A recent survey by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) finds that 25% of high potential leaders identified by employers plan to leave their company within the year.

The same survey finds that an additional 21% of employees today identify themselves as "highly disengaged," a figure which has risen nearly three-fold since 2007.

The CEB finds that companies can apply the following tactics to identify, re-engage, and more effectively manage high-potential employees:

• Stimulate Emerging leaders need challenging work, recognition, and the chance to grow.
• Test Explicitly test candidates for internal promotion for ability, engagement, and aspiration to make sure they're able to handle the tougher roles as their careers progress.
• Manage Having line managers oversee high-potential employees only limits their access to opportunities and encourages hoarding of talent. Instead, manage these high-potential employees at the corporate level.
• Challenge High potential employees need to be in positions where new capabilities can or must be acquired.
• Recognize High potential employees will be more engaged if they are recognized through pay, so offer them differentiated compensation and recognition.
• Engage Incorporate high-potential employees into strategic planning. Share future strategies with them and emphasize their role in making them come to fruition.

The key takeaway here is that if companies don't proactively address high-potential engagement and retention now, they should expect to incur significant recruiting costs related to replacing these individuals. Yet, the opportunity cost of disengagement will exact an even steeper toll on corporate output.

A second take-away: If this is important in managing talent in corporations, how much more important for career professionals to use this knowledge in coaching their executive clients to better performance, or when they are deciding which companies are the best fit for their. (KBs observation)

Source: ExecuNet http://bit.ly/cM5qSs