According to over 10 years of Aon Hewitt’s Top Companies for Leaders research across the globe, Top Companies are extremely methodical in their execution of the talent calibration process and ensuring that this spans across all levels of their organisation.Top Companies recognise that best practice calibration is critical for building and maintaining the talent pipeline in a consistent and efficient manner. During the talent review, candidates are placed, evaluated and compared to the position of others at the same level.
Organisations that excel at calibration take these conversations seriously and they often result in robust debates among peers to ensure agreement throughout the team.
Because of what is at stake, talent calibration must be grounded in reality. Accurate ratings for candidates require both formal, objective assessments as well as input from other managers and leaders who know the individual.
By sharing their knowledge of a high potential’s capabilities, they can ensure calibration is conducted as accurately as possible and that individual biases do not overly influence the rating.
Executing with this level of rigour also helps guide development conversations and identifies talent gaps that may not have surfaced were it not for multiple inputs. This helps build credibility in the process, allowing for greater transparency and confidence when informing employees of their high potential status.
Aon Hewitt's Top Companies for Leaders are exemplars in the calibration process – their sessions are held several times throughout the year, they include active involvement from senior management, and they have action items and clear accountability built into the talent review process.
The best processes focus on building a pipeline seven to 10 years out.
While talent calibration is an important step in the high potential process, the development of an organisation’s high potentials is the key to success. It is when these individuals enhance and apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities that companies truly get their return on investment.
A true focus on grooming high potentials needs to be driven directly from the top. Leaders have to be on the front lines, to know who the rising stars are, what their needs are, and how they are performing at any given time.
Meaningful accountability is requisite for both senior leaders and direct managers. Without it, organisational efforts to attract, inspire, and retain top performers will fall short.
Beyond active and present senior leadership involvement, it is important to have a common framework of talent management across the organisation.
Divergent notions within the same organisation can result in a “talent inventory,” instead of focusing on the active development and management of key talent for key roles. Moreover, if people aren’t developed appropriately there’s a risk of moving people into positions they don’t actually have the ability to succeed in.
Talent-savvy organisations know their performance assessment processes are only the starting point—and certainly not the ending point—in calibrating high potential talent.
Organisations must also take into account the development and deployment of their top talent, and they must hold leaders accountable for this critical facet of planning for the company’s future success.
The information in this article draws from Aon Hewitt’s extensive Top Companies for Leaders research. To find out more about how to participate in the 2014 study, please contacttopcompanies.apac@aonhewitt.com or visit http://www.aon.com/topcompanies/apac/.
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