Top talent
As part of my research, I do visit many top companies to collect data and meet senior executives to understand their issues. One thing in common that I have observed throughout the years is they all have a strong focus on getting, developing and retaining their talented people.
Each year, Microsoft interviews several thousand new graduates but selects only few hundreds into its company. Every time a graduated student applies, Apple make them go through a series of technical and behavioral tests. At Google, the top 500 positions are based on a candidate list, to be reviewed by senior management. In these leading companies, senior management plays an important role in the developing of their best talents. Furthermore, most of these employees eventually mature to become great leaders, which leads to superior company performance.
Based on data collected among many top companies, I have identified three key factors for company to develop talents. They are:
1. Active involvement by the senior executives;
2. Well-executed developmental programs; and
3. An strong commitment towards high-potential employees
All top companies believe that their people are their biggest assets, and they have data to prove it. As the number of their talents increase, their profits also increase significantly. Nobody can deny the successes of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Apple, Google, and Intel in the software industry. Actually 75% of the software market are controlled by the first three companies. So what do these companies do differently?
There are several studies indicated that top talents produce in value at least 100-150 percent more than average people in similar jobs. Therefore they deserve better salary and greater opportunities than others. This is something top companies recognize and implement better than most. Top talents are positioned to a higher job classification and rewarded with better pay. This is the key reason why many top talents want to work for them. The differentiated pay is also executed through the award of company stock to reinforce performance and retaining talent.
Top companies are better at identifying and tracking their best talent than others. They review progress of all employees, identify the best then made the announcement publicly. Data of performance is also be made available to everybody in the company to ensure objectivity and act as examples for others to follow. If a talent wants to leave, senior management is notified immediately to made counter-offer to keep their potential future leaders in house. Beside rewarding system, top companies are more proactive in provide these talents with greater opportunities to develop their skills to reach their full potential. Job assignments are designed to stretch the abilities of all potential talents. They are often put in charge of critical roles and given more responsibilities to improve their abilities.
Once a high potential talents have been identified, top companies also give them chances to work closely with their senior management to encourage interaction between senior leaders and future leaders. When Bill Gates was the CEO at Microsoft, he had lunch with their top talents everyday. Steve Jobs always have meetings with his top talents places away from company so they can relax and come up with better ideas. Given the amount of attention that goes into developing top talent in top companies, it is no surprise that their employee turnover is less than two percent. Talents always want to work in challenging environment where their contributions are recognized and rewarded.
I believe that the attention given to top talents creates an environment that produce leaders. Since potential talents are the key to business success, it is in a company’s best interests to nurture the capabilities of an ambitious employee. This is a simple concept but I do not know why other companies do not follow this “Proven success” formula?
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
