ideas@work vol.3

VOLUME 3

BUSINESS INSIGHTS FROM UNC EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

WHITE PAPERS FEATURED:

How to Build Trust in an
Organization

The Recruiting Revolution:
How Technology Is
Transforming Talent
Acquisition

Embracing Open-Book
Management to Fuel
Employee Engagement and
Corporate Sustainability

Maximizing Millennials in the
Workplace

The New Business
Imperative: Recruiting,
Developing and Retaining
Women in the Workplace

PLUS: CHAPTER FROM A
BEST SELLING HR RESOURCE!
A Model for Talent Manager
Excellence

A message from the
President and Associate Dean of
Executive Development at
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Hello again from the University of North Carolina at Chapel We are also pleased to feature a chapter from The Talent
Hill, and welcome to the latest volume of ideas@work. Management Handbook titled A Model for Talent Manager
We created ideas@work specifically for business leaders Excellence, co-authored by Marc Effron and Jim Shanley.
interested in talent development so that we can share the We are delighted to have their contribution and to announce
knowledge and expertise that we’ve gained working with that we are partnering with them to launch the Talent
organizations around the world. ideas@work offers some Management Institute in November 2012. This new program
of the latest talent development research and highlights best will be led by Effron, Shanley and Corey Seitz, another leader
practices that we hope you can apply in your organization. in global talent management.

The latest volume features 5 new white papers authored by I hope that you enjoy the latest volume of ideas@work.
members of the UNC team. One paper explores the unique I encourage you to visit our website (www.uncexec.com) to
contributions Millennials offer as they enter the workforce, access our library of talent development resources including
and another paper discusses how social media and emerging white papers, webinars, and research. You can also join
technologies are transforming talent acquisition. A third our mailing list to receive our newsletter which features
paper examines the critical role trust plays in an organization these resources and more, and our team would be happy
and identifies ways you can build a culture of trust. The New to talk with you about the custom work we do for our
Business Imperative: Recruiting, Developing and Retaining organizational clients.
Women in the Workplace offers insights about the changing
role of women business leaders and how companies are Thank you for your interest in UNC Executive Development.
adapting to changing demographics. This paper also Susan Cates
includes findings from a recent survey conducted by UNC susan.cates@uncexec.com
Kenan-Flagler.

Consistently ranked one of Our commitment to At UNC Executive
the world’s best business developing socially Development, we believe
schools, UNC’s Kenan- responsible, results-driven that managing employee
Flagler Business School leaders distinguishes our talent is vital to the success
is known for experiential programs. We educate of any organization, and we
learning and teamwork, people at every stage provide unique learning and
superior teaching, of their careers and development experiences
innovative research and a prepare them to manage for our partners.
collaborative culture. successfully in the global
business environment.

2 ALL CONTENT © UNC EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT 2012 To subscribe, visit www.uncexec.com

Inside this issue

How to Build Trust in an Organization
page 4

The Recruiting Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Talent Acquisition
page 14

Embracing Open-Book Management to Fuel Employee Engagement and
page 26

Maximizing Millennials in the Workplace
page 36

The New Business Imperative: Recruiting, Developing and Retaining Women
in the Workplace
page 48

4+2
BONUS CHAPTER: A Model for Talent Manager Excellence
page 60

(Note: The information or conclusions expressed in the following white papers are the authors’ review of findings expressed by the
organizations. All brand representations are registered trademarks owned by the respective companies or organizations.)

3

How to Build Trust in an
Organization
Chris Hitch, Ph.D.
Program Director
UNC Executive Development

Introduction
In a 2001 interview with Fortune magazine about his for $7.99 each. Customers – many of whom faced a
company’s continued success, Herbert D. Kelleher, 60 percent increase for monthly Netflix services – were
founder of Southwest Airlines, attributed much of outraged, and the customer-led backlash eventually
it to the fact that he always treated his employees made Hastings reverse the decision. The damage was
like customers. Kelleher knew that employees who already done, however. By mid-September 2011,
are trusted and treated fairly will, in turn, treat their Netflix lost one million more subscribers than they
customers with trust and respect. had estimated after the July announcement, and the
company’s stock plummeted 14 percent. By the end of
This is the same kind of philosophy that made Netflix a the year, Netflix had made $40.7 million in the last three
huge success as a young start-up organization. From the months of the year. By comparison, it had made $47.1
beginning, Netflix founder Reed Hastings knew the kind million in the last three months of 2010.
of company culture he wanted to develop to achieve its
purpose. Netflix’s “Freedom and Responsibility Culture” The trust that customers, stakeholders and employees
was based on the premise that all employees understand had in Netflix’s top management to make sound choices
the purpose of the organization and that they know the was shaken by the decision, and the delayed reversal
value customers get from doing business with Netflix. further eroded that trust. Netflix’s leadership lost sight
The foundation of that culture is trust and responsibility; of the value they provided their customers – and by
trust in its employees to achieve the company’s extension their employees – when they failed to ensure
goals and trust in its customers to act responsibly by that their decisions and actions supported its purpose.
eliminating late fees and asking customers to return And by doing this, they let their employees down.
their DVD rentals when they are ready. Netflix employees no longer had a clear vision of the
value customers got from doing business with Netflix
That all was put in jeopardy when Netflix announced in – and this confusion has damaged its “Freedom and
July 2011 that it was eliminating it’s $9.99 per month Responsibility Culture”.
DVD + streaming plan in favor of two separate plans


H O W T O B U I L D T R U S T I N A N O R G A N I Z AT I O N

“ rust is the lubrication that makes it
T
possible for organizations to work.”
– Warren Bennis

Time will tell if Netflix can rebuild the trust they lost
with their employees and their customers—its culture of
trust, responsibility and freedom to take risks and to be
innovative hangs in the balance.

Leadership and organizational studies pioneer
Warren Bennis once said that “trust is the lubrication
that makes it possible for organizations to work.”
Organizations with high levels of trust have more
productive workforces, better employee morale and
lower employee turnover. They also perform better
financially than their industry peers.

Promise
This white paper:
• Defines trust in organizations.

• Explores the characteristics of organizational trust

and how it develops.
• Examines the benefits of trust in organizations.
• Examines the erosion of trust in the workplace.
• Offers steps HR professionals can take to build

or rebuild trust in their organizations. The Foundations of Trust:
Credibility, Respect and
Fairness
“ o be persuasive we must be
T Dr. Duane C. Tway, Jr., offered an excellent definition of
believable; to be believable we must trust in his 1993 dissertation, A Construct of Trust, as
be credible; to be credible we must “the state of readiness for unguarded interaction with
be truthful.” someone or something” (Dubois, 2010). Warren Buffet
put it another way. “Trust,” said Buffet “is like the air
– Edward R. Murrow
we breathe. When it’s present, nobody really notices.
But when it’s absent, everybody notices.”

5

We know when we feel that state of readiness, but High-trust organizations ensure that employees
what elements are needed to get to that state? Amy experience respect. This is exhibited through employers’
Lyman, co-founder of The Great Place to Work Institute, support of their employees’ professional growth and the
has studied trust in organizations for more than 20 consideration of employees’ ideas in decision-making
years. She has found three characteristics, or elements, processes. Finally, employees in high-trust organizations
that come up time and time again in her interviews with believe they are treated fairly regardless of their
clients: credibility, respect and fair treatment (Lyman, position within the organization (Lyman, 2012).
2003, 2012).
High-trust organizations collaborate well across
According to Lyman, in organizations with high levels of departments and hierarchies, and seek fair resolutions to
trust, employees see others (particularly management) difficult situations. Employees in high-trust organizations
as credible—they mean what they say, and believe have confidence in their leader’s vision for the future
what they say is true—and have confidence that the (Lyman, 2012).
actions of others will remain consistent with their
words. In high-trust organizations, co-workers believe
that others (particularly management) are ethical in their
business practices.

Example: Continental Airlines

Amy Lyman (2003, 2012) has cited Continental Airlines as an
excellent example of trust at work. In 2003, baggage reclamation
employees at Continental heard there could be layoffs in their area
to control costs. Rather than waiting for senior leaders to make
the announcement, the employees met and developed a plan where full-time employees
would move to part-time status so no one would lose their jobs. They presented the plan
to senior managers, who approved the plan. “What’s extraordinary,” Lyman writes, “is
that the employees took positive action to solve a problem and trusted that management
would listen … So what’s going on at Continental that supports the development of positive
relationships between employees and management? The simple answer is trust.”

Source: Lyman 2003, 2012.



The Development of Trust: Russell 3000 and SP 500, posting annualized
returns of 11 percent versus 4.26 percent and 3.83
Action and Interaction percent, respectively. Lyman also notes that those best
companies experience about half the turnover rate
Trust is earned through action. As Maister, Green and than other organizations in their industries. (Lyman,
Galford wrote in their seminal book, The Trusted Advisor 2003, 2012).
(2001), “You have to do something to give people the
evidence they need to believe you should be trusted. A 2009 study by Interaction Associates found that high-
You have to be willing to give in order to get.” trust organizations also had more effective leadership
and better collaboration at all levels of the organization.
Trust is also earned through interaction. It can be as The study found that high-trust organizations:
simple as a conversation between co-workers, a five-
minute chat in the break room between a manager • Have a strong sense of shared purpose.

and her employee, or teamwork among co-workers to
complete a project. It is the interaction that conveys to • Have employees who work together to support that

others the willingness on the part of one person to do purpose.
something that is to the benefit of another person’s
health and well-being (Lyman, 2012). • reate cultures in which tolerance and cooperation
C
are highly valued.
It is through a person’s action and interaction that
others can assess whether that person is credible, • Have leaders who coach rather than just manage.

reliable and fair.
• Have many people participate in making decisions.

The Effect of Trust: The study revealed that in addition to superior earnings
as compared to low-trust organizations, high-trust
A Better Bottom Line organizations excelled (as compared to their low-trust
peers) at exhibiting organizational behavior consistent
Numerous studies have been conducted through the
with their values and ethics (85 percent vs. 46 percent);
years that confirm the benefit of trust in the workplace:
at retaining employees (80 percent vs. 42 percent);
and at attracting, deploying and developing talent (76
• A classic study by Cornell University Associate

percent vs. 24 percent).
Professor Tony Simon of 6,300 Holiday Inn employees
found that hotels where managers followed through
If trust increases profitability and helps in attracting and
on their promises and had behavioral integrity were
keeping talent, then the lack of trust lowers productivity,
more profitable (in Bader, 2003).
job satisfaction and commitment and increases
employee turnover.
• Watson Wyatt Worldwide study found that
A
organizations in which front-line employees trusted
With all the documented benefits of having trust in
their senior leaders had a 42 percent higher return on
an organization, one would think that creating and
shareholder investment than organizations in which
maintaining it would be a high priority for senior
distrust was the norm (Reina and Reina, 2007).
business leaders. Unfortunately, many senior leaders
cannot seem to shake the top-down model of
• Amy Lyman’s tracking of publicly traded 100 Best

management that adheres to the notion that authority
Companies has shown that as a group and over
creates trust. In reality, trust creates authority.
time, those organizations have outperformed the

7

Areas of Excellence in High-Trust Organizations
High-Trust Organizations Low-Trust Organizations

85%
80%
76%

46%
42%

24%

Exhibiting Organizational Retaining Employees Attracting, Deploying, and
Behavior Consistent with Developing Talent
Values

Source: Interaction Associates, 2009.

The Erosion of Trust in Organizations
Trust may be a valued commodity in an organization, in their employer (48 percent), and a lack of
but it is a rare one. Research conducted by Reina transparent communication from senior leaders
and Reina (2009) found that nine out of every 10 (46 percent).
employees have reported experiencing some sort of
breach of trust in the workplace on a regular basis. Senior leaders are not blind to the erosion of trust
A recent Deloitte survey on ethics in the workplace in the workplace. The Deloitte survey found that 65
underlined the erosion of trust in the workplace percent of Fortune 1000 executives were concerned
and the negative financial effects on organizations that employees would be job hunting in the coming
struggling to regain their footing after the recent months and that the lack of trust would be a major
recession (PR Newswire, 2010). factor in the potential increase of voluntary employee
departures.
The survey found that one-third of employees
surveyed said they planned to look for new jobs To staunch the flow of talent planning to change
when the economy recovered. Of those who said jobs, it is more important than ever for businesses to
they would be job hunting, the main factors in the assess the level of trust in their organizations and to
decision to look for a new job were a lack of trust focus on ways to improve it.



Example: Whole Foods Market

J
ohn Mackey, CEO Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Austin, Tex.), wrote an essay
in 2010 that provides insight into why Whole Foods is ranked consistently
in the top 25 of the Best Companies to Work For list. To create a high trust
organization, writes Mackey, organizations must:

• evelop and articulate a higher purpose. “The single most important requirement for the
D
creation of higher levels of trust for any organization,” notes Mackey, “is to discover or
rediscover the higher purpose of the organization.” This higher purpose must go beyond
making money.

• alk the talk. Organizations must have leaders who “walk the talk”—who serve the
W
purpose and mission of the organization and lead by example.

• ave teams everywhere. Small teams maximize familiarity and trust, which helps
H
maximize collaboration at all levels of an organization.

• mpower employees, because empowerment equals trust. “The effectiveness of teams,”
E
Mackey writes, “is tremendously enhanced when they are fully empowered to do their
work and to fulfill the organization’s mission and values.”

• ave transparent and authentic communication. One of the biggest mistakes
H
organizations make is trying to “spin” their messages in the belief that if they tell
stakeholders what they want to hear rather than the unvarnished truth, they will like
them better. Spinning a message, in fact, creates distrust.

• ractice fairness. A virtue of transparency, notes Mackey, is that it helps ensure that
P
unfairness is quickly seen and corrected.

• reate a culture of love and care. Mackey believes that leaders must embody genuine
C
love and care of the organization and its people. In fact, he believes the virtues of love
and care should be considered in all promotional decisions, writing that “we shouldn’t
just promote the most competent, but also the most loving and caring.” A vital part
of this loving-and-caring culture, notes Mackey, is the cultivation of forgiveness rather
than judgment and condemnation.

Source: Mackey, 2010.

9

Steps to Build or Rebuild Step 1: Assess the Level of Trust in the
Trust Organization.
Although Warren Buffet may be right that it is the
The impacts of distrust in an organization—lower absence of trust which is noticed, this observation is
employee morale and commitment, lower productivity not sufficient to build the business case needed to
and higher employee turnover—tend to fall squarely on take action and attempt to improve an organization’s
the shoulders of HR. As such, HR should have a central level of trust. HR professionals should assess the level
role in establishing or re-establishing trust throughout an of trust in their organizations, and this can be done
organization. through employee surveys and confidential one-on-one
interviews.
Corsum Consulting (O’Neil, 2009) has developed a
mnemonic HR and senior leaders may want to keep in Some questions that can help assess the level of
mind when trying to improve trust in an organization: trust include:

• Do you trust your peers?

T = Teach.
• Do you trust your senior leaders?
Teach everyone in the organization how things work;
make it as transparent as possible. • Do you view your peers and senior leaders as credible?

• Do you believe your senior leaders’ actions are

R = Reward. consistent with their words?

Make sure reward systems align with corporate value
• Do you understand the organization’s mission and

and goals.
vision and the role you play to achieve them?

• Do you feel that risk-taking is encouraged?

U = Unconditional support.
• Do you feel safe communicating your ideas and

Encourage innovation. Create an environment where
opinions with colleagues?
mistakes are opportunities to learn, not to punish. Give
employees permission to “think outside the box.” • Do you believe you are treated fairly and with respect?

• Do you feel senior leaders communicate openly?
S = Share information.
• Do you feel your supervisor and other senior

Communicate clearly and frequently. leaders care about and encourage your professional
development?

T = Trustworthy. • Do you believe your ideas are taken into account

during the decision making process?
Make commitments and keep them.
The responses to these questions will help establish
This mnemonic can also help shape the practical steps
the level of trust felt by employees in the organization.
HR professionals can take to improve trust throughout
An analysis of the results should help identify which
their organization.
elements of trust – credibility, respect and fair treatment
– the organization as a whole is accomplishing and
which areas need improvement.



