Employers must develop talent from within to differentiate themselves, according to Vance Kearney, vice-president, EMEA HR, at Oracle.

Speaking aboard the Aurora at the Human Resources Forum organised by Richmond Events, Kearney told delegates that the very best sales talent is always going to be highly valued and highly embedded in the organisation in which they work, so employers have to develop the very best individuals from within at all levels.

Oracle has looked inward to develop its own top sales performers through recruiting graduates into its sales academy. The recruitment policy has been to hire graduates that have experience of the workplace and don’t flit from role to role but crucially have high potential and this applies to all levels within the organisation.

Kearney says while employers need to be aware that once you promote an employee they lose their potential and performance will drop as they take on a new role, it is far more important to stretch an individual so that high potential people are always encouraged to keep pushing their potential.

Oracle does this by giving employees multi-national assignments that they are accountable for and have to deliver on. With exceptional candidates they can be promoted a number of levels with the proviso that if it doesn’t work out there is no loss of face as they are given lots of support from management and given the option of stepping back into their old role. 

To hear what Kearney had to say click on the video below: