People – Exploring the Potential

Walking on the picturesque Gulf Street in Kuwait, it was amazing to see myself liberate and free myself in the mind and soak in the vast Arabian Gulf by my side. It so happens that a visit to a marine drive always makes one feel good. In this moment of liberation me and a couple of fellow interns started talking about working hours in different countries, their work ethics, the challenges one faces at workplace and above all what mistakes employers normally end-up making.

One such discussion thread was about how promotions in organisations can backfire. The first thought that came to mind was the Peter’s Principle which describes that normally people get promoted to a level of incompetence. A friend observed how in most organisations, various levels are filled with people who have stagnated and are not promotable any further. The most prominent mistake employers do is by awarding employees with a good performance record with a promotion without bothering about his potential and competency fit with the job he is expected to do. This leads to him/her reaching a level in the organisation where his performance dips and emotionally drains the employee as a once good performer changes to a mediocre cog in the wheel. The other two sides of the catastrophe is the effect upwards and downwards.

The dip in performance leads to slip in business performance that affects the senior management strategies and increases the deviation from business plans. What was once a decision by the senior management to improve performance and employee satisfaction and engagement ends up in doing exactly the opposite!

The downward effects are found in the way the subordinates feel to work under an incompetent boss. An incompetent boss is unable to manage his subordinates and their expectations. And this results in employees losing faith in the abilities of their boss to resolve issues and manage results. This disconnect results in misalignment of strategies with employee expectations. Employee engagement at the subordinate level suffers and leads to attrition and bad equity for the organisation in the job market.

But not all is dark and scary in today’s corporate world. To counter this very situation, companies are taking proactive measures to ensure that individuals with competencies that match the expectations of a role are promoted. Thus there are a number of organisations that spend a lot of time,money and effort in identifying the ‘right’ people for the ‘right’ job. Succession planning, competency mapping and various organisational development tools go a long way in dispelling the concerns that loom over making incorrect choices. Other tools used by employers is to develop mentoring programs where senior management help in identifying and guiding potential leaders to develop their competencies and slide into senior roles with ease when the time beckons. To sustain such a mechanism, the much relevance is stressed on maintaining a strong talent pool in the organisation with the record of good performances and the potential to manage the managers. The talent pool needs to be developed and nurtured with regular reviews and assessments to ensure that the talent is ready for the next stage. Given the rapidly changing market dynamics, this ready-to-go talent pool acts as a great differentiator. A recent survey by a reputed consulting firm confirms that the Top 20% of the most preferred places to work had a sustainable talent pool in place to mitigate the risks of a continuously changing environment. This arrangement has a spin off effect on employee engagement and job market equity. It’s no rocket science to realise that its not enought to teach a man to fish, but to ensure that his son learns to fish as well! Keeps the restaurant open all days!!

Ah, I totally forgot to tell you about how great the Hard Rock Cafe on Gulf Street was!!!