Managing Today for More HiPo Employees Tomorrow
Developing a culture that supports and nurtures high potential employees is not reliant on one or two simple factors. The entire context on which your business operates impacts your results. One of the most important aspects is the culture of your company – how things get done, what works and what does not work as far as behaviors go, how you give performance-based feedback and how decisions get made.
To be able to build and retain high potential employees you must establish and maintain your company culture. In fact, more than 50% of respondents in a survey by Duke’s Fuqua School of Business said that company culture influences productivity, creativity, profitability, firm value and growth. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to culture and how it develops high potential employees, so here are some tips to help foster just that:
Tweet This: There is no ‘one size fits all’ for developing high potential employees. Try these tips:
SPELLING OUT YOUR PREFERRED CULTURE.
This may sound like the obvious, but you would be surprised how often it’s missed. Only 15% of firms report having a company culture where they needed it to be. A lot of this has to do with a lack of communication between management and employees. Spelling out your preferred culture is often set by creating guidelines and values, but it is important to support and act upon these values. Below are a few questions you can ask yourself about your company to get this process started:
● Which aspects of our current culture are we unhappy/happy with?
● What preferred behaviors do we need to create to get the HiPo employees we want?
● How do we measure up against each of our preferred behaviors?
Tweet This: Questions to ask yourself when spelling out your preferred culture:
Check out these 3 Ways Managers Can Create Better Communication
CONNECT TO THE BIG PICTURE.
Many employees that you will hire will want to be able to see their future within your company. To build high potential employees in your organization, it’s important to tie everything into ‘the big picture.’ Meaningful targets and goals are proven effective in motivating employees. Only 14% of companies report having workers who understand the company strategy, goals and direction. Only 5.9% of companies communicate goals daily, which can be problematic.
Tweet This: Only 14% of companies report having employees who understand the company strategy, goals and direction.
Employees that don’t understand the roles they play in a company are more likely to become disengaged. No matter where an employee is professionally, he or she should be able to articulate exactly how his or her efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Connecting goals to the big picture will allow those high potential employees to shine, and you can start off doing this by:
● Making sure goals are challenging yet attainable. Do this by asking your employees to draft goals that contribute directly to the organization. Once there are initial goals suggested, provide useful feedback and make sure those goals are attainable.
● Monitor progress. Are you still conducting yearly reviews? It’s time to revamp those. Try implementing a 360-degree feedback process to stay updated on your employee’s goals and progress. Only 19% of Millennials say they receive routine feedback from managers, and 69% of employees say they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized… so what are you waiting for?
Read about Getting Buy-in & Budget for Better Performance Management
IMPROVING PERFORMANCE THROUGH FEEDBACK.
It’s important to create a level of transparency with employees when creating a strong company culture and creating a high potential workplace. As previously mentioned, yearly reviews are becoming out of date, and regular employee feedback is becoming crucial in the workplace when fostering HiPo employees. Companies with regular feedback are 30x more likely to make workers actively engaged at work, creating those high potential employees.
How can you improve your performance through feedback? Look into a performance management software. Giving regular effective feedback can be difficult for anyone, but performance management software can help get you on track. Only 14% of organizations report being happy with their current performance management system, so it might be time to look somewhere else.
Related Reading: How to Find Out if You Have a Feedback Problem
Overall, there are a few important steps to take today to get more high potential employees tomorrow. Spelling out your company culture, connecting your employees to the big picture and giving regular feedback all contribute to developing HiPo employees.
To get a better idea on how to implement regular feedback and 360-degree performance appraisals, check out our online demo!
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