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Category: Career Transition, Outplacement and Mobility

Career Transition, Outplacement and Mobility

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Career Transition, Outplacement and Mobility

Cash or Career Transition?

LHH Vietnam’s Career Transition and Outplacement

Cash or Career Transition?

This could be one of the most important decisions your organization makes over the next couples of months

Let’s face it, it’s going to be a tough year for many companies. Last year, a mix of resilience and government support programs helped a lot of employers stay afloat and in the process, kept many individuals on the payroll who might otherwise have been laid off.

Although it’s not clear when those supports will disappear, it looks more and more likely that even with COVID-19 vaccines being administered, new outbreaks and new variants of the virus will take a toll on the global economy and push employers ever close to reducing headcounts.

Those conditions will bring many organizations to the precipice of the question posed above: if your organization has to manage a downsizing, will you give them the opportunity to work with a career transition firm or offer them a cash payment and let them face joblessness on their own?

We’re not talking about severance, which exists in addition to career transition support for many individuals in transition. This is a scenario where an employer offers a choice between career transition support or a cash payment instead of CT. In some instances, employers have stopped offering career transition and go straight to an additional cash payment, which means employees never get to find out the benefits of working with a CT firm.

Both options are the hallmarks of caring organizations that want to give their people the best possible chances of finding another job. But increasingly, we’re seeing that the two options are simply not created equal.

If your organization is weighing these two options, here are some important things you should know before making a final decision.

Career transition is a GPS for displaced individuals

Career transition has always served as a trusted partner to help displaced individuals navigate the sometimes opaque paths to new and better jobs. That has never been truer than now. With so many people displaced by the pandemic and so many companies in flux, it is harder than ever to find the best job openings and develop the strategies to land them. Like a GPS, career transition can help your displaced individuals plot the quickest route from their old job to a new and possibly better job.

Finding a new job is a skill unto itself

 Although some people are naturals when it comes to searching for a new job, for others, it is a strange and awkward experience. Some of the people being displaced right now may not have had to apply for a job in years. Career transition not only supports the development of basic job-search skills, but it is also a master class in strategies to help displaced individuals cut through the clutter of online job boards and get to the front of the line for the best available jobs. Finding a new job today is a huge task; a proactive career transition firm can help individuals connect to job openings, many of which never make it to the online job boards. In this very difficult and complex job market, CT is the right tool for the job.

Speed is of the essence – Career transition is the quickest path to a new job

It has long been known in the career transition industry that the longer someone is out of work, the harder it gets to find that next new and better job. Career transition consistently helps its candidates get jobs faster – up to 65 percent faster than those who try to find a new job on their own.

Career transition is a gateway to a broad range of career development strategies

There was a time when Career transition was focused on learning resumé writing and interviewing techniques. Now, however, that simple and traditional approach is gone. Career transition is now shorthand for reskilling, upskilling, and redeployment opportunities. Laid-off individuals are given an opportunity to re-imagine their careers, and career transition helps them identify the best strategies to realize their career dreams.

Cash does not protect the employer brand as much as career transition

One of the reasons why an employer offers support to displaced individuals is to protect their brand as a top employer. If you treat your people badly in a downsizing, it can prompt top talent to leave your organization and may make it harder to recruit top talent in the future. Research shows that best-in-class companies are 2.5 times more likely to use career transition. They know the warm feeling that comes with a cash payment fades quickly once displaced individuals realize the job of finding their next job is much bigger and more complex than first thought.

The lure of the cash payment will no doubt endure, particularly in a labour market where so many organizations are under pressure to cut costs and reduce headcounts. But if the goal of a cash payment is to truly help a displaced worker land on their feet at a job that is as good or better than the one they just lost, then the choice is pretty clear.

Career transition is a win-win for both organization and individual. And right now, as we continue to chart an uncertain path into the future, everyone could use a little win-win.

Why do organizations choose LHH’s Career Transition solutions?

Scope: we support client’s through downsizing, voluntary or forced redundancies, restructuring, layoffs, and reduction in force.

Cost-saving innovation: we offer affordable & competitive packages for all client budgets.

Flexible & customizable solutions: We customize solutions suitable for clients varying needs. We offer job-search, entrepreneurial and retirement road-maps.

Find better jobs faster: 758 people in Vietnam embarked on amazing new career adventures in the last 6 months with our help. 82% of them negotiate equal or better positions.

Contact us now to learn more about Career Transition or speak to our experts.

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Career Transition, Outplacement and Mobility

Why the Value of Outplacement is Always Higher than Cash

Why the Value of Outplacement is Always Higher than Cash

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If your organization is debating between offering cash or career transition support to impacted employees, here are some important things you should know before making a final decision.

Cash or career transition? This could be one of the most important decisions your organization makes over the next 12 months.

Let’s face it, it’s going to be a tough year for many companies. Last year, a mix of resilience and government support programs helped a lot of employers stay afloat and in the process, kept many individuals on the payroll who might otherwise have been laid off.

Although it’s not clear when those supports will disappear, it looks more and more likely that even with COVID-19 vaccines being administered, new outbreaks and new variants of the virus will take a toll on the global economy and push employers ever close to reducing headcounts.

Those conditions will bring many organizations to the precipice of the question posed above: if your organization has to manage a downsizing, will you give them the opportunity to work with a career transition firm or offer them a cash payment and let them face joblessness on their own?

