I am sitting on the plane reading an article titled, “3M CEO emphasizes importance of leaders”, which is in the format of an interview with George Buckley, CEO of 3M. 3M was rated the best at developing future leaders by Chief Executive Magazine and the Hay Group in 2009.

He was asked, “How long should talented people stay in one job”, and his response was, “there is a point somewhere around four years where you need to get refreshed”.

He responded to the question being presented in many companies today, “Should we be spending money on leadership training when these people may very well leave”? His response was, “What if we don’t offer them leadership training and they stay?”

He was also asked, “Why not save money on leadership development and recruit top talent from others?” and he responded, “I’d sooner own a fish farm then be reliant on catching a few fish”.

It is time for the HR professional to stand up to the CEO and reflect a similar philosophy to of Mr. Buckley. The strengths of your top producers are your most valuable asset of your company. It takes time and money to not only hire the person with high potential, train and develop the top producer and provide the work environment and career opportunities to insure retention of the top producers. This leadership attitude requires a people management plan of action which most companies are not willing to develop.

The Human Resources professional must be the champion for the “great” employees and make sure that the programs and development opportunities satisfy the needs of the top players in the organization. Processes must be developed and events must be discarded. This includes processes relative to hiring and selection, people development, performance management, and succession planning.

So what does your People Management Process look like? When will CEO’s realize the HR professional holds the key to their future? Let’s hope it starts in the near future.