Every succession planning and talent review cycle I’ve been involved in has included HR Business Partners and leaders looking for guidance on what to share with employees following the process. The answer to the question varies by organization. Those for openly sharing potential ratings usually cite higher engagement and retention as their rationale, while those opposed most often want to avoid creating expectations and time-tables that are difficult to control, or fear creating ego-tripping primadonnas. My guidance has been, and continues to be, it’s a matter of judgment – be completely transparent about the process and prudent about the outcomes.
In this post, I’m sharing some resources that should help talent managers and leaders making such judgments or uncertain of how to speak with their talent in the various circumstances you may encounter.
A little empathy – Center for Creative Leadership‘s whitepaper High-potential Talent: A View from Inside the Leadership Pipeline provides insights from managers attending their development programs.
Major findings include:
- Respondents said formal identification as a high potential is important to them.
- 77% placed a high degree of importance on formal identification
- Those who were formally identified as high potential leaders were less than half as likely to be seeking other employment as those informally identified as a high potential leader (14% vs. 33% respectively).
- High potentials expect more development, support and involvement – and they get it.
- They receive a disproportionate investment in their development – Senior Leaders’ time in coaching and mentoring, training and special assignments.
- High potentials develop others.
- While 84% responded the organization should invest greater amounts in high-potentials, the same number see themselves as responsible for and are actively identifying and developing other talent in their organizations.
- High potentials expectations increase for a clear career path – to a level difficult to fulfill in some cases.
- Commitment and engagement increase across all high potentials when they are given a picture of where they are going and their appropriate next steps in terms of development, experience and movement.
- Changes to their career plan (e.g., delays in timing) cause frustration and impact trust.
- They like the status but it has a downside.
- Increased pressure, anxiety and frustration come with the perceived heightened expectations. This is greatly amplified when the organization’s intentions for their future are undefined.
- Distrust and disengagement occur when the organization fails to deliver on expectations set with high potentials.
Implications:
The decision to share information related to a individual being named as a successor or potential status should be handled sensitively and the consequences should be weighed thoughtfully.
| Opportunity |
Risk |
- Positive recognition for and perceived benefit to top talent.
- Communicated status will likely produce benefits of increased engagement, commitment, focus on developing others, and performance.
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- Individual may experience increased pressure and anxiety due to perceived increase in expectations.
- Organizational needs may not align with Individual’s needs and goals.
- Individual may view status and development plan as a contract; if contract is not “honored” by the organization, negative consequences outweigh the benefits realized.
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Tools & Resources
For those with a policy to formally communicate high potential status with employees, this video from Marc Effron may be a helpful resource, as an easily shareable message from a well-known thought leader articulating this point of view.
My Guidance for Handling Discussions about Succession Planning and Talent Review Outcomes:
General Guidelines:
- Avoid using color coding or other process labels (e.g., high potential, HiPot, HiPo, flight risk, misfit, salvageables).
- Show transparency on the purpose, benefits and process but be very selective and prudent about sharing outcomes.
- Consider the implications of sharing specifics with high potentials as detailed above. Informing someone they have been included as a successor or high potential employee in the plan creates a psychological contract and should be an exception with clear benefit to the organization.
- Make the message personal. Avoid passing ownership of the process off to others. Share your view of their contribution and help them develop a plan to increase it.
- Performance problems should be addressed with HR observing the performance improvement process independent of talent development and succession planning.
Potential Responses to Likely Situations
Situation: You wish to notify an individual that they are identified as a high potential leader because you feel it will benefit the organization (i.e., engage and ensure retention of the employee).
“The talent review process helps <company> act as good stewards with our talent and supports our objective to build a high-performance culture. Part of that process is to identify individuals seen as having the ability, commitment and motivation to rise to more senior positions and contribute more strategically in the organization. These are individuals we plan to provide special and necessary support and other investments in to ensure they have the best chance of making the contribution and challenging increases in responsibility we believe they are capable of making in the future; and of course, that they choose to continue making their mark here at <company>. Individuals identified as a high-potential will not be the only group invested in or supported. <company> is a special place where all of our employees are expected to contribute high-value and we as an organization will continue to invest in our people and lead in a supportive way.
