Top talent tends to remain in demand no matter the market. If you’re not actively identifying high potential employees (HiPos) and developing their skills and knowledge, someone else will. Investing in HiPos’ professional growth benefits not just them but your organization as well.
This article provides a practical guide to help your HR team systematically identify, assess, and develop the high-potential employees who can propel your organization forward. It also provides a detailed list of HiPo characteristics to look out for.
Contents
What are high potential employees?
The value of helping managers spot high-potential employees
HR’s role in identifying high potential employees
23 characteristics of high-potential employees to watch for
HR checklist: How to identify high-potential employees
Tools to help identify high potential employees
How to develop a program to manage high potential employees
What are high potential employees?
A high performer meets targets, does quality work, and stays reliable, but a high-potential employee goes further — they actively seek growth, solve problems well, and take on more responsibility without being asked.
These employees promise to be future leaders in your organization. They combine ability, ambition, and adaptability, think beyond their current role, and show strong natural leadership skills. Building on these skills can have a positive impact on your company.
The value of helping managers spot high-potential employees
Managers are typically extremely busy. Between their deadlines and daily tasks, spotting high potential employees can fall through the cracks. This is where HR must step in — not to control but to guide and support the process. Here’s why this partnership matters:
- Managers see more than numbers: They notice initiative, influence, and how employees handle challenges, which are key signs of potential.
- Early action keeps top talent: If you don’t spot high potential employees early, they may feel underappreciated and look elsewhere for career advancement.
- A stronger leadership pipeline: Proactive identification of HiPos can help you fill key roles faster with internal talent rather than external hiring.
Managers take ownership: When managers help identify HiPos, they also become more engaged in helping them develop their skills and knowledge. - Reduced bias: Including different managers from different departments in the process makes it more objective and inclusive.
- It highlights great managers: Managers who actively help develop top talent often have leadership potential themselves, which can further benefit the organization.
HR’s role in identifying high potential employees
Identifying high potential employees is an ongoing process. HR’s core responsibility in identifying HiPos includes creating a clear identification framework, tying it to business strategy, training and working with managers, using data and performance metrics for identification, and ensuring DEIB in the process.
Setting clear criteria lets everyone know what high potential looks like and can apply it consistently across teams. At the same time, making sure those criteria match the company’s future goals allows you to develop people who can fill tomorrow’s key roles, not just today’s.
It’s also important to train managers to spot the difference between strong performers and those with leadership potential, and use existing data (e.g., performance reviews and skills assessments). When stored properly in your HR information system (HRIS), this information helps you flag patterns and make informed decisions.
Finally, build DEIB into every step of your HiPo identification process. A fair procedure helps ensure your pipeline includes diverse, high potential talent from across the entire organization.
How to differentiate potential from performance
Here’s a brief framework to help you guide your managers in identifying potential versus performance:
Focus
What they do well now
What they could do well in the future
Evidence
Achieved goals, completed projects, and current skills proficiencies
Learning agility, curiosity, adaptability, drive, strategic thinking, and demonstrated success in stretch assignments
Measurement method(s)
Directly measurable via KPIs, project outcomes, and skills assessments.
Assessed via observed behaviors, willingness to learn, ambition, performance on stretch assignments, and engagement with new challenges
23 characteristics of high-potential employees to watch for
Here’s a list of 23 high potential employee characteristics that should be on every HR leader’s and manager’s radar:
Cognitive and learning agility
This refers to how quickly and effectively someone can learn, process new information, and apply it in different situations. It involves critical thinking, adaptability, and the ability to connect past experiences to new challenges. Employees with high learning agility can handle complex problems and shift strategies when the environment changes.
- Growth mindset: The employee is eager to learn, seek feedback, and continually develop new skills. They also tend to view challenges or setbacks as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Strong adaptability: They tend to embrace change more readily and can pivot quickly. While others may struggle in ambiguous situations, HiPos can more easily find their footing.
- Intellectual curiosity: They question the status quo, explore new ideas regularly, and seek a deeper understanding of new concepts. These qualities are catalysts that drive innovation and learning.
- Coachability: They are open to constructive criticism, as they have a strong desire to improve at work and integrate relevant feedback that would help them do so.
- Strategic thinking: Moving beyond day-to-day tasks, they connect the dots, see the bigger picture, and consider the long-term implications of decisions.
Interpersonal and communication skills
This refers to how well someone interacts with others. It includes active listening, clear speaking, empathy, and teamwork. These skills help build trust, manage conflict, and foster collaboration at work, making it easier to align with others and achieve goals.
- Excellent communication skills: They articulate their ideas clearly, listen actively, and adapt their message to connect with different audiences.
- Emotional intelligence: They understand and manage their own emotions and accurately perceive and influence others’ emotions. This enables them to build stronger professional relationships.
