Mobilizing a Wider Talent Pool: Retaining and building talent not identified as high potential

This approach focuses attention even more on what is practical to develop and helps to determine a realistic career path. For example, an individual may display potential as more of a specialist than a general leader. In a Saville Assessment survey, 96% of organizations said the types of leadership roles they need are diversifying and 48% said the number of specialist roles is increasing.

As well as providing a more targeted approach for their development, this positive framing aims to keep the individual motivated and engaged with the organization and their development, emphasizing that everyone has potential for something. It is well established that development goals and targets need to be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. By focusing on more specific and relevant areas to develop, they are more likely to see improvements than by trying to develop everything, particularly behaviors which do not come naturally to them and are potentially less useful for their career development.

The Center for Creative Leadership found that the most frequently mentioned way to increase commitment and engagement among high-potential individuals is to help them identify a career path, and it stands to reason that this will also help to increase commitment and engagement in those who have not been identified as high potential.

At Saville Assessment, we believe that everyone has potential for something and will thrive in a role which aligns with their strengths. We are increasingly seeing clients wanting to engage and mobilize a wider pool of talent in their organization, and using career paths is a great way to do this. As well as engaging and retaining talented individuals and providing a more positive candidate experience, it helps organizations develop stronger teams which utilize a broad range of talent and build pipelines for the future.