SPOTLIGHT: Facilitating Squiggly Careers With Helen Tupper

The Gartner Talent Angle

As organizations continue to face fierce competition for talent, HR leaders have upheld internal mobility as a lever to retain talent, yet many employees remain unaware of the career opportunities in their organization. In this episode of the Talent Angle, Helen Tupper illustrates how championing squiggly careers — or nonlinear career paths — can deliver on the promise of internal mobility by giving employees relevant and engaging opportunities. By intentionally empowering talent to apply their skills across a diverse set of experiences, HR leaders can create meaningful careers for individuals while also serving the needs of the organization.

Helen Tupper is the co-founder and CEO of Amazing If, a company with an ambition to make careers better for everyone. Together with her business partner Sarah Ellis, she is the author of two Sunday Times bestsellers: “The Squiggly Career” and “You Coach You.” Their “Squiggly Careers” podcast is the U.K.’s No. 1 careers podcast, and their TEDx talk “The Best Career Path Isn’t Always a Straight Line” has over 1.5 million downloads. Helen also works as a trustee for Working Families, a U.K. charity with a mission to support families and caregivers with their work and life commitments. Prior to Amazing If, she held leadership roles for Microsoft, Virgin and BP and was awarded The Financial Times and 30% Club’s Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship. She is mum to Henry and Madeleine and lives with her husband in Buckinghamshire. You can find her on Instagram @amazingif.

Dion Love is a vice president of research and advisory services at Gartner. He’s a labor market expert, focusing on global labor market trends and what they mean for organizations’ talent and business strategies, as well as broader social and economic issues. In his work at Gartner, Dion advises clients on key aspects of talent acquisition, including talent acquisition function planning and management, talent needs definition and internal recruiting, employment branding and recruitment marketing, and talent sourcing and selection. He has co-authored more than 12 strategic research studies at Gartner. His work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and industry publications, as well as Gartner HR Leaders Monthly and Smarter With Gartner.