Demand for high potential talent has increased dramatically in the past five years as companies have struggled to fill vacancies due to a competitive talent market. Therefore, having a strong talent pipeline is extremely critical to organizations. Most companies evaluate high potential talent based on three criteria: engagement, ability, aspiration to hold successive leadership. But only 53% of organizations are confident in their ability to select and assess the best talent. An efficient tool is necessary to assess and capture the best talent in the organization. These four categories of tools are widely used by industries and have been considered successful and effective when measuring potential leaders:   Assessment and development centers External assessment tools Company self-developed assessment methods 360-degree employee feedback assessment 
To better understand the benefits of using these tools, this summary report will analyze the essence of the tools and provide case studies of top performers in the industry using these methods

Lei, Ye

Zhang, Charlotte

English

Demand for high potential talent has increased dramatically in the past five years as companies have struggled to fill vacancies due to a competitive talent market. Therefore, having a strong talent pipeline is extremely critical to organizations. Most companies evaluate high potential talent based on three criteria: engagement, ability, aspiration to hold successive leadership. But only 53% of organizations are confident in their ability to select and assess the best talent. An efficient tool is necessary to assess and capture the best talent in the organization. These four categories of tools are widely used by industries and have been considered successful and effective when measuring potential leaders:  Assessment and development centers External assessment tools Company self-developed assessment methods 360-degree employee feedback assessment  To better understand the benefits of using these tools, this summary report will analyze the essence of the tools and provide case studies of top performers in the industry using these methods.How_do_Organizations_Assess_For_Potential_in_Addition_to_a_Talent_Review_Process.pdf: 6774 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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How Do Organizations Assess for Potential, in addition to a Talent Review Process?

