Frontline managers: A re-examination of their role in talent management

Abstract

Using qualitative data obtained from 18 frontline managers working in the Danish public sector, this chapter shows that frontline managers display a leadership role that differs from that of other managers including aspects of recruitment, competence development, and career planning. Three distinct themes that distinguish frontline managers emerged from the data. (1) Their nearness to and involvement in the professionalism of the unit. (2) Operating at the interface between two knowledge regimes relating to the core task and to higher management. (3) Their role in creating a new professionalism which occurs when frontline managers interact with and across several professions. Based on these findings, the chapter argues that frontline managers should constitute an independent focus point for Talent Management.