Organisations keep still about their stars because they worry about the people who are not considered special. Also some companies fear that making the designation public could cause other companies to court those talents, or worry that the chosen employees rest on their laurels and won’t try as hard at work. Business-software maker SAP for example, found that its high-potential designation was creating “animosity and confusion” among employees, according to Jewell Parkinson, the head of human resources for SAP North America.

About 8 to 10 per cents of employees were designated as “hi-pos,” short for high-potential, but some 70 per cent were thought of as “po-pos” – pissed off and passed over, she said. Those employees felt that the company’s attention and investment – in special training programs or career-planning workshops, for example ­– was going to a select few.

The company did away with its official high-potential distinction about two years ago. Now, all employees are slotted into categories that range from “growth” to “accelerated growth” to “fast-track.” About 73 per cent of employees land in “growth” – the lowest level – while 3 per cent are “fast-track”. The company has also opened training and development initiatives to more employees.

Human resources consultants says companies are often bad at differentiating employees and hurt people's feelings. One consumer-products company publishes one list of high potentials but keeps another private one that’s about one-third as long.

Read more atThe Wall Street Journal