Source: Walmart video - “Walmart Academies - Tools for Success | Lee’s Store”
Managers, in order to reduce turnover, need to shift the focus of career conversations from promotion to progression and developing in different directions, according to Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis, co-founders of London, UK-based career development firm Amazin.
“Limited awareness of roles and a perceived lack of support from managers means that for many, it has become easier to leave and grow than squiggle — that is, change roles and develop in different directions — and stay,” the two wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review article.
Career conversations are “often rushed, low quality,” or even skipped in favor of day-to-day responsibilities.
Instead, career conversations should focus on “strength spotting,” the two argue, to see where skills might apply elsewhere in the organization. Managers should help underlings make connections to explore internal opportunities outside their direct team and encourage “career experiments” or trials working with other teams.
Two hurdles, however, often interfering with career progression is the reality that managers:
- Don’t want to lose their best talent;
- Are graded solely around their team performance.
- It’s Time to Reimagine Employee Retention – Harvard Business Review
- New Research Shows the Forces Behind the Worsening “Deskless” Worker Shortage – Boston Consulting Group
- How Clear Career Paths Strengthen Retention — and Diversity – Bain
- The five zeros reshaping stores – McKinsey
- How D.C.-area employers kept workers happy amid the Great Resignation – The Washington Post
- Amid Retail Labor Issues, Employee Retention Is Essential – WWD