New talent for a new environment in a new age!
We don’t care
to admit it, but we are getting old! Yesterday’s kids are today teenagers and
today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s twenty something’s with their own culture,
habits and outlooks that will drive tomorrow in so many ways, it hurts to even
think about it!
So why is
today’s information age making the personalities of those working in it so
important it materially impacts the way businesses are run, or in many cases
need to run in order to survive and grow by retaining the best talent for
tomorrow’s challenges? Tomorrow’s world will have the hall marks of the
information age; such as transparency, agility, flexibility and qualitative accuracy
in fulfilling the wants and needs of a much more demanding customers with
products that have shorter and shorter lifecycles.
Technology
needs no introduction as the driver of these changes and those prepared for
tomorrow will understand the impact today’s personalities are having on
employee morale, innovation, company culture, performance and the brand of the
company (and sometimes industry) they work in. So what should we all look out
for in our organisation today that more and more candidates will be watching
for and expecting in our company of tomorrow?
Organisational Structure. Is the organisational structure ‘fit
for purpose’ to the companies stated culture, goals and objectives? Is it a
good match for the industry where the structure fits in with what competitors
have?
Change Management. Has the company a prescribed change management
programme and does it fully keep up with the times to make it a consistent and
sustainable leader in its field?
Transparency. Is the company open and honest in the way it does
business and does it accurately reflect in the level of transparency a
candidate can see. Is the company’s social media and digital brand engaged
seeing honest disclosure as the way forward?
Leadership Style. Is the company consistently led in the same
leadership style from the top down, which seamlessly fits into its
organisational structure and company culture?
Company Culture. Is the company culture correspondingly suitable
for it’s leadership style and organisational structure? Is it “one company, one
vision” or a collection of sub cultures formed around powerful people,
functions and/or professions?
Professionalism. Does the company have a defined sense of
professionalism that binds business practice, leadership style and culture
together in a manner that resonates with “like minded” professionals?
We all like to
think we value the diverse option laden information age but still conform to
old restrictive norms. Nothing wrong with that, but when we think of our
company’s substance, it is not always a good thing especially when it justifies
us looking to change at a pace that is comfortable to us and the culture of our
company in today’s tense.
So what will
keep in the race for talent and a prosperous tomorrow?
Know Our Company. Bearing the above in mind, knowing our company
from this perspective will allow us to see our company through the eyes of
those not influenced by established “norms” in our company. We can pretend to
be ourselves as long as we mean it!
Change Effectively. Know how to change effectively in a process that
drives change, not avoidance of powerful functions, issues or people. If it has
to change, it has to change, so politics needs to take a step back and allow
mapped out change management process to effectively
enact change in the company.
Understand the importance of Company Culture. Often overlooked, the importance of the
feeling employees gets when going home and coming into work should be “No.1” in the management handbook of
metrics. It’s this feeling that is a result of a company culture, which fulfils
employee satisfaction resulting in engagement, higher performance and creative
productivity. If you don’t have it, you should get it!
Value Our People. Very few people truly like being mistreated in the
workplace even if it is seen culturally as a right of passage. Our
hyper-connected world is allowing employees to share experiences and
reputations of award winning companies can be ruined by bad management and
leadership practice. Taking an interest in and spending time with staff is not
a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of good leadership. Valuing our people
stretches beyond employee of the month bonuses and when the organisation hits
the same note valuing staff, staff will respond with engagement revealing the
true potential of a better tomorrow.
Nobody can
claim to have all the answers, but what is clear today that if we don’t do a
better job at valuing employee potential and importance, tomorrow’s world may
not include our company. Good companies define themselves by great products;
great companies define themselves by the people within their walls. When it
comes to sustainability through fast change changing times, my money is on the
latter, where is yours?
Sources/Credits:
Pics;
http://publicdomainarchive.com/public-domain-images/
Credits;
“Public domain
images”
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