Leading through uncertainty

·       Take the Team Performance Scorecard and discover the 12 hidden dynamics of your team’s performance

·       Sign up to our Leadership Hints and Tips

·       Connect with Jude Jennison on Linked In

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