Step 2: Report the Results of the Step 3a: Assess Your Own
Assessment. Trustworthiness and Whether HR
A recurring theme, which emerges in the study of trust
Programs and Policies Promote Trust in
in organizations, is to improve it, organizations must the Organization.
communicate as openly and transparently as possible
with employees at all levels. Once assessed, the results
of an organizational survey of trust should be openly Step 3b: Ask Other Senior Leaders to
communicated to all employees. HR professionals
Do the Same.
should consider multiple delivery methods, including
town hall meetings and posting the results on a Trust in senior leaders is vital to an organization’s
company intranet. The communication should report success, and while an employee survey may help
on the strengths and weaknesses found through the recognize organizational trust issues, HR professionals
study. Areas of improvement should be identified, and must assess whether their actions are construed as
employees should participate in the process of what trustworthy by others. Feedback (from all levels in
steps will be taken to make those improvements. the organization) and self-assessment are ways this
information may be gathered.
Reina and Reina (2007) offer the following suggestions
to HR professionals when trying to establish or rebuild Some questions that could be asked when seeking
trust in the workplace: feedback or taking a self-assessment may include:

• llow feelings to surface. When reporting
A • Do I communicate openly, honestly and consistently?
on the results of the survey, allow employees to
• Are my actions consistent with my words?

constructively voice their concerns, issues and
feelings. Holding small group meetings after the • Do I share information with my employees

report has been presented may make employees feel consistently?
safer and encourage them to more openly discuss
• Do I help develop my employees?

their experiences.
• Do I respect my employees’ opinions? Do I include

• et support. Reina and Reina observed that a
G
their opinions during the decision making process?
common mistake made by senior leaders and
HR professionals is to think they can manage the • Do I treat all of my employees fairly?

process of building or rebuilding trust alone. Trust
is highly emotional for everyone involved; obtaining With the expertise of an outside consultant, use the
the support of an outside consultant to guide the information obtained from the organization-wide
organization through the process can help. survey and the personal assessment to develop a
“trustworthiness improvement plan.” This may also
• ake responsibility. HR professionals and senior
T be a good time to identify a coach or mentor who can
leaders must take responsibility for any actions they help guide you through the process in the long term.
made in the past that lowered trust. Do not spin
the truth or cover up mistakes—this will only lower Next, ask senior leaders to undergo the same process.
trust more. Everyone at the senior leadership level must lead by
example to establish or re-establish trust and credibility.
• ncourage forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others.
E
Forgiveness helps release feelings of anger, bitterness
and resentment that come with broken trust.

11

In addition, HR professionals should take the opportunity practices should be designed to foster a culture where
to assess whether HR policies and practices foster the employees feel safe to be innovative and engaged.
development of trust in the organization. To encourage
the growth of trust, HR policies and practices must Step 4: Follow Up and Remain Vigilant.
be aligned with the organization’s mission and vision,
and the organization’s total compensation plan should The loss of trust can occur after a single event (such
reward trustworthy behavior. HR professionals should as a layoff, merger or acquisition), but trust is built
develop and offer interpersonal communications and over time. HR professionals should assess the levels of
skills training to all employees to encourage constructive trust in their organizations on a regular basis and ensure
communication and information sharing. HR policies and that any incidences causing distrust are addressed in a
timely manner.

Conclusion
As the economy improves, valued employees who have HR professionals can staunch the flow of talent leaving
lost trust in their senior leaders will seek employment the organization by taking proactive steps to improve
elsewhere, leading to increased turnover, lost productivity trust in the workplace.
plus higher recruiting and onboarding costs.

Bader, G. Liljenstrand, A. (2003, May 15). Galford, R. Drapeau, A. (2006). Trust Maister, D., Green, C., Galford, R. Tzafir, S. (2005, September). The relationship
The value of building trust in the workplace. inside the organization. The Trusted Advisor. (2001). The trusted advisor. New York, NY: between trust, HRM, practices and firm
The Bader Group. Retrieved from http:// Retrieved from http://www.thetrustedleader. Touchstone. performance. International Journal of
badergroup.com/the-value-of-building-trust- com/newsletter/issue32-february-06.html Human Resource Management, 16, 1600-
in-the-workplace/ O’Neill, M. (2009, August 17). Five ways 1622.
Interaction Associates (2009). Building to build trust in the workplace. Corsum
Better Business Bureau. (2010, September trust in business. Interaction Associates. Consulting. Retrieved from http://www. Wentworth, D. (2011, December
6). Creating a culture of trust in your Cambridge: MA. corsum.com/Building-Business-Value-blog/ 7). Information underload. I4cp.
company. Better Business Bureau. Retrieved bid/24614/Five-Ways-to-Build-Trust-in-the- Retrieved from http://www.i4cp.com/
from http://vi.bbb.org/article/creating-a- Kochan, T. (2004, September). Restoring Workplace trendwatchers/2011/12/07/information-
culture-of-trust-in-your-company-22043 trust in the human resource management underload
profession. MIT Institute for Work PR Newswire. (2010, July 26). Trust and
Deloitte. (2010, September 29). 2010 ethics Employment Research. Cambridge: MA. ethics in the workplace have been battered Wright, P. (2003, September 1). Restoring
workplace survey. Deloitte. Retrieved by the recession, Deloitte’s 2010 ethics trust: The role of HR in corporate
from http://web.docuticker.com/go/ Lyman, A. (2003). Building trust in the workplace survey finds. PR Newswire. governance. Cornell University ILR School/
docubase/35598 workplace. Melcrum Publishing, Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire. Center for Advanced Human Resources
London: England. com/news-releases/trust-and-ethics-in-the- Studies. Ithaca: NY.
Dubois, L. (2010, August 2). How to build workplace-have-been-battered-by-the-
a corporate culture of trust. Inc. Retrieved Lyman, A. (2012). The trustworthy leader: recession-deloittes-2010-ethics--workplace-
from http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/ Leveraging the power of trust to transform survey-finds-99228989.html
how-to-build-a-corporate-culture-of-trust. your organization. Jossey-Bass. San
html Francisco: CA. Reina, D. Reina, M. (2007, May 2). The HR
executive’s role in rebuilding trust. Human
Mackey, J. (2010, March 14). Creating a Resource Executive Online. Retrieved from
high trust organization. Huffington Post. http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost. storyId=12160414
com/john-mackey/creating-the-high-trust-
o_b_497589.html


We help you
develop executive talent
while tackling real-world
challenges.
(Now that’s multi-tasking.)

U N C E X E C U T I V E D E V E L O P M E N T CUSTOM EXPERIENCES

Businesses today face many distinctive challenges.
We listen to your needs and develop a thorough
understanding of your business and industry.
Then we create unique executive learning
experiences designed to develop your executives
UNC EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT
as they address and overcome these challenges.
The Power of Experience.
Multi-tasking at its best.

To learn more, visit www.uncexec.com.

13

The Recruiting Revolution:
How Technology
Is Transforming Talent
Acquisition
Shelly Gorman
Director, Career Management
MBA@UNC

Introduction
We are living through an exciting era in technology • xplores how leading organizations are using these
E
development—the emergence of interactive, social technologies in their HR practices.
media and virtual technologies whose business
applications are not yet fully realized. While marketing • Provides HR and talent management professionals

professionals have been quick to embrace the potential with information they can use to help them
of these technologies for product placement, branding incorporate social media and virtual technologies into
and sales, HR and talent management professionals their organizations’ hiring practices.
have approached them with a little more caution as they
explore how interactive, social media and virtual world
technologies can be effectively applied to attract talent Social Media
to their organizations. The next section highlights some of the major players in
the social media market today, describes how recruiters

Promise are using social media technology to expand their talent
pipelines, and how job seekers are using them to aid in
This white paper: their job searches.

• dentifies some of the major players in social media
I
and describes their main features.

• xamines the pros and cons of using social media,
E
simulations and virtual world technologies to expand
talent pools and to identify good job candidates.


THE RECRUITING REVOLUTION AND TECHNOLOGY

15

Some of the Major Players in Social Media

• ore than 120 million users and growing.
M

• eveloped as a business networking application with no mixing of
D
business and personal.

• sed by recruiters to identify passive candidates and to see who
U
candidates know, in what industries, and at what levels.

• elps talent acquisition professionals publicize their employment brand
H
and advertise job openings.

• llows users to view and share videos online.
A

• sed by job seekers to post video resumes.
U

• sed by employers to create and post videos about their industries,
U
organizations, talent brands and employment opportunities.

• ore than 200 million users “tweet” their thoughts in 140 characters
M
or less.

• llows businesses to communicate to their stakeholders in real time—
A
whether that communication is about the latest product launch or a
job opening.

• llows users to find information streams they find interesting (like a
A
company) and follow them.

• llows HR professionals to market their employment brand, advertise
A
job openings and push followers to their career websites.

• Monster.com product recently launched as a Facebook application.
A

• erges Facebook and LinkedIn connections and harnesses the power
M
of Monster.com.

• ery similar to BranchOut in features, such as stepping users through
V
the process of completing online profiles, awarding badges for
completed steps and searching for jobs.

• ncludes job postings from Monster.com.
I



• A Facebook application launched a year ago.

• Allows users to separate their personal and professional lives while

tapping into Facebook’s 500-million user base.

• Allows employers to post jobs on their Facebook pages; shows users

jobs they may like based on their professional profiles.

• Allows users to endorse people.

• Includes job postings on BranchOut by employers plus job postings

from other boards.

• Shows users connections (individuals) they have to jobs; allows users

to tap into people they know to start the networking process.

• Allows talent management professionals to find passive candidates,

to review a person’s job history, to advertise job openings, to
promote their employment brands and to encourage visits to their
career websites.

• Currently available to individuals only, but Google Plus Product Specialist

Manager Chris Vennard says the application will offer business and
school pages within the first half of 2012.

• Has interface that is similar to Facebook, but its power to eventually

harness everything “Google” makes it a must-track for recruiters.

• Can categorize social connections through ”circles”. For example, users

can have circles that include only friends, only colleagues or only family
members, but the application allows users to assign individuals to more
than one circle. Allows users to develop profile information that is
customized and visible only to specific circles.

• Streams information based on a user’s pre-selected interests. This can

be handy for recruiters trying to increase their employment brand or to
advertise jobs.

• Allows videoconferencing for up to ten people at a time in ”hangouts”.

Users can specify friends or select circles to participate in a hangout,
and users can come and go throughout the videoconference. User can
even watch YouTube videos together in real time. Talent acquisition
professionals can use this to stream YouTube videos promoting their
organizations, interview candidates, and even hold small career fairs.

17

How Social Media Is Being Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Social media appears to be successful in not only The quality of hires is always a concern, and while
expanding talent pools, but in hiring candidates as recruiters continue to rank employee referrals as
well. Sixty-four percent of respondents to a 2011 the best source of quality of hires (8.6 on a scale of
Jobvite survey said they had successfully hired a 10), social networks fair well with a rank of seven
candidate through a social network in 2011. Nearly on a scale of 10. Corporate career sites, third-party
all survey respondents (95 percent) said they had recruiting firms, campus recruiting, job boards and
hired someone through LinkedIn; 24 percent of search engines all ranked below social networks in
respondents had hired someone through Facebook the quality of hires (Jobvite, 2011). It is important
and 16 percent of respondents had hired someone to note that employee referrals and social networks
through Twitter. are not mutually exclusive; some social networks
like BeKnown and BranchOut include features that
encourage employees to recommend colleagues and
friends.

The Pros of Social Media in the Talent Acquisition Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Social media offers recruiters several advantages. Third, as organizations continue to do more with
First, these applications expand talent pools beyond less, these technologies are extremely cost effective.
geographic boundaries, allowing employers to reach It costs little to establish a social media presence,
a global audience. although managing those networks can be a
challenge.
Second, they allow candidates to find talent
acquisition professionals. Most people find jobs Perhaps the most compelling reason to use social
through personal or professional networks—moving media in HR and the talent acquisition process,
those networks online allows more people to be though, is because it is inevitable. Most large
aware of an organization’s employment brand and organizations already have a prominent social media
job openings. It also allows employees to notify their presence and leverage it to improve their employment
personal and professional networks of job openings brand and to find active and passive job candidates.
in their organizations.

The Cons of Social Media in the Talent Acquisition Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
One of the challenges HR professionals face when With so many choices available, choosing one or
entering the social media market is that it is growing more to use is a viable concern for job seekers and
at seemingly exponential rates with new players recruiters. For job seekers, maintaining multiple social
regularly entering the arena. This makes it difficult to media accounts could easily become a full-time job.
know where one should concentrate efforts when it The same is true for recruiting professionals, but
comes to talent acquisition. added to that concern is whether they will be using
the “right” application for their talent acquisition
needs as these platforms develop. Unfortunately, it
will take time to see what application emerges as an
overall or industry-specific leader.



Which Application Is the Right One?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In a side-by-side comparison of BeKnown and social media applications. When selecting which social
BranchOut, J.T. O’Donnell, founder of Careerealism. media applications to use, HR and talent management
com, urged job seekers to choose one and stick with professionals should not only consider the resources
it because you can’t go wrong either way. These are they have available to maintain them, but should
early days in social media for career networking, and also consider which ones will best align with their
no single application has emerged as a clear overall organization’s strategic HR plan.
long-term leader, and none has emerged as a leader
in a specific industry. Until that evolution happens,
recruiters will likely find themselves juggling multiple

Social Media in Recruiting on the Rise
The 2011 Jobvite survey confirms that social media recruiting is on the rise:

• 89% of respondents said they used social media to recruit talent in 2011.

• ocial media recruiting topped the list as the most popular area in which respondents
S
planned to increase investment.

• 5% of respondents said they planned to increase their social recruiting budgets. Only 16
5
percent said they planned to spend more on job boards and a third of respondents said
they planned to spend less on job boards, third-party recruiters and search firms.

Source: Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey, 2011.

19

Example: Discovery Communications
Tyler Benjamin, vice president of global talent management at Discovery
Communications, is the first to admit that Discovery is not yet a leader
in using social media for talent acquisition—and that is deliberate. “We
intentionally took our time to test out Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This helped us
form a strategic social media plan,” said Benjamin. “We quickly realized that establishing
a talent brand was key and that most of our followers, while disbursed throughout the
world, wanted local information. We’re currently concentrating on building that brand in
the United States because we not only need to have content, we also need to have the
staff to manage that content. Our plan is to expand our global ‘local’ content within the
next few years.”

Discovery has used social media to establish alumni groups to some success. “We have a
lot of people who return to Discovery after spending time with other organizations. Our
alumni groups help us keep in touch with them,” said Benjamin.

Simulations and Virtual Worlds
Although the terms “simulations” and “virtual worlds” are often used interchangeably, they are not the same.
Simulations replicate job-related tasks to allow employers to assess a candidate’s skills. Virtual worlds like Second
Life allow participants to interact with each other through avatars. Virtual worlds were originally created with social
users in mind, but some employers are using it as a recruiting tool. This section describes both types of technologies,
provides examples of how they have been used in the talent acquisition process and explores their possible growth
in this field.

Simulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Early simulations were often administered on the job centers (data entry and customer service skills) and
site and imitated actual job tasks (like typing speed manufacturing (computer and logic skills), and to
and accuracy) to assess a person’s ability. These early offer candidates ”day-in-the-life” glimpses into an
simulations eventually expanded into in-basket exercises organization’s working environment.
where candidates had to assume a job role and handle
some of the daily tasks of that job (Handler, 2009). Many recruiters believe that simulations offer
advantages over traditional tests. First, they
Technology has taken simulations online and to a new are more engaging than traditional, non-interactive
level, making it possible to replicate a variety of work assessments. In addition, they offer more realistic job
environments and to assess performance in a more previews and can reduce bias and subjectivity in the
automated manner. Today, these engaging simulations hiring process because of their realism and automated
are being used to assess skills in such settings as call scoring (Handler, 2009).



