Earlier this year, food and beverage operator Delifrance needed to hire a new area manager. For many companies, this would have involved a lengthy and costly recruitment operation. But Delifrance had already clearly identified the person with the right skills to fill the post. It had also built a close relationship with him while he worked with the company.
The company has a carefully planned succession policy - monitoring which employees have the talent to progress to higher roles while developing their skills in a focused way. When vacancies do open up, it has a ready supply to fill them.
'We save a lot of costs because recruiting externally is quite expensive,' said Samson Leung, manager of learning and staff development. 'It's also difficult to find suitable staff from the external market. Our staff have already become accustomed to the company's cultures, policies and work practices.'
The cornerstone of this succession policy is the careful monitoring of employees to identify those who have the ability to move into higher roles. Human resources officers and training staff visit the stores at least once a month to build a close relationship with staff. 'That is Teddy,' said Leung, pointing to one of the staff on duty and demonstrating this understanding. 'He is a good potential manager, with various management skills and high marks in the refresher training.'
Delifrance wants this attitude to cascade down through its workforce, encouraging managers to develop close connections with staff and to nominate those doing well for promotion. The company uses staff awards and a yearly performance review to help spot employees with potential.
'We want to take the pulse of staff movement,' Leung said.