Are your talent practices designed to complement and amplify each other—or are they functioning as separate initiatives without a shared impact?

Over the next 10 weeks, I’ll share insights into 8 talent practices that can enhance your talent strategy—whether you’re an HR Business Partner, Global Head of D&I, Leadership Advocate, or leading Talent and Culture for your organization.

At Symmetra, we believe the real game-changer is a Whole Systems Approach—aligning policy, process, technology, incentives, and behaviors so they work together, not in silos. When practices don’t inform or enhance each other, you miss opportunities to accelerate leadership development and deliver wider cultural transformation.

Ask yourself: Is your selection process linked to your leadership development approach? Do performance reviews enable the right leadership agenda for the year ahead? Are you using the full functionality of your HR systems to integrate talent processes?

We’ve developed a Whole Systems Talent Diagnostic to help organizations understand the full ‘playing field’—where they’re strong, where gaps exist, and how to build capability. In a recent review for a European client, we found world-class hiring practices—but a clear gap in leadership development post-hire. The organization was attracting top talent but lacked a clear pathway to accelerate growth against a consistent agenda once in the organisation.

And here’s the critical insight: inclusion by design—not as a stand-alone initiative. When processes are inclusive, objective, and accessible, employees and leaders adopt them because they see the opportunity for better outcomes for ALL. That’s when talent systems stop being transactional and start driving belief and delivery of the right talent outcomes.