When Tesco announced recently that Colin Holmes, chief executive of its convenience store business, was standing down to take an eight-month sabbatical, the rumour mill swung straight into action. Either Holmes, widely regarded as a possible successor to chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, was taking the step as a prelude to moving out of the group completely, or it was a sign that Tesco was prepared to go to extreme and costly lengths to retain its top talent, rather than have it fall into the hands of rivals.

Whether either of these interpretations was on the mark is yet to be seen, but professionals in the executive development field point out that Tesco is in the forefront of big companies in using innovative means to develop high-fliers and that an increasing number of employers are using just this kind of technique.

And it is not only the highest fliers sniffing around Sir Terry’s door who are involved. Employees at all levels of Britain’s biggest supermarket are taking advantage of a flexible working programme that allows them to build lengthy periods away from work into their careers. Jayne Weston was coming to the end of a contract working on a new Tesco business venture in China when she applied for a three-month break before returning to the UK to take up a new job as head of international organisation design and talent planning. She used the time to travel around Australia on her own, an experience that provided her with a new range of skills that she believes will benefit the company in future (she also learned to swim).

“The whole experience gave me a real sense of achievement, which gave me an added sense of motivation coming back to work,” she says. “I’m supporting the international team in my new role from the UK, so being in a different country connecting with different kinds of people is going to be a transferable skill of value in my new role.”

She says Tesco is open to supporting people at all levels to take a sabbatical, provided it fits in with the business as well. “It’s standard at all levels. We support people with either a short or longer-term time away from the business, dependent on their life stage.

“We always say, both within our leadership development programmes and generally speaking, that work and life are integrated. Often there are things you want to do in life that will then enhance your time at work once you get back in the business, so we’re happy to support that.

“We’ve got a broad range of policies around flexible working, some of which kick in at different service points and some of which are more specific to a person’s situation, which will be based on a discussion between the line manager and the individual to agree on the time off if necessary.

“There’s got to be sensible discussion around it, but our whole ethos is around saying ‘yes’ more than ‘no’, because we feel it’s going to bring benefit to the business and to the individual.”

Robert Myatt, director of business psychologists Kaisen Consulting, says providing for personal development is becoming an increasingly important element in companies’ efforts to attract and retain talent, particularly at higher levels.

“The cost of replacing an individual is usually around three times the salary,” he says, “And if someone is a high performer, not only are you losing high performance, but that high performance might be going to one of your competitors, so it’s a double whammy.”

He says that in the absence of jobs for life, high-fliers are increasingly aware of the importance of their development in improving their value in the marketplace, and that as a result employers that offer good development opportunities are being increasingly favoured.

“To give you an example, we did some analysis at Atkins, the major engineering consultancy, to look at the retention rate among managers who went through a senior management development programme compared with other senior managers. Among the managers who went through the development programme, the turnover was only three per cent, whereas the average within the rest of the group was in double digits.”

Myatt says offering development opportunities works on a number of different levels, not least by simply demonstrating to individuals that the organisation values them enough to make sacrifices for their benefit.

It also provides long-term benefits to the organisation by making the employee more capable and fulfilled, which will increase the employee’s commitment and contribution to the organisation. And also, not to be underestimated, they’re actually healthier,” he says. “They’re likely to have a better balance between what they’re doing outside of work and their work interests.”

He says one of the key characteristics of people who are able to remain psychologically healthy despite the demands of senior management is that they have multiple parts to their lives. Work isn’t everything. They have different activities outside of their work, all of which help to give them perspective.

“So if one part of their life is being stressful, they’ve got the other areas to act as a buffer. Whereas if work is all your life, and you’re sacrificing everything for work, then any difficulty in that area will be psychologically exaggerated and very stressful.”

Myatt says Kaisen’s research into what makes a high-flier has also thrown up findings that underline the importance of broad development and which may come as a surprise to those whose knowledge of business comes from watching Alan Sugar shouting at people on The Apprentice.

“Our research shows that high-fliers are extremely driven and you’d expect that, but they’re not completely egocentric. We did a study where we looked at managers who got to a senior management position within eight years of starting their career and those people were stronger in terms of their emotional function at reading other people’s emotions rather than managing their own emotions.

“They weren’t your stereotypical tough nut, shouting orders, upsetting other people and being very self-focused. They were much more balanced as individuals, looking for a broader fulfilment than just the material rewards, status and power of achieving a senior position.

“Their social functioning was good, they were good at building relationships and they were quite in tune with the emotional side of life. Interestingly, they weren’t actually brighter. They needed to be above a threshold, but being intellectually stronger wasn’t a thing that characterised the people who got to the top more quickly.”

So if you want to get ahead, broaden your horizons. But, says Jayne Weston, make sure you do it properly and don’t waste the opportunity.

“Be really clear about what you want to get out of the time, because it is precious time if you’re generally a very work-focused person,” she says. And don’t forget to keep in touch with your employer. You may be up to something completely different, but the business machinery will keep on moving, rumour mill and all.

How to make sabbaticals work

Sabbaticals can provide substantial benefits both to the individual and the employer, provided they are structured properly. Here are a few guidelines:

One size does not fit all

Setting a rigid rule, whereby after achieving a certain level every employee is sent on a particular course or given a particular length of time off, can be counterproductive because it may not fit in with the individual’s wishes and motivation.

Engage with the individual

All employees have their own motivations and personal long-term timetables, and close communication between the employer and employee will allow these to be addressed through sabbaticals, to the benefit of both.

It takes all sorts

Be prepared to entertain or suggest a broad range of sabbatical activities, from spending more time with family to charity work or secondment to another organisation. Also suggest alternative arrangements within the business.

Take the lead

The more proactive an organisation is in coming up with effective, well-tailored possibilities, the more appealing it will be as an employer.