How one organization is taking an 'X-factor' approach to finding future talent

The British Council is taking a unique approach to finding talent for its Future Leaders Connect program — incorporating live heat events into their recruitment process. For the second year in a row, participating countries will host national events, inspired by TEDx talks and television show “The X Factor,” to see how candidates keep their cool during live debates, broadcast presentations, and audience votes. The program is looking for “exceptional young people with lots of talent,” who may still be “undiscovered,” explained Lydia Bowell, external relations officer with the British Council, not just candidates who went to the best universities or already have great connections. While good leaders need to express themselves well on paper, perhaps even more crucially they need “to have impressive presentation skills and to be able to engage with people effectively, to ensure their ideas are listened to,” she said. Allowing candidates to present their policy ideas at a live event, combined with their initial online application, allows the organization to get to know them better as individuals, explained Bowell. “We get to see a range of skills and make our final decision based on different factors,” she added. By putting less emphasis on the university candidates studied at and instead placing more weight on their policy ideas, the program was able to discover new talent and foster diversity in the country representatives they chose. “Last year, we saw a broad selection of inspirational young people join the program; many of whom had not had any similar experience to Future Leaders Connect in their lives,” she said. The live events also provide the British Council with an opportunity to engage and inspire a young audience who could be interested in the program in future — and facilitate networking with local leaders. “Even for those who don’t make it on to the program, there is valuable learning, contacts, and experience from taking part,” she explained. Mexico and Kenya were among the participating countries that held live heat events last year. Devex spoke to some of the staff involved to find out how these events worked and what made them a success. Fostering debate The team in Mexico opted to host a debate-style event. Inviting shortlisted candidates to present their own policy ideas, as well as analyzing and linking those of other candidates. Jennifer Cosgrave, head of programs with the British Council Mexico, said that they wanted to test candidates’ public speaking skills, in which they were given a specific time limit to present their ideas. “We wanted to test leadership skills around negotiation [and] being able to make connections with other people,” said Cosgrave. The panel looked at how candidates responded: Whether they were still able to think clearly in the moment and how they analyzed policy ideas under pressure, she explained. The event also intended to be a “learning opportunity” for all candidates, and to “expose them to the experience of others” said Cosgrave. Three guest speakers, including a former senator, film producer, and founder of an NGO, spoke on their experience working in and influencing policy in Mexico. These different perspectives helped “set the tone” for the debate while raising the importance of shaping policy around inclusive spaces, social justice, and leadership. Outreach beyond urban ‘bubbles’ The recruitment process for the 2017 program was a “huge learning experience” for the team in Mexico, said Cosgrave — all final representatives were from Mexico City. This is something the team has been conscious of avoiding in future. The focus this year was raising awareness of the program outside the capital city. “We want more candidates throughout the country and I’m really encouraging our network beyond the ‘Mexico City bubble.’” This new proactive approach involved a British Council Mexico team traveling around the country to conduct workshops with hundreds of students. The aim of these interactive sessions was “to really unpack some of the challenges they are anxious about,” said Cosgrave, and to “find strategies to support them to be successful in their applications.” Enlisting a live audience In Kenya, shortlisted candidates presented their policy ideas in front of a panel of experts, in addition to a live audience; it was important to allow the public a say in their country’s representatives, explained Kabiru Waihenya, head of communications and digital with the British Council Kenya. Once the British Council had whittled down the thousands of applications, the Kenyan team began promoting the 10 shortlisted candidates, and their policy ideas, through social media. All 10 of the finalists featured on at least one national TV or radio station. The public was also encouraged to attend the live event. Through social media, the British Council was able to reach over 3 million people with news of the event. Interest exceeded expectations and the public was “excited to be involved,” said Waihenya. Giving them the opportunity to vote “added to the anticipation and also to the accountability aspect.” On the day of the event, each candidate had 10 minutes to make their final pitch to the panel and audience before it went to the live vote. An external agency helped design a system that allowed for simultaneous voting, then aggregated the audience and panel results. For those not able to attend, the whole event was streamed via Facebook. It was the first time the British Council had broadcast such an event and, despite a few technical glitches, it was very well-received, said Waihenya. Choosing the right panelists While the live audience would play a role in the final decision, selecting the right panel and ensuring the presence of “respected voices” from different sectors was still important for the organizers. The panel also featured representation from the British Council, which allowed for a diversity of expertise while remembering the key objectives of the program, explained George Kogolla, director of programs and partnerships with the British Council Kenya. Given that the event would involve a public audience, it needed to be “both entertaining and interrogative,” he finished.