February 2003

A FOCUS COMMENT:

“Rising Stars”

The “rising stars” in your organization are the exceptional people that excel at whatever they do and are primed for increasing management and leadership responsibility. They are your most valuable asset, and at the same time, your most vulnerable. The truth is, they can be impatient and their loyalty to a company is often secondary to their desire to advance their personal goals and ambitions. If properly managed and nurtured, however, these “stars” can provide great value to a company, even during a short tenure.

Despite their pivotal role there are divergent strategies among business leaders on how to best manage their stars and their expectations, while increasing their value to the company. Some companies are more aggressive than others in the effort to retain and mentor, while others take a more low key approach.

Regardless of your stance, there are several questions that can be considered to determine or refine a company’s retention strategy and tactics with this talent pool. Here are a few for your consideration.

• Where have your most talented rising stars come from in the past? Have they been home-grown or brought in from the outside?
• Have you been consistently successful at identifying and hiring a workforce that produces rising stars? Can you sustain that effort and success in the future?
• Who are your current rising stars? How important are they to your company? Why?
• How much time, effort and money do you need to invest to keep them? Will that investment negatively impact the rest of your organization?
• Are you willing to fight to keep them if they are at risk of leaving? How far should you go to keep them? When should you stop fighting for them and let them leave?
• Can you take steps now to extend their tenure with your company and enhance the return on your investment?

The question of “taking proactive steps now” is a very important one, especially given the volatility of this workforce. We have found that the companies most successful in keeping members of this talent pool tend to take the initiative in managing this issue. They are very good at identifying their “rising stars” early in their tenure because they are looking for them. Company leadership makes sure that its stars are challenged and doing good work with quality people. This reduces the potential of boredom that is an early driver of defection.

Successful leadership also uses low cost tools like job rotation and/or job advancement plans. It works hard to intellectually challenge its stars by placing them on task forces or special assignments that are meaningful and important to the company’s future. Sometimes it offers opportunities to receive personal coaching as a recognition of potential, a reward for success, and a tool for development. Finally, it is willing to use compensation as a tool to keep its stars.

There is no easy answer to the challenge of keeping good talent. Hopefully, you’ll find this has served as a reminder of the importance of proactively dealing with the question and as a tool to be used to develop a working strategy that reflects your company’s values and business objectives.

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