Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #242

Leadership assessments, skills-based talent practices, GenAI risk mitigation, return-to-office approaches, and update on FTC's new rule to ban non-compete agreements.

Author

Brian Heger
June 02, 2024

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THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below is a glance at this week’s content. A deep dive follows. 

Also, check out the job cuts tracker & Chief HR Officer hire of the week.

Let’s dive in! ⬇️

THIS WEEK'S EDGE 

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT

Allan Church, James Scrivani, and Markus Graf share three main reasons why standard "out of the box" leadership assessment approaches often fall short.

Few would dispute that an organization’s ability to identify and develop future leaders better and faster than its competitors can provide an advantage. Just as speed-to-market with a product enables an organization to get ahead of the competition, a steady pipeline of leaders, ready to respond to future challenges and opportunities, provides a competitive edge. Despite significant investments in leadership assessments and development programs, doubts persist regarding their return on investment. In this article, Allan Church, James Scrivani, and Markus Graf share three main reasons why standard "out of the box" leadership assessment approaches often fall short. 1) Lack of Future Focus and Cultural Relevance: Generic models of leadership are less effective for building the specific capabilities needed for an organization's future success. 2) Over-reliance on Specific Methods or Tools: Using a single method or tool limits the depth and applicability of the insights gained. 3) Under-leveraging the Insights from the Data: Organizations often fail to maximize the value of the data collected from assessments. The article shares tactics for overcoming these three challenges. Regarding challenge 1 (identifying specific, non-generic leadership capabilities), I am resharing my 2016 article, Identifying Leadership Capabilities that Drive Business Performance, to help organizations think through the specific leadership capabilities most relevant to their success and distinct strategy and culture.

SKILLS-BASED PRACTICES

A PDF with 20 questions and answers that I’ve curated from different reports on skills-based talent practices

Many organizations continue to make the transition to skills-based talent practices (SBTP)—where the focus is more on an individual’s skills rather than job titles, academic degrees, or years of experience when it comes to attracting, hiring, developing, and redeploying talent. However, the shift to SBTP can be a long journey, requiring practitioners to answer various questions about the operationalization and implementation of SBTP. As talent practitioners think through the various aspects of this transition, here are 20 Q&As I have curated from various reports. The 20 Q&As address questions such as: How many organizations have successfully transitioned to a skills-based organization (SBO)? How effective are organizations at classifying and organizing skills into a skills taxonomy or framework? What are the top three barriers business and HR executives cite as obstacles to skills-based talent practices? Which areas are organizations starting with when introducing skills-based talent practices? What tangible, practical things can organizations do to start their journey to becoming an SBO? This resource includes the question, an answer, and a link to the document from which the information was sourced.

RETURN-TO-OFFICE

Shares ideas for making decisions on RTO, including how Scotiabank used data-driven insights to inform its RTO decisions.

I recently shared an update on how 14 organizations are modifying their return-to-office (RTO) mandates, including increasing the number of required in-office days, restricting specific days to work remotely, and incorporating workers’ compliance with RTO mandates into their performance reviews. As leaders continue to make RTO decisions for their organizations, this Gartner article provides a few ideas to consider. One part highlights how Scotiabank used data-driven insights to determine which work activities are best performed in person or remotely. Based on various assessments and employee feedback, Scotiabank aligns employee roles with five hybrid personas (shown in the post image) based on the role split of "We Care" (on-site) or "You Decide" (flexible) work activities. This approach has helped the company increase office visits by 300% without negatively impacting employee engagement. To supplement this article, I am resharing the Microsoft WorkLab article, In the Changing Role of The Office, It’s All About Moments that Matter. This article underscores the significance of setting “in-person” office expectations based on “moments that matter” rather than enforcing a minimum number of office days. Ultimately, there is no “one size fits all” regarding RTO. Nonetheless, the ideas shared in these resources can help leaders consider various options to determine what works best for their organizations.

AI IN THE WORKPLACE

Shares a framework for categorizing 4 GenAI risks and how to mitigate them. Bonus resources from The Conference Board on questions CHROs should ask about GenAI.