However, for mid-market companies to get full value from an investment in outplacement, there are some common mistakes that must be avoided.

We’re not talking about severance, which exists in addition to career transition support for many individuals in transition. This is a scenario where an employer offers a choice between career transition support or a cash payment instead of CT. In some instances, employers have stopped offering career transition and go straight to an additional cash payment, which means employees never get to find out the benefits of working with a CT firm.

Both options are the hallmarks of caring organizations that want to give their people the best possible chances of finding another job. But increasingly, we’re seeing that the two options are simply not created equal.

If your organization is weighing these two options, here are some important things you should know before making a final decision.

Career transition is a GPS for displaced individuals

Career transition has always served as a trusted partner to help displaced individuals navigate the sometimes opaque paths to new and better jobs. That has never been truer than now. With so many people displaced by the pandemic and so many companies in flux, it is harder than ever to find the best job openings and develop the strategies to land them. Like a GPS, career transition can help your displaced individuals plot the quickest route from their old job to a new and possibly better job.

Finding a new job is a skill unto itself

Although some people are naturals when it comes to searching for a new job, for others, it is a strange and awkward experience. Some of the people being displaced right now may not have had to apply for a job in years. Career transition not only supports the development of basic job-search skills, but it is also a master class in strategies to help displaced individuals cut through the clutter of online job boards and get to the front of the line for the best available jobs. Finding a new job today is a huge task; a proactive career transition firm can help individuals connect to job openings, many of which never make it to the online job boards. In this very difficult and complex job market, CT is the right tool for the job.

Speed is of the essence

Career transition is the quickest path to a new job. It has long been known in the career transition industry that the longer someone is out of work, the harder it gets to find that next new and better job. Career transition consistently helps its candidates get jobs faster – up to 65 percent faster than those who try to find a new job on their own.

Career transition is a gateway to a broad range of career development strategies

There was a time when Career transition was focused on learning resumé writing and interviewing techniques. Now, however, that simple and traditional approach is gone. Career transition is now shorthand for reskilling, upskilling, and redeployment opportunities. Laid-off individuals are given an opportunity to re-imagine their careers, and career transition helps them identify the best strategies to realize their career dreams.

Cash does not protect the employer brand as much as career transition

One of the reasons why an employer offers support to displaced individuals is to protect their brand as a top employer. If you treat your people badly in a downsizing, it can prompt top talent to leave your organization and may make it harder to recruit top talent in the future. Research shows that best-in-class companies are 2.5 times more likely to use career transition. They know the warm feeling that comes with a cash payment fades quickly once displaced individuals realize the job of finding their next job is much bigger and more complex than first thought.

The lure of the cash payment will no doubt endure, particularly in a labor market where so many organizations are under pressure to cut costs and reduce headcounts. But if the goal of a cash payment is to truly help a displaced worker land on their feet at a job that is as good or better than the one they just lost, then the choice is pretty clear.

Career transition is a win-win for both organization and individual. And right now, as we continue to chart an uncertain path into the future, everyone could use a little win-win.

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Four Mistakes Companies Make During Layoffs

Four Mistakes Companies Make During Layoffs

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Optimising The Value of Outplacement

So-called mid-market organizations can benefit just as much from outplacement as big organizations. In some instances, the rewards are even greater. Here are four mistakes you want to avoid during layoffs.

There are a lot of smaller and medium-sized companies who think that outplacement support is a luxury only used by the biggest companies. That is a dangerous myth.

So-called mid-market organizations can benefit just as much from outplacement as the big organizations. In some instances, the rewards are even greater.

Outplacement is a service offered to employees who have lost or will be losing their jobs, to help them find new employment as quickly as possible. This could can include a new role in the same or a different industry, retraining, retiring, or starting a business. Outplacement services include career coaching, resume writing, interview preparation, skill development, referrals to hiring managers, and targeted job leads. 

However, for mid-market companies to get full value from an investment in outplacement, there are some common mistakes that must be avoided.

Mistake 1 – Only offering outplacement support to the senior-most employees.

Almost everyone who involuntarily lose their jobs experience feelings of insecurity and anxiety, regardless of their position in the organization. Even so, many mid-market organizations tend to offer career transition to only their senior-most executives. In reality, career transition can help employees at all levels in the organization acquire the confidence and skills needed to map out a future career path. Remember that your brand as an employer can be damaged just as much by a badly managed layoff involving mid to lower-level employees as it can be with a senior executive.

Mistake 2 – Assuming that employees who have gone through career transition services previously do not need support when they experience another job loss.

Regardless of whether it is the first time an employee has involuntarily lost their job or the fifth time, it can be a jarring, life-changing experience. Combine that with a rapidly changing job market and shifting personal goals, and it’s pretty clear that your employees need outplacement support each and every time they are laid off. This is particularly important in mid-market companies, which may view employees who have been through career transition before as more independent, and thus less likely to need additional support. Every job loss is a challenge and requires focused support.

Mistake 3 – Not consider the needs of the “survivors.”

It is very common for those employees remaining to be as profoundly impacted as those individuals whose roles are made redundant through organizational restructures. These ’survivors’ suffer a wide range of emotions such as relief, guilt, envy and resentment.

In addition, survivors can feel insecure, demotivated and anxious – all of which have a big impact on performance, sickness absence and accountability.

Good outplacement providers can offer programs that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of organizations to help the “onlookers” of change effectively deal with the business and personal impacts and improve their resilience.

