Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
Issue link: http://elmezine.epubxp.com/i/134584
TipsWorkforce High Potential Training ...Is It Worth It? In an era of limited resources, organizations focus their training dollars in a way that will have a meaningful and cost‐effective impact. In many cases, this means the training budget is not allocated equally across all employees. Tis might run contrary to our sense of fairness and equality, but in the end, it's just good business. According to a recent article by AMA Enterprise — a division of the American Management Association that provides assessment, measurement and tailored learning solutions — a major training trend for 2013 is the fact that companies are turning to training to build employee loyalty. Senior management is turning to HR and T&D; to foster stronger ties with high-performing workers and using development as a means to improve retention and engagement. Another trend identifed in that article is that workers are being more assertive about high-potential programs. Te process of selecting candidates for high-potential programs has typically been discreet and low key. Te process is becoming more open, however, and ambitious individuals raise their hands for any kind of leadership development offering. Running training like a business would dictate that learning and development efforts should focus on the training methods and individuals most likely to create future value for the organization. Tis means a lack of parity in training dollars spent on the average employee versus highpotential employees. WHAT IS A HIPO? In the most generic sense of the term, a high potential (HiPo) is an individual expected to excel beyond his or her peers. Te label is ofen reserved for the top 3 percent to 5 percent of employees. Companies ofen make this defnition more specifc to their needs, incorporating a specifc leadership level, a reasonable time horizon, and, most importantly, based on the foreseeable needs of the business. So high-potentials are identifed partially by what they do, but also by what the organization values and believes it needs. Today's training and HR organizations must make difcult decisions about where to focus and invest scarce resources. Training's greatest ROI — especially in challenging economic times — is going to come from focusing on high-potentials and not from planning as if employees are a homogenous mass, each capable of ofering the same level of potential ROI. WHY FOCUS ON HIPO'S? Here are three reasons why it's ofen a sound business investment: Tey're absolutely critical to future success. HiPo's give immediate return on investment, with estimates averaging from more than 50 percent additional value to as much as a 1 46 June / July 2013 Elearning! 100 percent increase in productivity over average performers. Internal programs that focus on HiPo's can provide a more reliable source of qualifed supervisors, managers and executives to meet forecasted needs. Many organizations report that they aren't confdent they can staf key leadership positions in the next fve years. Top companies — by almost any defnition — focus disproportionate resources on identifying the top 10 percent to 15 percent of their current leadership population, give them a rapid series of developmental assignments to assess or confrm potential, and base future development and rewards on that potential. Also consider that a recent study showed that 33 percent of HiPo's who were not formally told of their status were looking for another job. Of those told, only 14 percent were looking. Training professionals could construe this as a proposal that companies spend disproportionately on developing their high potentials. Perhaps a more accurate interpretation is that companies should spend appropriately on developing them. 2 3 — eCornell, a subsidiary of Cornell University, provides online professional and executive development to students around the world. It ofers more than 20 award-winning online certifcate programs in a wide variety of disciplines. For more information, visit the website www.ecornell.com.