The opportunity for good work life balance/flexible working has been rated practically as important as salary when considering applying for a new role, a survey conducted of 761 recent Â鶹¹ú²ú business graduates has found. Opportunities for quick career progression and the chance to make an impact at an early stage have been ranked as the third and fourth key criteria which would influence their decision to apply for a job.
Ìý
Crucially, these are future leaders, and they have a desire to create influence and impact quickly, on a global scale. We need to think radically in 2019, about how to harness such talent, and adopt approaches far-removed from the traditional nine-to-five, career-ladder-focused, hierarchicalÌýworkplace ofÌýtheÌýpast,ÌýifÌýemployersÌýhopeÌýtoÌýcreateÌýanÌýagileÌýculture that will set them apart.
1. What is the USP of your people?
Strengths-thinking is a key word for 2019. What is the extra USP that people are bringing in the face of significant challenges? Traditionally, companies have measuredÌýperformance with merit and salary increase, however some companies - Deloitte and Accenture for exampleÌý–are now experimenting with looking at performance in a totally different way. Performance based pay is passé - instead of developing talent by developing weaknesses, it is about unleashing the full potential of individuals and harnessing strengths.
Everyone has talent andÌýitÌýisÌýpossibleÌýtoÌýdevelopÌýthe strengths of each individual, by looking at the things theyÌýareÌýgoodÌýat,ÌýratherÌýthanÌýtheÌýthingsÌýtheyÌýstruggle with. To achieve this, innovative companies must turn learning and development on its head andÌýmoveÌýawayÌýfromÌýtraditionalÌýtrainingÌýprogrammes,Ìýmaking development a continuousÌýprocess, involving coaching, mentoring, on the job training and community learning, even at the earliest stage. This might include ‘learning circles,’ where employees learn from each other by sharing knowledge andÌýexperience.
2. Culture of innovation
There are some brilliant examples where companies – including Â鶹¹ú²ú corporate partners - are creating a culture of innovation to getÌýtheÌýbestÌýoutÌýofÌýtheirÌýtalent.
ForÌýexample,Ìýreverse mentoring is a fantastic idea, as CEOs and more experienced employees can work closely with younger generations for mutual benefit. People are doingÌýpioneeringÌýworkÌýinÌýcollaborativeÌýspacesÌý-ÌýtheyÌýare very different types of work places. Think tanks bringÌýbrightÌýmindsÌýtogether,ÌýinternalÌýstart-upsÌýdrive growth, innovation funds unite cross-companyÌýteams to tackle problems and hackathons to challenge employees to come up with collective solutions, with teams working overnight coming up with brilliant ideas.
Even language can be used differently. Traditionally we have talked about competition and winning - but should we instead talk about delighting customers? New job titles - curiosity champion, innovator - can give people different structure and language to build on this digital and millennialÌýculture.Ìý
3. Take the talent challenge seriously
Taking the talent challenge seriously is fundamental - great organisations need to start paying attentionÌýtoÌýwhatÌýpeopleÌýwantÌýfromÌýjobs,ÌýwhatÌýtheirÌýskills are and bring people together across the organisation. All generations want to find meaning in their work so, rather than stereotyping, organisations should be asking how weÌýcanÌýuseÌýstrengthsÌýandÌýhowÌýweÌýcanÌýbringÌýdiverse groups together to provide creative solutionsÌý
You may feel that your company is currently miles away from this vision, but 2019 is certainly the year to start puttingÌýstrategiesÌýinÌýplaceÌýtoÌýgetÌýtheÌýbestÌýoutÌýofÌýyourÌýpeople.ÌýTheÌýneedÌýforÌýchangeÌýisÌýdifficultÌýtoÌýignore.
After all, it would be sad if lack of action meant that your creative, talented employees, with their boundless energy ended up moving somewhere else. So ask yourself this year - are you doing enough to respond?
Ìý