Dive Brief:
- Identifying employees as high potential (HP) acknowledges their contributions to the company, validates what they are doing and inspires them. But it also can lead to them resting on their laurels and other downsides, according to an article at Training Magazine.
- Author Gail Dutton writes that HP workers and their employers realize such programs can not only advance careers, but advance companies by increasing employee engagement and improving the retention of top talent.
- But according to a Korn Ferry survey, workers not formally identified as HPs report they are more likely to find a new job in the near term than those in HP programs. Claudia Hill, global lead of high-potential development for Korn Ferry, noted that is a reason why 63% of employers in the survey don’t tell employees they are considered to be high potentials.
Dive Insight:
Being labeled HP shouldn’t be a reward or an entitlement, Hill told Training. Programs with that connotation often subtly sabotage themselves. Instead, she explained that “high potentials are expected to work harder and take on more challenges.” That must be communicated clearly if a program is to succeed.
“Specifically, the ‘high-potential’ label connotes a high level of performance, augmented by the willingness and capacity to grow. It means that at this moment, you have the capacity and drive to take on more complex roles,” Hill told Training.
That capacity and drive may change over time, so employees who aren’t there now need a pathway to guide them toward maximizing their potential, she added. When that infrastructure is in place, then companies can openly discuss high-potential programs. “Choosing to be transparent is a question of timing,” Hill said.
