Maximising employee potential is fundamental for the success of any business

Mike Cotton
Talent Development Specialist at MindLeaders ThirdForce
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Post date: Sunday, 19th February 2012

Providing a clear career path can be a much more effective way of holding onto your best people than a pay rise, argues Mike Cotton.

Visibility on high performers has multiple benefits across SMEs, therefore it is crucial that organisations engage in Performance Appraisal Processes (PAPs). PAPs, particularly online systems, can increase accountability across the company, providing a standardisation which gives employees ownership over individual career goals and gives management insight into performance.

Amongst the most important benefits, however, is the alignment of the individual’s goals to the company goals. Goals are cascaded down from the CEO to managers and all other employees, which enables everyone to align their goals to those of the overall organisation. Engagement in shared responsibility is a key factor in organisations that prove successful, even in difficult economic times; research shows if every employee in an organisation is aware of the company’s goals and their role in achieving these, organisations ultimately gain a crucial competitive edge.

Research also shows that good people management reduces absenteeism, increases productivity and assists with retention of key personnel. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), PwC and the US-based Bersin and Associates demonstrates that these are unarguable business benefits that either save or make money for a company. One recent survey showed that the majority of employees leave their jobs because of a lack of progression opportunities, rather than leaving because of a low salary or a bad manager. With this in mind, it is vital that key performers are nurtured to ensure that they remain with an organisation, working towards the company’s objectives. The PAP helps with the visibility of high performers, ensuring that they are recognised and developed within the organisation.

While the system identifies those who are underachieving, it also provides the tools necessary to ensure that they too learn and develop, and ultimately become better performers and employees.

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) that offers information and results in ‘real time’ is also vital for business success. A PDP provides a framework that allows individuals within an organisation to identify the areas of their strengths and weaknesses, and capitalise on their existing capabilities and skills.

Implementing an effective PDP alleviates the need for managers to spend vast amounts of time monitoring employee development. An effective solution should allow employees to create a PAP for themselves based on their role and any future roles they have agreed with their manager or organisation as a whole; once this is created a PDP can be developed, ready to action over a specific period.

By aligning PDPs with smart goals and cascading these down from the CEO to corporate, the objectives of the overall organisation are clearly visible and individuals can see exactly what impact they are having within these objectives. They can see where they sit within the company and identify not only the areas in which they need to improve, but also the means by which they can do this. When the organisation is aligned as much as it can be through a system, employees can see how their components feed into the overall organisation strategy and realise the implications for the organisation when they miss their individual goals or targets.

The PDP focuses on what the employee wants and needs to improve themselves, while cementing the idea that there is value to every single person within an organisation. It presents an opportunity for each employee to move forward along their career path, outlining what achievements are necessary in order to reach the next level within their role. A PDP can also be put in place for a future role that individuals can then work towards.

The fact that this plan is clearly visible within the organisation gives employees further support and encouragement. When an employee can clearly see that they have a plan in place to become, for example, an area manager within three years, the likelihood of the company retaining them is increased. As the employee drives towards this future plan, their capabilities and delivery are increased, thus yielding a positive effect on the organisation’s overall ROI.

Maximising the potential of employees is fundamental for the success of any business. Deploying the right people to the right tasks, developing the skills of your employees in the competencies needed to complete their goals and effective succession management are all tasks that are fundamental to maximising the full potential of human capital. Solutions which provide a streamlined and effective method of managing these tasks will ultimately ensure a company is well-placed to compete in today’s challenging marketplace.

This article first appeared in Business Today, Issue 5. To read the entire publication, click the ebook.

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