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Do you have HI-PO employees on your team? With the first Baby Boomers retiring in 2010 it has become imperative that HI-PO employees are identified and put into programs to develop them further and sooner.  HI-PO employees are individuals with high potential.

Many of our readers have met my niece, Corissa Meadors, at our conferences or seminars I've delivered.  She is an example of a HI-PO employee.  She just graduated from High School and is leaving August 26th, 2007 to live in Costa Rica for the next year.  She is going to college at Long Island University's Global College.

The Global College embodies the vision of Dr. Morris Mitchell, its first president, who believed that students who were given the opportunity to learn firsthand about the problems and possibilities of humanity, and were encouraged to develop problem-solving skills, would become a unique resource for global peace and development.

Global College's mission is the development of well-educated world citizens, men and women from a broad spectrum of nationalities and social classes who participate in a program that; enables them to combine first-hand experience of diverse cultural realities with the critical study of academic disciplines and human and ecological problems; to test intellectual theories and skills against the demands of practice and service; to carry out specialized field study under expert guidance that synthesizes cross-cultural understanding; and to develop a broad world view and a level of achievement in a chosen field sufficient to prepare for a life of committed action in the interest of the world community.

This is a place for people to make practical use of learned theories and concepts and, as a result, to gain a profound understanding of global issues. During excursions to Nicaragua in the fall and Ecuador in the spring, students explore the tension between environmental and economic issues and begin to understand how individuals at the local level are affected by decisions made at the global level.

In previous semesters students have explored comparative political systems; tropical and/or organic agriculture, aquaculture and reforestation; rural development, underdevelopment and the role of cooperatives; nutrition and public health; journalism in social change; workers and trade unions; street children; dance, theatre and ethnomusicology; women’s issues such as violence and self-esteem; and human rights and peace studies.

HI-PO employees are the greatest assets to an organization's future success. Imagine the results if we could immerse our HI-PO employees in such in-depth programs in corporations. Top talent people hold the greatest potential for organizational development, innovation and growth.

High potentials are made of two top talent groups:

• The young high-potentials are promising individuals, young in work or career experience that stand out in their abilities, talents and commitment. (Blue Belt)

• The senior high-potentials are managers with broad experience and reference and are in line to join the senior leadership team. (Silver Belt)

  Source: http://www.ambercoaching.com/high_potentials.html

Think about the prodigious outcomes to corporations and the people - globally and locally if you take the top 5% high performing people and develop them in a program like Corissa's. I'm proud to have a HI-PO employee and an extraordinary family member that is going to make a difference in this world.

Resources:

• Well written white paper about HI-PO employees and worth reading: www.personneldecisions.com/learning/pdfs/236810_final.pdf

• PowerPoint Action Plan to get ideas to build a plan to develop your own HI-PO employees. www.entarga.com/hrplan/SuccPlng-%20ActionPlan.pdf

• Overview of Employee Development - another useful resource:
  www.icon-solutions.net/references/overview_employee_development.pdf

• Retaining HI-PO Employees: http://www.imakenews.com/masswit/e_article000155241.cfm

• Get started in developing your HI-PO employees and yourself by learning faster, deeper ways to increase your knowledge: Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better oedb.org/library/college-basics/hacking-knowledge

Ivy Meadors
High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc.

www.ivymeadors.com or www.hthts.com

1. Why Help Desks / Service Desks Fail

   The primary reason for failure is due to lack of senior management support and insufficient leadership training for those running the support group.  The Help Desk / Service Desk (HD/SD) is the backbone of the company, a necessary asset worth investing in.  They should not be thought of as overhead but instead as one of the most crucial components of the business.  The leaders of these groups need more training and support from senior management.

2. Why Help Desks / Service Desks Succeed

   The most successful support groups have passionate leaders and the technology to do the job. It takes a unique skill set to manage a technical support group. Having a strategic vision, insights into the service and support industry, and a deep understanding of the corporate business needs will contribute to a successful organization. Successful leaders of HD/SDs know how others run their groups (successfully and poorly) by visiting similar sites, actively participating in local networking groups and attending industry events.

3. Use Technology More Effectively

   Less than 20% of HD/SDs use technology to be truly proactive, self-service organizations using auto-correction, auto-alerts, and auto-ticketing.  Many groups are on the right path but are not given the time or training to understand how to perform effective root cause analysis, perform advanced application of tool sets or know how to best market the resources of the HD/SD to the customers.

4. Control Your Costs

   What is the most common statement made by leaders of HD/SDs? "We need to reduce resources and perform support at a lower cost," is the primary point made when asked why there are adverse situations for the group.  The key is to understand the financial role that is played in support and how to communicate the results to senior management.  Randy Celaya, from Results Focused Training, will be teaching this topic at the 9th Annual Customer Service and Support Professionals Conference October 22-24 in Phoenix. Being proactive, using effective Workforce Management, and better use of your technology will contribute to controlling costs down.

5. Focus on the People

   It is said time and again how important it is to focus on the people. Most organizations walk this talk to a great extent but with heavy workloads on everyone, the lack of time and resources, and too many meetings. it is a challenge to give the people the focus they need and deserve.

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