TALENT EDGE WEEKLY - Issue #5

March 14, 2020

Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly - the weekly newsletter for strategic human resources practitioners, bringing together talent insights from various sources.

Note: You can also access this and other content I post at my website, www.brianheger.com.

While this week's issue includes my normal format of sharing and providing commentary on various strategic HR issues and topics, I begin this issue with four references on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) within the context of HR.

As many of us are leading or involved with helping our companies through this time, I thought these resources would be helpful. I will continue to share resources each week on this topic until needed.

Other topics in this issue include:

  • What's Keeping HR Up at Night | HR Executive

  • Future Chief People Officer - | HR People+ Strategy, et al.

  • What Data Can Reveal About the Workforce | HRO Today

  • 2020 State of Remote Working |Buffer

  • Myths About Generations in the Workforce| Linkedin

  • The Hidden Value of Culture Makers | Accenture

  • When Star Performers Are Not Star People Leaders | Thrive

  • Communicating HRs Strategic Value | SHRM video

Please share this newsletter with your teams and colleagues in addition to sharing on social media networks, including status updates on Linkedin so that we can continue to advance the practice of strategic HR and learn together.

If you aren’t yet a subscriber to this newsletter and want to have it delivered to your inbox each week, please subscribe!

Brian

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Brian Heger leads Strategic Talent, Workforce Planning, and Analytics for a Fortune 150 organization. To connect with Brian on Linkedin, click here.

THIS WEEK'S EDGE

CORONA VIRUS IN THE CONTEXT OF HR

As the progression of COVID-19 continues to disrupt work environments across the globe, employers are increasingly assessing their risks and implementing new processes and guidance to mitigate coronavirus-related issues. For HR, this means helping our organizations navigate many issues ranging from providing guidance to workers on remote working, how to handle job interviews that candidates are scheduled to have, to how to communicate information to employees and workers. Below are 4 references that can provide insights on these and related topics.

HR PRIORITIES AND EFFECTIVENESS

According to a recent Human Resource Executive survey of more than 300 HR executives from mid-to large-size employers across multiple industries, employee retention is the top HR challenge. This was the first time that retention made it to the top of the list, replacing employee engagement --the top challenge reported on the previous 3 surveys. One likely factor fueling the retention concern is the tightened labor market which tends to produce more job opportunities /options for workers and in turn, leads to an increase in the number of quits or voluntary separations. With many organizations paying annual bonuses by this time of the year, this concern becomes more acute and "retention risk" is more likely to convert to employee turnover. This has a ripple effect across all parts of the business, including HR where more time is then allocated toward recruiting, onboarding, and training new workers, which distracts from other important issues, further fueling the concern. However, those organizations that have focused on creating an impactful employee experience, culture, and developing talent during the last few years are less likely to be as impacted by this concern--stressing the importance of these areas. What is your top HR, business concern and what are you doing about it?

This study conducted by Willis Towers Watson in partnership with SHRM Executive Network, and HR People + Strategy of 500+ executives explores the key skills, mindsets, and behaviors that will help the chief people officer of the future meet the challenges of the new world of work. According to the study, 94% of all senior business leaders (including CPOs, CEOs, members of the board of directors, and other C-suite members believe it is important to accelerate the growth and development of the HR executive of the future. However, only about a third (35%) of respondents believe that future CPOs (those who will become CPOs in the next 5 to 10 years) are getting the development they will need. Among the top 3 areas in which future CPOs need further development in order to meet the challenges of the new world of work are 1) digital business acumen, 2) learning and reskilling, and 3) data science, including drawing predictive links between employee and business data to inform business and people priorities and decisions. The study findings bring forward 5 pivot points to enable development in these areas. This 40-page report is replete with insights that can help organizations accelerate the development and readiness of future CHROs. 

PEOPLE ANALYTICS

People analytics (PA) continues to be a hot topic as organizations increasingly recognize PAs potential in revolutionizing recruiting, talent management, and other HR strategic areas that enable business results. Although organizations use forms of a) descriptive analytics - taking historical data and summarizing it into something that is understandable, such as a headcount report broken into demographics, fewer of them use more advanced forms of analysis such as b) predictive analytics - where statistical models are used to answer the question of what could happen, such as which salespeople are likely to resign within the next 90 days? and c) prescriptive analytics - providing recommendations on what to do based on predictions and what has occurred in the past. In this issue of HRO Today, p.11 begins an article that describes how 3 organizations use PA to drive their business strategy. Examples include how the loss of tenured salespeople would impact sales results, or how frequent transfers of GMs in a restaurant chain were driving the highest amount of employee turnover. The article provides practical examples of how organizations can integrate analytics into their talent management strategy. This issue includes other articles on various HR topics. 

