How To Develop And Retain High Potentials
Organizations are actively looking for high-potential workforce in the current job market and for all the good reasons. These are the most sought-after employees and the cornerstone of any organization. High potentials (HIPO) have the zeal to drive future leadership development in the business and are ready to take up larger roles. In this highly competitive market, it gets really difficult for talent acquisition teams to develop and retain HIPOs.
Human resource teams at every level are planning to throw new challenges for high potentials to keep them engaged. High-potential employees remain loyal to the business, have the drive to perform and perseverance to pursue future growth. Training high potentials is quite an unsettling task as their expectations from a development program keep on inflating as it progresses. Here are some tips to determine the ideal strategy that can help develop high potentials at your organization.
Strategic Planning
Upon identification of the right talent that needs to be groomed to take up leadership roles, a strategically aligned plan can help steer desired results. The business vision is directly mapped with such leadership development programs to educate HIPOs so that they display aspirations to rise in their respective roles.
Talent Assessment
No selection criteria is complete without performing assessments to identify the deserving talent. No difference in this case. HR teams need to gauge the existing talent to create a pipeline for high potentials for on-going development programs. Leadership abilities, behavioral traits, decision making, discussion initiations are some of the qualities that are needed to be scrutinized.
Performance Valuation
How well individuals are performing in their existing roles play a crucial role in identifying high-potential talent. Not all high-performing employees are high potentials. While high-performing means to achieve their targets with utmost distinction, high-potentials are those who outperform their existing job functions and aspire to take up added roles and responsibilities.
Validating Engagement
The prime purpose of a leadership development plan is to guide high potentials towards business future mission and vision. Such individuals are highly growth-oriented and look for various options to offer career advancement possibilities to them. Organizations need to leverage this opportunity by utilizing such training sessions in the form of workshops, exercise sessions, engaging activities, etc.
Ensuring Retention
One of the highlights of high-potential employees is that they are extremely self-aware. In the situation of performance hindrance, they keep looking for feedback from seniors as well as subordinates to make necessary improvements. Organizations offering such an environment where communication is transparent and effective, high potentials choose to stick around and invest their time and effort more prudently.
Because of their characteristic of taking on complex roles and learning things exceptionally fast, HIPOs work very efficiently to complete the given task on new functions. To know better about the mindset of high potentials, read the eBook Life Cycle Of High-Potential Employees which gives insights into developing a culture of continuous learning for leadership development. A well-executed HIPO leadership program allows to better know people and uncover the untapped potential of the workforce.
