Designing a Future-Fit Talent Strategy for a Leading Retailer
Client: South African Retail Group
Industry: Retail (FMCG & Apparel)
Focus: Talent Strategy & Workforce Maturity
What They Were Up Against
The retail sector in South Africa is undergoing rapid transformation. Consumer expectations are shifting, technology is reshaping customer interactions, and new competitors are entering the market. For this retailer, a workforce of over 30,000 employees was spread across stores, warehouses, and corporate offices, creating a highly complex people landscape.
Talent Management as a dedicated function had only been introduced five years earlier. The initial focus was on establishing the basics, including standard processes, consistent policies, and foundational practices. Having achieved that, leadership realised it was time to move beyond the basics. They needed a targeted talent management strategy that addressed their specific business challenges, aligned closely with the Learning & Development strategy (as a strategic enabler). They enabled the business to deliver on critical talent needs over the next five years.
Fragmented Talent Practices
Different divisions were at different maturity levels and ran varying talent processes, leading to inconsistency in succession planning, performance reviews, and development pathways
Leadership Pipeline Gaps
Critical roles, particularly in store management, leadership and planning, lacked ready-now successors, increasing the risk of business disruption
Skills Shortages
Emerging areas like e-commerce, data analytics, and digital marketing required new capabilities that weren’t being developed fast enough internally
Reactive Talent Decisions
Decisions around promotions, mobility, and development were often based on gut feel rather than data
What Was At Stake
Without a cohesive talent management strategy, the retailer faced significant risks:
Business Continuity
Key positions could remain vacant for long periods, disrupting operations
Future Competitiveness
Failure to build critical digital and leadership capabilities would leave them behind in the shift towards omnichannel retailing
Operational Inefficiencies
Inconsistent processes and managers lacking the tools and skills to lead effectively created delays, duplication, and missed opportunities for stronger performance
Where We Chose to Focus
Before designing the strategy workshop, we conducted a structured diagnostic phase that revealed the need to:
- Establish design principles anchored in the broader business strategy.
- Benchmark current maturity levels against market practices.
- Identify realistic target states, distinguishing between root causes and symptoms.
The pre-work included leadership interviews, document reviews, and a business strategy scan. This groundwork highlighted the importance of balancing ambition with pragmatism: rather than striving for “level 4 maturity” across the board, the focus became identifying what was “good enough” to create impact within their context.
How We Partnered for Impact
We co-designed and facilitated a two-day gamified strategy workshop with the talent leadership and broader HR team.
Key components included:
Maturity Framework & Talent Strategy Framework
These provided structure to map the current state, define the desired future state, and sequence practical steps
Benchmarking and Best Practice Analysis
We introduced external perspectives, showing what leading organisations were doing while filtering insights for relevance to a cost-conscious retail environment
Talent Simulation
A gamified activity that walked participants through the entire talent cycle from the perspective of employees, sparking empathy and uncovering gaps in the user experience
Human-Centred Design Exercises
Instead of building a strategy in the abstract, we asked: Who is this for? What are they dealing with? What constraints do they face? How will this land in the business?
Cross-Functional Collaboration
We brought together leaders from talent, learning, leadership, OD, and well-being, ensuring that integration points (like how talent acquisition feeds into development) were mapped out and owned collectively
Following the workshop, we worked closely with each leader to refine priorities, validate trade-offs, and agree on what was achievable within their resource constraints. This culminated in a phased talent strategy roadmap, which was consolidated into a formal document and presented to the HR Committee for endorsement.
What Shifted
A clear, integrated five-year talent strategy was established, creating direction and alignment across functions.
Leaders gained realistic clarity on their current maturity level and practical steps to advance it, without overreaching beyond budget and capacity.
Conversations shifted from siloed, tactical initiatives to an integrated talent ecosystem.
Within 12 months, the organisation had already implemented several priority initiatives, proving the strategy’s relevance and practicality.
Success Enablers
Inclusive Participation
Having the full people team in the room built ownership and integration
Grounded Frameworks
The maturity framework utilised prevented “wishful thinking” and helped leaders focus on fit-for-purpose solutions.
Gamified and Experiential Methods
Activities like Talent Pursuit created energy and empathy, making the strategy more engaging and realistic
Iterative Roadmap Building
Sequencing initiatives into short, medium, and long-term priorities gave clarity without overwhelming teams