The article discusses the cautious approach many organizations are taking toward adopting generative AI (GenAI) due to various risks, including privacy and security threats, copyright infringement, and potential biases. It outlines a framework for categorizing GenAI risks based on intent (accidental vs. deliberate) and usage (content creation vs. consumption). These risks are classified into four types: 1) Misuse: Deliberate harmful use of GenAI such as scams and misinformation. 2) Misapplication: Accidental generation of inaccurate content, such as AI "hallucinations." 3) Misrepresentation: Purposeful use of misleading content created by others. 4) Misadventure: Unintentional consumption and sharing of inauthentic content. The article suggests various actions to mitigate these risks. For example, regarding mitigating content creation risks, some organizations require watermarking AI output as a way to ensure transparency and indicate the source of the output, who owns it, and its (relative) authenticity. Other tactics are discussed for the different types of risks. Additionally, I am resharing this paper by The Conference Board, which includes 35 questions that Chief HR Officers and their teams can consider while helping to establish guidelines for utilizing GenAI in their organizations.

NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS

I provide an update on the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule banning most non-compete agreements.

Non-compete agreements, which restrict employees from competing with their employer during or after employment, are used in various organizations. These agreements often prevent an employee from working for a direct competitor, starting a competing business, working in the same industry, or soliciting the employer’s customers or clients. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), about one in five American workers—approximately 30 million people—are bound by a non-compete clause. On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued a final rule preventing employers from entering into new non-compete agreements with workers and requiring employers to notify workers with existing non-compete clauses that those agreements will not be enforced. The rule, set to become effective on September 4, 2024, will essentially void existing non-compete agreements, except for those involving "senior executives," defined as individuals in policy-making positions who received at least $151,164 in total compensation in the preceding year (or annualized if employed for a partial year). Here is the FTC document on the rule (warning: it’s 570 pages!). HR leaders and their teams will play an important role in helping to determine and plan for the many implications of this rule for their organizations, including talent management for an unrestricted talent market. What actions is/will your organization take in response to the FTC’s new rule?

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST WEEK 

AI IN HR

My new template to help HR teams identify and prioritize potential AI in HR use cases.

Here is my new editable one-page template to help HR teams identify and prioritize potential AI in HR use cases. Before using the template, identify the business problem(s) you are trying to solve. Then, use the template to think through how AI in HR can address those issues. While there is more to AI in HR use case evaluation than listed here, this worksheet can help spark some initial thoughts.

JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Check out my tracker of announcements from a segment of organizations that have conducted job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

Partial view of tracker on brianheger.com

A few job cuts were announced this past week:

  • Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB). Has announced plans to cut jobs as part of a reorganization to improve efficiency. The company will close an inefficient factory and move operations, which will affect the jobs of 415 employees.

  • Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR). The retail company has announced layoffs at its company headquarters in Chesapeake, Virginia. These reductions are part of the company’s ongoing portfolio optimization of its business. The plan also includes shutting down underperforming Family Dollar store locations.

  • Siemens Energy (OTCMKTS: SMEGF). The energy technology company has announced plans to cut 4,100 jobs from its wind turbine unit, or about 15% of its workforce. The organizational changes come amid dulled activity and lower business volume.

Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER HIRE OF THE WEEK

MetLife, Inc. (NEW YORK) [NYSE: MET]—one of the world’s leading financial services companies—announced that Shurawl Sibblies will join the company as EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, effective Aug. 1, 2024. She will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Michel Khalaf and become a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Sibblies comes to MetLife from American Express, where she is currently the EVP, Colleague Strategic Partner and Global Labor Relations.

Shurawl Sibblies

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TALENT EDGE WEEKLY REWIND

HYBRID WORK

A one-page flowchart to determine a role’s feasibility for hybrid work.

THE BEST OF MAY 2024

Did you miss the “Best of May ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #241, which includes 16 of the most popular resources from the month.

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​Talent Edge Weekly is a free weekly newsletter that brings together the best talent and strategic human resources insights from various sources. It is published every Sunday at 6 PM EST.

Talent Edge Weekly is written by Brian Heger, an internal human resources practitioner. You can connect with Brian on Linkedin, X, and brianheger.com