Organisations are plagued with talent issues worldwide.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report indicates that only 21 per cent of employees are engaged at work, and a mere 33 per cent thrive in their overall well-being. Incidentally, South Asia (including India) has the lowest well-being (11 per cent). It is therefore not surprising that talent issues give CEOs sleepless nights.
Individuals change jobs frequently and at little notice. A 2022 Willis Towers Watson ‘Reimagining Work and Rewards Survey’ of Indian Corporations found over 75 per cent facing talent attraction challenges and 64 per cent struggling with retaining existing talent. All of these talent management issues are also getting ‘dearer’ for organisations. The survey also noticed that 50-75 per cent of surveyed firms are reviewing their pay structures; benefits schemes; flexible work arrangements; health and well-being programmes; and even retirement solutions.
Despite all these well-intentioned initiatives, there seems to be no respite with talent migration. All the above-mentioned tactical moves may provide some respite from the talent migration challenges which provides a temporary relief for a pain from a deeper wound.
My hypothesis is that this talent migration will be low if people carry their soul to the workplace. Sadly, most individuals carry only their bodies and related skillsets to work. They trade their abilities for a pay. When someone offers a better pay, for the same skillset, they move.
Some talented individuals lament about the lack of meaning at work. Therefore, as a CEO, isn’t it imperative to ask: “What can I do to enable employees carry their souls to work?”
Two recent books differently support my hypothesis. Professor Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini in Humanocracy argue for the need to bring humaneness front and centre within organisations. The authors point to the growing tiredness of treating human beings as capital/assets/instruments to achieve ends.
They call for embedding organisations with more ownership, experimentation, meritocracy, markets, openness, community, and paradox to ignite the souls within employees. Similarly, former chairman and CEO of Best Buy Hubert Joly in his book The Heart of Business shows how bringing purpose to employees’ lives can bring about large-scale transformation with enhanced employee wellbeing.
Joly is a renowned turnaround specialist, and yet his book attributes the resurgence of Best Buy with his efforts at unleashing human magic among Blue Shirts — connecting dreams; developing human connections; fostering autonomy; achieving mastery; putting the wind at your back.
Both these books identify the reasons why the ancient stonecutter or temple-builder question lingers on; and provide proof on why enabling employees to bring their ‘soul’ to work (read: temple-builders) is good business.
Worthy examples
Buurtzorg, a leading home health provider in The Netherlands is a classic case-in-point. For a company with over 15,000 employees, their managerial overheads are next to nothing. Their organisational management costs are minimal and growth prospects steep, simply because people enjoy bringing themselves to work (for many of the reasons mentioned above).
Similarly, why do employees feel proud about working for Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer and a poster child for the sustainability movement? Their retention rates in the retailing sector are envious. Adobe is another good example of where talent accumulates.
Closer to home, a less spoken about example is the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad which houses some of the world’s most respected eye surgeons and scientists. These organisations attract top talent to come to them and make it difficult for them to leave, not because of pay or perks, but by providing employees an environment to grow, contribute, and discover meaning in life. Behind this magic is the silent hand of courageous leaders who ignore stardom: Jos de Blok, Yvon Chouinard, Shantanu Narayen, and Gullapalli N Rao.
Courageous leaders and bold measures are required because bringing one’s soul to work is voluntary. It is not achieved through better pay and benefit designs, or additional well-being programmes. CEOs must recognise that benefits and incentives (tactics) only prolong the inevitable resignation of talented employees. While it is true that a few employees will still leave for that marginal increase in pay; many aspiring minds (especially talented ones) seek challenges, accelerated careers, conducive environments to think and act entrepreneurially, and a chance to contribute to larger societal causes. But creating these challenges, careers, and environments requires courageous leadership.
A leadership that resists short-term efficiency and invests in long-term causes. A leadership that desists the use of the word — human capital — and refers to employees as ‘human beings.’ A leadership that focuses on enabling employees outperform their wildest estimates of themselves.
Doing all of these requires a leadership that works hard to attract the right beings together (team); aligns the team to the right cause (purpose); and create conducive spaces (environments) which allow employees offer their best selves (meaning).
Can you, the CEO, provide these? If yes, then this may be the secret to turning your organization into a honeycomb of talent.
The writer is Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship and Director – PGDM at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai