Why do top talent leave a corporate?

Top talent leave an organization when they’re badly managed and the organization is confusing and uninspiring.*

1. Big Company Bureaucracy. This is probably the #1 reason we hear after the fact from disenchanted employees. However, it’s usually a reason that masks the real reason. No one likes rules that make no sense. But, when top talent is complaining along these lines, it’s usually a sign that they didn’t feel as if they had a say in these rules. They were simply told to follow along and get with the program. No voice in the process and really talented people say “check please”.

2. Failing to Find a Project for the Talent that Ignites Their Passion. Big companies have many moving parts — by definition. Therefore, they usually don’t have people going around to their best and brightest asking them if they’re enjoying their current projects or if they want to work on something new that they’re really interested in which would help the company. HR people are usually too busy keeping up with other things to get into this. The bosses are also usually tapped out on time and this becomes a “nice to have” rather than “must have” conversation. However, unless you see it as a “must have,” say adios to some of your best people. Top talent isn’t driven by money and power, but by the opportunity to be a part of something huge, that will change the world, and for which they are really passionate. Big companies usually never spend the time to figure this out with those people.

3. Poor Annual Performance Reviews. You would be amazed at how many companies do not do a very effective job at annual performance reviews. Or, if they have them, they are rushed through, with a form quickly filled out and sent off to HR, and back to real work. The impression this leaves with the employee is that my boss — and, therefore, the company — isn’t really interested in my long-term future here. If you’re talented enough, why stay? This one leads into #4….

4. No Discussion around Career Development. Here’s a secret for most bosses: most employees don’t know what they’ll be doing in 5 years. In our experience, about less than 5% of people could tell you if you asked. However, everyone wants to have a discussion with you about their future. Most bosses never engage with their employees about where they want to go in their careers — even the top talent. This represents a huge opportunity for you and your organization if you do bring it up. Our best clients have separate annual discussions with their employees — apart from their annual or bi-annual performance review meetings — to discuss succession planning or career development. If your best people know that you think there’s a path for them going forward, they’ll be more likely to hang around.

5. Shifting Whims/Strategic Priorities. I applaud companies trying to build an incubator or “brickhouse” around their talent, by giving them new exciting projects to work on. The challenge for most organizations is not setting up a strategic priority, like establishing an incubator, but sticking with it a year or two from now. Top talent hates to be “jerked around.” If you commit to a project that they will be heading up, you’ve got to give them enough opportunity to deliver what they’ve promised.

6. Lack of Accountability and/or telling them how to do their Jobs. Although you can’t “jerk around” top talent, it’s a mistake to treat top talent leading a project as “untouchable.” We’re not saying that you need to get into anyone’s business or telling them what to do. However, top talent demands accountability from others and doesn’t mind being held accountable for their projects. Therefore, have regular touch points with your best people as they work through their projects. They’ll appreciate your insights/observations/suggestions — as long as they don’t spill over into preaching.

7. Top Talent likes other Top Talent. What are the rest of the people around your top talent like? Many organizations keep some people on the payroll that rationally shouldn’t be there. You’ll get a litany of rationales explaining why when you ask. “It’s too hard to find a replacement for him/her….” “Now’s not the time….” However, doing exit interviews with the best people leaving big companies you often hear how they were turned off by some of their former “team mates.” If you want to keep your best people, make sure they’re surrounded by other great people.

8. The Missing Vision Thing. This might sound obvious, but is the future of your organization exciting? What strategy are you executing? What is the vision you want this talented person to fulfill? Did they have a say/input into this vision? If the answer is no, there’s work to do — and fast.

  

9. Lack of Open-Mindedness. The best people want to share their ideas and have them listened to. However, a lot of companies have a vision/strategy which they are trying to execute against — and, often find opposing voices to this strategy as an annoyance and a sign that someone’s not a “team player.” If all the best people are leaving and disagreeing with the strategy, you’re left with a bunch of “yes” people saying the same things to each other. You’ve got to be able to listen to others’ points of view — always incorporating the best parts of these new suggestions.

10. Who’s the Boss? If a few people have recently quit at your company who report to the same boss, it’s likely not a coincidence. We’ll often get asked to come in and “fix” someone who’s a great sales person, engineer, or is a founder, but who is driving everyone around them “nuts.” We can try, but unfortunately, executive coaching usually only works 33% of the time in these cases. You’re better off trying to find another spot for them in the organization — or, at the very least, not overseeing your high-potential talent that you want to keep.

