Santander Uses New Assessment Model to Identify Potential

Case A - Santander uses new assessment model to identify potential

Santander’s talent management strategy aims to meet the needs of the business, as well as the personal aspirations of its people. Succession planning, one element of this strategy, is designed to maximise the bank’s ability to deploy high potential individuals into key roles, while also enabling it to identify potential successors for specific roles. At senior levels of the organisation, line managers have begun using a new assessment model to evaluate individuals against detailed criteria covering both their current impact and future potential. This process enables Santander to gain a better understanding of individuals’ potential career trajectory and to support their progression with tailored development activities.

Profile: Santander

The origins of the Santander banking group go back to 1857 when it was established in the Spanish city of the same name. By 2010 Banco Santander SA had become the world’s fourth largest bank by profits and the eighth largest by stock market capitalisation.

Santander entered the UK market in 2004 with the acquisition of Abbey National. After acquiring two other former building societies, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester, the UK business was renamed Santander UK plc. It operates 1,300 branches nationwide and employs around 24,000 people.

Managing talent

Succession planning at Santander takes place in the context of an overarching global talent management strategy, which aims to ensure that the bank has the talent to meet its business needs now and in the future. The strategy also supports Santander’s ambition to become the ‘best bank’ for customers, shareholders and employees. Both these goals have assumed added importance during the prolonged economic downturn, according to Caroline Curtis, Head of Talent, Succession and Leadership Development at Santander UK. ‘In a challenging market we need to ensure we have people within the...