Mistake 4 – Not seeing the bigger picture.

In times of economic turmoil, all layoffs have a big impact on society as a whole. The fewer people working, or struggling to find good jobs, the more likely it is that economic growth will suffer. And it doesn’t matter whether the layoffs are coming from huge, multinational organizations, or a mid-market company with 500 employees. When times are tough, every single additional person who is left in employment limbo creates a burden for society. That’s why providing outplacement support to everyone – regardless of the size of company they are leaving – is so important.

Conclusion

Remember that outplacement support is tailored to meet the needs of the individual in transition, no the size of the organization they used to work for. Everyone who suffers an involuntary job loss not only needs professional support, they deserve every chance possible to find another job, as quicky as possible.

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Reskilling the C-Suite: Leading into the Future

Reskilling the C-Suite: Leading into the Future

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C-suite executives are not being asked to personally match the reskilling demands that are being placed on other levels of the leadership hierarchy. There are some very basic things senior business leaders can do to ensure you are transforming yourself at the same pace and magnitude as you are trying to change your organizations.

I have always considered myself digitally literate.

I’m comfortable using all my tech devices and know my way around social media. In my position at LHH, I have regular and informed conversations with other senior leaders about things like artificial intelligence, machine learning and the blockchain.

So, when I agreed to take a digital literacy self-assessment a couple of years ago, I wasn’t all that worried about the outcome.

Turns out I should have been at least a little concerned.

The self-assessment is part of a foundational digital literacy course for executives offered by General Assembly, a sister enterprise to LHH in the Adecco Group. To my great surprise, I found out that there were several areas of digital knowledge where I just didn’t know as much as I should have.

That’s a tough realization for any executive leader. How could I be lacking in skills and knowledge that are so essential for success in the current business environment? That question strikes deep at the heart of a much bigger issue: the collective failure of executive leaders to engage their organization in reskilling and upskilling.

Unless you have starved yourself of all business news, you’ll know that the world is facing an enormous skills mismatch that could possibly leave tens of millions of working people around the world out of a job. Too many people are trained to fill jobs that are quickly disappearing; too few have the training and skills to fill the jobs of the future.

None of us can say we haven’t been warned.

From Oxford University and MIT, to the World Economic Forum to McKinsey, Gartner and PwC, the world’s leading strategic business thinkers, consultants and researchers have been warning us for years now that technology and the demands of macro forces like climate change are going to make many jobs completely disappear. Without urgent and focused investment on reskilling, there are going to be millions of people unable to earn a basic living.

And yet, in our client conversations and through all the available data we see at LHH, it’s quite clear that we’re not taking the action needed to address this urgent problem.

A recent survey by LHH of more than 2,000 hiring decision-makers from around the world found that less than half (47 percent) believe their organizations are trying to identify their employees’ transferrable skills so that they can be reskilled to fill future job openings. And only one-third are confident in their organization’s ability to deliver reskilling and upskilling programs

No matter how you cut it, those responses prove that we are just not meeting this challenge head-on.

So, why are the senior-most leaders failing in the face of the greatest human capital challenge in many generations? After considering all the possibilities and talking at length with leaders all over the world, I’ve come to believe that business executives fail to provide reskilling for their people because many of them are in desperate need of reskilling.

Many years ago, earning money as a student, I worked on an IT help desk that, on many occasions, required me to attend to the offices of C-level executives to help them with computer problems. Although some of these problems involved legitimate failures of hardware or software, in many other instances it was a case of executives not possessing even the most elementary knowledge of how to operate and utilize their technology devices.

Given that technology has a much larger role in all our lives today, the problem is just as bad, or maybe even worse now than back then.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review noted that while survey data is showing that the pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation at most large companies, C-suite executives were not being asked to personally match the demands that were being placed on other levels of the leadership hierarchy.

The authors of that article analyzed job postings for C-suite positions across a broad swath of Fortune 1000 companies. The study found that while digital skills were very much table stakes for chief information and marketing officers, only 60 percent of postings for CEOs and 40 percent of advertised jobs for presidents included digital skill requirements.

This data is a pretty graphic example of the disconnect many executives have to the reskilling equation. We all understand reskilling is a key to transitioning people out of redundant jobs into more sustainable jobs in the digital economy. But many of us just don’t know how to make that happen because our own skillsets are lacking and the people around us are loath to tell us how far behind we’ve fallen.

Fortunately, there are solutions we can employ. In short, it’s time for executive leaders to start changing the way we approach our jobs. It’s not just the pressing need to acquire more and better digital skills; we need to start building cultures where the people around us can provide us with honest feedback, so we know where we need to do better.

When you’re at the very top of an organization, it’s unlikely that someone else is going to tell you that you need to up your game. You must find the motivation within yourself to identify those areas where you need to upskill or even reskill. There are some very basic things you can do to ensure you are transforming yourself at the same pace and magnitude as you are trying to change your organizations.

Get out of the echo chamber. One of the biggest problems that C-Suite leaders have is that if they get any feedback – and many do not – it’s not honest or frank. The hierarchies in many companies ensure that the senior-most leaders are never in a position where their performance is being critiqued. As C-suite leaders, we should seek that kind of feedback and be willing to act on what we hear.

