Seema left her manager's office walking on cloud nine. She'd just been informed that she was on the HiPo pool of the organization and as a result would be put on the fast track. She felt pleased that her hard work and efforts had been recognized and that this would now mean she would be able to pull ahead of the pack.
Seema typifies today's young leader. Hungry, ambitious, driven to do well, motivated by pulling ahead of her peers, sees social recognition as important and has a lifestyle that requires a constantly increasing salary. Her assumptions around career growth are generally vertical i.e. climbing up the ladder, governed by social norms and keeping up with the progress of her batch-mates.
Very soon, someone is going to assign her a short-term assignment or a job-rotation that is designed to develop her for the next step up in her career. And this is all to the good. The challenge however, is how often such practices fail. Because we don't accurately measure such practices, there is little record or dialog about the perils of HiPo development.
When a professional accepts what is usually a "stretch" posting, they are driven by a desire to realize their potential and to get ahead of competition. What they don't realize is how damaging such a move can be. In reality, the greatest risk sits with the individual while the organization barely risks anything at all.
Should such a move fail, the individual (in most but not all organizations) will be labeled a failure, organizational memory is long and s/he will carry this stigma for the next few performance cycles, 'til the time s/he overcomes it with a stellar performance. Often, these failures lead to these individuals being dropped from the HiPo pool. Many times they result in an attrition.
In a similar vein, expat assignments are seen as developmental and they are. However, the challenges with expat repatriation are only now being acknowledged. A recent survey found that 16% of expats quit within 2 years of repatriation (up from 11% 3 years ago) and why not? Because 41% of them were placed back into the role they had left. The organization that went to so much trouble to develop them did not think to make use of their widened perspective and broader skillsets upon return.
So what can organizations do? Ensure HiPo fast track developments come with the following:
If you're like Seema and just got informed that you're on the HiPo pool, start talking to your leader/HR to ensure some of the above gets discussed and put into place as a support mechanism for you. All the best!
Publsihed With Permission.
Profile of Author: Gurprriet Siingh is Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry Hay Group.