Keep the Best R&D Talent Without Alienating the Rest

Both inside and outside of firms’ R&D groups, managers continually talk about the need to be “innovative” — it’s an exhortation that’s used almost as often as the need to be “strategic”.  Neither mean much by themselves, despite how much is written and spoken about them.

Data from the Corporate Leadership Council (our network of HR executives) show the vast majority of business unit heads (97%) think “innovation” will become more important in the next two years; however, as chart 1 shows, their employees tell us that their bosses are less likely to support new ideas or try new things than they were in 2008.

Chart 1: Manager Support and Encouragement for Innovation and New Ideas (Employee Agreement from 2008-2009)

While HR departments and their consultants try to figure out what constitutes innovative behavior, it’s a sure bet that R&D departments will be called on continually in the next three years (as business opportunities come from different and less well-known markets) to provide a lot of new, commercially viable ideas to the firm at low cost. This means senior R&D managers must make sure of two things:

1. That they have the right people in the right jobs now and have a ready pool (or “bench” – as in bench of substitutes in a sports team) of people to take up senior leadership roles in the future.
2. That they have solid long-term plans in place to develop their staff either as technology specialists or as managers, depending on the employees’ interests and aptitude.

Developing R&D Staff Correctly

Probably with challenges like the two above on his mind, one senior R&D executive at a chemicals company in our network has set up a formal development program for high-potential researchers. He asked other R&D professionals in one of our online forums what they have found successful.

Motivating high-potential employees or HIPOs (not to be confused with Hippos, apparently the second-largest land mammal after an elephant) is always a hot topic in our networks of HR professionals. It’s important to keep these employees engaged and interested without making the rest feel like they are being left out of an elite club.

Some of the respondents in the online discussion have the good sense to not categorize certain training and support programs as being for “future leaders” or, indeed, “high-potential employees”. Instead they conduct frequent performance reviews (twice or even three times a year) and tailor the right training to the right employee. That’s a good example of best practice.

For example, one employee who is keen to take on management position, is excelling in her role, and fulfils all the right criteria to be seen as a future leader, will be accepted into a more formal leadership development program. However, another employee who shows less aptitude for management but excels in his current technical role will be given support to be develop as a specialist. And, crucially, will not be made to feel like a second-class citizen because he chooses not pursue the management track.

What You Can Learn from Others

One of the world’s biggest conglomerates has a really good formalized program that makes senior business unit staff much better at sourcing innovative ideas from their divisions and driving those ideas through to market. R&D executives should compare this process to what is currently used in their firm and look to adopt it,  especially if they have trouble helping leaders innovate, build consensus, and drive change.

Our Research and Technology Executive Council clients can also use this in-depth research to help develop a talent management strategy that can cope with the changing demands on the R&D function. Clients tell us that the case studies from Dow Chemical, John Deere, and Crown Holdings are particularly helpful.