The New Glue – Part 2 of 3

Paulette L. Forte, PhD., July 2017

Referencing one of the hallmarks of American culture: consumerism. We are constantly in a process of acquiring stuff. Technology and the preference of quality versus quantity, has created seismic shifts in how we engage in consumerism. Some stuff has true meaning and we hold dear – other things we use and lose.

Every company that produces and sells a product or service has to have a number of digital assets (websites, apps, social media etc.) that engage consumers across multiple platforms, simultaneously and reciprocally. To be successful, companies have to have the right mix and utilization of these assets that engage consumers, collect and manage data effectively (flexibly, in real time, responsive) and provide the consumer the opportunity for customization/content creation, meet current needs, anticipate needs, as well as create momentum for theirs or related brands, goods or services.

In the same way, the coalescence of the New Glue acknowledges the multifaceted demands of employees, affirms engagement and communicates the opportunities and resources that will meet their needs starting from their first point of connection as an applicant, the interviewing process and the ultimate conversion when they become an employee and even after they leave. “This feels right for me” is the new bar for employers and is much tougher to achieve versus the outdated “show me the money”. Just like retailers understand that conversion or making a purchase is a catalyst for additional engagement with a company brand and service, an employee is the beginning of a new dimension of engagement, actualized in functions such as:

Talent Acquisition

Is this just recruiting or a robust capability driven by your business strategy and includes process optimization, metrics and analytics, segmentation of talent, branding, consultation etc. What data are you collecting? How are you using this data? When was the last time you reviewed this function. Does this function reflect your company’s core values? What is the standard for the candidate experience and how is this maintained?

Onboarding

Is this a distinctive process that you have carefully orchestrated to collect data, meet the employees and employer’s needs and provide the best launch for success: for the employee, the manager, the team and the organization? Does this process have joint ownership by HR and key employees and foster relationships, mentoring and the right kind of visibility to a better future throughout the employee journey? Socialization is key as “belongingness” is now more important and more elusive than ever.

Learning and Development

Is this a constantly evolving function that serves the need of managers and non-managers at all levels in in carefully prioritized skill/content areas of hard and soft skills, the development which is driven by employee needs and the demands of the business or industry? Does the type of work, the organizational resources, your managers, facilitate learning and development, and do you measure, evaluate and consistently advance this function in tandem with your people, your business and your industry? Is there ownership and the clearly stated responsibility for driving a culture of learning?

Quite simply; grow employees here or they’ll go elsewhere. Employers must plan for the garden in advance and provide the right nutrients, sunshine and water to yield the best plants.

Performance Management

Performance Management and the ugly stepchild, performance reviews, has a reputation of mostly delivering judgement. Is this a user friendly, universally understood, process that is valuable, and is an engine for success for employees and your business? Is this an encouraging and supportive process where employees get help on how to improve as well as get the guidance and support to do so? Performance Management has value for employees only if they agree to meaningful goals, measures and standards that reflects the “I decide for me” model of living that is increasingly prevalent.

Rotation/Upskilling

Transfer from one department to another or one company to another if your company is a part of a larger entity. This capability is widely touted as extremely attractive to Millennials – especially in creative industries. Rotation/Upskilling is increasingly known to be a valuable tool in the war for talent – across the spectrum of employees. In fact most employees now seek and expect some cross training at a minimum as well as more variety and variability in their work.

Is there a clear process that has been well thought out, widely communicated and purposefully engineered to attract develop and retain the best and brightest?

Succession Planning/Leadership Development

Is this a process that is consistently reviewed, developed and applied, publicized and utilized as a tool to meet current and future needs of the business and of employees? That war for talent is getting hotter by the minute, driven my more options from new industries and new geographies that have become more accessible as our world gets smaller. Succession Planning and Leadership Development needs to anticipate future needs from both sides and rotate crops/update the garden to facilitate the best yield.

Compensation

Is this a robust, dynamic factor that provides a solid foundation for the business but nimble enough to meet and exceed the threshold of attractiveness: for different verticals at all levels. How recent/how often is compensation (includes salary AND recognition and rewards, visibility and acknowledgement and options for time away from work) benchmarked and analyzed? The updated demand of employees focuses more on how total compensation facilitates meaning in an employee’s life. It’s not just what I can buy but what good things I can do or get out of life that’s worth sharing on multiple platforms.

Diversity & Inclusion

Do your current and prospective employees feel welcome, valued, as well as willing and able to thrive in your workplace? Is Diversity & Inclusion clearly defined and understood? Is this a clear business metric? Is there a process of accountability? It is crystal clear when this is just trendy, well intentioned rhetoric and the feel good stuff that HR does. More importantly, as an employer you are demonstrating a lack of credibility if this isn’t done right.  False platitudes may be more dangerous than doing nothing at all.

Reputation Management

Does the outward facing identity of your company or brand reflect what is important to you and your employees? Is there a consistent identity internally and externally that supports and validates your business and your people (simultaneously).

A company’s bottom line is no longer the singular factor of revenue. It now includes reputation and brand identity which need to be robust and dynamic enough to sustain and capitalize on changes and challenges in business, people, society and the world. Examples include PR nightmares for Uber and United as well as less known happenings such as a LinkedIn recruiters’ post that another candidate withdrew from the interview process because of Glassdoor reviews. Ultimately, Reputation Management ensures that a company is a place where employees excel with and through others in meaningful association to do great things.

Benefits

Does your package validate your employees personally and professionally as well as support your business. We live in an era where Healthcare is under attack and your offering can be perceived as a definitive statement of being on one side or the other. The best employers reflect the pronounced shift from just medical coverage to include dynamic Employee Assistance Programs, as well as resources for Thriving and Wellness.  Increasingly, employees expect employers to take care of them if they are to take everything from them.

What the New Glue does for the Employee and the Employer

The same way that companies need to pivot to meet consumer trends and demands, employers need to engage continuously in a change management process to manage their evolving needs and respond to the dynamic demands of employees. Factually, the future promises more upheaval in the workplace. To get ahead and make the most of this upheaval, employers must employ a constant process of active listening and earning employee’s trust to gain their maximum effort. Companies like Virgin, excel at listening to employees and reaps the benefits of consistently high employee engagement, loyalty, plum reputation and a hearty bottom line. Employees have greater demands than ever and need organizations that consistently demonstrate the nurturing and care of the total self: the inextricable person and professional. If employers want employees to deliver anything and everything all the time, they must deal with the totality of each employee in return – the expectation of the full spectrum is mutual. To get the full benefit of the engagement of the total employee, employers need to give generously, starting with the tenets of the New Glue.