Article: How to Re-engage with a high potential employee

A Brand Reachout InitiativePerformance Management

How to Re-engage with a high potential employee

 

High potentials are an asset to any business and it's important for the organization to keep them engaged at all times
How to Re-engage with a high potential employee

High Potential employees are individuals who possess the ability to rise to senior and critical management positions within an organization and prove to be successful leaders. Most companies identify and groom their next generation leaders through their existing talent pool of top level performers who have demonstrated exemplary performance over a period of time. The employee could be from the sales, finance, delivery, operations or the marketing team. Companies essentially look at whether the employee is able to deliver the result that is expected of him or her on a consistent basis.

The best and the brightest among the workforce, the individuals who display traits of leadership, individuality and ingenuity demand to be recognized for their professional contribution. At times, they may be a little difficult to manage as they display traits of autonomy, but they are innovative and often break away from conventional approaches. They take logical risks thereby posing a challenge to the leadership. Having such high potential people in the talent pool, it is an organization’s responsibility to identify and develop these employees and nurture them. It is critical to provide them an environment where risk taking is encouraged and it’s ok to fail once in a while as long as they are learning from those failures. It is also important to find them challenging roles and give them the right amount of visibility. Companies need to re-assure and encourage these individuals and hone their leadership qualities. By doing so, an organization stands to benefit from the employee as much as an employee benefits from the organization.

Why re-engage with high potential employees?

High potential employees normally tend to feel dissatisfied with work due to the monotony or the lack of recognition and this can prove to be a huge challenge at times detrimental to an organization’s performance. I must point out here that being satisfied is not necessarily being engaged. A number of highly satisfied employees could be totally disengaged and hence dissatisfaction with status quo should not be seen as a negative trait. These issues must be addressed, or else dissatisfaction with work could inspire these employees to look elsewhere for employment and the organization would be faced with the problem of finding experienced people to fill their shoes. These individuals are a rare find and are always an asset to any organization, be it small, medium or large. Therefore, it is vital for an organization to engage and invest a significant amount of time and effort to groom them for bigger decision making roles.

The effective way to engage with HiPos

Companies should stimulate any initiatives taken by these employees and provide them a chance to grow within the organization. The leadership should provide them with opportunities to combat new challenges by giving them added responsibilities, which would help them reinforce their sense of purpose and commitment to work and to the organization. It would also allow the company to periodically gauge and review the skills, knowledge and performance of the HiPos. Recognition and rewards help the employee to understand his place, need and importance within the organization.

Engaging these employees in strategic planning initiatives periodically will ensure they receive hands-on training in critical roles and assignments to groom them for larger roles in the future. It is also vital to connect with them on a personal level, helping the employee engage effectively with the organization, providing him/her a sense of personal belonging and a feeling that the organization cares, which will prove fruitful to the organization and the individual alike. Statistics also prove that 20 per cent of employees deliver 80 per cent of the value. Therefore, it is critical for an organization to identify and re-engage with these HiPo employees, realizing their value and the true potential that they bring to the organization.

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Topics: Performance Management, #HiPoWeek

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