Leaders accept that change is constant, but the need to prepare for the new normal and respond to both the risks and opportunities this presents is more crucial than ever in these challenging times.
“In April 2020 49.2% of the UK workforce worked from home, rising from just 5% pre the crisis”
ONS
Organisations embracing remote working as their ongoing business model are assessing the impact this will have on their workforce and the opportunities that it presents; for example, to maximise the potential to expand their talent search to a remote workforce to tap into previously hard to reach skills and experience. But as many workforces are increasingly able to work from anywhere, there is a risk they will become more transient leading to the threat of losing talented people which could impact organisational capability and have a significant impact on the ability to deliver strategic goals. It will be the steps leaders take now that will ensure that organisations retain their key people.
“89% of bosses believe employees quit because they want more money.
Only 12 percent of employees actually leave an organization for more money”
Forbes
One of the key drivers for retaining talent is high employee engagement; people need to feel they are supported by their leaders and that they work in a stimulating and motivating environment. People want to be given a voice, and talented people don’t want to be managed – they are seeking growth opportunities and want to be developed. They want to receive coaching and mentoring from role models who have their best interests at heart. It is when these needs are not fulfilled that talented people will often seek opportunities elsewhere.
The challenge for leaders is how to create a colleague centric culture that isn’t bound by the limitations of bricks and mortar. If an employee is working from home, how do leaders create the levels of ‘stickiness’ required for people to still feel part of the business and be able to access the resources and opportunities that will keep motivation and engagement high?
This sounds like a big challenge, but it is a priority for any business wishing to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly changing environment. The risk of losing talent is expensive; according to ACAS the cost of replacing an employee costs a staggering £30,000.
It is interesting to see that there are some great tools on the market to support organisations. For example, Pobi Ltd have developed a digital career coach, which provides a platform to enhance employee capability, focussed around the needs of the business; improving staff engagement, motivation and having a direct impact on the front line.
By identifying the capabilities you need across the organisation and then understanding the capabilities of each individual within your workforce Pobi’s digital career coach helps to identify a range of solutions to optimise performance, creating a harmonious balance between the drivers and requirements a business has to succeed, with the individual needs of the people.
Think how motivating and rewarding it is for an individual to have absolute clarity about what great looks like for their role (or for a role they aspire to within the organisation), and for them to be in the driving seat to take this forward to develop their capabilities and their career.
I spoke to Paul Burton, Founder of Pobi, about how his digital career coach can help leaders address the challenges of building motivated and high performing teams:
“We are all unique, and we’ve arrived where we are today based on our past experiences and role models. Just like our journey through life, our individual development needs differ and are personal to us. Our digital career coach puts individuals in the driving seat of their development and career. It analyses the individual development journey required and presents development content or connections to optimise performance outcomes.
It equips managers to be leaders and provides them with the skills, tools, resources and freedom to connect with their people in a variety of ways, and to be creative about how they tap into people’s individual drivers and expectations. Add to that the intelligence provided at an organisation level to be able to support selection, talent, recruitment and development decisions”.
Paul Burton Founder POBI
Culture was critical to the success of businesses before the pandemic, the challenge has not only just got harder but is now even more intertwined in businesses keeping their best performers and maintaining the competitive edge.
Suzanne Easton | Associate Director
Ibex Gale
