The term “high potential” is generally associated with two things: employee’s you have identified as having the potential to be promotable to one or more higher level positions; and in which you are willing to invest time, energy and money to facilitate their development to a higher level.
However slow the economy changes are, Bloomberg Business reported Monday that the Employment Index in U.S. Climbs to Highest Level in Two Years. This report is cautiously optimistic, as are businesses in general. I hear business leaders quietly saying that things are getting better. We are seeing more organizations hiring and more individuals who are currently employed seeking jobs elsewhere.
The CareerBuilder and USATODAY’s Mid-Year Job Forecast notes “56 percent of the human resource managers surveyed fear that their top talent will leave their organizations as the U.S. produces more jobs.” An affirmation of this number comes in a recent CEB employee engagement study, which revealed that 25 percent of employer-identified, high-potential employees plan to leave their current companies within the year, as compared to only 10 percent in 2006.
In a recent Webcast from HCI, Streamline Your Performance Processes for High Potentials, only 52% of participants noted that they have a plan to identify and develop their high potentials. If you haven’t gone through this process, will it matter to your organization as hiring overall picks up? It will matter for two reasons: The good ones may have a greater propensity to leave you and the organization will have missed the extra contribution if this top talent had received extra care, feeding and stretch assignments.
What does this mean to your employee base? The statistics indicate that you may have some employees who are looking for more – money, challenges, and promotions. And let’s face it, your “A” players typically have more marketable skills than your “C” players. Business Insider reports that Google employees will receive a 10% pay increase and a $1,000 cash bonus! Could this really be an attempt to buy loyalty?
Take a moment to consider who your high potentials in your organization are right now. Consider a “care and feeding” plan for each of those. It will help them become even more engaged in your business.
CEB’s Corporate Leadership Council identified six tips companies can use to identify, re-engage, and more effectively manage high potential employees:
- Stimulate. Emerging leaders need stimulating work, recognition, and the chance to grow. If not, they can quickly become disengaged.
- Test. Explicitly test candidates for ability, engagement, and aspiration to make sure they’re able to handle the tougher roles as their careers progress.
- Manage. Having line managers oversee high-potential employees only limits their access to opportunities and encourages hoarding of talent. Instead, manage these high-potential employees at the corporate level.
- Challenge. High-potential employees need to be in positions where new capabilities can – or must – be acquired.
- Recognize. High-potential employees will be more engaged if they are recognized through pay, so offer them differentiated compensation and recognition.
- Engage. Incorporate high-potential employees into strategic planning. Share future strategies with them and emphasize their role in making them come to fruition.
Your high potentials define at least a part of the future of your company. Individual development plans can help to keep this important talent part of your team.
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