DigitalCommons@ILR

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Fall 2016 
How Do Organizations Assess for Potential, in addition to a Talent 
Review Process? 
Ye Lei 
Cornell University 
Charlotte Zhang 
Cornell University 
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How Do Organizations Assess for Potential, in addition to a Talent Review 
Process? 
Abstract 
Demand for high potential talent has increased dramatically in the past five years as companies have 
struggled to fill vacancies due to a competitive talent market. Therefore, having a strong talent pipeline is 
extremely critical to organizations. Most companies evaluate high potential talent based on three criteria: 
engagement, ability, aspiration to hold successive leadership. But only 53% of organizations are confident 
in their ability to select and assess the best talent. An efficient tool is necessary to assess and capture 
the best talent in the organization. These four categories of tools are widely used by industries and have 
been considered successful and effective when measuring potential leaders: 
1. Assessment and development centers 
2. External assessment tools 
3. Company self-developed assessment methods 
4. 360-degree employee feedback assessment 
To better understand the benefits of using these tools, this summary report will analyze the essence of 
the tools and provide case studies of top performers in the industry using these methods. 
Keywords 
human resources, high potential employees, assessing high potential employees, talent review, talent 
management, talent pipeline, assessments, 360, feedback, assessment tools, recruitment, current 
estimated potential, CEP, leadership ability, leadership assessment, transparency 
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process? Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: 
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Four Categories of Assessment Tools and Case Studies 
Ye Lei & Charlotte Zhang      Oct. 2016
Executive Summary 
How do organizations assess for potential, in addition to a talent review process? 
Demand for high potential talent has increased dramatically in the past five years as companies have 
struggled to fill vacancies due to a competitive talent market. Therefore, having a strong talent pipeline 
is extremely critical to organizations. Most companies evaluate high potential talent based on three 
criteria: engagement, ability, aspiration to hold successive leadership. But only 53% of organizations are 
confident in their ability to select and assess the best talent.1 An efficient tool is necessary to assess and 
capture the best talent in the organization. These four categories of tools are widely used by industries 
and have been considered successful and effective when measuring potential leaders:  
1. Assessment and development centers
2. External assessment tools
3. Company self-developed assessment methods
4. 360-degree employee feedback assessment
To better understand the benefits of using these tools, this summary report will analyze the essence of 
the tools and provide case studies of top performers in the industry using these methods. 
Assessment and Development Center 
Assessment centers can be used to assess candidates’ personality and suitability for a specific type of 
employment. Organizations now use assessment centers for a wide range of purposes, including 
selection, placement, early identification of potential talent, learning and development and career 
management.2 Assessment centers design a series of activities to fully evaluate a candidate’s potential 
through personality and cognitive assessment, written and leaderless group exercise, role play and 
presentation. It also serves as a strategic leadership pipeline for training and developing talent. 
Case Study: Deloitte has rebranded its assessment center as Deloitte University (DU) and expanded its 
scope in assessment and development of potential talent. The assessment part of DU is designed to 
measure 12 core competencies through a variety of exercises based on an employee’s level. In addition 
to technical assessment, DU also conducts behavioral interviews to evaluate a candidate’s motivation 
and engagement in a bigger leadership role. DU has set up an experienced hire testing for new recruits, 
manager assessment and development center for candidates in between manager and director, and 
leadership assessment and development center for candidates in between director and partner level.3  
External Assessment Tools 
Many companies are using cost effective and easy-to-implement external assessment tools that are 
produced by consulting firms to predict high potentials. Popular external tools such as Hogan high 
potential report and Korn Ferry assessment of leadership potential are designed specifically for selection 
decisions, talent assessment and employee development (Figure 1 and 2). Like most of the assessment 
tools, external assessment tools evaluate a candidate’s competencies in business, leadership, and 
interpersonal relationships to further identify the level of potentials.4
Question & Introduction 
Recommendation 
Case Study: Korn Ferry worked with a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Europe to 
evaluate the effectiveness of high potential employee identification. Korn Ferry conducted Talking 
Talent, which is a facilitated session where executives openly discussed employees based on their 
performance, potential, readiness, willingness and mobility. In addition to the discussion session, it 
implemented the CHOICE® instrument to analyze learning agility for its senior executives across the 
globe and benchmarked previous years’ performance rating to tailor the potential assessment tool for its 
client.5    
Self-Developed Assessment Methods 
Some companies self-define the criteria of high potential employees, and self-design processes to 
identify high potential employees. When organizations’ own needs outweigh the cost of such a program, 
