There’s an oft-quoted definition of insanity. It’s “the belief that doing the same failed things will yield different results.”
Today’s corporations need a new approach to teaching and developing leaders. Businesses direct billions of dollars each year to ineffective leadership development programs. Decades’ worth of studies support this conclusion.
Leadership development programs sometimes lead to an immediate improvement in employees’ outlooks. In the long run, however, most employees revert to their original ways of doing things. The problem is that employees fail to receive the required support to apply what they’ve learned.
This systemic failure leads corporations to look outside to fill vacant leadership positions. Polycom recently filled roughly 75 percent of its vacant positions with external candidates. Many companies report that 75-85% of their new employees are from the outside. A company isn’t developing long-term leadership if it has to invest additional funds in the external hiring process after spending on corporate education. This is without even mentioning that it’s more expensive to hire from the outside, which even makes it a case of throwing good money after bad.
The problem isn’t a lack of talent. What’s lacking is the ability to assess the potential and competence of aspiring leaders. Hiring Indicators’s Reveal software technology does exactly that.
Unhappy Employees Lead to Turnover
Leadership development programs don’t always produce leaders or career advancement opportunities for employees. Workers who’ve been with a company for a long time already represent a sizable investment. Employees become cynical when there are no organizational improvements or career advancement opportunities.
Investment is sometimes a two-way street. Companies and employees should invest in (‘buy into’) what the other offers. If enough workers were to seek outside opportunities, it could become costly for a company.
Turnover affects a company at a core level. Frequent position vacancies contribute to all the following:
- Change of energy in the office
- Low productivity
- Difficult to maintain an atmosphere of trust and confidence
- Failure to contribute to a shared company culture
One of the metrics measured by the Gallup organization is employee engagement. Gallup reports that since 2000, roughly 60% of workers say that they feel disengaged at work. This only contributes to the developing ‘job-hopping’ trend.
Employee turnover has continued to increase since 2010. The favorable employment conditions of the past several years provided new opportunities to unhappy employees. This puts a premium on a company’s ability to keep the talent in which it’s invested. These employees represent seamless promotional transitions and a return on their investment.
The loss of a fully-trained employee is costly. It’s an investment with little to no return. It’s even more so when a company has to recruit, select, and onboard all over again.
Leadership development programs are not always the answer. Neither is creating a plan of action against high turnover. These are both reactive. Hiring Indicators’s Reveal software technology is proactive. It identifies the right talent for the right position and helps a company to develop it from the get-go.
Understanding Your Company’s Needs
Reveal helps to avoid potential loss of talent and create successful development programs. It addresses the issue during the selection process. Once talent begins to leave, it’s too late. This assessment technology identifies competencies important for success. For example, Reveal points to the following crucial leadership competencies:
- adaptability/flexibility
- clarity of communication
- decision quality
- timeliness
- empathy/compassion
Reveal is HR technology that assesses a candidate’s potential before hiring. Its assessment report directs an employee into the right career opportunities.
Why Targeted Leadership Works
Targeted leadership development facilitates the employees’ investment (‘buy-in’) mentioned earlier. Motivated employees ensure a positive company culture and contribute to a company’s strategic goals.
Businesses now invest in employment assessments to counteract the emerging skills gap in today’s job market. Reveal is software that has been ahead of its time for 50 years. It produces revealing reports, powerful analysis, and simple interpretation. It allows a business to discover, select, hire, and promote the right person for the right job.
Contact Hiring Indicators today or schedule a 15-minute call. The foundation of a well-harmonized team and organization is a phone call away.
Sources:
Higgs, Bill. “When Employees Feel Disconnected from the Company’s Purpose”. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbooksauthors/2021/03/15/when-employees-feel-disconnected-from-the-companys-purpose/?sh=112536124dec. March 15, 2021. July 7, 2021.
“Succession Planning and Targeted Leadership Development”. Community College Journal. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ873960. November 30, 2004. July 7, 2021.
“Why Are Workers Quitting Their Jobs in Record Numbers”? SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/workers-are-quitting-jobs-record-numbers.aspx. July 6, 2021. July 7, 2021.
“Why Leadership Training Fails and What to Do About It”. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/10/why-leadership-training-fails-and-what-to-do-about-it. September 9, 2016. July 7, 2021.