Talent Development
Why They Quit: How To Retain Young Talent
As vaccines are being distributed, there is hope the worst of the pandemic is nearing an end. But if research is any indication, another kind of crisis may just be heating up. As SHRM defines it, a “turnover tsunami” is brewing, with more than half of employees surveyed planning to look for a new job this year. Employers were experiencing high rates of turnover prior to the pandemic. In fact, voluntary turnover had been steadily rising since 2010, and was cited as a chief global concern by both the UN and World Economic Forum. When the pandemic hit, quit rates reached their lowest level in nine years – and now they’re bouncing back. Just this week, I’ve heard from three executives lamenting the loss of young talent. The fact remains that professionals under the age of 39 account for more than half of all voluntary separations. Why? Increased employee turnover is the outcome of a shift in workforce needs and values, and it’s a shift that is here to stay. This is a topic I’ve researched a great detail and the answer is quite complex. In brief, here are two reasons why young professionals are three times more likely than other generations to quit: Inclusion We’re observing an ever-widening gap between twentieth century managed organizations and twenty-first century raised workers. Young professionals don’t understand the management processes and hierarchies common throughout the past century. These generations have only known a world powered by innovation, collaboration, globalization, instant gratification, knowledge, acceptance, and access. They struggle to comprehend why decisions can’t be made on the fly, why they can’t have a seat at the decision-making table, and why it’s always been done ‘that way.’ Stability Millennials came of age during the Great Recession-the worst economic decline our country had experienced in 70 years. Gen Z has come of age during the most disruptive decade in history. These experiences have shaped the career trajectories of young professionals in more…
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The Value of Change
How to find your organization’s value What will be valued and valuable after the pandemic? In a volatile environment like this one, every organization is contemplating this question, trying to determine how to stay relevant and valuable in the midst of change. Values are very influential. Our values motivate our decisions and behaviors, including where we work, what products we buy, and with whom we choose to spend our time. Even before COVID hit, many organizations were lamenting the loss of their value propositions, which is really another way of saying the market isn’t buying what they’re offering. But why? When your organization can pinpoint what members/clients/employees value, it will better understand what switches on the decision to join, buy, or participate. Here’s what you need to know about values Values are shared Values are shaped during childhood and early adolescence and are influenced by family, religion, and culture, but also what is happening in society. This is why generations of people tend to share some of the same values — because they have shared social experiences. The shared global experience of pandemic will undoubtedly influence the values of today’s youth. Our research shows they place a high value on positivity. They will likely do the same for mental and physical well-being, access to on-demand education and healthcare, and remote work environments, and they will place prominence on those values for the rest of their lives. Values are consistent While the pandemic may shift everyone’s values to varying degrees, there’s a key difference between values we are raised with, and values which we adjust to later in life. An example of this is how society responded to the arrival of technology. If you were born after 1982, you were raised never knowing life without technology. Chances are, you were asking your employer to use virtual work and tech-based platforms long before COVID — as long as 10 or 15 years ago. But the transition from in-person to virtual wasn’t as…
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Millennial Nomads, and how it could affect retaining employees…
According to a survey conducted by AfterCollege networking site, 59% of current job seekers look for a flexible work schedule from a prospective employer, while 70% said they’re more likely to accept a job if there’s the option to work from home at least one day a week. Both of these rank second to work/life balance. So, how is the Millennial Nomad lifestyle possibly affecting your work culture? A Millennial Nomad, someone who sees themselves as an explorer, a thinker, a person who embodies being wanderlust and doesn’t necessarily have one single place they call home. It’s the stories you read about where a person buys a van, redoes it, and then travels the countryside. But it’s also people who, in their workplace, have the option to work remotely, so they do. According to a survey conducted by AfterCollege networking site, 59% of current job seekers are looking for a flexible work schedule from a prospective employer, while 70% said they’re more likely to accept a job if there’s the option to work from home at least one day a week. Both of these rank second to work/life balance. Now, as more and more Millennials ditch the corporate 9-5 for this nomadic lifestyle, other Millennials have taken notice and built companies around helping more people become Millennial or Digital Nomads. Take for instance companies such as WiFly Nomads or The Remote Experience. These are two, of many, companies that give you the option to work remotely from a chosen destination with 20 or so other like-minded individuals. You can take your passion to travel, skip the van living, and work remotely from some paradise halfway around the world. And if your work doesn’t offer remote work, well, they’ll help you find a job that does! It’s like studying abroad in college, but now you’re studying abroad for work. And Baby Boomers, I know what you’re probably thinking, this is just an excuse for the younger generation to get out of work. But,…