Get a coach. I remind C-suite leaders who eschew coaching that all the best elite athletes in the world, both in team and individual sports, rely on coaches to help them perfect their technique and fortify their mindset. Coaching helps us confront and reflect on our shortcomings and focus on corrective courses.

Use a coaching mindset when leading others. One of the greatest parts of having a relationship with a coach is that it will teach you how to use a coaching mindset to get more out of the people you lead. A coaching mindset ensures that you do as much listening as talking, and that you inspire others by showing your confidence in them. A coaching mindset, or a reverse-mentoring approach to leadership, not only helps you embrace your own skill deficit, but it will help you start conversations with other members of the executive team who might suffer from the same problem.

Future-proof your own skills to help guide your organization. Even though you’ve reached the C-suite, you still have a lot to learn. If you want to build an organization that embraces change and welcomes reskilling, demonstrate that you embrace it in your own job. Take a digital literacy course, register for some Harvard short courses, make sure you are constantly reading books and news to keep up on what’s going on in the world. Show the people you lead that continuous improvement through learning is baked into the culture of the organization at the highest levels.

There is no escaping the pressing need to reskill and upskill to meet the future of work head on. Change is coming. And business leaders must demonstrate that they are adapting to the seismic transformations that are unfolding today and those that are unknown to us now but which we will face soon.

If you want your organization to follow you fearlessly into that future, you need to not only tell them what they need to do, you need to show them you can take your own advice. Only then will you be able to find yourself on the right side of the upskilling challenge.

digital transformation

“The overwhelming response from employees is the positivity in feeling rather than outcomes being dictated to them they have more control of their own destiny,” he says.

This article was originally published in C-Level Magazine on May 13, 2021.

To learn more about developing a renewable workforce, visit https://lhh.com.vn/the-new-roi/

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Executives in Transition: Three Top Actions to Take in 2021

Executives in Transition: Three Top Actions to Take in 2021

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Executives in Transition: Three Top Actions to Take in 2021

“A recent LHH-LinkedIn poll found 47 percent of respondent organizations were planning significant overhauls of senior leadership, with six percent predicting a “total overhaul.” Less than one-third of respondents did not anticipate any changes in their executive leadership teams.”

John Morgan, Chief Operating Officer, LHH

Of all the things that Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos has accomplished in his storied career, none may be as important as the orderly retirement he recently announced.

Bezos, 57, had given no sign that he was going to step away from Amazon. The global pandemic and the economic restrictions that came with it helped the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace soar to new heights. 

But there he was in the first few days of February 2021, confirming to the world that he would step down later this year to remain the company’s executive chair, while passing the CEO job to Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services.

An orderly succession without drama, uncertainty and recrimination. Bezos’ retirement was as clean and efficient as a next day delivery via Amazon Prime. If only other companies could replicate this kind of executive transition. 

The year before, a collection of the world’s highest-profile companies lost key leaders from the very top of their hierarchies. Some, like IBM CEO Ginny Rometty and Ford CEO Jim Farley, managed orderly retirements with several months advance warning and their successors already selected.

Others were not so orderly. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger stunned onlookers when he announced in February 2020 he was stepping down immediately from his position. A major reorganization at Disney led to the sudden departure of Hulu CEO Randy Freer. Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match (which owns dating apps Tinder and Hinge) resigned her post suddenly because of health concerns. And Jim Murren left his job as CEO of MGM Resorts International with less than a month’s notice and no permanent replacement identified. 

And that was just 2020. All signs indicate that in 2021 we can expect a lot of senior executive departures – some tidy and systematic, others more abrupt and disorganized. 

A recent LHH-LinkedIn poll found 47 percent of respondent organizations were planning significant overhauls of senior leadership, with six percent predicting a “total overhaul.” Less than one-third of respondents did not anticipate any changes in their executive leadership teams. 

Why is it that some leaders and organizations create orderly executive transitions while for others, it’s a hot mess? The fact is, the vast majority of companies experience so few executive transitions, they rarely see the need to build a plan that covers everything from planned retirements to sudden departures due to poor stock performance, burnout or social concerns. 

As Bezos and other CEOs have shown, a comprehensive executive transition plan is an essential part of any organization’s business plan. An orderly succession, even when a sudden transition is required, will help the executive team adjust to new leadership, provide opportunities for knowledge transfer and boost an organization’s overall brand in the eyes of customers, investors and employees. The best executive transition plans need to be tailored to the specific needs of organizations and the executives involved. However, the best practices – transparency, collaboration and support – remain a constant.

Establish your transition team

A pre-existing transition team is the number one priority for any organization that wants to ensure orderly executive departures, whether it is a thoughtful succession or a sudden transition. This is the group that will take care of all aspects of the transition, from negotiations on severance to succession planning and, when required, public relations to help manage external communications.

The transition team should involve, at a minimum, a senior member of the board of directors, the CEO (if not the subject of the transition, the senior-most human resources officer and the company’s general counsel. This is the group that will plan and execute all departures and successions.

Where possible, carefully plan support for the executive in transition

Succession can be a difficult topic to broach with senior executives. Some interpret succession planning as a lack of faith in their performance. Others are simply not interested in leaving and thus put off all talk of planning for a successor.

To mitigate any discomfort or reluctance, the executive in question should be given the opportunity to work with experts who can help them prepare for retirement, if that is the preferred course of action, or plan out a future career path. This type of support helps reduce any feelings of isolation or uncertainty that may come with a decision to leave a senior role.