they prefer to customize the entire process to maximize the benefits of self-developed assessment tools.  
Case Study: Shell implemented a global process called Current Estimated Potential (CEP) to identify 
leadership ability (Figure 3). This process is built upon criteria that Shell recognizes as important 
predictors of an employee’s learning agility – the gauge of leadership potential at Shell. There are three 
criteria – Capacity, Achievement, and Relationships (CAR). The assessment is done by a panel of 
managers and supervisors who have been trained in the process and have firsthand knowledge of the 
employees.6 Employees undergo the CEP assessment every two years to ensure Shell has an up-to-date 
overall picture of its talent pipeline. New hires receive a CEP assessment after three years on the job. 
360-Degree Employee Feedback Assessment 
360-degree feedback assessments provide organizations with a robust view of the individual’s 
capabilities, cultural fit, drive, and relationships within the organization. This assessment tool is more 
suitable for a flatter organization structure with lots of cross-functional project based teams as it analyzes 
the whole spectrum of a candidate’s performance and talent.  
Case Study: General Electric uses 360-degree assessment to evaluate its senior-level talent. It conducts 
executive assessments each year on approximately 20 candidates. After the executive assessment, two 
senior-level HR professionals then conduct a 3–5 hour behavioral-based interview. After the interview, 
20−30 internal and external reference checks will be conducted. The process concludes with a report of 
the person’s career, key experiences, and assessment of leadership skills. Management shares the report
with the individual, and the individual will take this information and craft a development plan. The 
Chairman and CEO read each assessment and development plan and respond with a personal note to 
each candidate.7 
Since high potential programs contribute to the cultivating and retaining of future leaders, assessing 
employee potential attracts more and more attention from companies. After building a high potential 
program, HR professionals need to constantly evaluate and improve the program. Research shows that 
HR professionals aim to achieve a better form of high potential programs on the bases of: 8 
• Effectiveness to accurately identify high potential employees
• Fairness
• Motivation
• Transparency
The research further indicates that the degree of formalization of an organization’s approach toward 
identifying high potentials is the most impactful element for determining satisfaction. Thus, 
organizations should be primarily concerned about adopting a formal, systematic approach to identify 
high potential employees, which also ensures the quality of the program. 
Cited References 
Future Readings 
1. Kelly, Kip. "Identifying High-Potential Talent." The Power of Experience (2013): n. pag. UNC
Executive Development. UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/~/media/Files/documents/executive-
development/identifying-hipos-white-paper.pdf>.
2. "The Validity of DDI Assessment Centers." (2012): n. pag. The Psychology of Assessment
Centers. Development Dimensions International. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.ddiworld.com/ddi/media/white-
papers/thevalidityofddiassessmentcenters_wp_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf>.
3. "Using Assessment Centers to Identify and Develop Talent." (2011): n. pag. Deloitte.com.
Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.assessmentcenters.org/Assessmentcenters/media/2008/IC2008_Ritson.pdf>.
4. "Hogan High Potential Tool Report." (n.d.): n. pag. Hogan. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.performanceprograms.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Hogan-High-Potential-
Sample-Report.pdf>.
5. Meuse, Kenneth P. De, Guangrong Dai, George S. Hallenbeck, and King Yii Tang. "Using
Learning Agility to Identify High Potentials around the World." Korn Ferry Institute, n.d. Web.
21 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.kornferry.com/media/lominger_pdf/LearningAgility_whitepaper_DeMeuse.pdf?tr
k=profile_certification_title>.
6. Kim E. Ferrarie. “Processes to assess leadership potential keep Shell’s talent pipeline full.A”
<http://search.proquest.com/abicomplete/docview/215042703/6413DCDC70AE4115PQ/11?ac
countid=10267>
7. Aon, “Building the Right High Potential Pool How Organizations Define, Assess, and Calibrate
Their Critical Talent”, January 2013 <http://www.aon.com/attachments/human-capital-
consulting/2013_Building_the_Right_High_Potential_Pool_white_paper.pdf>
8. Kotlyar, IgorAuthor, Karakowsky, LeonardAuthor. “Sources of satisfaction with high-potential
employee programs: A survey of Canadian HR professionals”. The Journal of Management
Development 33.10 (2014): 1056-1035
http://vp5qw4uf5x.search.serialssolutions.com/?genre=article&issn=02621711&title=Journal%
20of%20Management%20Development&volume=33&issue=10&date=20141201&atitle=Sour
ces%20of%20satisfaction%20with%20high-
potential%20employee%20programs.&spage=1035&pages=1035-
1056&sid=EBSCO:bth&aulast=Kotlyar&DOI=10.1108/JMD-08-2012-0113
1. "THE HR GUIDE TO IDENTIFYING HIGH-POTENTIALS." (n.d.): n. pag. SHL Talent
Measurement. CEB. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://www.ucop.edu/human-resources/management-
development-program/2014/Donna%20Handout.pdf>.
2. Stomski, Lorraine, Ph.D., and Jill Attkisson. "Building the Right High Potential Pool." (2013):
n. pag. Aon Hewitt, Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://www.aon.com/attachments/human-
capital-consulting/2013_Building_the_Right_High_Potential_Pool_white_paper.pdf>. 
Appendix 
Figure 1: Hogan Model 
Figure 2 Korn Ferry Model 
Figure 3: Shell’s CAR criteria for high potential employees 
Figure 4: Aon’s high potential Criteria 


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