Chutes & Laterals: Developing People Sideways

Julie Geurin Heather Graham

All Employees Top-performing Employees

60

80

100

120

140

Engagement Index

20082009

Source: Watson Wyatt’s Engagement Index. Looking Toward Recovery: Realigning Rewards and Re-Engaging Employees 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Report

Low turnover does not equal high engagement

• Employers now benefiting from reduced difficulty attracting and retaining employees should expect retention risk to increase as the economy rebounds.

• Employers are already reporting declines in productivity and customer service.

• Loss of top-performing employees would likely exacerbate these concerns.

Low turnover does not equal high engagement

• Human Capital institute recently conducted a survey and found 79% of employees are more aggressively seeking work elsewhere, largely due to stress from work overload and threat of layoffs.• Employee loyalty has been in decline for decades.• Your employees may be looking for other positions as a

defense mechanism but what happens when they stumble upon on interesting position?• How will your current efforts to retain top talent hold up

against the competition?

Low turnover does not equal high engagement

Low turnover does not equal high engagement

Significant Decrease

Decrease

No Change

Increase

Significant Increase

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

4%

3%

14%

25%

54%

Employee Activity Seeking Other Job Opportunities

Source: HCI and Monster (May 2009). The Great Recession from the Worker Perspective: The Workforce and the Future of Work.

What happens to your organization when people can leave?

• People want a bigger, better deal• Bored employees will leave (and who is most

likely to get bored?)• Who will stay? And what does that mean for

your organization?• How long will you have to “save” employees?• If you do promote at that point, what is the

skills gap?

Why is sideways sometimes/often better than up?

• You’re not always in high growth mode• Jobs are not one size fits all• Your best ____ may not be your best ____• Options, options, options• Geography becomes less of an issue• You can always hire the best• Great for recruiting!

How do you create opportunities for growth?

• Have to think creatively ! It is not just about delegating more responsibilities; it is about providing your employees voice and decision making power where they might not have had in the past.

Examples:• Letting a KM help with new menu roll-outs to other stores• Letting retail store managers work with buyers • Letting an hourly employee work to increase local marketing

• It’s about giving your employees the opportunity to add value to other parts of the business.

• “Great companies have been born in recessions.” This is because the doors open for new, innovative ideas and change. There is no reason that same sentiment can not be spread throughout already established organizations.

How do you create opportunities for growth?

How do you decide who goes where?

• Passion and interest– What do they love?– Ask them– What do they love most about their role and/or

the business as a whole• Capability– Passion must be tempered with talent– Everyone likes to be an expert at something– Passion and Ability often go hand in hand

Julie Geurin jgeurin@bhionline.com Twitter: @jkgeurin

Heather Graham hgraham@bhionline.com Twitter: @heatheregraham

BHIwww.bhionline.com @batrushollweg

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