Benetton embraces talent management to drive global ambition

Clothes retailer Benetton has made talent management one of its top priorities as it aims to become "truly international", an HR manager has revealed.

Gabriella Valentinotti, training and development manager at the firm's headquarters in Italy, said the group had begun to make sure that all 8,500 employees across 6,500 shops worldwide received a consistent and structured approach to being managed, that would enable them to progress quickly in their careers and move abroad between offices more easily.

Valentinotti told Personnel Today: "We are a big company with lots of employees. Maybe it's strange to believe, but we don't know how talent management is [carried out] in Japan or China, for example. We need to be structured."

She added that the economic uncertainty caused by the credit crunch meant it was even more important to know that shops in Europe and emerging countries were developing and managing employees.

"This will increase international mobility and help Benetton to become a big, international company. Benetton has always been focused on the sales and client aspect - now our key aspect is our people. That is why talent management is going to be more important."