Example: AutoMax Recruiting Training
AutoMax Recruiting Training recently partnered with Hire the
Winners, the creator of a car sales simulator that helps dealers learn
more about sales candidates and their sales potential. According to
AutoMax, the simulator has been used more than 16,000 times and has an 82 percent
retention rate after two years for sales people the simulator recommended. For those the
simulator recommended with reservation, the two-year retention rate was 64 percent,
and for those not recommended, the two-year retention rate was just 14 percent.

When Are Simulations Appropriate?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There are a few important considerations for employers that simulations may cause bottlenecks in the hiring
thinking about using simulations in the talent acquisition process, particularly for organizations hiring a large
process. Some recruiters feel that simulations may turn number of candidates. Finally, the types of skills assessed
off upper-level professionals who expect to be wooed through simulations must be considered—they may be
rather than assessed, and they advise employers to better suited to softer skills, such as customer-service
consider the type of worker being recruited and whether orientation (Ruiz, 2008). For harder, knowledge-based
a simulation is appropriate. Others are concerned skills, traditional assessments may be more appropriate.

The Next Evolution of Simulations: Gaming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The future is here in the world of simulations and 1. ive rewards (like badges) to visitors to your site when
G
recruitment, and that future is gaming. Employers they’ve engaged in an activity such as watching a
are using gaming technology to offer realistic job video or taking an assessment. Encourage them to
previews and video tours to attract candidates to their come back to the site frequently.
organizations. Gaming technology lures candidates to
the organization’s website, keeps them there longer as 2. Consider using virtual world technology like Second
they play a game or two, and in the process, users learn Life. IBM, Monster.com and other organizations have
more about the organization in a fun and engaging used this technology to host virtual job fairs, conduct
way. Recruiters are learning from gamers that awarding interviews and offer virtual tours.
badges and showing progress toward a goal attracts the
Gen Yers who have grown up playing online games. Ken 3. ffer video-based job tryouts.
O
Wheeler from ERE.net predicts that gaming will become
4. Hold virtual career fairs.
standard fare in recruiting within the next decade
(Wheeler, 2010).
5. se tests, puzzles and simulations.
U

Wheeler offers six tips recruiters can use to start the 6. evelop a full-fledged game. These simulated
D
gaming ball rolling. environments engage candidates and can immerse
them in your organization’s talent brand.

21

Organizations are taking gaming online to establish • Merrill Lynch developed their Financial Games

their talent brands and to attract candidates: Collection to educate undergraduates and MBA
students about available careers and to drive
• ahoo! Hotjobs launched Swivel Chair Relay
Y traffic to their career website. The game teaches
and Flip Off Your Boss to engage their targeted players about the IPO process while positioning
recruiting demographic of 18-24 year olds. The Merrill Lynch as a great place to work.
games blend humor and entertainment with the
HotJobs brand messaging. The promotion was • The U.S. Army was arguably the first

considered a great success, with more than organization to use gaming as a recruitment tool
40,000 people playing the games and registering when it launched America’s Army on its website.
as HotJob members. The game, according to the Army, significantly
helped raise flagging enlistment rates.

Source: Brandgames.

Example: Marriott International
Since its launch in June, gamers in 122 countries have played
the My Marriott game on Facebook, the first game designed
to educate players about careers in the hospitality industry.
Players enter a virtual Marriott kitchen where they hire and train
employees, ensure that meals are well prepared, serve guests, and buy restaurant
equipment and ingredients on a budget. They earn points for satisfied customers and
lose points for unsatisfied ones.

The game is part of a painstakingly planned global employer brand strategy that
was two years in the making, according to Susan Strayer, senior director for global
employer brand and marketing at Marriott International.

For Marriott, it was important to have a strategy in place for social recruiting. “We
didn’t want to execute solutions without understanding how those solutions fit into
the overall strategy,” noted Strayer. That strategy included the release of a video in
April with a new talent brand line, “Find Your World,” followed by the unveiling of a
Marriott International Facebook page (which now has nearly 32,000 followers) in May
and the My Marriott game in June. One of the goals of this strategy: to have people
self-select into the industry in general and Marriott in particular. “For Marriott,” Strayer
notes, “it’s not about finding people, but about finding the right people.”



Virtual World Technology: Virtual Career Fairs

The use of virtual worlds (mostly used to host virtual using that same technology; and visit networking
career fairs) in the talent acquisition process admittedly lounges where they can interact with different employers
had a rocky start a few years ago. Limits to the and other job seekers. Virtual career fairs can even allow
technology at the time and people’s unfamiliarity with managers who would normally be unable to attend live
how it worked caused these online experiences to be fairs to talk to candidates, speeding up the interviewing
often clunky and sometimes downright embarrassing, process.
according to Courtney Hunt, Ph.D., principle at
Renaissance Strategic Solutions. “I heard horror stories Virtual career fairs allow employers to reach candidates
of avatars floating during virtual career fairs—and that from across the globe without the costs associated with
wasn’t the person’s intent,” recalls Hunt. travel and hosting on-site career fairs. They are also
environmentally friendly because they are paperless
Others agree. Until recently, technological limitations (resumes are submitted virtually) and energy saving
made virtual career fairs just barely better than what (reduced reliance on gas to get to and from live career
employers could get through online job boards; a fairs).
place to post jobs and a corporate profile, an area for
online chats, and bulletin boards (Zappe, 2011). These A survey by Unisfair, a virtual engagement marketing
limitations caused interest in the use of virtual worlds in company, found that 60 percent of respondents plan
recruiting to wane. to increase spending on virtual environments and 67
percent of respondents are thinking about hosting ten
New and improved virtual world technology, however, or more virtual events in the next 12 months (Gardner,
has caused a resurgence of interest among HR 2011).
professionals who see virtual career fairs as a cost
effective way to attract talent, particularly those “Virtual engagement is not just a replacement for a
who grew up using technology and who find online physical event, but is a new channel for reaching your
interaction more the norm than the exception (Zappe, audiences,” notes Joerg Rathenberg, Unisfair’s vice
2011). president of marketing. “The research indicates that
virtual events are being adopted across industries and
In today’s virtual career fairs, job seekers and recruiters enterprises and will continue to be the preferred way to
use avatars to enter a virtual world. Participants can chat meet, market, collaborate and educate for both hosts
live through text, voice or video; conduct interviews and attendees alike.” (Gardner, 2011).

23

Example: Monster Canada’s Virtual Career Fair
A virtual career fair recently hosted by Monster Canada was deemed a huge
success by the company and attendees. The fair featured 21 employers and
generated more than 400,000 page views, 18,000 visits, 21,000 job views and collected
more than 12,000 resumes.

“Monster’s first virtual career fair in April was hugely popular and the high level of activity
clearly demonstrated how having an active online career strategy is the way of the future,
both for successful job seekers and employers,” noted Monster Canada Senior Vice
President of International Sales Peter Gilfillan (Market Watch, 2011).

Most recruiters agree that virtual career fairs should be the emergence of hybrid career fairs—a combination
part of a whole recruitment strategy and should not of physical and virtual locations that allow for human
replace face-to-face interaction. Many recruiters predict interaction.

Conclusion
Social media, simulations and virtual worlds are At the same time, it will require HR professionals to
opening new and exciting venues for HR and talent be nimble enough to make changes to their talent
management professionals to source new talent and acquisition processes “on the fly” while managing these
to establish their talent brands. The rapid pace at applications in ways that will achieve their organization’s
which these technologies are developing will challenge strategic talent plan.
HR professionals to stay up-to-date with their uses.

Berzon, A. (2011, June 6). Enough with the Giles, J. (2011, October). Meet the New Khan, R. (n.d.). Google Plus. The Starter’s Raphael, T. (2011, February 1). 2011 ERE
‘Call of Duty,’ Answer the Call in Room 417. Boss. Second Life’s Creator wants to Rewire Guide. Accessed September 24, 2011 from Recruiting Excellence Award Finalists.
The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September How Businesses Run. The Atlantic. Retrieved www.youtube.com. ERE.net. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from
7, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/ September 15, 2011 from www.theatlantic. www.ere.net/2011/02/01/2011-ere-
com/magazine/archive/2011/ 10/meet-the- Light, J. (2011, April 4). For Job Seekers, recruiting-excellence-award-finalists/.
Brandgames (www.brandgames.com). new-boss/8637/#.Tm-L_hkXE7k.twitter. Company Sites Beat Online Job Boards, Social
Media. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Ruiz, G. (2008, January). Job Candidate
Brightmove.com (www.brightmove.com). Hampton, M. (2011, Winter). Getting the September 6, 2011 from www.wsj.com. Assessment Tests Go Virtual. Workforce
Biggest Bang for Your Recruiting Buck. Management Online. Retrieved August 25,
Crispin, G. Mehler, M. (2011, March). 10th Employment Relations Today, 27-36. Light, J. (2011, May 30). Start-Ups Tag 2011 from www.workforce.com.
CareerXRoads Annual Source of Hire Report: Facebook for Career Networking. The Wall
By the Numbers. Retrieved August 30, 2011 Handler, C. (2009, March 11). Job Street Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2011 Wheeler, K. (2010, December 22). Serious
from www.careerxroads.com. Simulations for Selecting Employees: from www.wsj.com. Recruiting Games: 6 Tips for Using Games
What might the future hold? ERE.net. and Simulations for Recruiting Success.
DaZube, D. (2008, November). Virtual Job Retrieved August 29, 2011 from www.ere. Market Watch (2011, September 14). ERE.net. Retrieved August 31, 2011 from
Fairs Gain Ground. Dice.com. Retrieved net/2009/03/11/job-simulations-for-selecting- Monster.ca’s Popular Virtual Career Fair Is www.ere.net.
September 8, 2011 from http://career- employees-what-might-the-future-hold/. Back. Market Watch. Retrieved September
resources.dice.com/technical-resume/virtual- 15, 2011 from www.marketwatch.com/story/ Zappe, J. (2011, July 15). 8-city Virtual Job
job-fairs-gain-ground.shtml. Jobvite (2011). Jobvite Social Recruiting monstercas-popular-virtual-career-fair-is- Fair May Be the Crest of a Trend. ERE.net.
Survey 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011 back-2011-09-14. Retrieved September 7, 2011 from
Epicor (n.d.). Finding the Perfect Candidate. from www.jobvite.com. www.ere.net/2011/07/15/8-city-virtual-job-
Epicor. Irvine: CA. O’Donnell. J.T. (2011, June 27). BranchOut fair-may-be-the-crest-of-a-trend/.
Johnson, D. (2011, August 18). AutoMax Versus BeKnown—Which Facebook App for
Gardner, D. (2011, May 9). 60% of Recruiting Training Partners with Hire Your Career? CareeRealism.com. Retrieved
Marketers to Increase Spend on Virtual the Winners and the Car Sales Simulator. September 24, 2011 from www.careerealsim.
Conferences. CMO.com. Retrieved Autodealerpeople.com. Retrieved August 31, com/beknown-branchout-facebook-career-
September 15, 2011 from www.cmo.com/ 2011 from www.autodealerpeople.com. app/.
virtual-worlds/60-marketers-increase-spend-
virtual-conferences?cmpid=NR87.


Lead your
HR organization
into the future.
B U S I N E S S A N D H U M A N R E S O U R C E S

Now more than ever, senior HR leaders need the
knowledge, skills and experience to respond to
emerging trends that are shaping the future of global
business. Offered in partnership with the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM), UNC’s
Business and Human Resources program is designed
to equip senior HR leaders with the most up-to-date
business knowledge and skills needed to succeed in
the rapidly changing business environment today -
and tomorrow.

To learn more, visit www.bhr.uncexec.com.

25

Embracing Open-Book
Management to Fuel Employee
Engagement and
Anne Claire Broughton Jessica Thomas
Senior Director, Managing Director, Center for Sustainable Enterprise
SJF Institute UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Introduction
When John Case and Jack Stack first introduced the • xplores how open-book management practices are
E
concept of open-book management more than 30 years well-suited to help achieve corporate sustainability
ago, the intent was to unleash the entrepreneur in every goals.
employee and to spur them—and their organizations—
to better performance. Since then, countless • utlines steps HR and talent management
O
organizations have opened their books and engaged professionals can take to ensure the application of
their employees in understanding the critical numbers those practices in their own organizations.
with positive results to their bottom lines. Although
the original goals of open-book management were
improved profitability and productivity, organizations
The Basics of Open-Book
have realized other benefits from the practice. These Management
benefits include improved employee satisfaction,
engagement, retention, motivation, innovation and Before most people were focusing on corporate
corporate sustainability. sustainability, Case and Stack were espousing the
virtues of open communication to engage employees
to achieve better overall business performance. In his
Promise book, The Great Game of Business, Stack describes
open-book management as being “all about promoting
This white paper:
clear, effective and open communication” to employees.
• xamines open-book management and the benefits
E By doing so, employees at all levels have a clearer
of applying its principles to improve employee understanding of their organizations’ purpose and goals,
satisfaction, engagement, retention, motivation, are more engaged in their organizations and perform
innovation and corporate sustainability. better in their jobs.


EMBRACING OPEN-BOOK MANAGEMENT

Organizations practicing open-book management: • Teach employees how to follow the action and

keep score. All employees track progress on critical
• Explain clearly the organization’s key measures of
numbers through regular meetings and scorecards.
business success, allowing employees to make better- They are empowered to take action to improve
informed business decisions. performance as needed.

• Share financial information (such as income
• Engage the ingenuity of all employees in solving key

statements, balance sheets and other key metrics) business challenges, such as how the organization
with employees, and ensure they understand them can become more socially and environmentally
and know how they relate to the organization’s key sustainable.
measures of business success.
“When you share the numbers and bring them alive,
• Tell the stories behind the numbers to bring them
you turn them into tools people can use to help
alive and give them meaning. themselves as they go about their business every day.
That’s the key to open-book management.”
• Allow employees to share in the success of the

(Stack, 1992).
organization through a profit-sharing program that is
tied to key business metrics.

27

Why Open-Book Management Works
Clearly communicated and understood goals, a • Demonstrate innovative thinking because they feel

hallmark of open-book management, leads to improved more vested in their organizations’ success
profitability and encourages teamwork. This leads to (Henglein, 2009).
increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
Organizations practicing open-book management • See the big picture, allowing them to leave their silos

report that employees: and become team players. Giving employees a view
of the big picture also makes them more engaged,
• eel a stronger sense of ownership in the
F helps them understand how their roles fit in the
organization. organization, and how they can make a difference.

• evelop more trusting and collaborative relationships
D All of these factors lead to an improved bottom line.
with their employers. A study conducted by the National Center for Employee
Ownership (NCEO) found that organizations which
• nderstand their organization’s cost structure and
U
follow open-book management principles experienced
make better informed suggestions for improvement.
a 1-2 percent annual increase in sales growth above
• nderstand the need for cost controls through the
U typical sales projections.
regular sharing of financial information and become
more responsible in how they use their organizations’
resources.

Example: CleanScapes
CleanScapes, a waste reduction, diversion and collection service
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, was recently named by Inc.
Magazine as one of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S.
and the fourth fastest growing environmental firm. Leaders at CleanScapes
credit much of their success (which includes $50 million in revenue in 2009, low employee
turnover and high levels of customer satisfaction) to their open-book management
approach.

CleanScapes keeps close tabs on important metrics (called “CleanStats”) and shares them
with employees during weekly meetings. These metrics go beyond financial and include
operational efficiencies, errors and kudos. “The metrics have been instrumental in helping
the firm meet and beat its internal financial performance goals,” reports HR Manager
Bonnie Abbott.

In addition to tracking and reporting on metrics, CleanScapes leaders hold daily
morning huddles by department. The company also offers generous benefits and is
known to promote from within. Drivers and managers meet for lunch once a month to
offer feedback and suggestions on how to improve operations, which has resulted in
organization-wide efficiency gains which include lower missed pick-ups, fewer accidents
and reduced route hours.
Source: Broughton, 2011.