REMOTE WORKING

Over the past decade remote working (RW) has been on the rise and, as indicated by most future of work reports, will continue to grow. RW arrangements range from fully or partially remote, working from a home office to a co-working space or other location--but put simply, describes someone who works outside of a traditional office. For workers, RW provides flexibility and enables benefits such as saving time and money on lengthy commutes, spending more time with family, etc. For an organization, it can help retain talent, drive greater productivity, gain access to broader talent. With many organizations challenged by a shortage of skills and pressures to compete, RW can be an enabler of a talent strategy. Despite the desire and the benefits, RW still has a stigma attached to it within many organizations that view these workers as less productive, engaged, and committed. Ironically this comes at a time when RW workers report being more productive and where traditional office workers report wasting up to 3 of an 8-hour workday (themuse.com). With technology enabling greater collaboration, organizations need to embrace this new environment if they are to attract/retain the best talent. Attached is a report by Buffer that shows a few stats and insights on RW.

CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP

While leaders say that they recognize the importance of culture, a report by Accenture shows that most of them are not prioritizing it. Only 21% of leaders identified culture as one of their top 5 priorities. They say, limiting their organizations’ progress in this area is: 1) not all of their organization’s leaders believe it’s important, 2) it’s hard to link to business performance, 3) they have other priorities as a business, 4) it’s too hard to measure. Given this, it's not a surprise that employees report no progress over the past 3 years in leaders building more inclusive cultures. However, a small group of leaders called Culture Makers (CMs) —are ahead of the curve. These leaders: a) SAY: building a more inclusive culture is an organizational priority, b) DO: recognize the importance of culture and identify change as a personal goal, c) DRIVE: reward their people for building a more inclusive culture. CMs lead organizations that are growing more than twice as fast as those of their peers and report their sales are 2.2x higher and their profits are 3.2x higher. Since CMs represent only 6% of leaders in the survey, there is a significant opportunity to attract, hire, develop, and reward CMs within organizations. 

WORKFORCE GENERATIONS| TALENT ACQUISITION

There is no shortage of reports or articles that have been written about the multi-generational workforce. And while the number of generations in the workforce may vary slightly depending on the report, the bulk of today's workforce is represented by 4 cohorts: 1) Millennials - 40% of the workforce and current ages 23-38, 2) GenerationX - 33% of the workforce and current ages of 39-54, 3) BabyBoomers - 15% of the workforce and current ages 55-73, 4) GenerationZ - 10% of the workforce and current ages of 7-22. These reports generally point out how each generation has its own communication style, work values, skills, things they like/dislike. In this article, 8 myths about these generations are challenged: (i.e. Myth: Millennials and Gen Zers are more driven by purpose than earlier generations. Fact: Boomers are actually more likely to call purpose a priority than any of the younger cohorts) or (Myth: Millennials are job-hoppers. Fact: When adjusted for age, Millennial workers were just as likely to stay at their jobs as their counterparts in Gen X had been when they were in their 20s). Debunking these myths can unlock the potential of each generation while minimizing stereotypes that lead to misinformed, poor talent decisions.

CAREERS | TALENT MANAGEMENT

This week, a former colleague reached out to me for some career advice. For the sake of anonymity, let's call her Sheila. Shelia is exceptionally talented, loves the company for which she works, and is considered by many to be a "go-to" person who gets things done. Given her strong track record as an individual contributor, she was recently presented with an opportunity to be promoted into a new role and lead what would be her first team. This is a big opportunity for her, but there is one catch: Sheila really enjoys being an individual contributor and has no desire to lead a team of direct reports. However, her friends, colleagues, and a few members of her family are telling her that she should accept the role; however, in her heart of hearts, Sheila strongly feels it is not right for her. Whether it is moving from an individual contributor to a team leader role, or from one role to the next, this is a common dilemma (a good one by the way because it provides opportunity) that many workers face. The dilemma is found when there is misalignment between a) an opportunity that looks and sounds good on the surface and b) what one values and is passionate about relative to their work. And while I believe we should all stretch and be open to trying new things, it is important to stay true to who you are and what you value when making these decisions. Not every employee wants to lead people or step into a role at the next level. When speaking with Sheila, I was reminded of this article I read a few weeks back. I shared it with her and now I am sharing with you. From a talent management standpoint, it is a good reminder that we should help people find their giftedness, their passion, and help to place them in roles where these strengths can be leveraged to drive business performance, employee engagement, employee retention, and employee experience to name a few. By the way, Sheila decided to stay true to herself and respectfully declined the role.

THE SOUND OF INSIGHT

In this 5 minute video clip, Peter McKenna talks about his journey on enabling the executive team of his company to better draw the connection between strategic HR and business outcomes. And while this connection may appear straightforward for many HR practitioners and organizations, it is more difficult in practice as indicated through various surveys on the topic. Regardless, as HR practitioners, we should continue to hone our ability to articulate the value of HR practices, initiatives, etc. within the context and language of the business. Is there an opportunity next week for you to do this? If not, create one. For you, what will that be?

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

If you have an article, report, or resource that you recommend, please send me an email at [email protected]. I would love to review it and share it in a future newsletter.

And, if you have any ideas or suggestions for this newsletter, please feel free to send me a note.

FINAL COMMENTS

If you enjoy this content and would to access all issues of Talent Edge Weekly, you can do so by clicking here

Again, if you found this newsletter to be of value, please share the link above with your social media networks, including status updates on Linkedin.

I look forward to sharing more ideas in next week’s Edge.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Brian