The talent you need next is often already working for you. The Talent Pooling and Pipelines module helps you find it, develop it fairly and make sure progression is open to everyone, not just the people already in the right conversations.
Talent pipelines: how to develop the people you already have
The talent you need next is often already working for you. The Talent Pooling and Pipelines module helps you find it, develop it fairly and make sure progression is open to everyone, not just the people already in the right conversations.
A practical guide to inclusive talent pools, pipelines, mentoring and sponsorship
Published on
October 14, 2026
Contributors
James Pravato
Includability
Inclusive Community
Table of Content
A talent pipeline is the way an organisation finds, develops and moves people into the roles it will need in future. An inclusive talent pipeline makes sure that route is open to everyone, so progression depends on ability and potential, not on who already knows the right people.
The Talent Pooling and Pipelines module of the JEDI Inclusion Toolkit helps you build one, starting with the people you already have.
Why does progression stay closed?
In many organisations, progression happens informally. A manager spots someone, offers a stretch project, puts in a good word. It feels natural, and it tends to favour people who resemble the people already at the top.
Meanwhile, nobody has a clear view of which roles are critical, what capabilities they need, or who could grow into them.
For B Corps, B Lab Standards V2 includes sponsorship and mentoring among the actions in the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Impact Topic.
What happens when development is left to chance?
Talented people from under-represented groups are overlooked, lose hope and leave, often for a competitor.
When a critical role becomes vacant, there is nobody ready, and you hire externally at greater cost and risk.
And your senior teams stay the same, however much effort goes into hiring at entry level.
What does the Talent Pooling and Pipelines module help you with?
Talent Pooling and Pipelines helps you develop the people you already have through fair, structured routes. It takes you from identifying critical roles and the capabilities they need, through choosing the right pipeline routes, to planning how you engage people along the way.
It is easy to follow, concise and structured, whether you are doing the work or reporting on it to your teams, groups or board.
What do you get?
↳ A guide to pooling and developing talent
↳ A template covering Start here, Critical roles, Capability map, Pipeline selector, Engagement plan and Lists
↳ A slide deck on building talent
↳ Mentoring and sponsorship guidance, which is being written now and will be added to the module when it is ready
What will you end up with?
↳ A list of your critical roles and the capabilities they need
↳ A capability map showing where your people are now
↳ The pipeline routes that suit your organisation
↳ An engagement plan that keeps development open to everyone
Why does it work for any employer?
Every organisation needs people ready for the next role, and every organisation loses talent when progression feels closed. The module is built on good practice first and works for any employer, whatever your size.
The template keeps it practical, so you can start with a handful of critical roles and build from there.
How is it built around the B Corp standards?
Talent Pooling and Pipelines supports JEDI2.h in the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Impact Topic of B Lab Standards V2.
Your critical roles list, capability map, pipeline choices and engagement plan show how you open up development to everyone. Every module in the toolkit names the criteria it supports and the evidence it produces.
B Lab certifies B Corps. Includability supports the work you supply as evidence.
Where does Talent Pooling and Pipelines fit in the toolkit?
The JEDI Inclusion Toolkit follows four steps, in the order that suits you: find out where you stand, decide what to do, do the work, and show what changed. This module sits in the third step, doing the work.
It pairs well with Inclusive Hiring, Onboarding and Induction, which widens who comes in, and with Inclusive Leadership, because leaders make most development decisions.
For the full requirements by company size, read our guide to the B Corp JEDI requirements.
How much does it cost?
Or get all 13 modules.
More Options
What is included
Price (Ex VAT)
JEDI Inclusion Toolkit
All 13 modules
£999
JEDI Inclusion Toolkit, Committed Employer rate
All 13 modules, at the partner rate
£650
JEDI Inclusion Toolkit plus Self-ID Survey
All 13 modules and one survey with structured analysis and headline summary reporting
£3499
Committed Employer under £2m turnover, with the toolkit and cultural roadmap
£1,495 partnership plus the toolkit at £650
£2,145
Committed Employer over £2m turnover, with the toolkit and cultural roadmap
£2,995 partnership plus the toolkit at £650
£3645
Bought separately, the paid modules come to £1,900 + VAT, so the full toolkit saves £901. Introductory 2026 pricing. Prices are subject to change.
Who built the JEDI Inclusion Toolkit?
Includability is a UK B Corp workplace culture business. We partner with organisations to build inclusive, diverse, mentally healthy, evidence-based workplace cultures.
We have worked in inclusion and workplace culture for more than six years, with some of the best-known organisations in the UK, through our Cultural Roadmap and support services. Our three directors bring more than 30 years' combined experience and have helped develop toolkits for well-known brands, including sporting organisations. Between them, they cover HR, diversity and inclusion, leadership and governance, mental health and wellbeing, talent and recruitment, inclusive communications and digital accessibility.
We know B Corp from the inside, too. Our directors have been through the B Corp process three times with two different businesses, Includability is a B Corp with a score of 143.2, and the team is working towards becoming B Leaders.
Get the module, or the full toolkit
Talent Pooling and Pipelines is available on the Includability Academy for £300 + VAT. The full JEDI Inclusion Toolkit gives you all 13 modules, with guidance, templates, videos and slide decks.
Get Talent Pooling and Pipelines, £300 + VAT [Talent Pooling and Pipelines course URL on incademy.co.uk]
Get the full toolkit, £999 + VAT
Not ready to buy? Four modules are free, starting with Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and B Corp. Start free.
Already a Committed Employer? Get the full toolkit for just £650 + VAT. Book a call.
Not sure where to start?
Book a call and we will walk you through becoming a Committed Employer. It includes our Cultural Roadmap with a JEDI Gap Analysis, which shows where you stand today, so you can go straight to the modules that close your gaps. If you already know your gaps, the toolkit is ready to get you started and support you as you go.
The Roadmap shows the gaps. The toolkit closes them and produces your evidence.
Questions people ask
What is a talent pipeline?
A talent pipeline is the way an organisation finds, develops and moves people into the roles it will need in future. An inclusive pipeline makes sure that route is open to everyone.
What is the difference between a talent pool and a talent pipeline?
A talent pool is the group of people you could develop for future roles. A talent pipeline is the structured route that moves them towards those roles over time.
What is the difference between mentoring and sponsorship?
A mentor gives advice and support. A sponsor uses their influence to open doors, putting someone forward for opportunities and speaking up for them when decisions are made. Both help, and sponsorship often makes the bigger difference to progression.
How do you make succession planning more inclusive?
Start from the capabilities each critical role needs, not from who already looks ready. Map everyone against those capabilities and open development routes to all, not only to people already known to senior leaders.
Do we need to be a B Corp to use it?
No. The toolkit is built on good practice first and works for any employer. B Corps get the JEDI criteria mapping on top.
Is the JEDI Inclusion Toolkit a certification?
No. Includability does not certify, accredit or verify anything. B Lab certifies B Corps, and the toolkit helps you do the work and gather the evidence.
Related resources & events
JEDI
Inclusive recruitment: fairer adverts, selection and onboarding, from first click to first month
Every stage of hiring can widen your talent pool or quietly narrow it. The Inclusive Hiring, Onboarding and Induction module gives you inclusive job adverts, fairer selection methods, an onboarding checklist and guidance on AI in recruitment, from the first advert to the first month in the job.
B Lab Standards V2 made Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion a requirement for every B Corp, backed by evidence. Here is what the JEDI criteria ask for, why few organisations can do it alone, and how a Cultural Roadmap, the JEDI Inclusion Toolkit and the Includability community give you the support to meet them.
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