The latest research from non-profit The Conference Board is released this month
The Conference Board C-Suite Challenge survey tells us that attracting & retaining talent is their #1 internal concern. It's interesting that CEOs in Japan listed this as #2. Developing Next-Gen Leaders is #1 in Japan. Next-Gen Leaders rank #3 in the US. The C-Level recognizes leaders can make the difference in performance of the organization.
It’s exciting to see the executives identifying leadership and attraction/retention as priorities. During my 7 years in Talent Management and Leadership Development at Zappos I saw the positive effects of leaders with Next-Gen skills paired with solid retention strategies. What are Next-Gen skills?
Today’s leaders need a lot more than an org chart and employee handbook. To be effective, they need to know how to manage cross-functional teams including remote workers. They also must understand the needs and motivations of the biggest part of the workforce. The Pew Research Center tells us that Millennials have been the largest portion of the workforce since 2017 and that percentage is only going to grow. Managers need to create psychological safety, feedback, transparency and alignment to the organization and, if possible, a cause bigger than ourselves. Leaders that use assessments to understand the players on their team are more successful. Do your leadership development programs or education requirements equip leaders to manage and engage this workforce?
Clients ask me about attraction and retention. They are highly correlated along with engagement. High retention propels things like the “employee experience” and “employer brand”. An engaged and productive workforce attracts energetic people. Slick marketing could drive candidates to your organization (once) but without the right environment for them to work, they won’t stay. Attracting without retaining is not sustainable as our labor surplus (aka pool of acceptable candidates) is forecast to shrink by more than half this decade in the US.
How do we solve for this? DATA. Using data from behavioral, cognitive and EQ assessments can be the difference in hiring the right candidate for the job. Many hiring managers don’t have the skills to assess a job candidate in a 30-60-minute interview. Candidates often get hired with their stellar resumes. Many of these new-hires are unable to adapt to the culture, team, or basic job-requirements after they onboard. That costs your organization time and money. Don’t forget to count the wasted time that existing employees spend training and coaching the “bad-hire” that doesn’t stay. This can affect engagement and productivity in a bad way.
Organizations that use behavioral and cognitive assessments in the pre-hire phase enjoy a 58% predictability of success on the job. I have worked with some good interviewers in my career but I haven’t met the person that can touch this success rate without digging beyond the resume or portfolio. Understanding behaviors and motivators help us hire the right person into the right role for the highest engagement and productivity that we could wish for. What’s the best way to address Attraction, Retention and developing Next-gen leaders? DATA.