What do you do if you want to uncover high-potential employees through feedback and evaluation?

1 Define criteria

Before you can spot high-potential employees, you need to have a clear and consistent definition of what makes them stand out. You can use a framework such as the 9-box grid, which assesses employees based on their performance and potential, or create your own criteria based on your organization's values, goals, and competencies. Characteristics of high-potential employees typically include having a growth mindset, showing initiative and creativity in solving problems, demonstrating emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, aligning their goals with the organization's vision and strategy, and adapting to change while embracing challenges and ambiguity.

2 Gather data

Once you have defined the criteria, you need to gather data from multiple sources to evaluate your employees' performance and potential. You can use self-assessments, where employees rate themselves and reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement. Manager assessments, peer assessments, 360-degree feedback, behavioral interviews, and psychometric tests are also useful methods for collecting relevant information. Manager assessments provide feedback and ratings on direct reports based on the criteria and their observations. Peer assessments allow colleagues to share feedback and insights on their co-workers based on their interactions and collaboration. With 360-degree feedback, employees receive feedback from managers, peers, subordinates, customers, and other stakeholders. Behavioral interviews reveal how employees handle specific situations and challenges related to the criteria. Lastly, psychometric tests measure personality, motivation, cognitive abilities, and other factors related to the criteria.

3 Analyze results

Once the data is collected, analyzing the results and pinpointing high-potential employees is the next step. Utilizing tools such as spreadsheets, dashboards, or software can help organize and visualize the data. Additionally, it's beneficial to compare the data with benchmarks such as industry standards, organizational averages, or historical trends. Asking questions such as how employees rank on performance and potential dimensions, what are the common themes and patterns in the feedback and ratings, what are the gaps and discrepancies between self-assessments and other assessments, how do employees perform on behavioral interviews and psychometric tests, and how do they fit with current and future needs of the organization can assist in analyzing the results.

4 Provide feedback

Once you have identified the high-potential employees, providing them with feedback is essential for helping them understand their strengths, areas for improvement, and career opportunities. Utilizing the SMART framework can make your feedback specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. To provide effective feedback, you should schedule a meeting with the employee and prepare an agenda and a feedback report. Begin with positive feedback and acknowledge the employee's achievements and contributions. Share data and evidence that supports your feedback, explain the criteria and methods used, and invite the employee to share their perspective and ask questions. Discuss the employee's career aspirations and goals in relation to the organization's vision and strategy. Additionally, provide constructive feedback with suggested actions and resources that can help them improve and grow. Lastly, agree on a follow-up plan with a timeline for reviewing progress and results.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?