"You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best."— Andrew Carnegie
High Potential employees (HiPos) are an organization’s next generation of leaders. Given the costs and high failure rate associated with hiring new leaders, HiPo management is a key business process. Axiom helps clients establish the right criteria and development intitiatives to build a strong field of internal candidates for future leadership positions. Our approach towards improving a client’s internal leadership pipeline binds employees to the organization, develops them in effective ways, and builds valuable win/win relationships.
We believe that
- An internal leadership pipeline is a hallmark of successful organizations. Invest in your HiPos by providing them with the right set of development initiatives to improve themselves and realize their full growth potential.
- HiPos should be identified as early as possible and responsibility for their development should be owned by senior management, not HR.
- High performance does not equal high potential. It is important to understand the concept of "ceiling potential" versus "transitional potential."
- HiPo identification is often overly subjective and based on a "cloning" reflex that excludes women and minorities;
- HiPo development should be a lifetime process allowing the organization to grow its own future leaders.
Our Approach
- Define and establish the right identification criteria and processes.
- Set up Talent Review processes and committees, which review the nominated candidates and follow-up on realizing the full growth potential of HiPos.
- Advise and support companies in their communication process with HiPos as they progress in their careers.
- Validate the "transitional potential" of HiPo candidates in offsite development centers and create in-depth personal development plans.
- Implement Learning Centers where HiPo’s, senior management, coaches and assessors meet and create a multitude of insightful learning opportunities.
- Develop suitable sets of development actions and career steps that promote engagement and retention through a) on-the-job training and practical assignments, b) mentoring programs, and c) coaching and management training.
Benefits
- The certainty that internal future leaders are correctly identified and guided to realize their growth potential.
- Reduce the dependency on external "superstars."
- Improve the success rate of leadership transitions and succession management.
- Help solidify the employer brand and attract top young talent to the organization.
- Mitigate the risk of unforeseen leadership gaps.