When other companies are moving ahead and yours isn’t, it creates a gap that impacts your employees’ perceived value of your company.

“The number of job transitions is only increasing, so high potential people are looking for opportunities to grow and develop. Organizations that don’t address this need are in for a rude awakening,” says Michael Ownbey, director of client engagement for The Ken Blanchard Companies. “People will go where they have an opportunity to advance themselves and where they feel valued. Companies that are unable to offer advanced training to a large percentage of their workforce are going to find themselves at a disadvantage in attracting and retaining top talent.”

For organizations looking to make the shift, Ownbey suggests two different approaches depending on company size.

For companies that have the infrastructure and instructional design talent to support it, Ownbey suggests identifying high potentials and creating opportunities for them to access leadership development programs. For companies with less extensive resources, the key is to look for the right partner: an organization that can tailor a virtual training solution that will meet your needs as well as the needs of your learners.

In either case, Ownbey recommends taking action now. High achievers are not waiting patiently for you to provide growth opportunities. Today’s companies need to find a way to create scalable leadership training for a larger portion of their employee population.

As Ownbey explains, “In the past, companies would train only a small number of people so they could justify travel, time, and resource costs. But now, organizations are asking ‘How can we reach out to people who are taking on a new role or needing skill building around leadership? How can we affordably get them into high level learning and then into continuing education as they grow in their position?’”

What are you doing to identify and provide training opportunities for your high potential people?  Don’t wait until it’s too late and they’ve moved on to another company with better opportunities for growth and advancement. Get started today!

You can read more about Ownbey’s ideas for creating learning opportunities for a next generation of leaders by reading Leadership Development: Creating a Scalable Solution at the Blanchard website.  Also learn about a free webinar Ownbey is conducting on August 26, where he will share case studies of top companies that are meeting this need by designing flexible online learning curriculums that provide opportunities for leaders at all levels to advance their skills.