By maintaining transparency, establishing structured career paths, and managing expectations, HR leaders can develop high potential talent and promote positive relationships among employees at all levels of the organisation.
By Simon Kent
Here’s a great problem to have. There are high flyers in an organisation who are driving the business forward, making great sales, fantastic cost savings, and more. Great news for the future of the business and for HR in particular—a clear sign that recruitment, development, and succession planning are all in alignment and delivering excellence. But, while encouraging and promoting outstanding performance among some people is paying dividends, it is cheesing off others. Some individuals are flourishing, but others in the organisation are taking this as a sign that their work is not good enough, not appreciated, and maybe they simply do not belong here.
Cyndi Sax, vice president, talent solutions at assessment company Talogy, believes clear communication, structured career paths, and managing expectations are key to addressing this issue and promoting harmonious relationships at work. Give employees buy-in to leadership development, make sure they understand the criteria for high potentials, and they are more likely to accept their point of readiness for promotional opportunities.
“Typically, high potentials are assessed in many areas, technical skill, cognitive ability, leadership behaviour, aspirations, and motivation,” explains Sax. “Assessment can be very useful for measuring these areas objectively, backed up by feedback from peers and line managers. For those not selected, they need to know that career progression is still an option, but there may be areas to work on, where learning and development might help, or where further technical skills can be obtained.”
Andrea Rowe, people and culture director at employee engagement program company, BI WORLDWIDE, agrees on the importance of being transparent in how and why people are developed and promoted. “We use data from performance reviews to identify high-potential employees,” she explains. “Data is based on performance, thought leadership, innovation and creativity, behaviours, collaborative working and leadership qualities, and adaptability.” The company also deploys 360-degree feedback to obtain a holistic view of an employee’s performance and behaviours.
Development plans are then created and tailored to the individual. As a result of this, high potentials receive appropriate learning plans, mentorship, and leadership training. “These development opportunities are available to all employees,” stresses Rowe, “offering a variety of programmes based on interest and career goals.”
Interestingly, Rowe also notes high performers can benefit other employees. While receiving support themselves they can provide mentoring and coaching support to others, enabling more employees to grow as they do.
Identifying High Flyers
While creating a fair and equitable development plan is one thing, knowing what a high flyer looks like is another. High flyers will vary from company to company—after all, their actions and work must key into the individual mission of that business, and that’s not going to be the same for everyone, even in the same sector.
Jeanette Wheeler, chief people officer at MHR, says recent research from their company has revealed that what a high flyer looks like can even differ between HR and the wider business leadership. While HR teams tend to see high performance as built on a foundation of a highly skilled, stable workforce with strong leadership, business leaders emphasise agility, operational excellence, and quick decision-making. There’s a sense then that HR treasures a strong and steady approach whereas the wider business values swiftness.
“When it comes to developing top talent, the answer isn’t to create isolated fast-track schemes. Instead, a more integrated approach, where individual development is embedded within the broader team and organisational vision can accelerate growth while ensuring that the entire workforce remains engaged and motivated.” – Jeanette Wheeler, MHR
Wheeler also shifts the selection and development of individual high flyers forward, placing it in the context of the developing business. “For HR to discover and develop high flyers, and taking this a step further, get to a point where the business rather than individuals is seen as high performing, then they must align with employees on what success looks like,” she says. “When it comes to developing top talent, the answer isn’t to create isolated fast-track schemes. Instead, a more integrated approach, where individual development is embedded within the broader team and organisational vision, can accelerate growth while ensuring that the entire workforce remains engaged and motivated.”
By integrating development into the fabric of the organisation, there is less chance that a high flyer’s development and reward will be seen as an outlier, and more as something that exists to support progress within the business. This reduces the perception of preferential treatment among employees and of some people feeling overlooked in favour of others.
“Integration also comes through in making sure people teams do not work in silos but instead work alongside employees across different departments as partners,” adds Wheeler. “This ensures the people function can understand every team’s requirements, long-term strategy, and growth plans, to help identify talent and development opportunities and ensure everyone is working towards a shared vision.”
An integrated approach is also supported at BI WORLDWIDE. “Rather than isolating high-potential employees in exclusive programs, we integrate their learning into everyday operations,” confirms Rowe.
High performers engage in “stretch assignments” and projects, such as the company’s community project, which allow them to apply their skills while positively influencing teams. At the same time, Rowe and her team work to ensure high potential employees remain aligned with the company’s vision and contribute to building a high-performance culture that lifts everyone.
“A career path can be about moving sideways to increase knowledge, as well as moving up the hierarchy, and so organisations should create opportunities to cross departments, work on key projects, and enhance skills within the organisation.” – Cyndi Sax, Talogy
At Talogy, Sax is keen to point out that while high flyers may be expected to rise to the top of an organisation, the process by which they get there may not be straightforward. Learning, development, work, and life rarely operate to simple cause and effect rules. Consequently, HR should always remember that progressing someone through the workplace might not represent a straight line.
“A career path can be about moving sideways to increase knowledge, as well as moving up the hierarchy, and so organisations should create opportunities to cross departments, work on key projects, and enhance skills within the organisation,” Sax says. “The key is that employees acknowledge and recognise the opportunities available to them, and understand that career progression is not always linear.”