Set out a deliberate, defined process

For the transition team to fully realize its value, it must have a playbook that clearly identifies the process for an orderly transition, a first point of contact for all negotiations and comprehensive internal and external communications plan. Planning ahead and establishing both a transition team and a playbook will not only help ease the concerns of the executive in question, but also create confidence among customers, investors and employees. 

Executive departures are, by their very nature, disruptive events. However, they do not need to be destructive.

A thoughtful, well-planned approach for re-casting senior leadership can replace ambiguity with certainty and emotion with rational resolve. The best transitions are seamless, with as little confusion and recrimination as possible. They meet the needs of both the individual involved, and the organization. 

A thoughtful, comprehensive transition process established well in advance of any specific departure confirms that the organization involved is caring, well-organized and transparent. That is a win-win-win for any company.

Source: This article was originally published in CEOWorld Magazine on March 12, 2021.

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Six Questions You Should Ask in an Interview

Six Questions You Should Ask in an Interview

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Six Questions You Should Ask in an Interview

Here are six questions that you can consider asking at the end of the interview to demonstrate that you’re a thoughtful, curious candidate, with a genuine interest in the hiring manager, role and company.

“Do you have any questions for us?” It’s the final question to be asked at just about every interview, but it is still one that can catch people off guard if they are not prepared ahead of time. Even if you’ve aced the rest of the interview, you should always try to ask the people you are hoping will hire you something insightful before you leave the room.

It’s worth keeping in mind that any question that you do put forward won’t just tell you about the company, it can reveal a lot about you as a candidate, too. 

Generally speaking, questions you wish to ask should occur to you throughout the interview, and the question/s you will ask at the end of the interview will allow you to expand on or clarify on key points.

Sometimes though, you might end up stumped, with the interviewer elaborating on all the areas you would normally ask about. This is not a bad thing, but interview subjects often miss the opportunity to find out more about the hiring manager and build a rapport that could strengthen any future relationship if they do not pose a question at the close of the interview.

What you should be asking

With that in mind, here are six questions that you can consider asking at the end of the interview to demonstrate that you’re a thoughtful, curious candidate, with a genuine interest in the hiring manager, role and company:

1. “I would love to learn more about your role – can you share how you started out here?”

Learning about how your interviewer got to where they are now will not only show your interest in the interviewer as an individual, but it will give you a good idea of how the organization works, too.

2. “What is it that you most enjoy about working here?” 

This will give you a much better idea of the company culture and any perks or benefits on offer. Even if it has been touched upon throughout the interview, this is your moment to move beyond prepared lines and get into specifics. 

3. “What sets the company apart from other places you have worked for?”

Everyone has an employment history, and since they know yours this is an opportunity to ask them to share theirs, too. Whether they have more experience in the industry or have worked for different companies to ones you’re familiar with, this is where you can gain a better understanding of what makes your potential employer tick.

4. “How do you see the company evolving over the next 3-5 years?” 

This forward-looking question will show your interest in the bigger picture context of the company and the role, as well as demonstrate your long-term interest in joining the organization. 

5. “How would you define the ideal employee?”

You already know what they’re looking for in a candidate, but it’s always worth expanding on this to find out more about how they would see you fitting into a team and which attributes they feel are most important in their people.

6. “How would you define success for the applicant who wins the role?” 

This is your chance to get deeper insight into what the actual job will look like, with the bonus that you will come across as engaged and vigilant. 

Using variations of these questions won’t just spare everyone the awkward silence that can come at the end of an interview, they will also let you engage directly with the person with whom you are interviewing. 

This personal connection will stimulate interest, allow you to build a rapport with further conversation that goes beyond their prepared notes, and ensures that you stand out from other candidates. Not only that, but these techniques also give you more valuable (and most likely candid) information about the business and the people in it, letting you make a more informed career decision. It’s a win-win situation.

Source: lhh.com

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Head into the New Year with a Revitalized Career Plan

Head into the New Year with a Revitalized Career Plan

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Head into the New Year with a Revitalized Career Plan

Revitalize your Career plan: Take stock of where you are now in your career and identify any areas for development, set new goals, and celebrate your successes. This will give you the perspective needed to make sure you’re on the right path and have the information you need to plan out your next steps for the new year.

For your career to flourish, we recommend that you take a step back and conduct a career “checkup”—a self-assessment designed to help you evaluate the progress and achievements you’ve made throughout the year. And now is the perfect time. 

2020 has been one of the most challenging years, requiring many to adapt to significant changes in the workplace, increased stress and anxiety, and economic upheaval. Taking stock of where you are now in your career will help you to identify any areas for development, set new goals for yourself going forward, and celebrate your successes—giving you the perspective you need to make sure you’re on the right path and have the information you need to plan out your next steps.

But what should this career checkup focus on?

The industry and your employer

Before you look at your own skills and abilities, it’s vital to look at the industry you’re in. A bit of light research can tell you how viable your industry is, as well as its projected health. Be sure to seek out thought leadership articles and social media posts from respected industry authorities, as well as more general news pieces.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics website is also an invaluable resource for the latest projections on individual industries. You should also consider the performance of your current employer, and whether they are building a supportive culture that you want to be part of going forward.

Your skills

Giving yourself a skills assessment will help you see progress you’ve made in the year. Take stock of what you’ve learned, and what new skills you’ve picked up since this time last year, but also use your research to gain insight into those talents that will become most valuable in the future. At the same time, you need to consider what you may need to learn to stay ahead of the curve in the face of new trends, such as increased automation.

