Episode 30
How Innovative Tech Can Transform Your Talent Management | with Peter Hogg
Schneider Electric’s Open Talent Market system unlocks internal mobility by letting employees work on cross-functional projects for 10–15% of their time. Peter Hogg explains how removing artificial barriers to movement—and reskilling—cuts attrition of high-value talent and drives diversity outcomes.
Episode Key Takeaways
Forty-seven percent of Schneider Electric’s departing employees cited inability to find internal opportunities matching their development needs—not bad management. This mirrors Harvard Business Review research showing people leave when the growth curve flattens, not when workload peaks. The insight reframes attrition as a career architecture problem, not a people problem.
Open Talent Market operates on three pillars: AI-matched internal job postings, mentorship pairing, and gig projects that free up 10–15% of employee capacity. The gig layer is the disruptor—it lets someone from finance shadow HR for a project, build credibility, and bridge into a role they couldn’t access cold. Sixty thousand hours of internal capacity were unlocked globally in the first six months.
Removing artificial barriers—no time-in-role minimums, no manager approval to apply, no mandatory disclosure of internal interviews—proved essential. Peter notes that without these changes, the system becomes another white elephant. Culture must shift first: managers must see themselves as talent magnets competing for bench strength, not gatekeepers protecting headcount.
The finance-to-HR crossover exemplifies the model’s power. A senior finance person with data and project management skills joined a TA project, gained exposure to leadership, and positioned herself for eventual HR entry—a move that would have failed on a traditional CV screen. Projects create proof of capability across disciplines.
Coupling internal mobility with a deliberate 3E framework—education, experience, exposure—embeds development into day-to-day work rather than relegating it to annual reviews. This philosophy, already embedded at Schneider, becomes the backbone that makes marketplace participation feel real and achievable to employees.
Frequently
Asked
Questions
What is Open Talent Market and how does it work?
It’s a software portal offering three opportunity types: AI-matched internal jobs, mentorship pairing, and gig projects. Employees can dedicate 10–15% of their time to projects outside their day job, gaining skills and exposure. Managers post projects, the system matches candidates via AI, and individuals apply or are contacted directly.
How do you prevent managers from exploiting gig workers or blocking mobility?
Schneider removed manager approval authority over internal moves and gig participation. Managers must instead position themselves as talent magnets—if they exploit people or block development, they lose bench strength. Good behaviour becomes self-enforcing: managers who develop talent attract talent; those who don’t, lose it.
What barriers to internal mobility should we remove first?
Start by eliminating time-in-role policies, manager sign-off requirements for internal interviews, and approval gates on mobility. These artificial constraints suppress employee confidence and drive external departures. Peter recommends auditing your policies for barriers that don’t serve business logic—only habit.
How does this solve diversity and inclusion challenges?
Projects create low-risk exposure pathways into underrepresented areas. For example, high-performing women can gain sales exposure via projects before applying for sales roles, building credibility and networks. The model accelerates cross-functional movement for groups historically blocked by narrow career ladders.
What should we communicate to candidates about internal mobility?
Sell the full value proposition: not just the job, but the ecosystem. Open Talent Market demonstrates that development opportunities are real and accessible to everyone, not distant or gatekept. It’s a concrete proof point that the company invests in career architecture beyond promotion—a major differentiator in competitive talent markets.