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3 Steps to Solving a Workforce Crisis
When Danny Hearn contacted XYZ University five years ago, two daunting issues loomed over industries throughout the region of Hickory, North Carolina: how to attract and engage Millennials, and how to solve for the aging workforce crisis and talent shortage. “Our number one business issue is attracting young people to manufacturing jobs. It’s at a crisis stage. We have 3,000 jobs that go unfilled every day. Most are really great manufacturing jobs that require smart, skilled people,” said Hearn, who is President and CEO of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce in Hickory, NC. Hearn had read Sarah Sladek’s book, The End of Membership As We Know It, and XYZ University’s report, America’s Aging Workforce Crisis.He invited Sladek to Hickory to present to area employers and Chamber of Commerce executives from throughout the southeast. At first, Hearn reported that some leaders were resistant to change, but as they implemented the strategies that XYZ University provided, the outcomes made a positive impact on their bottom lines. Specifically, Hearn shared his key learnings and developments as a result of XYZ University’s guidance. Lesson 1: Invite, engage and listen. XYZ University suggested that leaders bring young employees, members, volunteers, and leaders to the table, and requested their feedback on specific workforce and community initiatives. “At the Chamber, we conducted a young professionals survey that led to a successful strategy, ” Hearn explained. “For example, we discovered that the word ‘member’ didn’t resonate with young adults, and that our membership fee formula was outdated. As a result, the Chamber created a tiered structure for ‘Investors’ and ‘Shareholders’. If we hadn’t asked for their feedback, we never would have known we were alienating young people.” Lesson 2: Millennials do not engage for the sake of tradition, but because they want valuable, life-long learning experiences. Before the survey, the Chamber had launched a Young Professionals Group, and the leader of that group was a Baby Boomer, ex-officio, non-voting Board member. Sladek explained to Hearn this model of keeping young professionals at arms-length, under the guidance or someone else, would never work. Now, the Chamber has literally brought young professionals to the decision-making table; at least half of the Chamber’s Board members are now under the age of 40. In addition, the Chamber started engaging young professionals in the creation of…
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5 Key Elements Of A Successful Talent Development Program
Developing talent is one of the best ways to assure your organization has the leaders it will need for a strong future and pain-free transitions of power. Naturally, to develop talent, first you have to have talent. The good news is that once you have it, developing it is a great way to keep it. Talent development will help your organization stay a step ahead in the talent war. Developing talent is one of the best ways to assure your organization has the leaders it will need for a strong future and pain-free transitions of power. Naturally, to develop talent, first you have to have talent. The good news is that once you have it, developing it is a great way to keep it. Talent development will help your organization stay a step ahead in the talent war. A SUCCESSFUL TALENT DEVELOPMENT PLAN WILL INCLUDE THESE FIVE KEY ELEMENTS: 1. Clearly defined responsibility Before you can build a successful talent development plan, you need to know who’s responsible for initiating and keeping up with it. If you’re expecting your employees to identify areas of career growth, you need to communicate that to them. If not, they need to know how you are going to help. One of the main reasons that organizations lose talent is because of a lack of learning opportunities. You don’t want employees leaving because they didn’t understand they were responsible for identifying those opportunities. 2. A Focus on talent not skill It’s easy to identify skills that people have, but when you’re developing talent, it’s important to focus on, well, talent. Talents are natural; skills come from honing a craft. Someone may be very skilled but still not right for talent development. Success comes from a combination of hard work, dedication, passion and vision. Look for these characteristics in your employees. 3. Time and priority Like most things, talent can’t be developed overnight. It takes mentoring, coaching, training. If you don’t carve out time…
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5 Steps For Continued Association Growth In A Changing Market
