The HIPO Rotational Program Business Case is designed to help organizations communicate the ROI of high-potential (HIPO) employee development to secure stakeholder buy-in. It outlines the importance of developing HIPOs, highlighting the benefits of rotational programs for employees and business units, including improved job satisfaction, engagement, and competitive advantage. The document also addresses common concerns from both HIPOs and business leaders regarding participation in these programs.

1. © 2015 CEB. All rights reserved
CEB Corporate Leadership Council
HIPO Rotational Program Business Case

2. © 2015 CEB. All rights reserved
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INTRODUCTION
What it does:
The HIPO Rotational Program Business Case helps you communicate the ROI of a HIPO rotational program to obtain feedback
from key stakeholders and secure their buy-in for the program.
How to Use it:
Incorporate some or all of these slides into your business case presentation as needed. Add custom data specific to your
organization wherever possible.
Instructions:
Slide 3 – What Makes a High-Potential (HIPO) Employee?
- Define high-potential.
Slide 4 – Importance of Developing HIPOs Now
- Establish critical importance of HIPO development and retention.
Slide 5 – Benefits of HIPO Rotational Program
- Highlight the overall beneficial impact a HIPO rotational program will have for the organization.
Slide 6 – Rotational Program Benefits for HIPOs
- Highlight benefits of a HIPO rotational program for HIPOs.
Slide 7 – Rotational Program Benefits for Business Leaders
- Highlight beneficial impact a HIPO rotational programs on the business units that participate.
Slide 8 – Addressing Common HIPO Rotational Program Concerns
- Answer common questions and concerns about HIPO rotational program participation.

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HIPOs need ability,
aspiration, and
engagement.
• To advance and succeed in
more senior and critical roles,
employees must have three
components of potential:
ability, engagement, and
aspiration.
• Because employees need all
three, only 29% of employees
in the top-quartile of
performance are high-
potential employees; the
remaining 71% fall short in at
least one way.
WHAT MAKES A HIGH-POTENTIAL (HIPO) EMPLOYEE?
A high-potential employee is someone with the ability, engagement, and aspiration to rise to
and succeed in more senior, critical positions.
Engagement consists of four elements:
• Emotional Commitment—The extent to which
employees value, enjoy, and believe in their
organization.
• Rational Commitment—The extent to which
employees believe that staying with their organization is
in their self-interest.
• Discretionary Effort—Employee willingness to go
“above and beyond” the call of duty.
• Intent to Stay—Employee desire to stay with their
current organization.
Engagement
The extent to which an employee wants or desires:
• Prestige and recognition
• Advancement and influence
• Financial rewards
• Work-life balance
• Overall job enjoyment
Aspiration
A combination of the innate characteristics and
learned skills that an employee uses to carry out day-
to-day work.
Innate Characteristics
• Mental/cognitive agility
• Emotional intelligence
Learned Skills
• Technical/functional skills
• Interpersonal skills
Ability
Source: CEB Employee Value Proposition Survey, 2009.
CEB’s High-Potential Employee Identification Model

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Organizations must
strategically develop
HIPOs given their
high business
impact, increased
retention risk, and
relative scarcity.
IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING HIPOs NOW
HIPOs can enhance business outcomes by more than 50% (compared to non-HIPOs), as they exhibit 21% higher
performance levels. However, HIPOs are much harder to retain than core employees due to the attractiveness
of their skill sets in the market. Additionally, very few employees are high-potential, as detailed below:
Source: CEB Corporate Leadership Council, Realizing the Full Potential of Rising Talent Volume I: A Quantitative Analysis of the Identification and
Development of High-Potential Employees.
Importance of HIPO Development and Retention
Distribution of Workforce Probability of Successfully Performing in a More Senior, Critical Role
Number
of
Employees
Current Probability of Success in a More Senior, Critical Role

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Rotational programs
can improve HIPO
ability, engagement,
and aspiration.
BENEFITS OF HIPO ROTATIONAL PROGRAMS
Enhance HIPO
Ability
HIPO rotational programs provide HIPOs with a series of critical on-the-job learning
experiences they cannot get in traditional roles.
Case-in-Point: Focused and targeted on-the-job development plans can improve
employee knowledge and skills by up to 16%.
Improve HIPO
Engagement
HIPO rotational programs match HIPOS to important and challenging opportunities that
align not only with their development needs, but also their career goals.
Case-in-Point: Matching development opportunities to personal career goals
increases engagement by 35%.
Fulfill HIPO
Aspiration
HIPO rotational programs place HIPOs in situations where they have greater
accountability, develop new skills, and work in high-stakes situations that reinforce
aspiration.
Case-in-Point: Assignments designed around targeted development plans that also
reinforce aspiration increase the appetite for more senior roles by 23%
Source: CEB Corporate Leadership Council research and SHL Talent Measurement Improving the Odds Report.
Key Benefits of HIPO Rotational Programs
Note: Adjust this page
based on the objectives
you have defined in the
Objective-Setting
Template and/or your
own data.
Additional Benefits of Rotational Experiences to the Organization
 Builds workforce flexibility
 Improves bench strength
 Increases loyalty to the organization
 Helps share and retain knowledge
 Creates a culture of development
 Increases cross-organizational communication

6. © 2015 CEB. All rights reserved
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Rotational programs
can increase HIPO
job satisfaction and
security, and
accelerate
development.
ROTATIONAL PROGRAM BENEFITS FOR HIPOs
Improves Job
Security
Rotational experiences provide HIPOs with opportunities to improves their skills,
understanding of different parts of the organization, and networks, all of which
increase their employability within and outside of the organization.
Case-in-Point: Day-to-day jobs that require employees to adapt work to changing
circumstances, like in rotations, can drive potential up to 15%.
Accelerates
Development
Rotational experiences are matched to each HIPO based on his/her development
needs and career aspirations to ensure rapid development of core skills required to
succeed at the next level.
Case-in-Point: On-the-job learning, like that experienced in rotational programs, can
have three times more impact on employee performance than formal training
programs.
Increases Job
Satisfaction
Rotational programs provide challenges and opportunities to learn new skills that,
especially important when promotions are not readily available.
Case-in-Point: Diverse career opportunities is the top driver of HIPO career
satisfaction, and job rotations can impact HIPO career satisfaction by 17.5%.
Additional Benefits of Rotational Experiences to HIPOs
 Expand leadership abilities
 Receive regular feedback
 Identify alternate career paths
 Reflect on career aspirations
 Diversify skillsets and networks
 Increase adaptability
HIPO Rotational Program Impact on HIPOs
Source: CEB Employment Value Proposition Survey2010; CEB Learning and Development research; CEB Corporate Leadership Council research.
Note: Adjust this page
based on the objectives
you have defined in the
Objective-Setting
Template and/or your
own data.

7. © 2015 CEB. All rights reserved
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Rotational programs
can increase
competitive
advantage and
bench strength, and
create a culture of
development in
participating
business units.
ROTATIONAL PROGRAM BENEFITS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS
Increase
Competitive
Advantage
Rotational programs allow business units to leverage fresh perspectives of high-
performers from across the organization, increasing the innovation and drive on their
teams to improve business products and processes.
Case-in-Point: Companies pursuing breakthrough ideas are able to generate up to
twice the product sales of their peers.
Create Culture of
Development
Participation in rotational programs demonstrates a commitment to employee
development and career progression, increasing potential in employees and making the
business even more attractive to top talent.
Case-in-Point: Organizations whose executive leaders demonstrate a sincere
commitment to employee development drive their employees’ potential by as much as
29%.
By exposing HIPOs from across the organization to critical roles, institutional knowledge
increases with employees gaining more knowledge about the business and more
diverse skillsets.
Case-in-Point: Organizations with access to talent across organizational silos have 30%
stronger leadership benches than organizations with little transparency.
Increase Bench
Strength
Additional Benefits of Rotational Experiences to Business Leaders
 Accelerate best practice sharing
 Exposure of team to high-quality leaders
 Better cooperation with other business units
 Personal challenge of managing a high-performer
 Increased awareness of development
opportunities among employees
 Faster time-to-fill in key positions
HIPO Rotational Program Impact on Participating Business Units
Sources: CEB Research & Technology Executive Council; CEB 2005 High-Potential Management Survey; CEB 2013 Succession Management Survey.
Note: Adjust this page
based on the objectives
you have defined in the
Objective-Setting
Template and/or your
own data.

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ADDRESSING COMMON HIPO ROTATIONAL PROGRAM CONCERNS
Concerns from HIPOs
Note: Adjust this page
based on concerns raised
during your feedback
collection.
Concerns from Business Leaders
I am already on a track to
promotion in my current
role and don’t want to
derail my progress.
I don’t want to appear
disloyal to my current
team and manager.
I don’t want to fail in a
position I am not familiar
with and risk my career
progression.
I don’t want to give up
my best talent. I need my
HIPO to continue in
his/her role.
Bringing in a new
employee, no matter
their skill level, causes a
reduction in performance
due to time for upskilling.
I don’t want my
employees who aren’t
offered a rotation to feel
like they don’t have
development
opportunities.
Job rotations are matched to
employees based on development
needs and skill gaps. Participating in a
rotation will help you close the skill
gaps you have and make you an even
better candidate for promotion.
We will work with business leaders to
ensure employee transfers do not
disrupt scheduled projects and
workflows. Sharing talent across the
organization is the best way to ensure
our entire business is set up for
success in the future.
Participating in the program not only
accelerates your development but also
ensures that we, as an organization,
have the right talent in place at the
right times—it’s a win-win. Managers
will also be involved in the selection of
participants to ensure their support.
We don’t see failures during rotations
as a career barrier. The programs are
designed to help you develop and help
us assess your continued development
needs. If you are unsuccessful, you
will work with your managers and HR
team to understand why and make
plans to close any further skill gaps.
It’s true that bringing in a new
employee will require time for
upskilling. However, we will be
assessing all participants to ensure
they have the skills and experiences
necessary to quickly succeed in the
role.
Although rotational opportunities are
only offered to a set of employees, we
have many different development
opportunities to offer other
employees. We encourage all leaders
and managers to use the rotational
program as a prompt for development
discussions with all employees.

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