Although companies are finding it difficult to give their employees promotions and raises in the current economy, talent lingers as many workers feel lucky just to have a job. Still, recognizing that the recession won’t last forever, some employers are attempting to head off a mass employee exodus by fostering engagement in talent development programs.

That was the case at Chubb & Son, which in recent years has experienced very low employee turnover – and generated few promotional opportunities. In order to encourage and engage their most promising talent, they enveloped them into the decision making process of the organization with interactive executive sessions and made lateral moves more attractive. With these efforts, employees were able to grasp the entirety of the company and see how they could potentially fit into other segments. The sessions were so well received that the company held a 99% retention rate for program participants.

“We know when the marketplace changes we’re going to face some retention issues with [industry specific talent that they’ve worked hard to develop],” said Bettina Kelly, senior vice president of the Talent Strategies Group at Chubb & Son. “We know from our engagement survey that career development is one of the most significant things that drives engagement. But we don’t have many promotions available, so we’ve decided to start making visible all the lateral opportunities while making them more desirable. We’re also very focused on the [stimulation] of our high potential and high performing employees, [so] whenever there’s a business issue that needs to be solved we’re linking talent development to that business issue,” she explained to a room full of HR professionals at the Argyle Executive Forum’s 2009 Human Capital Leadership Forum held last week in New York City.

Transparency is the key for this company, which has set up programs for selected workers that are conducive to developing and encouraging their abilities and potential.

Their main targets are “the young and the restless,” as Kelly describes those who have worked at the organization for three to five years. They give these individuals and other high-performing workers projects that allow them to practice solving current and future issues at the company over a six-month period paired with a senior leader as a guide. These opportunities provide employees with knowledge of the company from a much broader and holistic point of view.

Meanwhile, senior management gets to analyze first hand the employee’s potential at presentations and meetings throughout the process. In the projects that involve solving a future problem, executive vice presidents sit down with the employee and role play as another high-potential employee. The senior manager then provides feedback to the employee who is impressed, according to Kelly, that such a high-up person would dedicate time out of their day to improving their skill set.

“Overall, [the high-potential employee’s reaction] was: I really feel like Chubb cared about my development. I didn’t feel like I was being evaluated, I felt like someone really wanted to know what I needed,” Kelly said.

“The fact that Chubb is investing in them and letting them actually solve business issues for us is enough for them,” concludes Kelly, labeling it a form of intrinsic motivation.