For most associations, 1946 to 2000 were standout years. With the active support of the baby boomers–the largest generation in American history–membership associations thrived. Yet, as the saying goes, what goes up must come down. An excerpt from Sarah Sladek‘s “The End of Membership As We Know It?” article in the January 2012 issue of Association News. Since 2000, associations have experienced a barrage of challenges that have weakened their position in the marketplace. Financial decline. Demographic shifts. Technology. All have played a role in the altered business environments associations now face. However, with the right vision and structure in place, your organization can evolve and realize its full potential once again. Here are 5 steps for how your association can flip its fortune: Step 1: Find your focus Why does your association exist? Define, with absolute clarity, your association’s reason for being and its niche. Don’t try to be everything to everyone–you’ll become diluted, lose value and shrink your membership. If you’re diligent about focus, your association will continue to be competitive, productive, and successful. Step 2: Set significant goals It’s easy to set short-term goals. What you need to do is set a stretch goal–something with significance. Meet with your leadership team and discuss where you want to take your association (think 5 years from now). Allow the team time to mull over this question until there is an established goal that excites everyone. You want your team to be really inspired. Mediocre goals are simply not worth the effort. Step 3: Make the most of marketing If you want to sell more membership, you’ve got to know exactly who benefits from being a part of your association and the motives behind their membership. Only with that information can you then begin marketing. Marketing success relies on a 4-step process: Determine what differentiates you from the competition. Survey members and request feedback from your membership sales team. What do your current members really like about your association?…
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Not Another Millennial Generation: 6 Ways Gen Z Will Disrupt the Workplace
Millennials brought changes to the work environment and marketplace. Get ready to adjust again and figure out how to balance different needs as Generation Z seeks something different from work. For several years, attention has been centered on the Millennials, also known as Generation Y (1982-1995). This first generation of the Post-Industrial Era ushered in the computer age and wowed and perplexed the world as the largest, most diverse, and best-educated generation in history. Now, workforce analysts and marketers are turning their attention to Generation Z (1996-2009)—the oldest who turned 21 in 2017—to gain a better understanding of what will define and drive this next generation of workers and consumers. In fact, XYZ University released a research paper this month on this generation, featuring the results of a global survey of 1,800 youth ages 13-21. For a deeper dive into this subject, we invite you to download Ready or Not – Here Comes Z. One thing is quite certain from our research: Zs have little in common with their Millennial elders. While it may be easy to lump these two technology-driven generations together, it would be a mistake to think they are the same. Here are six ways Zs differ from Millennials, and how this generation is likely to influence your workplace. Zs came of age in an era of disruption In many ways, it’s symbolic that Generation Z is named after the last letter in the alphabet because their arrival marks the end of clearly defined roles, traditions, and experiences. After all, Gen Z is coming of age on the heels of what has been referred to as the most disruptive decade of the last century. America has become an increasingly changing and complex place. For example: Zs were born into a “modern family era” in which highly involved dads help out at home, and the nuclear family model (two parents, married, with children) represents only 46% of American households. Zs are the first generation…
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But We’ve Always Done It This Way!
How many times have you heard committee members try to maintain the status quo with this statement? The problem with struggling associations these days, though, is that the status quo is stagnant – what used to work simply doesn’t work as well anymore. Members of associations everywhere are rethinking their return on investment, questioning everything from dues to monthly meetings. What used to work even five years ago no longer works today to bring in new members or please anyone except the most loyal members (probably the same traditionalists I’m referring to). What is your association doing differently than five years ago? We’ve all heard the famous saying attributed to Einstein: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.” Associations that are relying on doing things the same way they’ve always done them are definitely not facing the reality of our new culture. Members no longer simply renew dues and attend monthly meetings because it’s the right thing to do, or because it’s the norm in a particular industry. Every dollar and hour spent with an association is measured these days against the value it brings. If you aren’t delivering new value, you are in danger of bleeding out members. You can’t blame the economy anymore People join and participate in associations these days because they are looking for new ways to engage, network, and drive new business opportunities. What is your association doing to serve these needs differently? You’re not just competing with other associations that serve the same audience – you’re competing with the association you used to be a few years ago. If you haven’t evolved, you’re standing still. If you’re standing still, the rest of the world surely is passing you by. You can’t blame the economy anymore – if you’re not retaining or increasing your membership base as the economy recovers, then your current and former members are telling you in no uncertain terms that you’re…
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