Taking positive action

A career checkup isn’t all research and soul searching. In fact, there’s positive action that you should take as part of the checkup.

1. Give your resume a refresh

Add new responsibilities, achievements, awards or accreditations should be on your resume, whether you’re thinking of looking for a new role or not. 

Tip: Use the bullets on your resume to highlight your accomplishments. Accomplishments are examples of how you have added value, versus responsibilities you had. Use a strong action verb to start each bullet. Describe the overarching action you took and give quantifiable results you achieved. This will help make your story more memorable and help the reader understand the value you can bring to the role.

2. Spruce up your social media profiles

Social media is one of the first places prospective employers will go to learn more about you when considering you for a role. In fact, 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary search tool. Update your LinkedIn profile—whether you are actively job seeking or not—to ensure that anyone who visits your profile will get an accurate snapshot of what you offer.

Tip: Update your profile summary and job description, and include facts and figures relating to key deliverables, to build credibility with your audience and make recruiters’ lives easier when assessing your experience. Embed examples of your work (links to awards, videos you are in, links or documents you have created/contributed to) to demonstrate what you have achieved, and ask for recommendations from people you have worked with and for. You can also look for relevant groups and communities to join, where you can seek advice and get noticed by contributing industry discussions.

3. Talk it over

Find a mentor, colleague, or supervisor who you are comfortable discussing your career with and ask for some honest feedback. It’s always good to get a second opinion. Asking them the right questions can help to provide a clear perspective. Questions you can ask to get you started include:

  • What would you say are my most valuable soft skills?
  • Which words would you use to describe my personal style?
  • What would you say I am an expert in?
  • Is there a time you can recall where I delivered something that impressed you? 

Tip: Use the answers from these questions to validate what you already know about your own qualities and experience and add new insights you gain to your resume and LinkedIn profile.

4. Get a head start on some soft networking

Reach out to influential contacts who you’ve made or helped over the year, and let them know that you’d love to work together if they ever need your assistance. Staying top-of-mind is a great way to find new opportunities.

Tip: Do your homework before your outreach, to ensure you know what your contact is currently doing professionally and to gain insights that can be used to personalize your approach.

5. Map out your next year

An action career plan for the next year lets you envision what you want to achieve and where you want to be by this time next year. It sets benchmarks that you can look back on in next year’s assessment, whether you plan for a career change, promotion or want to pick up new skills.

Tip: Be specific! Define the kind of role you would like to be doing, the skills you would like to develop, the kind of team you would want to work with or even manage/lead, and what success would look like for you. This will help you to crystalize what it is you are aiming for, as well as formulate an actionable career plan.

Following these steps will give you the purpose you need to make the next 12 months the best year for your career yet. It’s time to grab success with both hands. You have this!

Source: lhh.com

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2021 HR Predictions for Large Businesses

2021 HR Predictions for Large Businesses

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HR predictions for large businesses

There will be a great strain placed on HR leaders of these companies to work with the board to ensure that peaceful and smooth restructuring, outplacement and redeployment takes place. 

The word ‘unprecedented’ has been used a lot to describe this year. There isn’t a business that hasn’t been impacted in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it’s been a temporary shut down, staff having to work from home, or having to navigate the government’s furlough scheme – there have been a lot of business firsts. 

As the year draws to a close, it serves as a good time for organisations to take a step back and reflect. While the news headlines are currently dominated by the positive news that vaccinations have started rolling out, it is certain that businesses will not return to pre-COVID norms. 

Many of the changes we have seen this year will carry on into the future – we will not be returning to working life as it was at the start of 2020, and in some cases we have not yet experienced the full impact of the pandemic. 

So, what does this mean for businesses and HR leaders as we head into 2021 and beyond? We’ve outlined our key predictions below.

HR Qualifications Will Need Updating on outplacement and redeployment

As it currently stands, outplacement and redeployment do not currently feature in the CIPD training for HR professionals. We strongly advocate for this to change as we head into the New Year. The job market is in crisis, yet there are huge benefits to any organisation that actively seeks alternatives to redundancy. HR professionals need to know exactly how outplacement and redeployment strategies work, so they are able to make the best case for it to the business leaders. 

Redundancies Will Continue to Rise

While the UK Government’s furlough scheme is credited with helping to save millions of jobs from redundancy in the short term, redundancies look set to rise in the year ahead, with the Chancellor predicting that unemployment will increase to 2.6 million by mid-2021.

While the government is doing all that it can to help, it is crucial that organisations do not use this time to delay the inevitable or procrastinate. How organisations handle this issue will have a lasting and long term impact on staff productivity, brand reputation, employee morale, company performance and the wider economy. It is therefore vital for organisations to start workforce planning now, if this has not been started already.  This should include alternatives to redundancy including redeployment and reskilling for the creation of an agile workforce. 

The Creation of Employment Bridges 

In 2021 and beyond, we expect to see a rise in the use of ‘Employment Bridges’. An Employment Bridge is a mechanism that takes surplus workers at one company and finds them temporary employment at another company, while allowing the original employer to retain the ability to recall them when and if business turns around.

As we’ve seen, some industries have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, such as the hospitality and tourism industries. However there are other industries such as security and online retail that have a need for short-term employees to deal with increased demand. 

Businesses have found themselves in an unprecedented situation, which calls for an innovative solution. The use of the Employment Bridge is a solution that not only benefits businesses needing a short-term change in staffing, but also keeps workers in employment. 

The Rise of the Chief People Officer

We will not be returning to the typical office 9-5 working environment. Many businesses will continue to implement working remote policies, or at least will adapt a hybrid system – and all businesses will need to ensure they continue having the agility in order to respond to further  have the infrastructure in place in case of further strict lockdown measures. 

Companies will either employ someone to specifically look at company culture, or at least have it as a key part of the job description. Whether it’s to help with the onboarding of new staff, keeping employees motivated or even just recreating the social element of office life remotely – the organisations best place to succeed in the year ahead will be those who take company culture seriously. 

The Rise of AI Means Businesses Need to Future-Proof Skills 

The rise of technology will continue to have a fundamental impact on businesses and the world of work. In some instances it has created new companies, sectors and in turn job opportunities. On the other hand it has created a demand for a new set of skills that can be hard to fill, and has ultimately meant that some roles have become redundant or are no longer seen as mission critical. 

New skills are required to support this shift and business leaders should see the opportunity to enhance careers, protect employees and shape the future of work in a way that benefits all. Changes in technology, longevity, work practices, and business models have also created a demand for continuous, lifelong development and this can bring significant value to the workforce. 

There will be more M&As

As we head into another year of disruption, we will definitely see more takeovers and M&A deals – likely on a scale not seen previously.

There will be a great strain placed on HR leaders of these companies to work with the board to ensure that peaceful and smooth restructuring, outplacement and redeployment takes place. 

Source: lhh.com

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How to Build the Foundations of a Learning Culture

How to Build the Foundations of a Learning Culture

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How to Build the Foundations of a Learning Culture

Deanna Mulligan, the CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, was so confident that the “learning mindset” she helped create at Guardian was the way of the future, she wrote a book on the subject. “Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap” offers practical advice on creating what Mulligan describes as a “learning and growth mindset.”

Mary-Clare Race, Chief Innovation and Product Officer, LHH

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America did not need a pandemic to realize that their business, and the skills required to succeed in it, were changing rapidly. 

Deanna Mulligan, the CEO of the 160-year-old company, said everyone realized that many of the core functions of its business were undergoing a significant change due to the introduction of AI and machine learning. That meant many of the jobs at Guardian—particularly actuaries—were going to be heavily influenced if not replaced by machines. 

So, in 2019 Guardian set to work with General Assembly, a global leader in upskilling and reskilling, and sister company to LHH with The Adecco Group, to train actuaries to be data analysts. “It was a very rigorous, intensive course,” Mulligan said in an interview for the LHH Conversations webinar series. “(Participants) spent 10 hours a week at work and 10 hours a week at home studying for a year.”

The results of this investment were almost immediate, Mulligan said. As the pandemic struck and disrupted many of the traditional approaches to work, an increasing roster of Guardian employees were already well on the way to new, more sustainable jobs. “We’ve had some very successful graduates of that course go on, not only to work in our data analytics area, but just to be able to apply data in their everyday jobs.”

But Guardian didn’t stop there. Another pilot program was launched to reskill call-center workers to be coders. “As their jobs become more automated, they will have the chance to move on to another field, another area within the company where there are a lot of growth opportunities,” she said.

Mulligan was so confident that the “learning mindset” she helped create at Guardian was the way of the future, she wrote a book on the subject. Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap discusses the obligations that employers have to prepare their employees for rapid change through learning opportunities, while offering practical advice on creating what Mulligan describes as a “learning and growth mindset.” 

Mulligan agreed far too many organizations still put up a lot of barriers to the adoption of a learning and growth mindset. Some business leaders still view reskilling or upskilling as risky investments because of the possibility that employees will learn new things and then seek a job elsewhere. Mulligan said that is not the scenario business leaders should be worrying about.

“Other CEOs often say to me, ‘what if I train people and they leave and take the skills with them?’ Mulligan said. “And I say, ‘What happens if you don’t train people and they stay?’ This is a business investment and it’s really core to your company’s future but it’s a different way of thinking.”

Before Guardian could fully embrace a learning mindset and deliver projects to reskill actuaries and call-center employees, it had to build the foundation of a learning culture. To achieve that goal, the company started small, with an annual day dedicated to micro-learning.

Learning Day offered a wide variety of programs, from two-hour seminars to “lunch bites,” 30-minute videos on different topics that people could watch while eating lunch at their desks. It was so popular, Mulligan said that it evolved into Learning Month. “August is now the month where we have different activities every day around a learning and growth mindset. It is possible to change the culture to a growth mindset but none of these things happen overnight.”

The whole concept of a growth mindset—a term coined by renowned American psychologist Carol Dweck—is gaining traction in many workplaces. In keeping with Dweck’s theories, more employers are putting an emphasis on hiring people who believe that their talents and abilities can be enhanced through education and commitment. Mulligan said growth mindset is so important as a basic skill that it should prompt some companies to reduce the emphasis they place on academic credentials and previous work experience and start hiring based on a candidate’s capacity to learn and embrace change.

“One only needs to look at the situation we find ourselves in now, where we’ve all had to improvise over the last several months to accomplish things that normally would be easy to accomplish,” she said. “And the people who are best at that are the people who are flexible, who have a learning mindset. There was no job description for pandemic manager nine months ago. We all had to figure out how to do it. The days of managing risk by having people who’ve done the exact precise job repeatedly is gone. The world doesn’t operate that way anymore.”

