It may sound cliched, but today’s latest hires are likely tomorrow’s leaders of your organization. That is, if they don’t decide to jump ship for another company, or they’re not lured away by your competitor. You spent the time and resources needed to bring top talent into your organization. Once you’ve identified the top performers who are the next generation of leaders in your organization, it’s time to start planning.
Taking the next step – preparing top performers for leadership roles.
Leadership development should be one of your organization’s top focuses. Follow these three steps to incorporate a succession plan into your organization.
1. Develop career goals for potential leaders. Now that your organization has identified which employees are best suited to become your future leaders, set a clear career path that will take them to that level. Clearly define benchmarks and goals along the way. A Taleo poll found that 61 percent of college graduates left their first employer due to a lack of career advancement opportunities. Don’t let your future leaders languish in their current roles. Not only will a clear set of career goals help your employees ascend through your organization, it will provide you with ample opportunity to continually assess their progress and performance, and make changes if necessary.
2. Offer skills and education opportunities. Not every employee will have the skills or education necessary to be the future VP of Sales & Marketing for your company. Offer future leaders opportunities to develop new skills or learn new methods – on the company’s dime. Leadership training, area-specific skills, teamwork: these are skills that are necessary for any future leader. Make the investment now and reap the rewards later.
3. Focus on retention. Now that you’ve invested time and money on your future leaders, focus on keeping them where they belong. Employee retention is an important focus for all businesses, but it should be a key goal for your top performers and identified future leaders. Develop an employee retention plan and stick with it. You don’t want to be responsible for training your competitor’s future leaders.
Searching for today’s top performers?
At Peoplelink Staffing Solutions, we specialize in finding top candidates for your organization’s needs.
