In an ideal world your company would have a pipeline of high quality talent ready to take the steps necessary to propel the business forward to new heights, however it rarely happens like that.
Being able to spot the talent and potential in your employee’s is a great way to save money in the long-term, and also to ensure the business is in safe hands when the time does come to hand over the reins.
It may seem obvious to just pick the people who are performing the best, but not everyone is cut-out for greater responsibility, or being in charge of a workforce. For example, a brilliant coder who is excelling and leading the business, may not be the ideal person to take control of managing the rest of the workforce.
Understand your needs
It is important to know what you want throughout your business as it affects the type of decisions you make and the general direction the company is heading in.
By knowing what you want going forward, it makes answering the question of ‘who has the potential to fill this role in a few years?’ a lot easier. If you feel the company is going to focus more on technology then selecting someone who understands how to do that makes much more sense.
Value soft skills
Being smart is never a bad thing, but when looking at potential candidates to take on managerial roles it is just one attribute that is needed among many.
Senior employee’s in the company need to be good communicators, extroverted and have a certain calmness under pressure. It is not always easy to spot these attributes when employees are going about their daily work, which is why it is important to ensure you place challenges in front of them.
Spot raw skills early
Strengths in one situation can turn out to be weaknesses in another, so it is vital to be on the lookout as early as possible. For example, being diligent in a junior position may become micromanagement latter down the line when thrown into a different environment.
By giving yourself more time, you can help employees to understand their potential weaknesses and work with them to develop different techniques, styles and ways of working.
If you’re an employer looking to attract the best graduate talent, find out how Discovery Graduates can help
