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Emerging leaders at ING

Orange waving rocks

About

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries. Impact worked with ING as part of their International Talent Programme, a four-year learning journey designed to support talented graduates to become ING's future banking leaders.

ING recruit approximately 160 highly intelligent and adept graduates in 14 different countries every year. The International Talent Programme included international rotations, mandatory and flexible certifications and an annual global learning event: two intense weeks of learning, collaborating and connecting on core banking skills, professional development and personal skills.

Impact delivered training on the personal skills curriculum in line with the ING Orange Code. Impact provided a mix of webinars, online pre-work and face-to-face experiential development.

Impact worked with International Talent Programme trainees to develop their personal skills to complement their academic experience and professional training. Developing these skills helped the trainees access their untapped potential, and to use their intellectual and practical capabilities effectively.

The personal skills curriculum delivered by Impact shifted over four years to put the emphasis on trainees to be able to take ownership of their own learning. Year one focused on personal skills, year two on teams, year three on performance, and year four on leadership. Impact worked to:

  • Form guilds of 10-12 trainees, to build close personal relationships and a strong, international learning set. The guild worked with the same facilitator throughout the four-year process.
  • Create numerous opportunities for participants to give and receive feedback.
  • Look for opportunities to bring the values and behaviours in ING’s Orange Code to life; incorporating them in discussions and reviews.

Year 1 - Inspire - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Inspire built self-awareness, dialogue and influencing skills, innovation and creativity, listening and communication skills. It introduced ’leadership as action’, cross-gen and intercultural working and MBTI profiles. Here trainees were able to ‘learn to learn’ through inspiring projects and high-energy, high-impact challenges.

Year 2 - Connect - Brussels, Belgium

Supporting international placements, Connect used business simulations to develop teamwork, networking and collaboration skills; helping trainees learn how to work in a team, what makes a great team, how to encourage higher team performance and how to navigate change.

Year 3 - Perform - Frankfurt, Germany

Perform brought trainees' abilities to the next level by focusing on how behaviour affects others and how to manage stakeholders effectively. A scenario based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals featuring invited ING stakeholders' enabled practice in influencing across boundaries.

Year 4 - Lead - Lake District, UK

Lead focused on taking charge and inspiring others, with a unique format designed to deepen self-awareness, teamwork and leadership potential. The programme was incredibly varied, featuring well-being, resilience and challenging content from outdoor adventure to digital detox. Lead consolidated all four years to define trainees’ leadership purpose and develop a balanced life, to reflect on their journey and look to the challenges ahead.

The International Talent Programme helped position ING as a preferred employer, attracting top graduates with the right behaviours and high growth potential. Through the International Talent Programme trainees: 

  • Developed banking skills, leadership skills and a global mindset.
  • Became the next generation of managers and high-value specialists.
  • Were empowered to take ownership and responsibility for their career.

Data from post-programme showed:

95% of graduated International Talent Programme trainees stayed at ING for more than five years

50 International Talent Programme graduates are now in senior management (or on the path to it).

82% increased self-awareness of motivations, strengths and development areas - from Inspire

86% had better understanding of the personal impact on other team members - from Connect

77% increased in their ability to demonstrate skills to motivate and empower others - from Perform

98% reported they felt empowered to own their career - from Lead

Testimonials
See what our customers say about us
Andy Fell
General Manager
Westpac
"After a long working relationship with Impact in the UK, I was eager to engage them in my early days as the General Manager of Premium Financial Services. We ran two sessions, one for my leadership team and another with some of our outstanding talent. Both events were brilliant. As a participant and a leader I saw immense benefits on a personal and business level. We now have clarity of vision, purpose and direction along with a unique bond that will allow us to soar to new heights."
Andy Fell
General Manager, Retail Banking
St George Bank
“This programme has really ‘started something’. We believe that there is a little dragon inside all of us...and coaching makes the difference when it comes to our people reaching their true potential. Impact have once again delivered.”
Barbara Fuchs
Vice President, PGIM Talent Management
PGIM
“Six cohorts into the programme and I could not be more optimistic about the capability of our PGIM leaders to take us into the future.”