IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING HIGH
POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES
Robert Hogan, PhD
(with Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic)
Hogan Assessment Systems
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who are the “high potential” employees?
Do they matter?
Can we identify them?
How do we motivate them?
HiPo Hype…
HiPo Hype…
“A strategic focus on employee
potential is the single thing an
organization can do to maximize
current and future performance.”
Corporate Board
But nothing new
• Assessment psychology always focused on
high potential
• High potential (probability) that behavior x
occurs in the future
• Any psychological construct (talent, motivation,
creativity) predicts future behavior and critical
incidents
But this is news to HR
Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)
20% of the workforce = 80% of the
productivity. HiPo’s
80% of the workforce = 20% of the
productivity. the rest
Defining HiPo’s
•To define HiPo’s, we must distinguish
between perceptions & real attributes…
(Mis)Perceptions of HiPo’s
“The top performers of today”
Mmmm….
1. only 30% of those are
real HiPo’s
2. and just 20% with
“people skills”
3. 90% don’t perform well
at next level
(Mis)Perceptions of HiPo’s
Bad news: Every company has a
HiPo model
Good news: They are all the same
The DNA of HiPo’s…
Rewarding
Smart
Productive
Leader-like
Entrepreneuria
l
warm
trustworthy
predictable
curious
adaptable
fast learner
hardworking
energetic
high standards
ambitious
resilient
good judgment
creative
opportunistic
visionary
Note: Cultural variability explains more emphasis on some than others
The DNA of HiPo’s…
Rewarding
Smart
Productive
Leader-like
Entrepreneuria
l
warm
trustworthy
predictable
curious
adaptable
fast learner
hardworking
energetic
high standards
ambitious
resilient
good judgment
creative
opportunistic
visionary
Sensitivity
Adjustment
Sociability
Inquisitive
Learning
approach
Ambition
Prudence
Adjustment (-)
Ambition
Sociability
Sensitivity
Inquisitive
Prudence (-)
Sociability
Excitable (-)
Bold (-)
Reserved (-)
Imaginative
Skeptical
Dutiful
Diligent (-)
Bold
Mischievous
Colorful
Bold
Inquisitive
Prudence (-)
Sociability
Affiliation
Altruism
Hedonism
Science
Aesthetics
Recognition
Security
Commerce
Power
Recognition
Commerce
Tradition (-)
Aesthetics
Security (-)
Global Norms
The DNA of HiPo’s is more or less global
Small difference: Asians more intense, creative (entrepreneurial)
and fun than English speaking Western samples
Bright Side Global Norms
English
HPI Normative Results (Global Norms)
Spanish
Eastern
100
90
Normative Percentiles
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Adjustment
Ambition
Sociability
Interpersonal
Sensitivity
Prudence
Inquisitive
Learning Approach
Dark Side Global Norms
HDS Normative Results (Global Norms)
100
90
Normative Percentiles
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
English
Eastern
Spanish
Core Values Global Norms
English
MVPI Normative Results (Global Norms)
Spanish
Eastern
100
90
Normative Percentiles
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Aesthetic
Affiliation
Altruistic
Commercial
Hedonistic
Power
Recognition
Scientific
Security
Tradition
Politics Distort High Potential Identification
• Performance appraisals are influenced by
office politics (surprise, surprise…)
• HiPo nominations don’t predict performance
•Valid tests do
Consequences of poor HiPo identification
• Failing to identify true HiPo’s causes them to
leave for a competitor
• Identifying “fake” HiPo’s alienates coworkers
(especially true HiPo’s)
Managing and Developing High Potentials
• Engagement key to retaining HiPo’s
• Good leadership creates engagement (but it is
rare)
The Contexts of Leadership
• Leadership is more important in certain
contexts than others — sometimes people
need to be left alone.
• Consider the next slide—which shows that
engagement is the key to retaining HIPOs.
CONDITIONAL LEADERSHIP MATRIX
Engagement as personality
• Some people engage more than others.
• But calling engagement a trait makes it
an employee problem (letting
management off the hook)
• Engagement is a management problem.
Engagement as a State
 Energy and persistence
 Positive affect and involvement
 Enthusiasm and pride
 A sense of empowerment
 Finding meaning/a sense of purpose
Adapted from: Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez-Roma, V., & Bakker, A. B.
(2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A confirmative analytic
approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71-92.
Engagement ad psychological state
• A relatively persistent psychological state
associated with behaviors beneficial to
an organization
• Employee engagement is a function of
how people are treated by management
Why should we care about Engagement?
• It’s the “g” factor in organizational life.
• It’s predicts every important business outcome
(good & bad)
• It predicts individual and unit outcomes:
absenteeism, turnover, productivity, and
ratings of customer satisfaction.
Leadership  Engagement  Performance
• Managerial behavior drives employee
engagement.
• Employee engagement drives business
results.
• Good managers are good for business.
• Bad managers are bad for business.
Leadership  Engagement  Performance
Where does disengagement come from?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
boss or supervisor (most frequently cited)
no control over work
bad decisions by upper management (see 1)
poor teamwork
the company (see 1)
office politics (see 1)
no accountability
Hogan Leadership Value Chain
“When organizations hire
and promote bad
managers, they alienate
employees and
undermine their own
financial interests.”
Robert Hogan
28
Good leadership fosters engagement
• Effective leaders:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Act with integrity
Treat people with respect
Communicate effectively
Make good decisions
Take responsibility for their mistakes
Establish standards and a vision
• Personality predicts effective leadership
Hogan Leadership Value Chain
30
(Mis)managing Engagement
• 47% of executives think they create engagement
• 57% of middle managers think long-serving
supervisors cause low engagement
• 84% of respondents think disengaged employees
are one of the biggest threats to their business
• 12% report that their company tries to deal with
engagement!!
Engagement & HiPos
(a) retention of HiPos is crucial
(b) engagement is crucial for retaining HiPos
HiPo’s could go anywhere else
“To take engagement seriously
requires a radical rethink of how
managers treat their staff.”
Robert Hogan
Creating a HiPo Culture: 5 rules
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Use validated methods to identify HIPOs.
Don’t rely on current performance.
Evaluate the colleagues of your HiPo’s
Evaluate the managers of your HiPo’s.
Senior leadership must support HiPo
engagement.
In conclusion
• HiPo identification requires valid empirical
tools (it is NOT intuitive)
• HiPo management – especially motivation and
retention – requires engagement
• Engagement is a function of leadership
In conclusion
• Personality is key to identifying Hi-Po’s, and
those who can identify and manage Hi-Po’s
Thank you
robert@hoganassessments.com