"A Players" or "A Positions"? The Strategic Logic of Workforce Management

"Must good key talent management start by identifying ""high flyers"" in order to accelerate their development? No, assert the authors of this article. Companies should instead begin by segmenting their needs. Indeed, some positions are strategic and thus deserve greater investment to ensure the right people have the right skills for the job. Other positions have less strategic impact, but are important to successful strategic execution. Reliable and committed employees should therefore be put in these roles. On the other hand, the least essential positions can be filled more economically by employees paid at market rates, because the latter are more easily replaceable and the consequences of potential mistakes are much less serious.
This article takes another look at the meaning of healthy human resource management."