Not surprisingly, these outcomes—a stronger sense of successful corporate sustainability programs do a better
ownership, improved trust and collaboration, stronger job of attracting and retaining employees. Executives in
teams, better informed and innovative suggestions, organizations with successful sustainability efforts also
and an improved bottom line, to name a few—are also report that their employees are far more knowledgeable
hallmarks of successful corporate sustainability initiatives about their organization’s operations than employees
that emphasize the triple bottom line of people, planet in other businesses, enabling them to devise efficiency
and profits. According to a 2011 McKinsey survey, improvements that lead to more sustainable operations.

Open-Book Management Challenges
The main concern most people raise when it comes to Other concerns about open-book management practices
open-book management is whether it is wise to share include:
compensation information to employees, the fear being
that it could make them disgruntled if they perceive • The worry that disgruntled employees may misuse

inequities in pay structures. financial information (such as profit margins) or other
proprietary information by sharing it with competitors.
Open-book management proponents do not
recommend sharing individual compensation • The concern that if the organization is successful,

information. Instead, they advise employers to combine employees will want a larger piece of the profits and
salaries and benefits into a single line on budget may become unmotivated if they don’t receive it.
statements so employees can see and monitor it. This Alternately, if the organization is struggling, workers
will show employees how much compensation and will be concerned with job security and possibly jump
benefits cost the organization without providing ship, taking their knowledge and talents elsewhere.
detailed information.
• The belief that open-book management creates

a conundrum for organizations by begging
And while some might believe that open-book
the questions: “Is it possible to be too
principles can generate resentment toward
transparent? If we open the
highly compensated employees, evidence
books, will we give
shows the opposite occurs. Employees
competitors too much
in open-book organizations better
information about
understand and therefore accept
our products and
compensation structures more
talent? Will it
willingly. Some management experts
lead to the
like Ed Lawler, director of the
poaching of
University of Southern California’s
our products
Center for Effective Organizations,
and top
believe that by keeping
performers?”
compensation plans secret
or practicing “closed book
management,” businesses
tend to generate more
distrust and resentment
among employees.

29

There is no evidence to show that organizations open-book organizations even welcome the attempts
following open-book management practices experience to hire away their best employees, because it provides
more misuses of proprietary information compared to them an opportunity to communicate openly with them
other organizations. Jack Stack emphasizes the need and to demonstrate why their organizations offer the
for managers to actively “show employees how to use best opportunities for career development.
financial information as a tool to help the company,” to
avoid the misusing of the information (Stack, 1992). And in terms of struggling organizations, many report
Leaders who follow open-book management practices that downsizing or implementing temporary salary
acknowledge that attempts to hire away top performers reductions in difficult times was actually less of a
are part and parcel of being a successful organization. challenge because employees understood why it was
If competitors aren’t trying to poach an organization’s necessary. In fact, in a few instances, organizations
best employees, then it could be time for HR and reported that employees volunteered for layoffs—
talent managers to take a good hard look at what their and were the first to return when the organization
organizations are doing wrong. Some CEOs of recovered.

Overcoming the Challenges
These challenges can be addressed, and advocates The critical numbers employers decide to share with
believe the increased employee engagement, motivation employees will often be as unique as the organization
and innovation are well worth the effort. but may include revenue growth (or loss), expenses,
workforce growth (or reduction), and compensation and
By entrusting employees with vital information about benefits.
the organization’s financial and operational health,
business leaders send a message that they consider For organizations striving to achieve sustainability goals,
every worker to be a valued partner and stakeholder other critical numbers may be shared. At Burt’s Bees,
in their organizations. Research shows employees who for example, critical sustainability goals include water
believe they are trusted by their managers and CEOs can and electrical use, community giving, and achievement
better see the big picture and tend to be more loyal and toward their long-term goal of having each Burt’s Bees
productive, or in other words, more engaged. location become a zero waste-to-landfill facility; a goal
they achieved for three facilities in 2010.
Employers sometimes find it difficult to determine what
kind of financial information to share with employees. The key to any successful open-book management
Open-book management proponents recommend system is to design it to fit an organization’s particular
keeping things focused and simple, with a goal to business needs and corporate culture, according
communicate a common understanding of the to JoAnne Berg from Monster.com. “Open-book
organization’s most critical numbers and how management,” Berg writes, “is … another set of
employees can move those numbers in the tools in your toolkit that you can use to improve
right direction (GreatGame.com). the success of your business.” (Berg, n.d.).



How Open-Book Management Can Drive Corporate
Sustainability
Organizations are increasingly considering the everyone engaged and aware, such as an environmental
“triple bottom line”—people, planet and profit— gazette that’s published monthly, quarterly all-company
in their business dealings and in their measures of meetings which include important messaging, but
organizational success. generally are a lot of fun, movies that are relevant,
documentaries, regularly scheduled lunch-and-learns on
Not surprisingly, open-book management practices any topic. Often, our employees suggest what topics
work well in organizations that engage in corporate they would like to learn about. All of this is helpful and
sustainability practices. Open-book management can really well received—and along the way, they keep all of
significantly contribute to achieving and maintaining our teams informed.”
corporate sustainability efforts by integrating social
and environmental metrics into the traditional financial In 2010, Burt’s Bees launched its “Live the Greater
measures of business success. Open-book management Good” program, designed to achieve 100 percent
practices also contribute to corporate sustainability employee engagement as a way to achieve its long-
efforts by empowering employees with knowledge of term sustainability goals. The program consists of
the critical numbers, enabling them to see where their four modules that all employees have to complete
innovative efforts can streamline operations, saving annually on wellness, world-class leadership, outreach
money and resulting in increased sustainability. and the environment. The programs are tied to the
company’s culture and long-term corporate goals. In
Nowhere is this more apparent than at Durham, addition, the company offers a short-term incentive
N.C.-headquartered Burt’s Bees. A key goal of their program. All associates are eligible for a bonus based
sustainability initiative is to attain a 100 percent on overall company performance. Like most companies,
involvement rate from employees. Their paperless performance is based, in part, on sales or profits, but at
corporate sustainability report, which is publicly Burt’s Bees, there is a sustainability component as well.
available on their website, is just one mode of The metrics may change annually based on what the
communication used to reach that goal. company is focusing on for the fiscal year, but all
of them tie into their long-term goals. In 2009,
According to Yola Carlough, Burt’s Bees’ director sustainability goals included reducing water and
of sustainability, “(We) have other ways of keeping electrical usage.

31

At New Belgium Brewing, CEO Kim Jordan notes that Open-book management practices help to improve the
their company’s open-book management style fosters triple bottom line by giving employees the information
employee engagement and innovation, which in turn they need to make informed decisions and the ability
improves the company’s sustainability efforts. Engaging to act. These newly empowered employees are more
employees, she notes, allows all employees, from invested in the long-term financial sustainability of
entry level to executive, to participate in the “business the organization because they feel ownership in the
of doing business.” For example, two New Belgium organization’s environmental, social and financial
Brewing employees recently proposed eliminating effects and are empowered to drive the top and
12-bottle pack dividers. By eliminating the dividers, bottom lines. Everyone shares the same mission and
the company saved $280,000, 150 tons of paper and goals and can better collaborate to meet those goals.
reduced machine downtime.

Example: New Belgium Brewing
At New Belgium Brewing, open-book management drives their high performance
culture and sustainability efforts. Founded in 1991 by Jeff Lebesch, leaders at this
Fort Collins, Colorado-based brewery believe that their company culture “is one of
the most important and transferrable tools we’ve employed to drive sustainability.”
Sustainability efforts embraced by New Belgium Brewing include the formation of a
sustainability management system with the earth as a central stakeholder, reduction
of their carbon footprint, the use of “green” power (including wind and solar), and
recycling of waste (New Belgium Brewing Company, 2008).

Their culture, which sets the stage for their highly engaged workforce, was established
through strategic alignment, open-book management and employee ownership (43
percent of the company is owned by employees through an employee stock ownership
plan [ESOP]). In addition to a share in the company’s success, other open-book
management practices include financial training and monthly staff meetings during which
finances are reviewed and employees can ask questions and offer feedback.

“It all adds up,” notes one employee. “When a co-worker is connected to the higher
purpose of the company and educated on the financial outcomes of their actions, they
are empowered to make decisions that benefit the business as a whole.”

Source: New Belgium website.



HR’s Role in Open- to achieving corporate sustainability objectives. HR
and talent management professionals can aid the
Book Management and communication of sustainability initiatives through
regular newsletters, electronic bulletin boards, and
Corporate Sustainability regularly scheduled staff meetings.

HR and talent management professionals can help
HR can also take the lead in actively seeking out
propel an organization toward adopting open-book
employees and asking for their ideas on how to do
management and achieving corporate sustainability
things better, quickly implementing the good ideas
goals through some or all of the following practices.
and giving credit to the people who made them.
Burt’s Bees, for example, uses two annual surveys to
help solicit employee feedback and to assess how the
Get Executive Buy-In
organization’s sustainability efforts are being put to use
Ultimately, achieving corporate sustainability through by employees in the workplace and in their homes. An
open-book management practices must be supported— annual cultural assessment survey takes the pulse of the
financially and actively—by top management. In organization in terms of change, the pace of change
organizations where the books haven’t been opened, and management practices. It was through this survey
HR can lead the way by educating senior leaders that management realized that whenever the survey’s
about how open-book management practices can culture scores went up, so did employee retention.
have a positive effect on an organization’s bottom
line. In addition, HR can be a leader in demonstrating The organization’s Green Day survey examines the
how these same practices have been applied in other green practices employees use every day and assesses
organizations to achieve corporate sustainability goals. if those practices have changed how employees live.
Furthermore, HR can encourage the development of For example, the survey asks employees if a process
cross-functional teams that focus on ways to improve they learned at work affected how they did things at
corporate communications and foster teamwork. home. Do they recycle more? Do they use different light
bulbs? This survey helps the company determine how
HR also can lead by example by sharing key HR sustainability practices introduced on the job trickle into
success metrics. This can include HR-related financial the home and the community.
information such as the percentage of an organization’s
budget allocated to salaries and benefits. Time-to-
hire, retention and turnover are other key metrics Develop Compensation Systems that
that HR can provide and share with the organization’s
stakeholders. For such information to be useful,
Motivate and Allow for Employee
employees must be able to grasp why those numbers Innovation to Achieve Corporate
are important to the organization as a whole and to Sustainability
their roles in particular—HR professionals should be
HR and talent management professionals can be
sure to tell the story behind those numbers.
key players in the development and implementation
of organizational profit-sharing plans that award
employees not on just financial metrics achieved but
Communicate Organization-Wide to on sustainability metrics as well, such as sharing with
Foster Employee Buy-In to Corporate employees some of the money saved through achieving
Sustainability operational efficiencies.

As Burt’s Bees demonstrates, communication—a
key open-book management practice—is essential

33

Be Selective in Hiring and Offer Create and Communicate Meaningful
Financial Literacy Training Metrics
HR professionals can use HR tools such as selection Another key role for HR is to develop metrics that will
for knowledge, skills, abilities and culture fit, and demonstrate achievement toward triple bottom-line
training to help create a workforce that has the skills goals. It is then HR’s responsibility to communicate
and motivation to achieve the key objectives of the those metrics to all employees and help staff members
triple bottom line (Cohen et al, 2011). During the link those metrics to their roles in the organization. HR
selection process, HR and talent managers can provide should be prepared to track and assess those metrics on
candidates with publicly available financial information a regular basis through departmental and organization-
and explain how this information is communicated and wide staff meetings.
used in improving the organization. Financial literacy
training can help all employees better understand
this information and can be an integral part of the
onboarding process and provided to all employees on
an ongoing basis.

Conclusion
The management philosophies of open-book HR and talent management professionals who
management and sustainability are highly realize this and work to find ways to implement and
complementary. Open-book management practices integrate open-book management practices into
empower employees by giving them information they their organizations will offer their employers a true
need—such as critical sustainability metrics—to make competitive advantage through improved corporate
informed decisions and to act. This in turn leads to sustainability policies.
improved profitability and a stronger organization—
the foundation of any sustainable enterprise.

Berg, J. (n.d.). Opening the Book on Open- Cohen, E., Taylor, S., Muller-Camen, M. McKinsey Quarterly (2011, October). Seijts, G. Crim, D. (2006, March/April).
book Management. Monster.com. Retrieved (2011). HR’s Role in Corporate Social The business of sustainability: McKinsey What engages employees the most or, the
October 15, 2011 from www.monster.com/ Responsibility and Sustainability. SHRM Global Survey Results. McKinsey Quarterly. Ten C’s of employee engagement. Ivey
hr/hr-best-practices/small-business-resources/ Foundation. Alexandria: VA. Retrieved October 18, 2011 from www. Business Journal. Reprint #9B06TB09.
management-best-practices/pros-and-cons-of- mckinseyquarterly.com/Energy_Resources_
open-book-management.aspx. Great Game website (www.greatgame.com). Materials/Environment/The_business_of_ Stack, J. (1992). The Great Game of Business.
sustainability_McKinsey_Global_Survey_ Doubleday. New York: NY.
Burt’s Bees (n.d.). 2010 Multimedia Report. Henglein, G. (2009, April 22). The Pros results_2847.
Retrieved December 12, 2011 from http:// and Cons of Open-Book Management. Winning Workplaces (2007, August 6). Ask an
www.burtsbees.com/c/commitment/social- allBusiness. Retrieved October 17, 2011 New Belgium Brewery (2008). 2007 Expert: A Primer on Open-book Management.
environmental-reporting/. from www.allbusiness.com/company- Sustainability Report. New Belgium Brewery. Retrieved October 12, 2011 from http://
activitiesmanagement/ financial/12302038. Fort Collins: CO. www.winningworkplaces.org/forum/ask/
Broughton, A.C. (2011). Employees Matter: html. primer_obm_php.
Maximizing Company Value Through New Belgium Brewery website
Workforce Engagement. SJF Institute. (www.newbelgium.com).
Durham: NC. Retrieved October 17, 2011
from www.employeesmatter.org. The National Center for Employee Ownership
website (www.nceo.org).


If you’re ready totake the
next step in your career,
make a quick trip back to
the classroom first.

E X E C U T I V E D E V E L O P M E N T I N S T I T U T E

At UNC’s Executive Development Institute,
you’ll gain the core knowledge of an MBA program
without the long-term time commitment. You’ll
also learn how to view the business world from a
senior executive’s perspective. And you’ll develop the
key leadership characteristics that lead to effective
strategic performance. The result? In two weeks,
you’ll be fully prepared for that next step.

To learn more, visit www.edi.uncexec.com.

35

Maximizing Millennials in the
Workplace
Jessica Brack
Program Director
UNC Executive Development

Introduction
They are known as Millennials, Gen Y, Gen Next, Echo business leaders are realizing this generation’s unique
Boomers, the Baby-on-Board Generation, Screenagers, competencies and perspective, and employers are
Facebookers and the MySpace Generation, to name just looking for ways to harness their strengths. (For
a few. Whatever you choose to call them, they are the additional insights on how to leverage the shared values
nearly 80 million young adults born (according to the of the different generations in your workforce, refer to
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) between 1976 and 2001 the UNC Executive Development white paper: Rethinking
who have already joined or are preparing to join the Generation Gaps in the Workplace: Focus on Shared
workforce. By 2014, 36 percent of the U.S. workforce Values.)
will be comprised of this generation and by 2020, nearly
half (46 percent) of all U.S. workers will be Millennials
(Lynch, 2008). By comparison, the generation before Promise
them, Generation X (or Gen Xers), represent only 16
This white paper:
percent of today’s workforce. The sheer volume of
Millennials, combined with the relative lack of Gen Xers • xamines the positive characteristics Millennials bring
E
and the increasing retirement of Baby Boomers means to an organization.
that employers will be facing leadership gaps. And they
• xplores what this generation feels is important in a
E
will be looking to Millennials to fill those gaps.
job and what they expect from their employers.

By all accounts, Millennials are unlike preceding • ffers HR and talent development professionals
O
generations. They view the world differently and some practical tips on how to keep this generation
have redefined the meaning of success, personally engaged.
and professionally. In some cases, this has led to
• rovides examples of what leading-edge organizations
P
misunderstanding among the different generations
are doing to leverage this generation’s strengths and
co-existing in today’s workplace. Increasingly, however,
to integrate them into a multi-generational workforce.


MAXIMIZING MILLENNIALS IN THE WORKPLACE

The Cowboys
The generations preceding the Millennials are sort of like
cowboys, a rugged, individualistic lot. In general, these
Baby Boomers and Gen Xers believe in a command-
Millennials in the Workforce – 2014
and-control management approach, value working Millennials Older Generations
individually, view managers as experts and look to their
employers for career planning. They like clear boundaries
and have a generally inward-looking perspective as
compared to Millennials (Gartner Research in Lynch, 34%
2008).
66%
These characteristics are understandable. Baby Boomers
and Gen Xers grew up during a time when conducting
research required a trip to the library and a stroll through
the index card file. If they were early cell phone users,
they toted around a two-pound, brick-sized phone
with a whopping half-hour of talk time. Life for these Source: Lynch, 2008

generations was more linear. It took time to progress
from point A to point B.

The Collaborators Millennials in the Workforce – 2020
Millennials Older Generations
In contrast, Millennials see life in more circular, optimistic
terms. For them, life is more like London’s Eye—the city’s
giant Ferris wheel—there are multiple opportunities to
stop along the way, with great views they can instantly
snap with their camera phones, post to Facebook, and 46%
add a status update, all before the next stop.
54%
They have grown up with technology. They have always
been able to open multiple tabs in an Internet browser
to conduct research and search for movies and music
while simultaneously playing Angry Birds. They use social
media applications like they were born to it—because Source: Lynch, 2008
they were. They are tech-savvy multi-taskers because
that is all they have ever known. They don’t view
managers as content experts (like their predecessors)
because they know where to find multiple versions of Still, Millennials were raised under heavy supervision.
the information. Instead, they view managers more as This generation didn’t grow up in a world where kids
coaches and mentors. They know of dozens of websites left the house on their bikes every summer morning
that can help them plan their own careers, and the and returned in the evening just in time for dinner. They
constant launching of a newer or better app has made were driven to soccer practices, music lessons and T-ball
them continuous learners. games, and most summer days were spent at a carefully

37

selected camp. Their early (and constantly supervised)
exposure to team sports has made them the best team
players and collaborators in generations. Millennials are continuous learners,
team players, collaborators, diverse,
In addition, they are the most diverse generation to optimistic, achievement-oriented,
date and not just racially or ethnically. This generation
has more individuals than ever who come from single-
socially conscious and highly educated.
parent homes, blended families and same-sex parent
families. Millennials are optimistic and achievement-
oriented. They are also the most educated generation and their impact on the environment. This generation is
in history (Newman, 2010; Rikleen, n.d.). And thanks to socially conscious and expects their employers to act in
technology, they are aware of their own vast numbers socially conscious ways.

C
B
A



The Clash of the Cowboys and the Collaborators
in the Workplace
Not surprisingly, what makes Millennials unique— Mercer study (in Nekuda, 2011) found that the top
their tech-savvy, multi-tasking, collaborative three career priorities for Millennials were compensation
approach to life—may cause some challenges in the (most Millennials graduate from college with an average
workplace. Where the “cowboy generations” take an of $20,000 in debt), flexible work schedules and the
individualistic approach to life and work, Millennials opportunity to make a difference. Not far behind the
crave collaboration, team-based work projects and top three were having trust in their organization’s
an unstructured flow of information at all levels. They leadership, receiving benefits and getting professional
have an outward-looking perspective and interact development opportunities.
with an extensive network of communities beyond
their employer, which may be interpreted by other Cowboys also value these factors in their jobs but to a
generations as a lack of dedication or loyalty (Gartner different extent. In a study by Levit and Licina (2011, in
Research in Lynch, 2008). Rikleen, n.d.,) when asked how important meaningful
work was, 12 percent of managers said it was important
While Baby Boomers and Gen Xers want job security versus 30 percent of Millennials. Fifty percent of
and structure, Millennials seek employability and managers in the study said that high pay was important,
flexibility. Millennials want to continually add to their versus 28 percent of Millennials. Only 12 percent
skills in meaningful ways. For them, work isn’t just of managers said a sense of accomplishment was
about income. It’s about personal enrichment and important, as compared with 25 percent of Millennials.
fulfillment, which means that having flexibility in their And while 12 percent of managers said responsibility
work schedules is highly regarded. In fact, a recent was important, only 5 percent of Millennials thought so.

Job Factors Valued as Important
Millennials Managers

50%

30% 28%
25%

12% 12% 12%
5%
Meaningful Work High Pay Sense of Responsibility
Accomplishment
Source: 2011, in Rikleen, n.d.

39

Example: Johnson Johnson
Johnson Johnson formed its first-ever generational affinity group,
the Millennials, to help raise understanding of the generation and
to encourage inclusion across all generations. The group serves
as an educational resource and awareness advocate about Millennials’ culture and
characteristics, empowers and supports Millennials’ professional growth and success, and
works to establish relationships between Millennials and all other employees to encourage
a deeper understanding of the Millennial population. The group is open for everyone—
not just Millennials—to join.
Source: Rickleen, n.d.

With such different work expectations among managed, particularly now, as we slowly emerge from
generations, it is no wonder that some conflict may the Great Recession, which officially ended in 2009 and
arise. These different expectations can and must be delayed the wave of Baby Boomer retirements.

Cowboys vs. Millennials: Workplace Expectations

COWBOYS MILLENNIALS

Command and control management style Active, involved leadership

Individually focused work Collaborative, teamwork

Manages flow of information Unstructured flow of information

Job security Employability

Work = income Work = income and personal enrichment

Structure No structure, flexibility is highly valued

Inward looking Outward looking

Influence through organization, position Influence through networks, communities

Source: Gartner Research in Lynch, 2008



What Millennials Want from Their Employers
Understanding how Millennials were raised and their Diane Spiegal, CEO of The End Result, a corporate
collective world experiences can help employers better training and leadership development company,
understand what they want from their jobs. writes that Millennials want the following from their
employers:

1. Coaching.
Millennials were raised with constant coaching and feedback and expect it to
continue in the workplace. Coaching will keep Millennials engaged in their work.
Spiegal notes that coaching does not need to be time consuming or overly formal.
“Coaching,” she states, “can be as simple as a quick e-mail response, a text or a
two-minute conversation.”

2. Collaboration.
Millennials are natural collaborators, particularly when the group’s purpose
and goals are understood. Spiegal recommends that employers be clear about
deadlines and any business boundaries the group should be aware of.

3. Measures.
Millennials were raised with a lot of structure and measuring systems and are
accustomed to understanding how they will be judged and assessed. They expect
these metrics to continue in the workplace, so employers should define clear and
consistent job assessment criteria.

4. Motivation.
Millennials want a work environment that is comfortable and which inspires them
to contribute without fear of being criticized. Spiegal suggests throwing a pizza
lunch or giving time off for a job well done (Spiegal, 2011).

In addition to Spiegal’s observations, Cara Newman big picture so they understand their roles. They want
of Young Money adds a few more. The structure flexibility in their jobs and opportunities to learn and
Millennials grew up with means that they are used to meaningfully contribute. Offer projects, then, with a
supervision. They prefer, however, to follow leaders learning component. It will challenge them and make
who are honest, have integrity and who treat them them work harder (Newman, 2010).
with respect. Leaders should let Millennials know the

41

The Millennial Engagement Challenge
The recent recession has taken its toll on everyone, The Pew survey also found that during the recent
but Millennials in particular were hard hit. Many recession, 49 percent of the young adults surveyed said
younger adults, who were employed at the start of the that had taken a job they didn’t want just to pay the
recession, became victims of “the last one in, the first bills, and nearly a quarter said they had taken an unpaid
one out” syndrome. This soured their perceptions of job to gain some work experience.
the workplace; 37 percent of Millennials in a recent SBR
Consulting survey said they didn’t trust big business For employers, this means that many working
(Randall, 2011). Millennials are probably not engaged and, according
to the SBR Consulting survey, 70 percent of them are
A 2011 Pew study on young adults and work found planning to change jobs once the economy improves
that 41 percent of the public believed young adults (Nekuda, 2011). (For additional insights on employee
(between the ages of 18 and 34) were having a engagement, refer to the UNC Executive Development
tougher time in today’s marketplace than middle-age white paper: Focusing on Employee Engagement: How
and older adults when it came to finding long-term to Measure and Improve It.)
employment. Government statistics appear to back
that impression. Since 2010, the share of young adults This potential exodus of Millennials from their current
currently employed (54 percent) is the lowest since the jobs combined with Baby Boomer retirements could
U.S. government started collecting such data in 1948. In put organizations at risk at a time when many are only
addition, the gap in employment between young adults now finally making it solidly back into the black. This
and all working adults—about 15 percentage points— turnover will mean knowledge and productivity loss,
is the widest on record. Furthermore, younger adults higher recruitment and training costs, not to mention
employed full time have experienced a 6 percent drop in the leadership gaps that will be created by exiting Baby
weekly earning—more than any other age group over Boomers. There are simply not enough Gen Xers in the
the past four years (Taylor et al, 2012). workplace to fill the leadership gaps that will occur,
and employers must prepare Millennials now to help
fill those gaps.

NOT ENGAGED ENGAGED
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 10

MILLENNIALS


HR’s Role in Attracting, Developing, and Retaining
Millennials
Despite the setbacks Millennials experienced as a result knowledge economy. In addition, the survey reflected
of the recession, the bad times, according to the Pew an increased level of vulnerability among young adults;
study, did not trump this generation’s optimism. Among only 43 percent felt extremely or very confident that
the young adults surveyed, 88 percent said they either they could find another job if they lost or left their
earned enough money now or expected to in the current one.
future. Young adults are concerned about their future
employability, however. Nearly half (46 percent) of Millennials then, are optimistic about their future
young adults responding to the survey said they lacked earnings but feel vulnerable about their immediate
the education or training necessary to get ahead in their employability. They are also deeply concerned whether
jobs or careers, a number that could reflect Millennials’ they have the training and skills needed to compete
awareness of the fast-paced change inherent in a in the long run.

communication, compensation,
development, collaboration

Example: General Electric
To help transition its Millennial workforce to GE’s culture, HR leaders at GE formed
a team of 21 Millennials from various GE businesses and functions with a goal to
identify ways to attract, develop and retain Millennial talent. The team, named
“Global New Directions,” returned from their three-month assignment with the
following recommendations that were adopted by senior leaders:

• se gaming technology to connect the world to GE in a fun and engaging way to educate
U
prospective employees about the company’s values.

• reate a personalized suite of benefits that offers more flexibility and choice to better meet
C
the needs of GE’s global, diverse workforce.

• nhance performance management systems with new tools to help employees navigate their
E
careers at GE, to identify a wider range of job opportunities throughout the company, and
to offer more “just-in-time” feedback and coaching.
Source: Peters, 2012.

43

With this in mind and understanding what Millennials Step 2: Develop them.
are looking for from their employers, here are a few
steps HR and talent management professionals can take In addition to the steps taken to attract Millennials,
to attract, develop and retain this generation: leadership expert Lauren Stiller Rikleen offers the
following tips on how to develop Millennials into
leadership roles:
Step 1: Attract them.
• Develop initiatives that foster mutual support and

When trying to attract Millennials to an organization, understanding among the generations. Training on
communicate to prospective employees what the intergenerational dynamics will help build rapport
organization does to engage workers. Let them know and a stronger sense of community. For Millennials,
about the organization’s culture, open communication offer soft-skills training like how to assimilate into
policy, flexible work schedules, training-and- a new workplace culture, how to work with team
development opportunities, etc. Companies like members assertively and diplomatically, how to
Google and Deloitte are increasingly using technology process feedback, how to approach a supervisor for
to deliver this information through video streaming coaching and mentoring, and how to set long-term
on recruiting websites. Employees are often featured career goals.
in the videos, letting prospective employees “walk”
with them through their day as they explain how the • Offer collaborative discussions like roundtables that

organizational culture fits with their job. Technology encourage innovative thinking across generations.
and e-learning opportunities can also be used in
onboarding and cross-training programs. (For additional • Foster an appreciation of diversity within the

insights on how leading organizations use technology organization. This will help all generations avoid the
in their HR practices to attract and retain talent to their stereotyping that gets in the way of valuing the skill
organizations, refer to the UNC Executive Development sets of each employee (Rikleen, n.d.).
white paper: The Recruiting Revolution: How
Technology is Transforming Talent Acquisition.) These kinds of leadership development opportunities
will not only help minimize the misperceptions that
It may also be time to consider Millennials’ arise among generations, but will also help prepare the
compensation needs, particularly in light of the average Millennial generation to assume leadership roles when
$20,000 debt Millennials have in student loans after Baby Boomers begin leaving the workplace.
graduating from college. Compensation packages
slightly above industry or regional averages can provide
organizations a recruitment edge in attracting the best Step 3: Retain them.
and brightest of this generation. Most Millennials also
believe that they will never see a pension or Social Creating an organizational culture that is flexible and
Security check and that they will need to find their relaxed, has open communication, encourages sharing
own financial independence in retirement, so offering and innovation and offers flexibility is a good step to
immediate 401(k) eligibility can have appeal for keeping Millennials engaged. Millennials want fun and
Millennials (Lynch, 2008). a less formal atmosphere may help foster it. Open and
honest communication is highly valued by Millennials
and they expect it from their leaders, so when focusing
on creating a comfortable culture, consider not just the
formal surroundings but also the nature and tone of



organizational communication. Good communication have taken coaching and mentoring a step further by
will also help them understand their role in the instituting reverse mentoring programs, which allow
organization, and may break down some of the distrust Millennials to share their technological knowledge
this generation has of big business. (For additional with other generations in the workplace. (For
insights on how organizations have used open-book additional insights on how organizations have used
management practices to create an engaging corporate e-learning and technology to cost-effectively develop
culture, refer to the UNC Executive Development white and retain their employees, refer to the UNC Executive
paper: Embracing Open-Book Management to Fuel Development white paper: Unlocking the Potential of
Employee Engagement and Corporate Sustainability.) On-Demand Learning in the Workplace.)

Training and development budgets were hard hit Coaching and mentoring programs can help retain
during the recession. Millennials place a high value Millennials. A study of Sun Microsystems by Bellevue
on having those opportunities available through their University’s Human Capital Lab found that mentees
employers and want to acquire new skills and abilities had a 23 percent higher retention rate than non-
to remain competitive, so it is now more important participants, and mentors had a retention rate that
than ever to reinstate those budgets. Training and was 20 percent higher than non-participants, resulting
development opportunities can include on-the-job in estimated savings of $6.7 million (Nekuda, 2011).
training, coaching and mentoring. Some organizations

Example: Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman’s Connect1ng program is run by employees, for
employees and its aim is to retain recently hired and highly skilled
engineers. The all-volunteer team organizes social networking,
community outreach and professional development activities across 26 geographic regions. In
the past three years, more than 15 percent of Northrop Grumman employees have participated
in more than 1,000 events.

The program also focuses on providing education about the business, industry trends and
relevant career planning information. It also aims to provide frequent interaction with senior
executives who provide guidance on career paths to new hires.

Source: Rickleen, n.d.

