The best candidate may be nearer than you think

Ask most organisations why good people leave, and the first answers are usually pay, benefits or a more competitive job offer elsewhere. Those things matter. People want to feel fairly rewarded for the work they do.

 

Important as they are, there’s more at play here. What employees are considering isn’t just about what they’re offered when they join an organisation, but how they see themselves in the role three, five or ten years later.

 

I’ve spent a lot of my career talking to people about their ambitions, and one thing has always stood out to me: very few people want to stand still in their role. They want to learn, explore, take on new challenges and feel a sense of growth. Often people leave because they can no longer imagine their future where they are.

 

 

Build careers, not just roles

Work has changed in the past decade and so have career expectations. The idea that someone will join a business, stay in one lane and follow a neat, predictable path no longer reflects reality.

 

The skills organisations are after are continuously evolving. Technical knowledge matters, of course, but so do basic principles like curiosity and critical thinking, and this is often underappreciated. Qualities like this can take people a very long way. Ultimately, this is why internal mobility has become so important. It should not be seen as a nice extra and should instead be seen as a practical way to retain good, curious individuals.

 

At Thales, around half of our roles are filled internally. That is no coincidence. We want people to see the organisation as somewhere they themselves can help shape, build and learn from, and we’ve been careful to structure our teams and develop pathways for employees to move across as much as up. For employers more widely though, the challenge is making this feel realistic, as a vague promise of progress is no longer enough. Employees want to understand what routes are open to them, what support is available and how they can build the skills to take the next step.

 

 

Younger workers ask useful questions

Entry-level talent should no longer be branded as ‘demanding’. In many cases, they are simply asking questions that previous generations may not want to ask. Questions like: How are decisions made? What does my progression look like? Why do we use this process? What is the purpose of this specific project or piece of work? These are all being asked by the younger generations.

 

This group is often looking for transparency, authenticity and responsibility earlier in their careers. They do not want empty promises or buzzwords. Ultimately, they want to know where they fit into the bigger picture and how this bigger picture can provide them and the company with meaning. Frankly, this is uncomfortable for many organisations to navigate, particularly when it means critically looking at things that have been done a certain way for years. However, this discomfort can often bring about the change that an organisation may not realise they need.

 

For example, we continue to adapt and refine our processes as we receive feedback from those we interview and eventually offer roles to. Over time, we’ve found the traditional psychometric testing to be quite narrow in focus and allows only a certain type of candidate to really shine. Updating and gamifying our process has allowed us to give candidates more space to express their curiosity and learning agility, ultimately giving more people a fairer shot. Our teams believe that going beyond judgement solely on academic success is critical to ensure we can create an inclusive experience for our graduate and entry-level talent.  

 

 The organisations that will do well are the ones that keep listening. We now have five generations in the workforce, and each one brings something valuable. The answer is not to design the workplace around the needs of one, but really to question what it is that people require to be their best.

 

 

Retention starts with a simple question

The organisations that attract and retain the best people over the next decade will not necessarily be those offering the highest salaries. Pay, of course, will always matter, but it will no longer be enough on its own. The question top talent is increasingly asking is simple: if I join you, where will I go?

 

Employers need to be able to answer that honestly. Not with a pre-rehearsed slogan, but with visible opportunities, supportive managers and a culture that encourages people to keep moving, if they want to.

 

Most organisations already have an abundance of talent that is often untapped and undiscovered. The real challenge is creating the conditions for that talent to feel connected and then stay.

 

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Lynne Watson is VP of HR at Thales UK

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Andrii Yalanskyi