At MET Group, young colleagues will find an environment where their talent is welcomed, and their ideas can really translate into something specific. The company’s Talent Development Programme (TDP) seeks to find top talents who have the potential to grow into senior management positions. Let’s see how this works in practice.
Benjamin Lakatos, MET Group’s Executive Chairman often describes MET as an HR-based success story. “I believe that the knowledge and innovation created by talented colleagues are the greatest business values a company can have.”
Therefore, MET Group is searching for ambitious colleagues who are ready to go the extra mile. When asked about where he sees himself in five years’ time, TDP member Gabriele Musicò, Management Associate to the CEO of MET Energia Italia, acknowledges: “I see myself in a key position where I can make a significant difference and help the company grow organically.”
This special two-year programme offers several advantages, including the opportunity to work closely with senior managers, learning directly from them, developing leadership skills, and building an extensive professional network.
Áron Czirer, Management Associate to the MET International CEO, is already in his second year of the Talent Development Programme. In his first year, he learned a lot not only about the market but also about effective collaboration with colleagues, including top management. “Working with such a diverse group helped me to understand myself better and to find problem-solving approaches that work best for me,” he recalls.
MET Group is not a typical multinational firm where the headquarters decide the most important questions, limiting your local possibilities. Colleagues are given a high degree of autonomy and are encouraged to come up with their own ideas, present them to their line managers and further up the hierarchy to the Group CEO, who can later also ask them to implement their ideas in practice.
Field trips and business projects support TDP members’ career growth
TDP participants can benefit from several trainings. They follow a course on how to write decision-making materials for top management, they learn about project management toolkits and methodology, whilst a junior leadership training course teaches them about self-awareness, assertive communication and collaborating with others in an engaging way. Other trainings prepare young talents for dealing with key financials needed for business decisions (business planning, investment decisions, financial risks) and strengthen their negotiation skills.
Gabriele Musicò, also in his second year of the TDP, finds the networking part truly important. “I had the chance to meet a lot of new people and the opportunity to delve deeper into some areas in which I wasn't very knowledgeable.”
Providing practical information is another essential part of the Talent Development Programme. Field trips are organised to visit assets operated or managed by MET Group – including the gas-fired Dunamenti Power Station, as well as solar parks and LNG terminals. TDP members must also develop a real business project with real business impact, requiring close cooperation amongst them, and the outcome is presented to the company’s top management.
MET Group HR closely follows TDP members’ paths – putting together career plans to achieve targeted career goals and determining tailor-made development activities based on their development plans. These plans are reviewed half-yearly with the line managers and mentors, and each young colleague’s performance is evaluated.
Aspiring for career progression is a common denominator amongst the Talent Development Programme members. Áron Czirer hopes to deepen his market knowledge and to further develop his management skills. “I also expect that the relationships I build and the knowledge I gain will support my long-term career growth,” he concedes.