45

Millennials are continuous learners and there is Millennials like to work collaboratively on teams, so now
evidence that learning opportunities, such as tuition would be a good time to take a teamwork approach to
reimbursement programs, increase retention rates. A work on a test run. Since other generations may balk at
Bellevue University study of Mutual of Omaha found this approach, consider forming a team of Millennials to
that employees who participated in the company’s tackle a particular project—just be sure the project fits
tuition reimbursement program were twice as likely to with the organizational mission, goals and objectives
stay as non-participants (Nekuda, 2011). because Millennials will want to understand how the
project fits into the big picture.
When considering training and development
opportunities targeted to Millennials, leverage their love Finally, keep the doors open for Millennials who leave
of technology with e-learning opportunities. E-learning the organization. Many organizations have developed
opportunities can be on-demand, offering flexibility virtual alumni networks that keep former employees
in terms of when and where Millennials participate (a up-to-date on what is happening in the organization.
feature Millennials highly value), and are extremely cost These networks can also be used to post job
effective. Employers are increasingly using e-learning announcements specifically tailored to alumni who
to teach introductory concepts like business basics or may be ready to return.
sales techniques.

Conclusion
The nearly 80 million Millennials who are about to enter HR practices and policies designed to attract, develop
or who are already in the workforce will fundamentally and retain this vast cohort must change to reflect this
change how business is conducted in the future. generation’s work—and life—expectations.

Burgess, J. (2008). Managing the new Mercer (2011, June). Inside employees minds: Portillo, E. (2011, December 26). New poll shows Spiegal, D. (2011, July 20). Why hiring
workforce, generation Y (Millennials). Red navigating the new rules of engagement. many think Millennials aren’t hard workers. Millennials is good for your business. Open
Fusion. Retrieved from http://www.redfusion. Mercer. New York: NY. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles. Forum. Retrieved from http://www.openforum.
com/arc_managing_generation_Y_millennials. chicagotribune.com/2011-12-26/business/ct-biz- com/articles/why-hiring-millennials-is-good-for-
htm 1226-millennials-20111224-1-millennials-new- your-business
Myers, K. Sadaghiani, K. (2010, June).
poll-older-workers
Millennials in the workplace: a communication
Gorman, P., Nelson, T. Glassman, A. perspective on Millennials’ organizational Sullivan, J. (2011, December 12). The business
(2004). The Millennial generation: a strategic relationships and performance. Journal of Randall, S. (2011). Millennial generation today. case for hiring college grads—32 reasons they
opportunity. Organizational Analysis, 12, 3, Business Psychology, 25(2), 225-238. SBR Consulting. Charlotte: NC. can produce high ROI. Ere.net. Retrieved from
255-270. http://www.erenet.net/2011/12/12/the-business-
case-for-hiring-college-grads-reasons-they-can-
Nekuda, J. (2011, August 11). What Millennials Rikleen, L. (n.d.). Creating tomorrow’s leaders:
proced-a-high-roi/
Hardy, D. (2011, June). Mining the Millennials. want. Human Capital Lab. Retrieved from http:// the expanding roles of Millennials in the
DarrenHardy. Retrieved from http://darrenhardy. www.humancapitallabe.org/blog/?p=256 workplace. Boston College Center for Work
success.com/2011/06/mining-the-millennials/ Family. Chestnut Hill: MA. Taylor, P., Parker, K., Kochlar, R. et al (2012,
February 9). Young, underemployed and
Newman, C. (2010, March 31). Managing
optimistic. Coming of age, slowly, in a tough
Internships.com (n.d.). “Gen Y’ interns: 7 Millennials in the workforce. Young Money. Schawbel, D. (2011, December 13). The
economy. Pew Social Demographic Trends.
reasons why they are good hires. Retrieved from http://www.youngmoney.com/ expanding roles of Millennials in the workplace.
Washington: DC.
Internships.com. Retrieved from http://www. entrepreneur/managing-millennials-in-the- Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/
internships.com/employer/resources/recruit/ workforce/ sites/danschawbel/2011/12/13/the-expanding-
whygen-y roles-of-millennials-in-the-workplace/ Ukeleja, M. (2011, November 15). How
do you keep Millennials from moving on?
Peters, S. (2012, February 8). How GE is
LeadershipTraq. Retrieved from http://
Lynch, A. (2008). ROI on generation Y attracting, developing, and retaining global
leadershiptraq.com/2011/11/15/how-do-you-
employees. Bottom Line Conversations, LLC. talent. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from
keep-millennials-from-moving-on/
Retrieved from http://www.knoxvillechamber. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/02/how_ge_is_
com/pdf/workforce/ROIonGenYWhitePaper.pdf attracting_and_devel.html


Shaping Global Leaders
Online.

ONLINE MBA DEGREE FOR PROFESSIONALS

Your company demands leaders who have the skills
and knowledge to succeed in a complex, global
business environment. MBA@UNC creates leaders
able to negotiate with business partners from different
backgrounds, develop solutions to challenging
problems and drive strategy for your organization.
Designed for working professionals, MBA@UNC
provides an opportunity for your employees to learn
from our world-class faculty, from anywhere in the
world, with minimal disruption to their work.

Learn more today at onlinemba.unc.edu.

47

The New Business Imperative:
Recruiting, Developing and
Retaining Women in the
Workplace
Mindy Storrie
Director of Leadership Development
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Introduction
Nearly 50 years ago, The Personnel attaining college-level degrees at a faster rate
Administrator (the precursor to the Society than their male counterparts [Bureau of
for Human Resource Management’s HR Labor Statistics (BLS) in U.S. Department of
Magazine) published the article, “Women Commerce et al, 2011].
at Work: One of the Most Controversial
Issues of the Sixties,” by Dr. Daniel There are definite rewards for
Kruger. The article examined the organizations that target women in their
societal, labor and economic forces recruiting, development and retention
that were compelling women to join efforts. A Thomson Reuters study found
the workforce. As to why he wrote that organizations which are ahead of
the article, Kruger noted that “our their peers in breaking the glass ceiling
concern here is with the role of women in tend to have share prices that outperform
the labor force. We leave others to discuss their competitors, particularly in difficult
the impact of working women on family market conditions (Chanavat, n.d.).
life, mental health, juvenile delinquency And, a 2007 McKinsey study found that
and on society as a whole.” (SHRM, organizations with a higher percentage
2008). of women in top management positions
had a 17 percent higher growth in stock
The debate surrounding women in the prices and a 1.1 percent larger return on
workforce has shifted somewhat in 50 equity (Landis et al, 2011).
years, but it still continues. In 1964,
women comprised nearly 40 percent Yet gaps persist between men and
of the U.S. labor force (up from 32 women in the workforce in terms
percent in 1948). Today, women make of pay, career path, and leadership
up 61 percent of the labor force and are development.


NEW BUSINESS IMPERATIVE: WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Promise women comprise between 80 and 85 percent of
the U.S. consumer market. Combine this with the
This white paper: knowledge that companies with higher percentages
of female senior-level managers tend to outperform
• xplores the changing role of women in the
E
their competitors, it comes as no surprise that those
workplace and the business imperative to foster
organizations failing to target women in recruiting,
women’s roles in organizations.
development and retention strategies may miss their
• xamines the persisting gap in female representation
E bottom-line goals.
in leadership positions.

• ooks at perception gaps found in a 2012 University
L
of North Carolina (UNC) Leadership Survey of The Persisting Gap in
women and men in senior leadership roles on
the effectiveness of organizations in recruiting,
Leadership Positions
developing and retaining female employees. Today, women are still three times more likely to
work in administrative support jobs than men, and
• ffers HR and talent management professionals
O
while women are far more likely than men to work
effective steps they can take to recruit, develop and
in professional-level positions (approximately 26
retain women in organizational leadership roles.
percent of women versus approximately 17 percent
of men), they are clustered in lower-paying fields such
as education and health care. According to the BLS
The Changing Role of (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the proportion of women

Women in the Workplace working in management, business and finance jobs rose
from 9 percent in 1983 to 14 percent in 2009, but in
In the 1930s, working women had limited choices general, women tend to remain employed in just five
when it came to occupations. Most worked as domestic occupations: secretaries, registered nurses, elementary
servants, factory workers, administrative staffers, school school teachers, cashiers and nursing aides (U.S.
teachers and nurses. Lifetime employment for women Department of Commerce et al, 2011).
was rare; most left the workforce when they got
married or became pregnant. Even though the percentage of women working in
the management, business and finance fields remains
Today, four out of 10 women in the U.S. workforce are relatively small in comparison to men, the percentage
working mothers and are their households’ primary of U.S. women in management or professional (and
breadwinners, and nearly two-thirds are primary or co- related) positions in those fields rose to 51.5 percent in
breadwinners (Boushey in Shoemaker, Brown Barbour, 2010 (Catalyst, 2011). However, in 2011, women held
2011). A 2011 McKinsey report estimates that without only 16 percent of Fortune 500 board seats in the U.S.
women in the workforce between 1970 and 2009, the and only 14 percent of the executive officer positions
U.S. economy would be 25 percent smaller (Barsh at Fortune 500 companies, showing a distinct gap
Yee, 2011). between lower-level management positions and
higher-level management positions (Catalyst, 2011).
In Europe, where some countries have instituted quota

The Business Imperative systems for women in executive management positions
and in other countries where gender discrimination
Women are not only increasingly the primary has been historically less prevalent, the percentage of
breadwinners, they are also the world’s largest group women working in executive and management roles
in terms of purchasing decisions; studies show that averages 29 percent (Mercer, 2012).

49

Despite the fact that women are slowly making offered transition training. Further, 35 percent of male
inroads into management positions and are out-pacing executives reported receiving support for leadership
men in the attainment of higher education, a gap in transitions, versus 28 percent of female executives.
compensation persists. According to the BLS, at all
education levels women earn about 75 percent as much • The lack of multinational leadership experience

as men. A recent Korn/Ferry International study found offered to women. Men were twice as likely
that the pay gap continues into the C-suite. Researchers to have been assigned multinational leadership
found that the pay gap between women and men responsibilities as women (21 percent for men versus
at the C-suite level was between 13 and 25 percent 9 percent for women), and this gap persisted at
(Landis, Predolin et al., 2011). the executive level, where 45 percent of men were
given multinational leadership responsibilities versus
One of the factors that may reflect this persistent 25 percent of women. Multinational leadership
pay gap is the lack of female representation in senior responsibilities, the authors of the study noted, can
leadership positions. A Development Dimensions be “powerful accelerants of personal and professional
International (DDI) report found that women held development” and is often used as a criterion for
21 percent of executive-level positions—half that of promotion.
women in first-level management positions (Howard
Wellins, 2009). That same report found that more than • The lack of professional development

70 percent of the top 1,500 U.S. firms included in the opportunities offered to women at higher
study had no women on the senior leadership team, management levels. The study notes that “whether
and that in all major global regions studied, women a development opportunity was a way to enter a high-
were more likely than men to fall off the management potential program or provided support for transitions
ladder before reaching the executive level. into higher positions or taking on multinational
responsibilities, men were favored over women at
The DDI report offered a few conclusions as to why every job level.” (Howard Wellins, 2009).
women have failed to advance to higher positions
in management. These conclusions included:

• he lack of high-potential programs in
T
Women as Leaders
organizations and the lack of women in those Women who do achieve senior management positions
programs. Half of the organizations that participated in organizations appear to be representing their gender
in the DDI survey said they identified high potential well; several studies show that women are perceived to
employees, but at all management levels, women be better leaders than men.
were less likely than men to be identified as high
potential. In fact, the higher the management level, A 2011 study conducted by Jack Zenger and Joseph
the larger the gap between men and women. At the Folkman of more than 7,000 leaders found that at every
lowest management level, the gap between men management level, more women were rated by their
and women identified as high potential was peers, bosses, direct reports and others as better overall
4 percentage points; at the executive level, the gap leaders than men, and that the higher the level in the
was 13 percentage points. organization, the wider the margin. The study was based
on 360-degree evaluations and rated leaders on 16
• he lack of leadership transition training.
T different competencies. Women out-scored men in 15
The study found that while many leaders thought out of the 16 competencies.
leadership transitions were challenging, slightly
more than half of the organizations in the survey



Zenger Folkman’s Top 16 Competencies Good Leaders Exemplify Most

Competency Male Mean Percentile Female Mean Percentile

Takes initiative 48 56

Practices self-development 48 55

High integrity, honesty 48 55

Drives for results 48 54

Develops others 48 54

Inspires and motivates others 49 54

Builds relationships 49 54

Collaboration and teamwork 49 53

Establishes stretch goals 49 53

Champions change 49 53

Solves problems and analyzes issues 50 52

Communicates powerfully to outside world 50 52

Connects groups to outside world 50 51

Innovates 50 51

Technical/professional expertise 50 51

Develops strategic perspective 51 49

Source: Zenger Folkman, 2011

Zenger Folkman’s Study on Overall Leadership Effectiveness
Men’s Leadership Women’s Leadership
Effectiveness Effectiveness
Top management, executives,
senior team leaders 57.7% 67.7%

Reports to top management 48.9% 56.2%

Managers 49.9% 52.7%

Supervisors, front-line manager, foreman 52.5% 52.6%

Individual contributor 52.7% 53.9%

Other 50.7% 52.0%

Source: Zenger Folkman, 2011

51

A Korn/Ferry study found that best-in-class senior leaders confident. In addition, the study revealed that women
are more integrative (having the ability to take and in senior-level positions scored higher than their male
process complex data and develop strategic solutions), counterparts in all the leadership characteristics except
socially attuned, comfortable with ambiguity and for confidence.

Example: State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance’s support of women in its organization dates
back to the 1920s, when women were first named to the board of
directors, were hired as employees and became insurance agents. That
tradition continues today; the company has a formal high-potential identification program for
women. Women who are identified as “high potential” create development plans, take on
stretch assignments and job rotations, and are mentored by senior leaders. Thirty-two percent
of the corporate executive positions are held by women, nearly 40 percent of executives are
women who oversee divisions with revenues in excess of one billion dollars, and 13 percent of
executives who report directly to the CEO are women.

Source: NAFE, 2012.

The Perception Gaps
There are not only gaps in terms of pay, position The UNC survey also showed that the development of
attainment and development among men and women women into leadership positions continues to be a
in the workplace, there are also distinct perception medium to low priority for many employers. Nearly half
gaps between men and women in how effective of respondents said the development of women leaders
organizations are when it comes to recruiting, was not on their strategic agenda. When asked about
developing and retaining women. their perceptions of the development of women for
leadership roles, 52 percent of women felt that it was
A recent UNC leadership survey asked respondents if not part of their organization’s strategic agenda, versus
they thought the number of women in senior-leadership 31 percent of men.
positions had increased in the past five years. Men were
much more positive in their responses, with 57 percent
saying the number of women in senior-level positions
had increased, versus 36 percent of female respondents. The results of the UNC Leadership
When asked how effective their organizations had Survey 2012: Women in Business can
been in recruiting women, 53 percent of men said their be found at www.uncexec.com.
organizations were extremely or moderately effective,
versus 33 percent of women. Similarly, when asked if
their organizations were effective in retaining women,
73 percent of men said their organizations were The recruitment, development and retention of women
extremely or moderately effective, versus 52 percent in the workplace is a diversity issue, yet despite the
of women. evidence that women in leadership roles can boost an
organization’s bottom line, a McKinsey survey found
that when asked about the connection between diverse
leadership teams and financial success, 85 percent of



female respondents believed there was a connection Step 1: Assess your organization’s actual and perceived
versus 58 percent of male respondents. Further, only 28 gaps in the recruitment, development and retention of
percent of the organizations responding to the survey women and report any discrepancies to senior leaders.
said that diversity was a top-ten strategic agenda item
(McKinsey Quarterly, 2010). Step 2: Offer workplace flexibility and remove any
real or perceived barriers that prevent women from
Because men are more likely than women to be in taking advantage of that flexibility.
senior-leadership positions, these perceptions gaps
Step 3: Don’t just mentor; sponsor.
should not be overlooked. As with so many human
resource initiatives—from performance management to
succession planning to compensation to training and Step 1:
development (and everything in between)--the number Assess your organization’s actual and perceived
one priority for success is to achieve buy-in from the gaps in the recruitment, development and
top. If top management is mostly male, obtaining retention of women, report any discrepancies and
buy-in for programs that foster the recruitment, offer possible solutions to senior leaders.
development and retention of women in organizations
The first step is to determine if there are real and
may be a key challenge.
perceived gaps between men and women in leadership
positions. Analyses of real gaps could include:

Steps HR and Talent • he percentage of women versus men in leadership
T

Management positions and an analysis of where women fall in
comparison to men in the level of management
Professionals Can Take positions they hold (i.e., managers versus senior-level
leaders).
to Recruit, Develop
and Retain Women in • An analysis of compensation by gender to ensure pay

equity.
Leadership Roles • comparative report on the recruitment and
A
A 2010 Mercer study on women in leadership roles retention of employees by gender.
found that more than two-thirds of employers (71
• An analysis of the percentage of women versus

percent) lacked a defined strategy or philosophy for
men participating in career development activities,
developing women into leadership roles (Mercer, 2012).
including mentorships, high-potential programs,
The UNC leadership survey supports that figure; nearly
leadership transition programs and multinational
half of survey respondents said that development of
assignments.
female leaders was not on their strategic agenda at
all, and another 23.5 percent said that it was on their An analysis of perception gaps could include:
organization’s strategic agenda but not near the top.
Only 2 percent of respondents said it was a “Top 3” • An organization-wide survey (including stakeholders)

strategic agenda item. Eighteen percent said that it was on the effectiveness of organizational leadership
a “Top 10” strategic agenda item. broken out by gender.

