UPDATE: Project details updated during the EPSA 2025-26 edition.
Context
The project, ‘Talent goes Leadership’, arose from the challenges faced by the City of Vienna, the largest employer in Austria. The 2023 EU Commission report highlighted a widespread problem of labour shortages across various sectors and skill levels. Vienna was no exception, facing a double threat: competition to attract and retain skilled professionals, and an impending wave of retirements, particularly from leadership positions.
In response, the Executive Group for Personnel and Internal Auditing established an interdisciplinary project team. This team identified the need for a two-pronged approach: providing ongoing career opportunities for employees and fostering a ‘talent-friendly’ environment.
Objectives
Talent goes Leadership aims to address the city’s talent needs through an innovative talent management programme. It offers a personalised programme for employee development, equipping them for either leadership roles or specialised positions. The programme embraces diverse talents, focusing on qualities such as creativity, growth mindset, communication skills and resilience. This inclusive approach ensures the programme is open to all Vienna City Administration employees, regardless of their background, hierarchy level or education.
Implementation
The programme implementation involves a comprehensive application process, including a CV, self-representation, self-assessment and external evaluation. Selected participants embark on a nine-month programme tailored to their individual needs and development plans. The programme offers a blend of learning experiences, including a core curriculum for everyone, personalised electives and networking opportunities with influential figures. This multifaceted approach fosters individual development while enhancing participants’ visibility within the organisation.
The initial programme received significant interest, with over 80 applications for 25 places. Ongoing evaluations reveal high satisfaction from participants. Looking ahead, the programme seeks to maintain momentum by fostering a ‘talent community’ for those not selected in the initial round. This community provides access to exclusive workshops and networking opportunities, promoting a more inclusive and adaptable approach to talent development within the organisation.
Developments
Since the initial submission in November 2023, Talent goes Leadership has progressed from a single pilot cohort into an integrated and institutionalised element of the City of Vienna’s talent development strategy. The most important developments include implementation and evaluation of the first two programme cycles.
The pilot cohort of 26 participants, launched at the time of the original application in 2023, was completed in spring 2024. Additionally, a ‘talent community’ was established for those individuals who could not be offered a place in the programme. Participant and trainer feedback, stakeholder interviews, and KPI review consistently reported strong personal development outcomes, enhanced peer and stakeholder networks, and improved visibility for the programme participants towards organisational decision makers. Based on the exceptionally positive feedback from the pilot cohort, in 2024 a second round of the programme was initiated with 30 participants. Minor aspects, such as seminar schedules and organisational processes, were adjusted based on feedback and lessons learned; however, the programme’s core curriculum remained unchanged.
Reassessment of needs and target group refinement: At the same time, a strong demand for top-level management candidates was driven by demographic changes, shifting expectations of new generations, and organisational structures. In response, the target group of the programme was redefined and a third cycle with 23 participants was launched, now focusing on experienced leaders who could envisage taking on top management roles in the coming years, as many positions are expected to become vacant. The programme’s framework, content, and communication were adapted accordingly to better address these more experienced employees with leadership experience.
Integration into a comprehensive talent strategy, supported by additional initiatives: A thorough reassessment of organisational and target group needs in early 2025 concluded that Talent goes Leadership should be maintained as a long-term measure but cannot solely deliver systemic succession outcomes. Consequently, the programme was embedded into a coherent talent development concept, including additional initiatives which were developed and implemented as part of the concept: an internal women’s mentoring programme to strengthen female leadership pipelines; expanded networking formats (leadership circles) for leaders and talents of different hierarchy levels; a ‘Talent goes Leadership’ alumni community offering exclusive learning and networking events (e.g. leadership simulations) and a new partnership with a local university to obtain a Bachelor degree in Public Management for those who wish to develop their management skills for their next career steps. Additionally, succession planning meetings between strategic HR and department heads were re-established to raise awareness of talent development among top management, present existing programmes, and provide targeted advice on development measures for individual employees. Finally, the internal marketing was strengthened, and the talent development strategy and its initiatives were repeatedly presented to the top management and department heads.
Long-term impact
Since its introduction, the overarching objective has remained unchanged: to identify, develop, position, and retain talent within the organisation. Given the strategic and long-term nature of this aim, a complete evaluation is only partially possible after three years. However, results can be demonstrated at several levels:
Individual level of the participants:
The programme has significantly supported participants’ personal development and career planning. An evaluation carried out one year after completion of the first programme cycle showed that almost all participants valued the programme as highly beneficial. Nearly all reported contributions to their career objectives, with 11 of 26 reporting concrete career advancements, such as landing higher or more responsible positions.
Organisational level:
The programme fosters a talent-friendly organisational environment and is therefore expected to continue contributing to employer branding efforts. Programme participants have gained realistic insights and expectations regarding leadership roles and are better prepared for such positions, which leads to improved staffing of leadership roles.
However, the programme in its original form could not address all organisational objectives, e.g. filling all top-level positions. Consequently, its target group has been adjusted, and it has been expanded into a more comprehensive concept. Nonetheless, the recruitment processes for senior management positions remain outside the programme’s scope, and continuous effort is therefore required to enhance selection processes and the appeal of leadership roles, and their work–life compatibility, especially for women. Also, budget consolidation has limited the number of feasible programme cycles despite higher demand. Therefore, complementary measures have been implemented with a strong emphasis on cost efficiency (e.g. the women’s mentoring programme relying primarily on internal resources).
Overall, Talent goes Leadership delivers long-term benefits aligned with its original objectives, while underlining the necessity of additional measures to address structural and systemic challenges in leadership succession.
Adjustment in the objectives
Since the introduction of Talent goes Leadership, the project’s objectives have been refined to further align with the organisation’s strategic goals:
A key adjustment was the organisational integration of the Talent department with the Leadership department. This structural change enables closer coordination of activities targeting both talents and managers, and maximises synergies in terms of facilities, processes, and human resources.
During the implementation of the project, it became evident that securing ongoing senior-level commitment is a key success factor. To ensure this, regular reports to top management were introduced, and direct supervisors of the programme participants are actively engaged at key stages of talent development measures, e.g. by participating in opening meetings.
It became clear that the centrally organised talent management measures generate added value for all organisational units: the measures serve as a model for all decentralised units – each with their own HR budgets – by offering best practices on how to design similar decentralised initiatives. All measures foster a strengths-based culture and aim to accelerate the transition from a one-fits-all concept to an individual approach to staff development. The considerations regarding individualised staff development are also being incorporated into the leadership principles, which are currently being revised and reformulated.