In today’s fast-changing environment, organizations can outperform their competitors by attracting and keeping high potential employees whose talent can be developed and leveraged across the organization in multiple leadership roles. Our environment, however, is about to change even faster.
The interjection of Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) into our service delivery platforms; the manifestation of real omnichannel into the service offering; the hybrid workforce; the shifting demographics of the workforce; the increasing value of meaningfulness in the workplace; and the constant expansion by brands offering more and more services which will complicate customer relationships are just a few of the drivers causing the dynamics of service delivery to change more rapidly. Consequently, future leaders need to be ready to navigate change and solve problems at an ever-increasing rate. With “change” as our obvious watchword, organizations need change agents to survive now and into the future. We encourage organizations to embrace this reality and be more intentional about finding and retaining your high-potentials who will help you succeed in the immediate and long-term future.
To help you along, we’re sharing 3 mistakes to avoid when building your talent retention strategy.
Mistake #1 – Lack of Vision
The first mistake leaders need to avoid is failing to both define the vision for what leadership qualities are needed to navigate the changing future and encourage those aspiring to leadership roles to step up, make themselves known and commit to going above and beyond. If you can’t find self-motivated people who want to learn and be developed to lead in a changing environment, it will be difficult to succeed. Without a sustaining internal operating vision that embraces change, it will be challenging to maintain performance as the service organization goes through ups and downs in the rapidly evolving environment. For example, ML, AI and IoT will transform service organizations very quickly in terms of stepwise iterations of technology enhancements melding with people to provide ever-better levels of service. The level of change will be constant, and success depends on leadership ensuring that the whole organization is aware of this and that they are looking for leaders comfortable with change. Get the word out frequently that the organization is looking to advance such change-agents and encourage your employees to step forward and embrace the challenge.
Mistake #2 – Out-of-Date Talent Assessment Tools
The second common mistake we see is that organizations don’t update their talent assessment tools (personality and skills services used to identify the common traits of top performers) frequently enough. If you can move to annual re-assessments of who your top performers are at all levels of the organization, you will receive invaluable insights into the changing profile of the type of person who is able to succeed in your environment which will also help improve recruiting and hiring practices. In addition to moving to a more frequent assessment by role, it is more Imperative than ever to over-emphasize problem solving abilities in your leaders. Ensure that whichever talent assessment tool you select is able to accurately measure this ability to solve problems.
Mistake #3 – Missing Mentors
The third mistake to avoid is under-investing in mentoring programs. Once you set your vision and identify successful people who can solve problems, it is imperative that those who want to take the next step in their careers be assigned to one or two mentors in positions they aspire to. It is easy to set up a mentoring program and go through the motions of monthly check-ins, but high-potentials who will pan out as leaders typically want to engage at a higher rate than the average employee. In our experience, we have found that successful mentoring programs that allow the aspiring leader to go behind the scenes and see and hear what is going on in their desired role will not only help the high-potential, but also help the mentor and the organization as they get a fresh perspective from someone a bit closer to the customer, which is always a good thing.
Though there are many more best practices to embrace and mistakes to avoid, setting the vision to include the call for change agents, updating your talent assessment tools, and investing in your mentoring programs for your highest potential future leaders will help you retain more strong talent and better position your organization to succeed in the future.
If you're looking for help improving customer service and employee engagement, contact our team today. Let us help your team get focused on the right actions to improve your business.
About the Author: Mark Miller leads the J.D. Power Global Customer Service Advisory and is responsible for thought leadership, solutions development, strategic alliances and client support. He leads customer service, technical support and sales performance improvement and certification initiatives for the company.
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