• An organization-wide survey asking male and female

HR and talent management professionals can help place
respondents to rate the effectiveness of organizational
recruitment, development and retention of women in
efforts to recruit, develop and retain women.
senior leadership roles on their organization’s strategic
agenda with the following steps:

53

Example: ATT
Telecommunications giant ATT was recently named one of the “Top 50 Companies for
Executive Women” by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) for the third
consecutive year. Women comprise 39 percent of the company’s workforce, 39 percent
of its managers, and 25 percent of the board of directors. ATT earned its place on
NAFE’s roster because of its dedication by senior executives to its diversity goals, where their
salaries are determined in part by progress toward its goal of promoting and retaining women.
High-potential women are identified through talent reviews and are paired with executive-
level mentors; women in line for senior executive positions can participate in accelerated
development programs through the company’s university; annual tuition aid of up to $5,250
makes advanced education efforts more affordable.
Source: NAFE, 2012.

A report of these internal analyses can include a that is compatible with life changes.” In other words,
comparison with data discussed in this white paper Gen Y women tend to think ahead and evaluate
and recommendations for further organization- employers based on whether a company will offer the
wide development opportunities that will mitigate flexibility they may need years down the line (for
discrepancies. If the study shows that there are pay example, when they have childcare or eldercare
gaps, offer recommendations on how to implement responsibilities). Gen Y women may not need on-site
strategies that will alleviate inequities and prevent day care, part-time work options and job share programs
future ones. when they are hired, but they anticipate having those
needs and expect potential employers to have those
Other effective methods to assess real and perceived programs in place (Barrett, 2011).
gaps in gender equality may include conducting third-
party exit interviews to receive honest feedback about The same focus group found that Gen Y women were
why people are leaving the organization and surveying also concerned about the perceived lack of female role
applicants who turn down job offers to learn their models in their companies. The women who expressed
reasons for doing so. the least amount of anxiety were those who had an
employer who offered on-site day care, medical services
and flexible workplaces. The author further noted that
Step 2: “these women have seen working mothers successfully
Offer workplace flexibility and remove any real rise to the top leadership positions without having to
or perceived barriers that prevent women from sacrifice their family life.” (Barrett, 2011).
taking advantage of that flexibility.
While Gen Y women may be anticipating career anxiety,
A majority of women participating in a recent focus many women (and men) are currently living it. In their
group of Gen Y women about work expressed article “A Revolutionary Change: Making the Workplace
“anticipatory career anxiety,” meaning that they More Flexible,” authors Shoemaker, Brown and Barbour
wanted a career and family, but were concerned concluded that workplace culture and biases against
whether they could have both within the constraints of those with family responsibilities can force talented
most workplaces today. As a result, they thought more women out of the workforce. They cite recent research
in the long term when choosing their employers than that found 90 percent of mothers and 85 percent of
their male counterparts. The authors noted that Gen fathers reported a work-family conflict.
Y women “are, in fact, thinking ahead and evaluating
the extent to which an employer offers an environment



Other studies cited in their article found that 45 supervisors because of the notion that not all jobs—or
percent of women reported that childcare challenges employees—are suitable for such programs. Employers
pushed them out of the workforce, and 24 percent said also tend to believe that direct supervisors and managers
eldercare issues forced them out. Another study found are the best people to make these decisions. Direct
that 86 percent of women cited a lack of flexibility as a supervisors and managers, in turn, are often reticent
primary reason for leaving the workforce. to allow employees to take advantage of flexible work
options because of supervisory challenges. However,
Offering flexible work options is not enough, however. managers can learn how to effectively manage remote
Removing real and perceived barriers that prevent workers to reduce that reticence and how to start a
employees from using them should be the true discussion with an employee (something employees are
objective. Women in the Gen Y focus group noted that often reluctant to do) about what flexibility options best
to make such programs successful, employers must suit their needs. For example, a manager can be taught
allow them to be self-directed. Most flexibility programs how to approach an employee who is experiencing
are controlled by managers, not employees. This eldercare issues, broach the subject and then review
eliminates the autonomy many would-be participants available flexibility options. By ensuring managers and
crave because it is the manager, not the employee, who supervisors have the information and training needed to
decides who can use the programs (Barrett, 2011). offer and manage flexible work options with employees,
flexible work options can become mutually self-directed.
When determining who can use flexibility programs,
employers often assign that responsibility to direct

The National Association for Female Executives assesses organizations for their “Top 50 Companies
for Executive Women” list with management control in mind:

88% 92%
68%
48%

of top companies of top companies of top companies of top companies
consistently train offer formal offer managers offer managers
managers on how compensation training on how training on how to
to hire, advance or policies that reward to manage the implement flexible
manage women. managers who help work-life concerns work arrangements.
women advance. of employees.

55

The Families and Work Institute Offers Examples of
Workplace Flexibility
• ffering traditional flextime (daily hours within a range).
O

• ffering daily flextime.
O

• eing allowed to take time off during the workday to address family matters.
B

• eing able to take a few days off to care for a sick child or other family member
B
without losing pay, having to use sick days, or making up an excuse for the absence.

• eing able to work some regular hours at home.
B

• eing able to take breaks when you want to.
B

• aving a work shift that is desirable and predictable.
H

• aving complete control over work schedule.
H

• eing able to work part time (if currently full time) and vice versa in one’s current
B
position.

• eing able to work a compressed work week.
B

• arely being requested to work overtime with little or no notice.
R

• elieving one can use flexible work arrangements without jeopardizing job
B
advancement.

Source: Shoemaker, Brown Barbour, 2011

The Benefits of Flexibility
• lexibility alleviates stress; one survey found that 90 percent of employees who
F
telecommuted said it had helped them meet work and family needs.

• lexibility can help improve workplace productivity and the organization’s bottom line.
F

• lexibility can keep women in the workforce and will help the anticipated “War on
F
Talent” as baby boomers retire.

• lexibility appeals to the Millennial generation, which has grown up with technology,
F
abhors “seat time,” and expects flexibility because of their extensive use of mobile
technology.

Source: Shoemaker, Brown Barbour, 2011



Step 3:
Don’t just mentor; sponsor.
• Match sponsors and high-potential women in light of

Mentorships may benefit women’s personal program goals. If a program’s goal is to advance the
development in the workplace, but a study by Ibarra, promotion of high-potential women, they should be
Carter Silva (2010) found that they may not benefit matched with senior-level mentors who can
women’s professional development. champion or sponsor them into those roles. If the
goal is personal development, mentorship matches
Their study found that in 2008, 78 percent of high- should be made based on the frequency of contact
potential men were mentored by a CEO or other senior and good chemistry.
executive, as compared to 69 percent of high-potential
women in the study, and those women were more likely • Coordinate efforts and involve direct supervisors.

than men to have junior-level mentors. This puts high- Mentorship programs should not be run solely out
potential women at a disadvantage when it comes to of the HR department but should involve direct
promotions because senior-level managers have more supervisors. This ensures more support from the front
organizational clout than junior-level managers and can lines and increases the likelihood that the mentorship
more effectively “champion” their mentees, resulting in will be considered in performance evaluations, in
higher levels of promotions among managers who have training and development opportunities and in
senior-level executives as mentors. succession plans.

The study’s authors recommend that to make mentorships • old sponsors accountable. A mentorship program
H
work for women in high-potential programs, employers designed with the intent to promote high-potential
should: women into senior management levels should include
goals in which sponsors are held accountable to
• Clarify and communicate the intent of the program.
achieve that goal for their mentees. A mentorship
Mentors and mentees should understand that the program for high-potential women at IBM Europe,
mentorship program has been developed for high- for example, aims to promote participants within a
potential women and that the intent of the program year of the start of the mentorship. Failure to obtain
is to more aggressively promote high-potential a promotion is seen as the sponsor’s failure, not the
women into senior management positions. candidate (Ibarra, Cater Silva, 2010).

Example: Johnson Johnson
Johnson Johnson has long been an advocate of recruiting, retaining and
promoting women in their company. In 1995, it launched its Women’s
Leadership Initiative (WLI), an employee affinity group that supports the
company’s overall leadership development strategy by focusing on increasing the number
of women in leadership positions, removing challenges and developing women’s leadership
competencies. Today, WLI operates more than 100 chapters worldwide with members from all
parts of the company. Since the initiative was launched, Johnson Johnson reports significant
increases in the numbers of women on its executive committee, among company presidents
and managing directors outside the U.S. corporate offices, executive and director-level women,
and those with line and staff management positions. Twenty five percent of senior managers are
women; 33 percent of corporate executives are women; and 33 percent of the company’s top
10 percent of earners are women.
Source: NAFE, 2012.

57

Conclusion
The number of women as primary breadwinners and reckoned with. Organizations that recognize this and that
co-breadwinners, combined with their overwhelming actively recruit, develop and retain women into leadership
purchasing power, makes them an economic force to be roles will reap the reward directly to their bottom lines.

ATT (2012, February 8). ATT named ‘Top 50 Chanavat, A. (n.d.). Women in the workplace. Ibarra, H., Carter, N. Silva, C. (2010, Shoemaker, J., Brown, A. Barbour, R. (2011,
Company for Executive Women’ by National Thomson Reuters. Retrieved from http:// September). Why men still get more February). A revolutionary change: making the
Association for Female Executives. ATT. updates.thomsonreuters.com/ebook/#0. promotions than women. Harvard Business workplace more flexible. Solutions. Retrieved
Retrieved from http://www.att.com/gen/ Review, 80-85. from http://www.thesolutionjournal.com/
press-room?pid=22352cdvn=newsnewsar node/889.
Desvaux, G., Devillard-Hoellinger, S.,
ticleid=33838.
Baumgarten, P. (2007). Women matter. Landis, D., Predolin, J., Lewis, J., Brousseau,
McKinsey Company. Paris: France. K., Slan-Jerusalim (2011, November). In case SHRM (2008). A history of human resources:
Barrett, K.N. (2011, April). Gen Y women of emergency, break glass ceiling. The Korn SHRM’s 60-year journey. The Society for
in the workplace. Focus group summary Ferry Institute. Retrieved from http://stage. Human Resource Management.
Gadiesh, O., Coffman, J. (2010, February
report. Business and Professional Women’s kornferryinstitute.com/files/pdf1/In_case_of_ Alexandria: VA.
5). Why workplace equality initiatives aren’t
Foundation. Washington: DC. emergency_break_glass_ceiling.pdf.
helping women. HBR Blog Network. Retrieved
from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/why_ University of North Carolina (2012). Leadership
Barsh, J. Yee, L. (2011, April). Unlocking women_still_arent_equals_i.html. McKinsey Quarterly (2010, October). Moving Survey 2012: Women in Business. UNC Kenan-
the full potential of women in the U.S. women to the top: McKinsey global survey Flagler Executive Development (unpublished).
economy. McKinsey Company. Retrieved results. McKinsey Company. Retrieved Chapel Hill: NC.
Groysber, B. Bell, D. (2011). 2011 Board
from http://www.mckinsey.com/Client_Service/ from https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/
of Directors Survey. Heidrick Struggles
Organization/Latest_thinking/unlocking_the_ Organization/Talent/Moving_women_to_the_
and WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD). U.S. Department of Commerce et al (2011,
full_potential. top_McKinsey_Global_Survey_results_2686.
Retrieved from http://www.heidrick.com/ March). Women in America: Indication of
PublicationsReports/PublicationsReports/2011B social and economic well-being. White House
Beck, B. (2011, November 26). Closing the oardofDirectorsSurvey.pdf. Mercer (2012, February 21). Women in Council on Women and Girls. Washington:
gap. The Economist. Retrieved from http:// business: Analysis of gender representation DC.
www.economist.com/node/21539928. in executive/management roles across
Howard, A. Wellins, R. (2009). Holding
Europe. Mercer. Retrieved from http://www.
women back. A special report from DDI’s Zenger, J. Folkman, J. (2012, March 15). Are
mercer.com/pressreleases/Analysis-of-gender-
Catalyst (2011, December). Quick takes. Global Leadership Forecast 2008-2009. DDI. women better leaders than men? HRB Blog
representation-in-executive-roles.
Catalyst. Retrieved from http://www. Retrieved from http://ddiworld.com/DDIWorld/ Network. Retrieved from http://blogs.hbr.org/
catalyst.org/publication/206/women-in-us- media/trend-research/holding_women_back_ cs/2012/03/a_study_in_leadership_women_
management. tr_ddi.pdf. NAFE (2012). Top 50 companies for executive do.html.
women. National Association for Female
Executives. Retrieved from http://www.
wmmsurveys.com/NAFE_2012_Executive_
Summary.pdf.


Helping you
grow your greatest asset:
your people.

OPEN ENROLLMENT
U N C E X E C U T I V E D E V E L O P M E N T
PROGRAMS

Our executive development open enrollment offerings combine powerful continuing
business education content with real-world work experience. Through action learning
and business simulation activities, we challenge participants to think, reflect, and
grow as leaders.

GENERAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
• xecutive Development Institute
E • usiness and Human Resources:
B
• egotiation Skills for Effective
N Leading HR and Your Organization
Managers into the Future
• hange Management
C • Talent Management Institute
• ales Management
S
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
• trategic Planning and Business
S
• inancial Analysis for Non-Financial
F
Decision Making
Managers
LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVENESS
STRATEGY AND INNOVATION
• eadership Effectiveness Workshop
L
• trategic Innovation for the New
S
• Intentional Leadership
Business Environment
• roject Leadership: Build a
P
• Leading Social Media Strategy
Best-in-Class Project Team
• omen in Business: Transitioning
W CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
to Leadership • ecoming Green: Effective
B
Sustainability Strategies for You
and Your Organization
To learn more, visit www.uncexec.com. The Power of Experience.