- Collaborative: Instead of hogging the spotlight, they contribute positively to group dynamics, support colleagues, and prioritize collective success over individual glory.
- Maturity: They exhibit sound judgment, handle sensitive situations with discretion, and demonstrate a calm, professional demeanor.
Ambition and initiative
This involves a person’s drive to achieve goals and their willingness to take action without being told. Ambitious workers set high standards for themselves, while those with initiative seek out opportunities, solve problems proactively, and go beyond what’s expected of them.
- High ambition: They possess a strong desire for personal and professional advancement and actively seek out new responsibilities and challenges.
- Takes initiative: They identify opportunities for improvement and take action without being prompted, showcasing strong self-direction.
Learn to identify, engage, and develop high potential employees
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Responsibility and work ethic
This area reflects how dependable and disciplined someone is. It involves showing up on time, meeting commitments, owning mistakes, and putting in consistent effort. A strong work ethic also includes integrity and doing the right thing, regardless of who knows about it.
- Proactive problem-solving: They tend to anticipate issues, identify root causes, and propose innovative solutions rather than waiting for direction.
- Accountability and ownership: They take full responsibility for their actions and results, demonstrating reliability and trustworthiness.
- Strong work ethic: They are consistent and dedicated, go the extra mile, and show a deep commitment to quality and deadlines.
Resilience and positive outlook
This refers to the ability to bounce back from setbacks and stay optimistic under pressure. Resilient employees stay calm during tough times, learn from failure, and keep a forward-looking attitude, which helps them remain productive and motivated.
- Resilience under pressure: They maintain their composure, learn from setbacks, and bounce back stronger, indicating a mental toughness crucial for demanding roles.
- Optimistic outlook: They maintain a positive attitude even in challenging times, which can also inspire and uplift those around them.
Execution and efficiency
This refers to how well someone gets things done. It includes planning, prioritizing tasks, managing time, and minimizing waste. Efficient workers focus on outcomes and streamline their efforts to deliver high-quality work with less effort and fewer delays.
- Effective time management: They prioritize their tasks well, manage their workload efficiently, and meet deadlines without the need for managerial scrutiny.
- Speed of execution: They translate ideas into action with a sense of urgency, driving momentum, and achieving results efficiently.
Organizational and business acumen
This area involves understanding how a business operates and how different parts work together. It includes financial literacy, strategic thinking, and knowing what drives results. Staff with strong business acumen can make smart decisions aligned with business goals.
- Company culture fit: They align with the organization’s values and ethos and act as authentic ambassadors for the company’s employer brand.
- Client-centric mindset: They understand and prioritize customer needs, always striving to deliver exceptional value.
- Cross-functional awareness: They understand how different departments interact and contribute to overall business goals through holistic thinking.
Leadership and talent development
This focuses on guiding teams and helping others grow. Effective leaders inspire trust, set direction, and create an environment where people can thrive. Talent development includes coaching, mentoring, and giving feedback to help others reach their potential.
- Ability to influence others: They demonstrate natural leadership by inspiring confidence and gaining buy-in without relying on formal authority.
- Mentor potential: They naturally guide and support less experienced colleagues, indicating an innate ability to develop others.
HR checklist: How to identify high-potential employees
Here’s a checklist to help you equip your HR team and managers with the framework and tools to identify and cultivate high-potential employees:
- ✔ Establish clear HiPo criteria: Define what ‘high potential’ means for the organization — outline specific skills, behaviors, and leadership indicators.
- ✔ Align HiPo definitions with business strategy: Ensure HiPo talent aligns directly with long-term business goals and future leadership needs.
- ✔ Train managers on ‘potential’ vs. ‘performance’: Educate managers to distinguish consistent high performers from true high-potential talent – those who excel now and demonstrate significant future growth potential.
- ✔ Educate managers on avoiding bias: Implement comprehensive training to help managers recognize and mitigate unconscious biases (like affinity bias) during talent assessments to maintain a fair and objective process.
- ✔ Use validated leadership assessments: Incorporate external, validated tools like psychometric tests to objectively measure and compare cognitive abilities, personality traits, and leadership aptitude.
- ✔ Gather 360 degree feedback: Implement a comprehensive feedback system with input from peers, direct managers, and direct reports for a holistic view of an individual’s impact.
- ✔ Leverage HRIS data and performance metrics: With the help of your HRIS, analyze performance reviews, skill assessments, project contributions, and engagement data to guide your company’s HiPo identification objectively.
- ✔ Evaluate learning agility and stretch opportunities: Assess your employees’ openness to new experiences, their ability to learn from their successes and failures, and their willingness to take on new, challenging responsibilities. Provide opportunities to lead or contribute to special projects that push them beyond current knowledge or experience, so you can evaluate their potential in real-world scenarios.
