It turns out that roughly just 5 percent of any company’s employees are considered high potential. These are skilled employees who stand out from the rest because of their innate valuable skill sets and infallible motivation to help their organization reach its full potential. Apparently, high-potential employees are highly engaged in their jobs and assume more responsibilities than what they are given.
Although the numbers are low, these potential employees do exist, and it only takes a keen eye to spot them.
Separating Potential From Performance
According to Tomas Chamorro-Prezumic, “Performance is what you do, and potential is what you could do.” However, these two terms are often misinterpreted as the same thing. It turns out that simply basing an employee’s readiness for a leadership role on his or her performance can lead to the unfortunate decision of placing them in a role in which they are unqualified.
With this, it is especially critical to keep potential in mind, with the simple addition of the worker’s performance, when deciding to appoint future leaders.
Aspiration, Ability, & Engagement
There are three key characteristics that you can spot in high-potential employees: aspiration, ability, and engagement. Aspiration is found in employees who take so much interest in a business’s decision-making process and proactively look for more challenging responsibilities.
Meanwhile, high-potential individuals aren’t simply good at doing their jobs. They also tend to absorb new skills quickly on top of their already-existing strengths. Lastly, employees with exceptional potential tend to extend beyond their individual business tasks, lending a hand to their fellow employees when necessary for the good of the company.
Improving Employee Selection
Henry Ford has never been more right in saying that “the only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” In a world where companies have unlimited resources, investing in everyone would be an easier feat.
But with many businesses having limited budget, they are forced to be more selective in their recruitment process, using executive search firms to focus more on high-potential- employee identification—which is a good thing, since the more potential an employee has, the quicker and less expensive it is to develop him or her.
The Benefit Of A Drug-Free Policy
Drug and alcohol abuse among employees can be detrimental to a business and an industry. One thing that employers can do to help them sift through potential employees is to implement a drug-free workplace policy by conducting annual employee drug tests and providing out detox kits as rehabilitation efforts. This does not only help employers evaluate their employees but also identifies which ones are more of a liability than an asset.
Keeping Potential Employees Engaged
If there’s one thing that’s more challenging than spotting a high-potential employee, it’s keeping them engaged. There are several things you can do to maintain your talent pipeline, with the goal of putting their potential to good use and effectively developing their talent. How you develop and retain them are significant factors that help your company sustain high productivity in the long run.
One Last Reminder
Aside from being able to tap into the potential of job candidates, it is important to maintain good relationships with them even if they don’t end up working in your company. Keep in touch with them every now and then in case there are changes in your employment needs.
The same thing goes for high-performing employees who leave the company. You never know when they will give glowing recommendations of people in their professional circles. You may end up benefiting from their employee referrals when you discover that these referrals can create positive changes and innovative processes in the company.
I hope you enjoyed this article about creative ways to recruit potential employees and find the right roles for your staff.
Interested in more articles about improving employee management?
Read My Blog Posts:
- How To Derive The Most Value From Employee Training
- Why Internal Communication Is Key To Small Business Success
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