It’s never a one-way street. Top talent has to assume some responsibility as much as the organization. However, with the scarcity of talent — which will only increase in the next 5 years — Smart Organizations are ones who get out in front of these ten things, rather than wait for their people to come to them, asking to implement this list.

1) Create an organization where those who manage others are hired for their ability to manage well, supported to get even better at managing, and held accountable and rewarded for doing so.

2) Then be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish as an organization – not only in terms of financial goals, but in a more three-dimensional way. What’s your purpose; what do you aspire to bring to the world? What kind of a culture do you want to create in order to do that?  What will the organization look, feel and sound like if you’re embodying that mission and culture?  How will you measure success?  And then, once you’ve clarified your hoped-for future, consistently focus on keeping that vision top of mind and working together to achieve it.

I’ve worked with client organizations that do those two things, and people stay and thrive.  I’ve worked with and observed client organizations that don’t – and it’s a revolving door.  And that’s true at all levels – not just for “top talent.”

It’s fascinating to me: Why don’t more CEOs and their teams make sure these two things happen in their organizations?  What do you think?

* It is a compilation of the analysis done by Erika Andersen and Erick Jackson from Forbes.com.  

Employee benefits and corporates - a compilation!

For many of us, the most important factor in considering a job offer is salary. For others, job security is of primary importance. Also high on the list of considerations are benefits and perks. When considering perks, the desire to work in a comfortable, casual environment where employees can set their own work schedule, have an option to telecommute, and where there is a casual dress code, are all important. For many of us, the most important factor in considering a job offer is salary. For others, job security is of primary importance. Also high on the list of considerations are benefits and perks. When considering perks, the desire to work in a comfortable, casual environment where employees can set their own work schedule, have an option to telecommute, and where there is a casual dress code, are all important.

Typical Employee Benefit Packages

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the average number of annual paid holidays is 10. The average amount of vacation days are 9.4 after a year of service. Almost half the (medium and large) employers surveyed offered either a defined benefit or a defined contribution pension plan. About 75% offered health insurance but, almost as many, required some employee contribution towards the cost. It's not hard to look at the averages and see how your employer or your job offer measures up. What complicates matters is the increasing use of bonuses, perks and incentives by employers to recruit and retain employees. Look at the companies rated the best places to work and you'll discover many offer health club memberships, flexible schedules, day care, tuition reimbursement, and even on-site dry cleaning.

Surveys have found 65 percent of employers believe that perks help to attract employees. The average number of perks offered by companies range from 3.38 perks at the smallest employers to 5.20 perks at firms with over 5000 employees. A sure sign that employers are paying attention to the importance of added benefits is the fact that the most frequently offered perks mirror the most frequently desired perks - casual dress and flexible work hours. Some companies even offer a few options that I wasn't aware of on the list including bringing your pet to work, concierge services and take home meals.

How to Evaluate Perks

As you can see there is no standard list of perks that you can measure your job offer against. What you'll need to do is evaluate each offer on its merits - the salary, the benefits and the perks, and determine how those perks will benefit you. If you don't plan on having children for a while or if your children are grown, it's not that important whether on-site child care is offered. Parents should check to see if the company provides paid time-off if your child is sick. It's a benefit none of us couldn't have done without when our son or daughter is/was a baby!

If you absolutely have to work-out every day, look for employers who offer a gym membership. Not a morning person? Ask about flexible hours. Can't stand wearing a suit? Ask about dress code. And it is important to ask, not all perks will be offered to all employees nor will they be mentioned during an interview. Consider which perks would complement your life style and your needs and choose accordingly.

Love - can't live without it!!!

Love is the superior power of the universe. Love is unconditional. Love is never-ending. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is healing power. Love heals all things.

The world needs love. People need love. Children need love, especially in their formative years. They need the love of parents. They need the love of siblings. They need the love of community. They need love so they may grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Love gives them peace. Peace gives them courage. Courage gives them hope. Hope gives them imagination. Imagination gives them dreams. And dreams give them the ability to create positive change. Without love, there is nothing.

If you think the future begins tomorrow, you’re wrong. The future has already begun.

Love and serve humanity...one individual at a time.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. 

Love ya all!!!!

D

What is US up to on Online Copyright Protection?

Wikipedia has blacked itself out. Google is doing its bit. So are numerous other sites. Please see below the lowdown on the draconian internet law, which if passed, will change the face of the internet.

Why is Wikipedia blacked out today?

Wikipedia is staging a public protest today to garner support for its opposition to the anti-piracy measures proposed in the United States Congress.

