Authors: Meghan Hopkins Chad Roedder
Who are the next leaders in your organization? Developing effective succession plans becomes more challenging in this era of remote and hybrid work when more people spend less time physically in the office.
Distance from the office can impede developing important work relationships or learning by observing and shadowing colleagues. For HR leaders at small- to medium-sized organizations, this hybrid and remote challenge can be particularly acute in developing leaders, because every employee's contribution is vital.
How can you identify the leaders of tomorrow and ensure that they bring the skills necessary to reach the top of your organization? High-potential employee programs are designed to accelerate the growth of individuals with the vision, capability and drive to lead the organization into the future.
What are high-potential employee programs?
High-potential skills
- Leading without a title
- Asserting without straining relationships
- Moving from peer to coach
- Building relationships with senior leaders
- Mentoring or coaching
- Offering feedback
- Making decisions with real, but manageable, impact
- Observing senior leaders as they deliberate and make strategic decisions
- Resolving conflict
Specifically for employers looking to cultivate internal talent, high-potential employee programs help to identify individuals with the capability and aspiration to grow into leadership roles. Such programs can support the development of those identified as having high potential through one-on-one coaching, mentoring and shadowing opportunities with experienced colleagues.
High-potential programs help establish a career path for emerging leaders by aligning their goals with increased responsibility and leadership development opportunities. These "HiPo" programs represent a strategic investment in your organization's future.
Among the advantages, organizations can scale HiPo programs as large or as small as needed to fit the employer's resources and appetite for development programs. At Gallagher, we've worked with organizations to design and deliver year-long programs with significant investment from the organization and from participants.
On the flip side, we've helped create one-day programs that show appreciation of, and investment in, high-potential employees without spending beyond the organization's means.
Benefits of high-potential employee programs
High-potential programs give emerging leaders greater access to senior leaders and opportunities to engage at a strategic level beyond their current role. Participation in the program also offers cross-functional exposure, helping individuals become well rounded and informed.
For small- to medium-sized employers in any industry, retaining high performers is critical. Offering growth opportunities through a high-potential employee program serves as a powerful retention tool and a key part of building robust succession plans.
Such networking with senior leaders can lead to further beneficial interactions. Arrange for your high performers to meet clients and vendors to get a better idea of your customers and their expectations. Such exposure will further prepare them for higher-level responsibilities.
Not only can a high-potential employee program benefit participants, but the employees' leaders can benefit as well. Aside from more structure and a clearer career trajectory for high performers, leaders can learn how to delegate more efficiently. Further, leaders gain experience in how to give useful feedback on assignments unrelated to the employees' regular duties. This process inherently improves the leadership capabilities of current managers as they participate in developing future leaders.
Carefully message communication related to high-potential programs
Communication represents a key decision point in designing and delivering high-potential programs. Specifically, is the program open to all employees who are interested in participating? Or is the program offered "by invitation-only" through a process whereby managers identify a subset of their direct reports as having high potential. There are a variety of trade-offs associated with structuring access to the program. Our team has helped numerous organizations work through this decision and its implementation.
Culture can support employee development
The culture of the company plays a big role in employee development as well. Some companies value hierarchy, others don't. High-potential employee programs can nurture leadership capabilities in early-career professionals who show strong growth potential.
For example, we know from experience that generation Z employees are looking for work-life integration, perks, seeing the value of the job and recognition. High-potential employee programs can demonstrate that an organization is invested in employees' long-term growth, making it easier to attract and retain talent vital for succession plans.
Avoid overpromising and underdelivering
While incredibly valuable, high-potential employee programs can risk overpromising for those who complete the training. If your company isn't growing or turning over at the top, program graduates may lose patience and leave for another opportunity. This risk is particularly sensitive in small- to medium-sized organizations where losing a key high-potential employee can make a significant impact.
If there's no payoff or opportunity within a reasonable time after the program ends, then a great program may drain talent. Prevent attrition with transparency. Be clear about the future of your company's org chart and realistic possibilities for advancement.
You might consider altering some job titles or restructuring jobs to create more intermediate leadership roles. The goal: Engage these employees until they can step into larger leadership roles. Designing the right program structure and integration with your succession plans is key to avoiding this pitfall.
Use high-potential employee programs to train your next leaders
A strong high-potential employee program provides a clear roadmap to identify and develop future leaders with the capability and ambition to grow. However, building and effectively managing such programs can be challenging for HR teams with limited staff and resources. Off-target high-potential programs can do more harm than good.
Gallagher can help
Our team specializes in helping organizations develop robust, realistic and impactful high-potential employee programs. With deep experience, we understand what it takes to develop talent, create successful employee development programs and integrate them with practical succession plans.
We can help you build and implement a program that prepares high-potential employees to step confidently into future leadership roles. Your organization can benefit from a strong leadership pipeline for years to come. Talk to a Gallagher HR and Organizational Effectiveness consultant about the right high-potential employee program for your organization's unique needs and goals.