- ✔ Conduct talent reviews and calibration sessions: Facilitate structured discussions with managers to calibrate assessments and reduce individual manager bias for consistency and fairness across departments.
- ✔ Ensure DEIB in HiPo identification: Actively embed Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging into every step of your process to build a truly representative HiPo talent pipeline.
Tools to help identify high potential employees
Here are some useful tools that can help you identify high potential employees:
9 box grid matrix
The 9 box grid is a classic visual tool that helps categorize employees based on their performance and potential, providing a clear picture of your talent landscape and highlighting individuals in the ‘high potential’ quadrant. It’s an easy starting point from which you can start talent discussions with.
Leadership competency assessments
Look for validated, structured assessments specifically designed to measure an individual’s aptitude for leadership, strategic thinking, and influencing capabilities, often through situational judgment tests or simulations. Learn what a competency assessment is to guide your own approach.
360 degree feedback surveys
Move beyond direct manager feedback by implementing comprehensive surveys as part of 360 degree feedback. This approach helps gather insights from peers, direct reports, and even external stakeholders. This approach will provide a well-rounded view of an employee’s strengths, developmental areas, and interpersonal impact.
Psychometric and personality assessments
Tools like the Hogan Assessments or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can reveal underlying personality traits, motivators, and behavioral styles that correlate with leadership success and adaptability in new roles. They can provide valuable data on inherent potential, particularly when they’ve been benchmarked to your organization’s proven top performers.
Robust performance management systems
A strong system goes beyond annual reviews to track goal attainment, skill development, project contributions, and qualitative feedback on a monthly or quarterly basis. This data forms the bedrock for identifying your consistent top performers who also exhibit leadership potential.
Talent review meetings and calibration sessions
These are structured discussions you can facilitate to bring managers together to discuss employees, challenge assumptions, and harmonize rating criteria across departments. This ensures a consistent and fair approach to identifying high-potential talent throughout your organization and helps reduce individual manager bias.
Employee engagement and aspiration surveys
Analyze survey data to understand commitment, satisfaction, and demonstrated aspirations for growth. Look beyond an employee’s stated interests by cross-referencing them with actual participation in development programs, or their proactive seeking of new responsibilities. These actions often provide a more accurate indicator of high potential than answers on a survey.
Developmental stretch assignments
Observing employees in the real world and challenging projects that push them beyond their comfort zone provides invaluable insight into their resilience, problem-solving skills, and ability to lead in unfamiliar situations.
How to develop a program to manage high potential employees
Identifying HiPos is just the first step — real value comes from strategically preparing employees for future leadership. Here’s how you can develop an impactful HiPo program:
Determine clear objectives
Before planning your activities, start by defining success. Is it accelerating leadership readiness, retaining your top talent, filling critical roles, or fostering innovation? Once you’ve established clear objectives, these will guide all your program decisions.
Plan targeted components
Design development experiences that directly address your HiPos’ needs and talent pipeline program objectives. These could include executive coaching, specialized training, leadership workshops, cross-functional rotations, or significant stretch assignments.
Establish measurement and success indicators
How will you track the program’s success? Key metrics could include HiPo retention, promotion velocity, performance in new roles, 360 degree feedback, and project results. These help measure talent pipeline health, individual growth, and your program’s ROI.
Ensure transparent communication
Clearly communicate your program’s purpose, benefits, and selection process to all your employees. Transparency builds trust and encourages employees to strive for high potential recognition. Maintain ongoing communication with HiPos about their progress and opportunities.
Secure leadership buy-in and sponsorship
A HiPo program needs strong executive support to succeed. Obtain commitment from senior leaders and other key stakeholders, who will actively sponsor participants, provide mentorship, and advocate for resources and visibility for your program.
Integrate with succession planning
Link your HiPo program to broader succession planning to further ensure its longevity, sustainability, and chances of success. Additionally, create a clear pipeline to ensure your developed talent feeds directly into critical future roles.
Foster continuous feedback
Beyond formal reviews, foster an environment where HiPos can regularly receive constructive feedback from managers, mentors, and peers through ongoing support and agile development. This will keep them engaged and help them continuously improve.
To sum up
Identifying high potential employees can help shape your organization’s future. A structured approach to collaboration with managers makes it easier to spot who’s ready to grow and lead, ensuring your most promising talent doesn’t go unnoticed or underutilized. At the same time, making development opportunities visible and fair strengthens employee engagement and leadership readiness.
The key is consistency, clarity, and commitment. Use clear criteria, remove bias from the process, and align HiPo identification with your company’s strategy. Back it with tools, data, and meaningful feedback, and give HiPos the stretch they need to thrive. This creates a strong internal talent pipeline prepared to tackle future business challenges.