The move is to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) Bill, which is aimed at combating issues like illegally copied films and TV content and and the proposed PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).

In a statement, Wikipedia said if the proposed legislation is passed, it 'would be devastating to the free and open web.'

Over 1,800 Wikipedians discussed the proposed actions the community wanted to take against SOPA and PIPA and came up with the decision to blackout the site for 24 hours, like other websites opposing the laws.

In his statement, the executive director of Wikimedia Foundation said, "Our concern extends beyond SOPA and PIPA: they are just part of the problem. We want the Internet to remain free and open, everywhere, for everyone."

In the pic: Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation

What is SOPA?

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011.  A similar legislation is known as PIPA in the Senate.

As per the provisions of SOPA, sites carrying user-generated content will be forced to impose restrictions on the content being posted. These are backed by movie studios and record labels as a way to crack down on online content theft. 

Google, the world’s most popular search engine, is also opposed to the move and will be carrying a link on it's home page to make public it's opposition to the proposed move.

The supporters of the bill (mainly publishers and film studios) say the move meant to curb IP theft and piracy, protects the intellectual property market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue.

Those opposing the law, on the other hand, say it will endanger free speech and "set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world."

How will it work?

If any site is seen as enabling copyright infringement, the US Attorney General will have the right to legally get the site in question to be shut down and make it virtually disappear for internet users in the US.

More importantly, even a user posting any copyrighted material as a comment on a website could lead to forceful shutting down of the website.

As an ordinary user, if you post copyrighted material onto a website, you could find yourself behind bars for five years. 

Also, sites will be blocked by domain name instead of Internet Service Provider (ISP). So before your ISP runs a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup, it will be examined if the searched site is an "infringing site". If so, you will be given an error message.

For example, if one uploads a video of a group of friends singing a song on Youtube, not only will Youtube be put under the list of "infringing sites", the people in the video may also face legal action.

How SOPA will change the internet?

SOPA, if passed, is likely to completely change how the online space is currently used. Any site that involves video sharing, blogging or other similar activities could be slapped with copyright infringement and shut down.

Even a single infringing link could lead to a website virtually disappearing off the internet. If one uploads any content that has music, quotes or any other form of intellectual property that is copyright-owned by a US company, under SOPA, it could be seen as an infringement. Activities like blogging, tweeting and sharing things that have become a second nature for us will never be the same.

You want to put that video of you dancing on a Shakira number? Think twice.

Who supports SOPA?

Organisations whose business depends on copyrights have come forward in support of the Act. These organisations include Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Macmillan US, the Entertainment Software Association, Viacom and News International.
Who opposes SOPA?

Major social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have spoken strongly against SOPA. Others who oppose the act include Mozilla, Wikipedia, Google, Zynga, eBay, Yahoo, Mozilla, Reddit, Boing-Boing.
 
These organisations feel that if such an act comes into play, it will hamper innovation and creativity and curb freedom of communication.
 
Websites like Wikipedia, Reddit, Boing-Boing, Mozilla, the Cheezburger network are protesting by shutting down their website for 24 hours on January 18. Google plans to place a link on it’s homepage to highlight its opposition to SOPA.

What are the implications for India?

Indian websites that are considered by the US as 'infringing sites' will not be blocked to US users, but will be de-linked from search engines and US-based websites.

It is important for us to know that a lot of sites with a '.com', '.org' or '.net' are registered in America, thus the US will hold the right to block a number of sites that are used by Indians on a daily basis.

The bill would also bar online advertisers and payment facilitators like Paypal, Visa, Master Card from doing business with the infringing website, thus affecting the way we do our online transactions too.

Dreams - do they really come true?

"Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy". 
Sigmund Freud


Last night I dreamt of the future...not just my future but the future of our world. A world where adults are so happy that they smile like children. The distinctive character of a child's smile being the innocence. If you ever noticed the smile that a child has the innocence and tenderness that makes everyone shower love and be affectionate.


Neither am I an interpreter of dreams, nor am I a seer who predicts the future...all I long to see in this world is harmony, peace and love towards each other.


As we grow up we must have definitely seen several instances when people used the slightest of opportunity to break into a fight or have an argument with one another...if the same focus is laid on being positive and waiting for the slimmest opportunity to show love, to share, to be kind to each other...will it not make a huge difference. 


Most people have this great worry in their head "If people knew what I am in reality, they would all hate me". And then the path is laid to reach the pseudo aims or targets which have only one result, negativity. As the initial path was laid on the foundation of negativity, it is but obvious that there is no better goal to be reached than chaos.


And on this path we find road rage, fights, abuses, frustrations, family bickering, hen pecked husbands, tortured wives, direction-less youth, aimless bureaucrats, selfish opportunists, fame hungry celebs, who are ruining the society. 


But if you look at it from another angle, I believe our generation has a huge opportunity here to make the world a better place.


If each person, irrespective of race, caste, community, sex, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, age, colour etc. has the time to think of What future are we going to pass on to our next generation?, then the human angle to life will see the light of the day.


It is not that everyone is born selfish and greedy and unkind. It is just that the relentless pursuit of material things that turns humans beings into beings without humanity. 


We think we know, but do we understand why the innocence of a child is so precious? The wisdom of these things is what is worth pursuing, yet we get caught up in the "wisdom of the world" which teaches us we are something we are not. No wonder there is so much treachery and pain in the world. The constant demand that we become something we were never supposed to be overwhelms every mind that makes such a demand.

Our next challenge is not conquering outer space, world peace, global warming or feeding the world . It is not protecting the world economy or our environment. The next challenge that we have today is preserving something that we all are born with and it needs to be re-introduced into the world each time a child passes the threshold from childhood to adulthood. That trait that is so cherished is nothing but "love". The same love which helps us in being the human that we need to be. This is the challenge for this millennium. Spreading the message of love.

Small changes in our day to day activities can have a huge impact on the future of our human race.

I'm in no way saying that one needs to let go off the pursuit of wealth to know the true meaning of life...

All I am saying is if each one of us spends five minutes in a day just to think what we can do to change the day from being dull and morose to being happy and content for everyone around us, I think we will all make a huge difference.

for eg. while driving your car to the office, if there is someone who is trying to cross the road, we can slow down and stop for a minute to allow the pedestrians to cross;
while buying some food at a canteen if we find someone begging for food, we can buy them a meal;
while working in the office if there is someone who is unable to get his work done, we can help them out to finish their task;
if our parents or elders want to visit a relative or a place of worship or a library , we can spend some time fulfilling their small wish, 
if our neighbour is in some trouble, we can spend some time to hear them out and understand their trouble.


There are hundreds of such examples  and if each one tries do their bit, I am sure that  not only can we dream of a better place but we can also expect such dreams to come true!!!


"Heal the world...make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race" - MJ

Kal kya hoga?

The only question that is lingering on the minds of people around me today is "Kal kya hoga?"


The reason being again, a section of the people who want a separate state for their region are going on a protest...but there is a difference. This time the creative heads of protesting groups have come up with a novel and unique way of pressurizing the central government..."Million March"


There is no clear cut communication from any one in the government or the corporate sector. But everyone is expected to work as usual, as if nothing is wrong, as if it is just another day...actually this has become common practice.


Every Hyderabadi (by this I mean every person living in Hyderabad irrespective of the time he has stayed in Hyderabad) is now used to these kind of protests...so much so that offices have ready made Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) to execute so that business goes on without getting affected by the protests. People have a ready made plan for their personal life as well...a friend of mine is using his Personal Leave to good effect and taking tomorrow and Friday off to go for a long weekend vacation, another is planning to come to the office early and leave late...while the other is planning to work from home.
All these just at the drop of a hat! One just has to hear the word Protest and things flow in well planned precision.


I just have some questions which I am sure a lot of Hyderabadis (those living in Hyderabad as well as those who have a bond with this wonderful city) have as well!


Where are we headed with these protests?
When are these protests going to end?
When is peace going to be a guarantee for 30 days continuously?
When is the Central Government going to get out of its Vote Bank Politics and take a decision?
When will the State Government make us feel comfortable again in our own backyard?
When will the Police concentrate on eradicating crime, which by the way is on the rise in our city and state, rather than provide protection to public property during protests?
When will the Decision come?


I seriously, couldn't care much about what decision the Government takes, as I am sure that the state of political affairs of AP have come to a new low and people's lives will never matter to the powers to be as long as Vote Bank politics rule decision making.


But what I do care about is why is there so much neglect towards a state which has more than 30 MPs from the ruling party...
why is there no one concerned about the deteriorating investments in the state?


To give a separate state or not! that is no longer the question!!!


To decide, irrespective of whether a separate state is given or not, is the important thing to do!!!


IF it gets too late, then I am sure, Egypt's influence on the Arab world will not take much time to rub off on the people of AP.


Humanly yours
D Abhivaktha