Over the past several years, leaders across the corporate world have been faced with an unprecedented set of challenges. Having emerged–for now–from the worst of a global pandemic that caused issues including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rapid organization transition to remote work, it’s no surprise that some 72% of executives were reporting burnout as recently as October 2021. And, with a recession seemingly looming in the very near future, leaders are faced with a new set of challenges in a rapidly-evolving landscape.
Developing the skills to cope with these shifts is a critical consideration for any organization–not least because of the outsize gains that accrue from promoting internal candidates to leadership positions, versus hiring externally. In addition to improving overall employee tenure by 41 percent, specific benefits of developing internal leadership talent include a more cohesive company culture–all of which adds up to serious productivity improvements, as well as cost savings on both hiring and salary. In 2021, Gallup found that “it takes more than a 20% pay raise to lure most associates away from a manager who engages them, and next to nothing to poach most disengaged workers.”
How top retailers grow better leaders
In recent months, Carpe Diem Managing Partner Jeff DeFazio surveyed more than 150 leaders at large-scale physical and online retailers to learn how leading companies are approaching this critical issue, with a specific lens on innovative approaches to helping leaders develop the skills needed to improve personal and organizational performance.
Here are three interrelated takeaways from that research:
With many companies planning to continue offering the option of remote work for key associates, the issue of engagement is high on the agenda for leaders in the retail and ecommerce sector. To that end, initiatives such as setting effective work-life boundaries and investing in technology for frictionless connectivity are increasingly seen as table stakes. More complicated are programs to help remote teams connect and feel invested both in their work and their relationships with colleagues.
Underlying the importance of engagement throughout the company, one leader noted:
“The future [of leadership development] is finding people that are already committed to the work and moving them to the next level.”
Supporting differences and building a positive culture emerged as a significant area of focus for retail and ecommerce leaders, with aspects that are both related to and separate from the issue of engagement. One participant summed this up perfectly, commenting:
“There needs to be education on how to celebrate all differences in order to have an inclusive culture and associate engagement.”
Several participants noted the importance of fostering a diverse, inclusive culture that values and celebrates each associate as an individual. Remote training and DEI programs are key to this effort, and play a significant role in helping associates to connect with colleagues and feel heard by them–both factors that aid with engagement, retention and improving job performance.
The concept of providing access to digital learning opportunities–from learning experience programs (LXPs) to on-demand virtual coaching–was identified as a major opportunity for helping leaders to improve both hard and soft skills. Several leaders were particularly enthusiastic about leveraging digital platforms–including social media–to connect professionals with subject matter and/or skill expertise for peer-to-peer coaching within their own organizations.
As one participant noted:
“[We are] investing with executive coaching to focus on one or two areas, and managers get a lot of value with it. Now we are seeing cohort coaching; they will shepherd groups of four to six people–they get coaching from the coach but learn from their peers. In a structured way they are getting an enrichment by learning from people in different areas but at the same level. It generally is based on 360 feedback: what are some areas they want to work on based on feedback from others?”
Conclusions
The most significant takeaway is the extent to which leaders see engagement and morale as issues that cascade through their organizations from those at the top. This is reflected in the way that many of the surveyed leaders’ companies are attempting to leverage digital approaches to attracting, engaging and training leaders in an effort to create positive downstream impacts throughout their entire organizations.
While companies embrace of remote associates may or may not be a permanent feature of the landscape in the post-pandemic years, the shift to digital delivery of coaching, programming and peer-to-peer learning seems set to continue for the foreseeable future.
These market insights from Carpe Diem Global Partners are gathered from the firm’s extensive client work leading Board, CEO, CXO, and CHRO executive search engagements for public and private multinational companies. For deeper, custom insights, contact Jeff DeFazio at Jdefazio@carpediempartners.com.