As you would expect, this sensitive information is not being openly shared, but you are an individual that makes a special contribution to our company and we see you as someone capable of contributing more strategically and assuming greater responsibility in the future. I share this with you because I want you to know how much I and our Leadership Team think of you and value your contribution. I trust that you can handle this sensitive information confidentially. While it is observable that some contribute in a special way and are involved and developed uniquely, we do not want to segment our workforce or make others feel less valued. In fact, not everyone who has been identified will be told.”
“How do you feel about what I’m sharing?”
“Do you have and questions or concerns? I’ll do my best to answer them.”
Situation: Individual asks “Was I identified as a high-potential?”
After weighing the consequences outlined in the previous section, decide if sharing with the individual if they were formally identified. Whether you choose to tell them specifics or not, you should share with them how the organization defines a high potential in the process and the implications:
Ask:
“As you would expect, this sensitive information is not being openly shared for a couple reasons:
- We know these plans are imperfect and will continue to develop. It would be unfair and unwise for the organization to set expectations that we are not certain we keep.
- While these plans help us guide development and recruitment, they do not replace our selection process. When a position becomes open candidates are evaluated for the position based upon the job requirements.
. Why do you ask? Is there anything concerning you?”
If the individual was not identified or you do not wish to tell them of their high potential identification, share information like the following and speak to their concerns:
“The Talent Review process helps <company> act as good stewards with our Talent and supports our objective to build a High-Performance Culture. Part of that process is to identify individuals seen as having the ability, commitment and motivation to rise to more senior positions and contribute more strategically in the organization. These are individuals we plan to provide the necessary support and other investments to ensure they have the best chance of making the contribution and challenging increases in responsibility we believe they are capable of making in the future. Individuals identified as a high-potential will not be the only group invested in or supported. <company> is a special place where all of our employees are expected to contribute high-value and we as an organization will continue to invest in our people and lead in a supportive way.”
“Do you have concerns about your future opportunities here?”
“Is there any support or development that you think would help you continue to perform highly here at <company> that we should discuss? I am very interested in helping you.”
If you do wish to tell them that they were identified, see the example above.
Situation: Individual asks “Was I identified as promotable?”
Ask:
“Are you interested in understanding how the succession planning process works, what was said about you or do you have a position in mind that you would like to be promoted to in the future?”
If the individual responds that they would like to understand the process or what was said about them, share information like the following and to address their concerns:
“Part of the Talent Review process is to identify successors for critical positions in the organization to ensure we are able to effectively run the business and execute our strategy. We do not discuss all positions, but for those that we see as critical due to a variety of factors such as the difficulty to run the business while they are vacant or long lead-time to learn the position, we try to identify individuals throughout the organization that we see as capable of performing in that role and when, such as those we see as ready now verses those we believe need time to develop.
This enables us to do a few things:
- Explore if the individual we feel may be capable of assuming a critical role in the future has career goals that align with our needs.
- Identify and support the individuals identified with the development and experiences needed to perform in the role in the event that they are needed to.
- Identify gaps were we currently are unable to identify potential successors.
We do not assume that through this process we identify every individual that has the potential to assume a critical role; it is an ongoing process where we, based on what we know, work proactively to plan ahead.
Related to what was said about you – as you would expect – this sensitive information is not being openly shared for a couple reasons:
- We know these plans are imperfect and will continue to develop. It would be unfair and unwise for the organization to set expectations that we are not certain we keep.
- While these plans help us guide development and recruitment, they do not replace our selection process. When a position becomes open candidates are evaluated for the position based upon the job requirements.
I see it as part of my role to help you be successful and want to better understand your interests, goals and the help I may be able to provide to help you achieve them in a way that adds value to the company. Do you any specific concerns about the feedback I’m providing to you about your performance and career options here?”
If the employee responds that they have a position in mind that you would like to be promoted to in the future, share information like the following and to address their concerns:
“That’s good to hear. It’s always good to hear that you’re thinking about how to make a greater contribution to <company> in the future. I see it as part of my role to help you be successful and want to better understand your interests, goals and the help I may be able to provide to help you achieve them in a way that adds value to the company.”
“While the specifics around the succession plan are sensitive and not being openly shared, I’m very interested in supporting you and I will always provide feedback on my perspective of your talents and opportunities to make even greater contribution to the company as we go through it.”
Work Arts 