Beyond the Backlash: Building Inclusive Talent Management That Works
- Jaya Kashyap
- Feb 5
- 5 min read
The Importance of Inclusive Talent Management
In a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives are facing increasing resistance, organisations need to rethink how they build inclusivity into their everyday HR processes. While some companies and even government bodies in the US are rolling back DE&I commitments, the need for fair and transparent talent management has never been greater.
Traditional HR processes, including talent management, now play a crucial role in ensuring equal access to career opportunities. But for them to be effective, they have to be simple enough to be used consistently. Research from McKinsey highlights that one of the biggest barriers to women's career progression is that managers don’t always implement the DE&I actions they are supposed to follow. The same pattern can be seen across HR processes, particularly in talent management, where complex, time-consuming frameworks like the 9-box grid are often underutilized.
A Simpler, More Inclusive Approach to Talent Management
Instead of relying on rigid frameworks that often fail in practice, organisations need a straightforward and practical approach. One option is the 4 Career Stages Framework, which moves beyond traditional performance grids to take a broader and more inclusive view of career development.
The 4 Career Stages Framework
This model categorises employees into four career stages:
Thrive – Employees who are performing well in their current role and are happy to continue developing within it.
Enable – Employees in a new or evolving role who may need additional support or skill development.
Stretch – Employees consistently perform at a high level and actively seek new challenges.
Shift – High performers with a strong growth mindset who are ready for significant role progression.
This framework recognises that careers aren’t always linear, and an employee’s aspirations and capabilities can change over time. Each stage is equally valuable, ensuring that all employees receive the right level of support.
For a deeper dive into the 4 career stages model, click here
More Than Just Simplicity—A More Inclusive Approach
Simpler frameworks don’t just reduce complexity; they also make talent management more inclusive. The key difference is that these models promote two-way career conversations, where the manager and employee explore together which stage fits best. This means employees are included in the process from the start, leading to greater engagement and ownership of their development.
Rather than spending time training managers on complicated models, training instead focuses on how to have a meaningful career conversation. The emphasis is on helping managers identify the best development actions and support options for their team members. The framework provides structure for these conversations, keeping the focus on understanding employees’ needs and driving development in a way that feels relevant and practical.
For more insights on supporting diverse career progression, explore our blog: What Really Works for Women in Leadership: Unlocking Career Progression.
Building the Foundation for Simplicity and Inclusion
For a simplified, inclusive framework to succeed, it needs to be clearly communicated and seamlessly integrated into the wider HR lifecycle. A well-designed approach to talent management doesn’t stand alone; it should connect with other HR processes like performance management and leadership development, reinforcing them in the process.
A key aspect of making these frameworks work is ensuring each career stage has a clear link to development options. Managers need practical guidance on how to move from a conversation about career goals to identifying the most relevant support. This could include:
What each stage means and how employees typically experience it.
Common behaviours and aspirations of employees at each stage.
The types of development opportunities available.
Expectations for both managers and employees.
How to make fair decisions, ensuring assessments are based on performance and potential rather than personal biases.
Links to other HR processes, such as performance reviews, promotions, and leadership development.
Providing a simple, easy-to-follow guide helps managers make fair and consistent decisions, rather than leaving talent management open to interpretation. The goal is to make the process not just simpler but also more effective and impactful.
The Role of Data Calibration in Fair and Inclusive Talent Management
One essential element of fair talent management is data calibration—ensuring decisions are consistent and free from bias. With a simpler framework and a focused approach to collecting data, calibration becomes much more manageable.
A major issue with traditional talent management is the sheer amount of data collected. While data is essential for decision-making, too much of it can create complexity rather than clarity, making it harder to spot patterns or biases. A streamlined approach allows HR teams and leaders to focus on the data that truly matters for career progression.
To ensure fairness, organisations should:
Regularly review talent data to identify patterns that could suggest bias.
Use structured calibration sessions where multiple stakeholders validate talent decisions.
Provide clear, practical examples of each career stage to prevent subjective or inconsistent assessments.
Train managers to recognise and reduce bias, making sure all employees are assessed fairly based on their contributions and potential.
By simplifying both the framework and the data calibration process, organisations can make talent management more transparent and inclusive, while also keeping it actionable and easy to implement.
Making Inclusive Talent Management Work
If organisations want to build DE&I into their talent processes in a way that sticks, they need to focus on simplicity, accessibility, and accountability. Here’s how:
Embedding the framework across the organisation
Provide managers with clear, practical guidance on how to use the framework.
Build a library of development activities to support employees at different career stages.
Ensure HR, talent acquisition, and senior leadership teams are aligned on career progression pathways that are open to all employees.
Empowering managers to have inclusive career conversations
Train managers on how to discuss career aspirations in a way that takes performance and engagement into account.
Offer tools that help managers assess motivation and readiness for change.
Actively involve employees in identifying their career stage, giving them more control over their development.
Keeping things simple and making accountability clear
Move away from overly complex frameworks that require a lot of time and effort to manage.
Support both lateral and vertical career moves, recognising that not all career progression means a promotion.
Make sure the process is easy to follow so that managers actually use it rather than ignoring it.
For a comprehensive guide to succession planning, explore our Succession Planning Handbook.
The Business Case for Simplified, Inclusive Talent Management
Companies that shift to a more inclusive and flexible talent framework typically see benefits such as:
Higher employee engagement and retention, because people feel valued and supported.
More diverse leadership pipelines, ensuring fair access to opportunities for all employees.
More effective talent management, ensuring that key roles are filled with the best and most prepared employees.
The key takeaway? If organisations want DE&I to be more than just a slogan, they need to make it part of everyday HR processes. And that means making it simple enough that it actually gets used.
Learn how Informa moved beyond outdated 9 Box Grid to inclusive 4 Career Stages Framework: Read Case Study
At Esendia, we don’t just create simple talent management frameworks—we make them work. The real impact comes not from the model itself, but from how well it fits into your organisation’s strategy, HR processes, and day-to-day reality. We help organisations achieve 98% completion rates for career conversations and measurable jumps in employee engagement because our frameworks aren’t just easy to understand, they’re fully embedded.
We take the time to get it right. We help you refine and integrate your existing processes, streamline what’s already there, and ensure that managers and employees have absolute clarity. From crafting glossaries and key skills guides to creating highly effective support materials and training documents, we handle the details so your people can focus on what matters. Less is more, and we make that happen.
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