Firms face a huge challenge today - finding, developing and keeping great people.

People who are engaged, enthusiastic and effective and constantly striving to increase the contribution they make to their employer's business.

Why recruiting is not the answer

The 'traditional' approach to this challenge is to recruit new staff, professionals, managers and leaders from outside. And this is still highly effective. If you can find really good people. And you accept the risks and costs involved. Our research suggests that the total cost of hiring a single business professional is now more than £65,000. And only 1 in 2 succeeds.

In addition, leaner company structures make it harder for managers to naturally develop their skills through incremental steps up the hierarchy. So increasing the difficulty of finding talent from within.

Company leaders are starting to recognise this and are turning to new ways of grooming people for top jobs within the firm. They are setting up formal talent management and development programmes to help talented professionals become effective managers and talented managers become effective leaders.

Developing your own high performers

New Frontiers help organisations address this challenge by creating and managing these Talent Management and Development Programmes. We specialise in helping business professionals change their behaviours to become more effective and successful. To become high performers. Our programmes are designed to meet your specific needs, are based on sound psychological principles and on the real world of work.

Programmes typically consist of a blend of activities including;

• Skills Development Workshops e.g. Influencing Skills, Business Change, Management Skills, Strategy and Planning, Team Building
• Psychometric Assessments e.g. Myers Briggs Level 2
• Executive Coaching
• 360 degree feedback
• Development Logs
• Workplace Projects

The Four Stages of Contribution®

Central to our unique approach is the Four Stages model, which makes clear what high performers actually do. The model identifies the performance requirements and developmental progression that makes people more highly valued by their organisations. The Four Stages model is a proven framework for performance management and development. It presents an effective way of thinking about employment and development that will increase the capability of your professionals, managers and leaders to make informed choices; choices that are of value to both the organisation and themselves.

The Four Stages Model was developed by Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson whilst professors at Harvard University. It has been used and validated by many organisations over the last twenty years. The model has brought to light the fact that careers do not progress in straight lines. Instead they develop in distinct stages, each different to the proceeding and each requiring different activities, skills and relationships. And to succeed in a given role may require the person to perform within a certain Stage.

The progression identified by the two professors is independent of position on the organisation chart. It explains why two people with the same job descriptions may be valued differently by their firm.

However to be a high performer in the latter stages depends on mastering the early stages. Thus the Four Stages provides a powerful road-map for understanding the long-term expectations organisations have of their employees.

Please contact us to find out more.