59

A Model for Talent Manager
Excellence
FINDI Marc Effron
Up d a t
NG, DPresident, The Talent Strategy Group ed f o r
EVELO
E BEST PIN t o day
TALEN Shanley G, ’s g l o ba
TA L

T
Jim
Partner, The Shanley Group l ma r
ket s

TALE
nagement
Handboo
k has
Wit h N
C o n t r ib e w THE
d busines u t io n s
ENT M

s leaders

NT
who from
ated wo Dave U
l
rkforce.
Each a n d M a r ic h
HAN NAGE

rshall
Chapter 54
practical Goldsm
managem
ent it h
ip you to

MANA
:

B
new t This special section of ideas@

GEME
alent
work, Volume 3 has been

H A ND NT
DBOO MENT

uture
A

leader published with permission
THE

Th
s aut
from the authors of the

B O OK
est peo ing
ple “go-to” resource on talent for seco
inno
izatio Human Resource professionals,
nal e x and t
cellen
The Talent Management a com
ding glo
ce SECO
bal talen ND E ment
K

t manag Handbook. The book offers DITI ON workfo
d Strug ement fi
gles, Hu rms—
man Cap state-of-the-art processes Fill

Creat
nagemen ital Inst HR tho
t, Sibson itute,
Consufor those who want to
ing a
n-one p lting, To Managem
rogram wers

Sustai
designed take the lead in building • Att
Compe
ocks of to help
you

na
organizat “Su

ble
ional ex a diverse, talented and
titive
cellence
and • Desi
motivated workforce.
Select Advan emp

ing, D tage b organ

y
USD $6 • Impro

evelop
0.00
Ber
ISBN 97 “A Model for Talentg e r
Promo
person
MHID 0- 8-0-07-173905-
07-17390
5-X
4
Ber ge
Management Excellence”
ting t ing, an • Coach

d
5600 r and pre

he Bes
0
is from Part VI of the • See po
s
9 780
t Peop perform
book, Innovative
le
07 1 739
05 4 • Create
a
Thinking that Can Shape and sustai
In these
Your Organization’s EDITE pages th
D BY L on a wid
A NC E A . BE ployee co
e rang
Approach. R GE R
mp
competen ensa
D OR O cies, a
THY R Discover
. BE R G firsthand
E R ers like
Dave U

(c on ti nu


DT V EL O P I N G ME A L SA I L L SRF OE X CRE U A LE T E A M S
EA LE N T R N KG E R VI T L L N C E

IF
ORPORATE PRIORITIES WERE SET BY UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT ABOUT THEIR IMPORTANCE, executives
C
would be focused on little other than talent management (TM). With regularity, a survey emerges reporting
that corporate executives view growing talent as their first priority. In those same surveys, the executives
lament the actual state of talent in their organization and the survey authors lament the fractional amount
of time the executives invest in building talent.

This increasingly predictable dialogue obscures the fact that the real work of talent building isn’t getting
done in most organizations. As TM professionals, we must try to understand the few capabilities that
differentiate those companies who consistently produce great talent and great business results. As
experienced practitioners and consultants in this field, we believe a critical and often-overlooked element is
the capabilities of the TM staff. In this chapter, we describe the factors that differentiate great TM leaders.

Defining Talent Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To provide both context and urgency for our model, the heart of the talent growth cycle—identify, develop,
we start by outlining the functional boundaries of and deploy talent across the organization. In this article,
TM and offer a brief overview of the state of the when we refer to TM activities and the work done by
field. The functional boundaries are important, since TM practitioners, we are speaking about these activities.
as a field that emerged only in the last decade,
there’s understandable uncertainty about what work The NTMN survey also asks respondents to assess
constitutes TM. We look to the research of the New how their executives would rate the effectiveness of
Talent Management Network (NTMN), the world’s their company’s talent practices. You might expect
largest organization of TM professionals, to help inform that skewed self-perception or efforts at “impression
us in both areas. management” would inflate the response to this
question. Given the findings, we hope it didn’t. Fewer
The NTMN conducts an annual State of TM survey than half of respondents rated core TM practices like
that assesses what TM does, the structure of TM high-potential identification, development planning,
departments, compensation levels, and so on. Their and assessing leaders as Always or Often Effective.
survey shows that the types of activities done by Succession planning scraped by, with 51 percent rating
TM groups are becoming more universal and are this practice as effective.
different than the work done by other HR specialties.
The data shows that groups that are officially called Survey questions about the simplicity, transparency,
“TM” are typically focused on talent reviews and and accountability of those practices fared even worse.
succession planning, high-potential identification, career As a few examples, barely 30 percent of respondents
development, and assessment and feedback. Groups considered their development planning process
identifying themselves as organization development Extremely or Mostly Easy to Use. In only one of the
or organization effectiveness engage in these activities eight TM processes did a majority of companies say
much less frequently. This suggests a shift of these that managers were held accountable for follow-up. In
activities from those groups (or generalists) to this new the core process for TM leaders—the talent review and
specialty area. A notable exclusion from the areas of TM succession planning process—just over 40 percent rated
focus is talent acquisition or recruiting, which is done by managers as being Always Held Accountable. But it
only four in ten TM groups. was transparency around talent practices that fared the
worst of all. Just over 20 percent of companies said that
It makes sense that the activities listed above are the practices like executive coaching or talent reviews were
focus of TM, since these are the core processes that Totally or Mostly Transparent.
build talent in organizations. Together they compose

61

While there may be many reasons that these practices this not only the ideal time to focus on this issue, but
aren’t working and that executives are unhappy with perhaps the last time we’ll have an opportunity to. It’s
their company’s talent, only one is under our control. doubtful that corporate executives will tolerate much
As a TM community, we own our capabilities, and we longer a department that is so clearly underperforming
need to collectively own improving them. The increased its potential.
demand for great talent in our organizations makes

The TM 4 + 2 Capability Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TM’s recent emergence as a field means that no clear
success model has been developed yet. Based
on our experience as TM consultants and
practitioners, interviews with other

=s
well-regarded practitioners, and

2s
input over the years from executive

+
search leaders, we believe we have
identified the factors that differentiate

4
successful TM leaders.

We propose that there are six

ce
characteristics that differentiate a

c
high-performing TM leader. We

su
consider four of these to be core – the
proverbial “price of admission” required
to operate at an acceptable level of
effectiveness. Being great at these will
bring a modicum of success, but they are
only part of the equation. The other two
are factors that separate the great from the
merely very good. It is these two that
elevate TM leaders to their highest level
of effectiveness.

The Core Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Business Junkie.
Knows and loves business. Great talent leaders are income statement and balance sheet, and are able
permanently addicted to business. At a practical level, to trace human capital decisions back to the relevant
they are deep experts in their organization’s business. line items. Their understanding comes from firsthand
They understand the company’s strategy, how the involvement in the business—sitting through marketing
products or services are produced, how the RD process meetings, wandering the floor at the factory, going on
operates, and how the company goes to market. They sales calls.
can dissect their company’s (or any other company’s)



In addition to knowing their business, they genuinely just no better way to gain perspective and depth than
love business. They enjoy waking up each morning by seeing how HR challenges are handled in operating
to participate in the capitalistic pursuit of making and environments and under different business cultures.
selling things that produce a profit for their company,
jobs for their employees, and returns for their Those desiring success in this field should actively seek
shareholders. They advance a business-first agenda, out assignments, projects, and other opportunities that
in which they are responsible to get the best return broaden their experience in both different HR disciplines
from that corporation’s talent investment. and operating environments. No matter how superior
one’s TM technical skills are, without this additional
According to Kevin Wilde, VP, Organization Effectiveness knowledge and experience, it will be difficult to develop
Chief Learning Officer at General Mills, being a the credibility and perspective needed to excel.
business junkie isn’t “only knowing how to read a
balance sheet. It’s getting underneath.” He suggests an Production Manager.
easy way to make that happen. “Talent leaders should Can build and consistently execute talent production
be sure to make friends in two departments—investor processes. Some in the TM field think of themselves as
relations and business development. Have lunch with experienced craftspeople, building individual leaders
them. Bring them into leadership courses. They can in a labor of love. The best in the field know that they
share with you the items that the CEO and business unit are actually the production line managers on the talent
leaders care most about, and provide insights that no factory floor. Their job is to build and operate a process
one else can.” that turns out leaders who meet the specifications
agreed to, in the time frame that was agreed upon. To
HR Disciple. them, the “talent factory” is reality, not just an analogy.
Has comprehensive, firsthand knowledge of human
resource disciplines. The HR Disciple has a broad They approach their task with the same disciplined
understanding of the core TM areas along with approach to process management as any other
compensation, recruiting, organization development, production leader. They understand the raw materials
and engagement. He or she is an avid student of the available to them, the tools that can most effectively
human resource discipline and is able to effectively cut, shape, and polish that material, and how to ensure
translate ideas from academic abstraction to practical that the finished product meets quality standards and
reality. According to Julian Kaufman, who held the is distributed appropriately. They know how to keep
top TM jobs at Honeywell and Tyco, and now AIG, the production line moving to produce leaders when
“Academic knowledge is great, but you must have a needed. Excelling in this role means keeping those
practitioner’s mind-set—how do I apply this knowledge production processes simple. As Roger Cude, VP Talent
to actually solve problems? You have to put your skills Management for Wal-Mart, says, “Your processes
on trial to see if they really work.” must be elegant but simple. As a craft, we tend to
overcomplicate things.”
According to a number of top TM leaders, there’s
no substitute for broad-based experience to grow Production manager skills can be gained through
one’s capabilities as an HR Disciple. Kaufman feels practice with classic project management tools like
that executive recruiting experience is a great way to PERT (Performance Evaluation and Review Technique)
calibrate the gold standard for good talent. Exposure and Gantt charts, through exposure to Six Sigma
to other HR specialty areas (compensation, generalist, methodology, and most powerfully, through firsthand
organization development, etc.) is equally important to experience in operations or supply chain roles. More
ensure the TM leader has a holistic understanding of important, and more challenging to develop, is the
how these levers interact to drive performance. Another belief that talent should be produced with this mind-set.
critical differentiator? Multicompany experience. There’s

63

Talent Authority.
Understands the backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, to ascertain how well someone would fit with the
and development needs of top talent. Great talent intellectual, cultural, political, and relationship-based
leaders know their talent. When the CEO asks for a slate factor of the job.
of candidates, they can immediately list five names along
with the strengths and weaknesses of each. The most Becoming a talent authority only happens when the
expensive TM technology is no substitute for a talent talent leader has a deep, personal knowledge of the
leader’s nuanced knowledge about his or her charges. organization’s talent. This means having one-on-one
Talent profiles are at best a two-dimensional recitation of meetings with key talent where the talent leader
facts. The talent leader brings those facts to life through builds trust as he or she gathers information about
a deeper understanding of the stories and influences leaders’ careers, their ambitions, and their management
behind them. style. The talent leader must then integrate that
information with all the other data about that leader—
A successful talent authority also has a great “eye for derailer factors, business performance, engagement
talent.” As subjective as that might sound, certain performance—into a comprehensive three dimensional
individuals have a talent for selecting talent. They leadership profile. That effort requires a large investment
understand what it takes to succeed in a given role of time but yields very high returns through more
and have the ability to quickly summarize how well a accurate and timely talent decisions.
candidate fits with those needs. This likely stems
from matching an understanding of the business, its
culture, and the patterns of past success with an ability

The Differentiating Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

While TM leaders must have the above described This requires that the TM leader
attributes, achieving full potential requires even more. A s professionally credible.
I
TM leader must also be a Trusted Executive Advisor and Professional credibility doesn’t come from impressive
Courageous Advocate. educational credentials or long tenure in the role.
Demonstrating the Core Four provides the necessary
Trusted Executive Advisor. ingredients for becoming professionally credible. The
Uses credibility and relationships with executives to credible TM leader can integrate those ingredients
influence key decisions. As a trusted advisor, the TM in a way that allows the leader to continually make
leader uses his or her knowledge, experience, and the “right” talent decisions for the organization This
insights to guide key people decisions. But even with a includes being able to persuasively present and argue
strong level of technical expertise, a talent leader can for a position using the right balance of facts and
only become a trusted advisor by flexing a different emotion. Without that capability, the individual is
set of muscles. Being a trusted advisor transcends a destined to remain a technical specialist.
professional relationship. The TM leader provides wise
counsel on talent issues in a way that considers the orms strong executive relationships.
F
client’s ego, personal hopes, and fears, and reflects a T
he quality of a TM leader’s personal relationships
deeper understanding of the organization’s financial, with senior executives will determine whether he or
operational, and political realities. she becomes a trusted advisor on talent issues in that
organization. That strong relationship can only
happen after the senior leader trusts that the TM



l
eader has the senior leader’s best interest at heart. –
Point 2: Her personality characteristics are
To get there, the TM leader will need to demonstrate consistent with those who have successfully led
an understanding of the executive’s personal and teams through challenging times
professional agendas and the executive’s ego needs.
The TM leader will increase the relationship’s –
Point 3: We have strong development and support
strength after each interaction where the executive mechanisms for general managers in our company
sees that the leader genuinely represents his or her
best interests. – oint 4: She has a strong functional team around
P
her who will provide support as she learns.
Courageous Advocate.
Has a theory in the case and is appropriately aggressive A well-developed point of view is at the core of being
in advancing a point of view on talent, independent of persuasive.
its popularity. The Courageous Advocate has a theory
of the case about why specific talent choices should • Is Appropriately Aggressive. This phrase, provided

be made, and he or she is appropriately aggressive in by Kevin Wilde, captures a variety of nuanced
voicing that opinion. Those who effectively balance behaviors that differentiate great TM leaders. To
these two factors ensure that the right talent decisions us, “appropriate” means knowing how to select
get made. We’ll look at each factor in turn: which battles are worth fighting, knowing in which
situations pushing back will be most productive,
• as a Theory of the Case.
H and knowing the politically productive way to
A fact-based, brief, logical, and credible argument bring a potentially incendiary issue to the table.
about why a talent decision should or shouldn’t be “Aggressiveness” means not being afraid to voice
taken. It is the concise expression of a deeply held your opinions, to fight for what you believe is right,
viewpoint on why talent succeeds, the best way to and to not be afraid of pushing back just one more
develop talent, why talent fails, and the aggregated time. A difficult capability to master, many TM leaders
learning from many other talent interactions. A fail on their path to greatness because they over or
theory of the case might be that Mary can succeed as under use it.
a new general manager even though she’s never led
teams before because The combination of a theory of the case and the
appropriate amount of aggressiveness creates a TM
– oint 1: She is highly motivated to succeed in that
P leader who drives the right talent decisions in the
role and she’s breached similarly large gaps in her right way.
career development driven by that motivation

4+2

Conclusion
We believe that 4+2 Talent Management model capabilities will change over time. We are confident that
highlights the most differentiating capabilities for talent the closer that TM leaders fit with the 4+2 profile, the
management leaders. Given that this field is still in better odds we have for this profession realizing its true
its infancy, it’s possible that our view on these critical potential.

65

Drive your
organization’s
talent management agenda.
T A L E N T M A N A G E M E N T I N S T I T U T E

One of the most pressing strategic issues facing CEOs
today is whether they have the right talent with the
right skills in the right places. UNC is partnering
with three of the world’s most experienced Talent
Management Practitioners to help HR and Talent
Management leaders productively and proactively steer
their organizations’ talent. Come learn from Marc
Effron, Corey Seitz and Jim Shanley – it’s your turn in
the driver’s seat.

To learn more, visit www.tmi.uncexec.com.


Managing employee talent is vital to the success of
any organization. At UNC Executive Development,
we provide unique learning experiences to create
solutions for our partners.

We listen to the needs of our partners and develop
a deep understanding of their businesses and
industries. We also make a commitment to the
organizations we work with to meet their goals
and objectives while providing ongoing support
and client management.

We call our approach The Power of Experience.
We combine traditional with experiential and
unique learning. Through action learning and
business simulation activities, we challenge
participants to think, reflect, and make
decisions differently.

Our goal is to provide unique, memorable, and
transformational learning impacting individuals,
as well as the organization itself.

67

Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit Number 177
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Executive Development
Campus Box 3445
Rizzo Conference Center
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3445

In this issue:
How to Build Trust in an Organization

The Recruiting Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Talent Acquisition

Embracing Open-Book Management to Fuel Employee Engagement and

Maximizing Millennials in the Workplace

The New Business Imperative: Recruiting, Developing and Retaining Women
in the Workplace

4+2 BONUS CHAPTER: A Model for Talent Manager Excellence

ideas@work vol.3

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to ideas@work vol.3

More from Kip Michael Kelly

Recently uploaded

ideas@work vol.3