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Greetings!
Leadership Training and Skill Enhancement Training are essential components in the process of developing a meaningful and effective succession planning initiative. Too many small to mid-sized organizations are ill-prepared for the unexpected departure of critical staff. Preparing for such an event may seem too time consuming or to be an extravagent expense; but it is a sound and prudent business decision.
Are you prepared for the sudden departure of a key executive from your team? |
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Leadership Development: When to Begin
Leadership development firm Zenger Folkman's recent study reveals companies are waiting too long to begin leadership programs. After spending much time, money, and effort in developing leaders, when asked about the one thing they would do differently in the future, they replied, We'd begin this earlier in people's careers.
Why don't companies start leadership development earlier in people's careers? Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger Folkman, explained that after analyzing 17,000 leaders it was no surprise to discover that the average age of all participants was 42. Less than 5 percent of all participants were under 27 years of age and only 10 percent were under the age of 30. Think of the advantage to be gained by this person beginning some formal leadership development activity at an earlier age, rather than waiting for nearly a decade to begin, Zenger said. Prior research has shown that less than 10 percent of leaders, left to their own devices, will have any personal plan of development without the encouragement of some formalized process sponsored by their company.
There are many reasons why leadership development started earlier can benefit companies. It just makes sense because employees can: Learn more easily at a young age; Avoid acquiring bad habits; Enjoy a longer time to practice; Benefit the organization with their improved skills; and Enjoy success earlier.
What can companies do to start making this change? Start focusing more on Gen Y. One of the stereotypes we have about the youngest generation is that they are more focused on themselves and less focused on company objectives. After analyzing the data on these different groups we learned that the Gen Y group had the highest scores when it came to driving for results and practicing self-development. This contradicts the image of complacent know-it-alls that is held by some. |
In Search of Critical Skills
U.S. executives are looking for workers with more critical skills, according to the results of a new survey by American Management Association (AMA). The ability to think critically, solve problems, innovate, and collaborate are highly valued at every level within the organization, according to Edward T. Reilly, President and CEO, AMA.
Moreover, three out of four managers and executives surveyed say these skills will become ever more important in the fast-paced, competitive global economy.
The American Management Association conducted the 2012 Critical Skills Survey online in December 2012. Of the 768 managers and executives who responded, most say that the four Cs - critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity - have been articulated within their organizations as priorities for employee development, talent management, and succession planning. In fact, the majority agreed that their employees are measured in these skills during annual performance appraisals and that job applicants are assessed in these areas during the hiring process.
Unfortunately, though, more than half of the executives surveyed reported that there is significant room for improvement in these competencies among their employees. Executives admit that the majority of their workforce is average - or below average - in communication skills (62 percent), creativity (61 percent), collaboration (52 percent), and critical thinking (49 percent).
RGL Consultants believes these are areas for skill development training initiatives with which we can help you manage. |
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We encourage you to forward this Newsletter to colleagues or others whom you feel would be interested in receiving the RGL Pipeline
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Department of Labor: Employee Classification Investigations
The Department of Labor published a request for comments on proposed information collection into workers' knowledge of basic employment laws as part of it's ongoing efforts to combat employee misclassifications.
The collection effort will collate data about workers' employment and pay arrangements and will seek to measure workers' knowledge about their current job classification and the rights and benefits associated with that classification. This evaluation will involve in-depth interviews of both employers and employees and will last until March, 2014.
The collection effort is part of an on-going Department of Labor effort to clamp down on worker misclassification (generally, treating an "employee" as an "independent contractor" whether intended or unintended); an effort that has recovered more than $29 million in back pay for over 29,000 employees since 2009.
Are you confident as to the classification of your staff members, or is an audit in order? |
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