CHAPTER 10: ASSESSING INTERNAL CANDIDATES

As explained earlier, 75 percent of the department managers and assistant department managers at Chern's have been promoted from the company's sales associate staff based on their supervisors' recommendations and structured interviews. Unfortunately, Chern's recently analyzed its turnover data and found that a disproportionate number of good sales associates who would have been potentially strong candidates for department manager and assistant department manager positions have left the organization. The exit interviews with these people revealed that the firm's efforts to communicate its promotional opportunities and succession planning intentions to the high-potential sales associates have been insufficient. Many of the sales associates said that they were leaving because they had poor career planning visibility to the managerial positions they sought. The company currently does not tell its high-potential sales associates that they have been flagged for future promotion opportunities, believing that this would demoralize those not on the list.

Because the company's talent philosophy is to promote from within, Chern's management feels that it could improve its internal promotion practices. The company asks you to recommend ways that it can identify and develop sales associates who have the potential to become department managers.

ASSIGNMENT:

a. Evaluate and improve Chern's internal promotion practices.

b. Recommend ways to identify and develop sales associates who have the potential to become department managers.