When she is asked by other business leaders about where to start building a learning and growth mindset, Mulligan said her advice is simple: start small and keep moving forward.

“Don’t give up. This is major change, this is hard. You might fail at first but keep trying. The results are worth it. Your employees and your customers are depending on you to get this right.”

Source: lhh.com

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The Pandemic as a Catalyst for HR Reinvention

The Pandemic as a Catalyst for HR Reinvention

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The Pandemic as a Catalyst for HR Reinvention

Working through the pandemic, HR leaders have been forced to be more innovative in reshaping long-standing HR policies and practices to look for more strategic, flexible, and adaptable ways of managing their people function.

Sharon Patterson, EVP and CHRO, LHH

When Facebook announced in March 2020 that it was eliminating first-half performance reviews because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a lot of HR professionals nodding their heads in agreement.

It all made so much sense. After making the tough but correct decision to have its 45,000 employees worldwide work from home, Facebook quickly realized that normal performance reviews wouldn’t make any sense. Everyone’s work life had just been totally upended. Managers were still scrambling to develop protocols for keeping in touch and monitoring the progress of work. The new normal was more mystery than anything else.

In response, the company quickly retooled its review process: rather than going through the motions of a virtual review, all employees were awarded an “exceeds expectation” rating and given a $1,000 bonus.

While Facebook can be applauded for making a quick, rational decision in real time, it’s not clear what the company will do when, or if, employees return to the office. There is, however, a strong argument for a firm second look. The company has been criticized in the past for performance and peer reviews that discouraged dissent and promoted a sometimes cutthroat political environment.

Facebook’s performance review decision reflects a growing cognizance among HR professionals about whether now is the perfect time to improve, streamline and alter long-standing practices and policies that are not working but which have been starved for attention and resources.

The performance review issue is one of the best examples of a HR practice that is badly in need of reinvention. Although they can be an important source of feedback, very few are structured to meet the needs and expectations of today’s workforce.

A Gallup survey published in late 2019 just before COVID-19 struck found that only 14 percent of respondents strongly agreed that traditional performance reviews motivate them to improve their work performance. Given the cost, the survey authors noted, “many business leaders have started asking themselves, ‘Why do we do this in the first place?’ Are our performance reviews really helping us get the most out of our people and engage them?”

Gallup bolstered those results with another survey in 2020 that focused specifically on Millennial workers and performance reviews. That survey found only 19 percent of Millennials surveyed worldwide believe they get meaningful feedback at work. Rather than traditional performance reviews, Millennials are looking for more ongoing, more individualized feedback. 

Taken together, the Facebook decision, the Gallup results and the well-known concerns in the HR profession about the limits of traditional performance reviews, have created an unparalleled opportunity to revisit long-standing policies and practices to look for more strategic, flexible and adaptable ways of conducting evaluations. 

What other opportunities for change exist? Most HR leaders have a long list of innovations they’d like to introduce to improve or replace traditional practices. However, prior to the pandemic, it was difficult to generate urgent interest in these changes. 

Streamlined hiring

The endless job interview has been a sore point for many in the HR community for a very long time. Depending on the organization, it was standard for candidates to endure an endless string of interviews and soft meetings with leaders who have input on final hiring decisions. The pandemic has changed all that. Now, it’s important for organizations to focus the hiring process on only those people who truly need to be involved. Many hope that this streamlined approach—with fewer interviews and meet-and-greets—lasts into the post-pandemic period.

More robust onboarding

Let’s face it—far too many organizations survived for far too long without any kind of formal, comprehensive onboarding process. It was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach that tossed new hires in the deep end and expected them to swim. In a virtual world, many of those organizations have been forced to create structured onboarding that moves new hires through a process to get them acclimatized as quickly and effortlessly as possible. This is a trend that will most definitely endure into the post-pandemic world.

Reskilling and redeployment instead of layoffs

In this economy, it is impossible to avoid layoffs completely. In certain industries and sectors, many companies are in crisis-management mode, with drastically reduced prospects and profoundly uncertain futures. But in those industries and sectors where there is less threat, but still lots of uncertainty, opportunities abound for new approaches to talent management that utilize reskilling and redeployment.

The shift away from layoffs will not be easy for some organizations to embrace. For too long, too many employers shed talent when times were tough, and then went out and hired the people they needed as things improved. However, thanks to the global skills shortage, if you were flush with the wrong kind of employees with the wrong skillsets, there was no magic talent tree where you could go out and pick up a new crop of fit-for-future talent. Now, companies are looking at their current employees as assets with knowledge and expertise that can form the foundation of a move into an entirely new role. 

The pandemic has provided a keen opportunity to embrace or amplify reskilling and redeployment strategies. Organizations that take the time now to find the potential in existing employees and help them acquire the skills needed to fill future jobs, will be much stronger coming out of the pandemic.

It has often been said that necessity is the mother of invention, and that has never been truer than now. HR leaders have been forced to be more innovative in reshaping basic HR functions. Senior leadership has been forced, more than ever before, to listen and act on these innovations.

Although there is no avoiding the sheer devastation that some companies in some industries have suffered, there are many other organizations who may find they have used the pandemic to make quantum leaps forward in both HR policy and HR practice.

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