After engaging audience in a webinar, a radio show and a virtual coaching class in the first two days, the third day of the HiPo Week had an exclusive masterclass session on “Customising the HiPo career map” in Mumbai. 

The industry HR leaders and experts gathered to discuss the global and Indian best practices on HiPo career management, and delved deeper into the set of problems faced by organisations to develop career maps for HiPos and tabled solutions for the same.

The masterclass was facilitated by Shakun Khanna, Country Head, India, Right Management. The agenda of the masterclass revolved around the necessity of customizing the HiPo career maps and that “One size fits all approach cannot work anymore”. From initial discussions related to what HiPos mean to organizations, how HiPos are defined and who should be a HiPo in the current business context, to discussing succession planning for HiPos, the masterclass also deliberated on the role of technology in career management and the existing HR programs and initiatives which can be aligned to the career management programs.

Many experts during the session agreed to the fact that organizations are evidently missing out on charting career plans for high potential employees and that career architecture and career paths are not aligned, and are not defined appropriately. The fact that in most organizations, managers are ill equipped to handle career development discussions in performance management processes was also discussed along with how coaching and structured mentoring can provide a solution to some areas in talent management. Every attendee mutually agreed that methodologies that worked for baby boomers cannot or may not be effective for Gen X, Y, and Z. The audience reiterated that the approach needs to be changed to “one size fits one” and HiPo programs must be attuned to new expectations to create better career programs.

The masterclass clearly established that for any career management strategy, the three foundational elements – a career framework, scaled competencies and enabling experiences, are necessary. But prior to all this, the strategy in this relation should involve the organizations perspective, talent priorities and strategic business goals and vision. Such a career management strategy will be effective in career development and other opportunities that are related to HiPo career advancement that is systematic, dynamic and sustainable.

The four-hour exclusive masterclass session also provided insights to how the tripartite commitment between the organization, employee and the leaders can make the career management all the more effective. The masterclass also answered some critical questions associated with defining career paths for HiPos such as, how can organizations build a framework that creates “customized” career plans in a scalable way that fulfils both organizational & HiPo needs; how can “customized” career plans ensure consistency between the message and action for every HiPo in the system; and how will organization’s structure, policies and process align to the need of flexible and customizable career maps?

“HiPos must be defined by RVCA – Result, Value, Culture, Attitude” was one of the many new lessons the participants left the masterclass with. To sum up the masterclass in a few words, it can be said that it is imperative to understand that a critical component of any organization’s total rewards portfolio is career management programs of the high potentials, which, if designed and implemented effectively can benefit both the organization and the employee.

This marks the close of another scintillating session and day, and in the blink of an eye, we are more than halfway through the HiPo week. We have another exclusive masterclass and a webinar on “Driving a high potential culture” lined up tomorrow. Stay tuned.