Inclusion and the Senior Leader: Retaining the Talent You Work So Hard to Hire
Posted on November 12, 2013 by Shannon Rios Paulsen, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
In this article Shannon examines the concept of "inclusion" and how it impacts success and retention of the external hire mid-level or senior leader.
Recently I have been working with senior leaders in two organizations regarding how culture impacts a new employee’s assimilation into an organization. This is a topic I have studied intensely ever since I wrote my Industrial Organizational master’s degree thesis on this topic 18 years ago. I had spent an interesting summer working as an intern in the Human Factors department for one of the largest and oldest automotive companies in Detroit. I made the keen observation that current employees have the ability to make or break the entry of new employees into a new organization. Many organizations lose a considerable amount of money by not having an effective process for assimilating new hires.
How an employee assimilates (or “is embraced,” as I call it) into the organization impacts both their productivity and the organization’s productivity. It also impacts whether or not this employee’s new, innovative ideas (for which they were probably hired) will actually be embraced and accepted into the organization. How the new employee is greeted by the current employees will also determine their level of satisfaction and engagement. It determines how long they stay and continue to provide value.
In thinking about the above, let’s talk about the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined by Wikipedia as follows:
Miller and Katz (2002) presents a common definition of an inclusive value system where they say, “Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work.”1 Inclusion is a shift in organization culture. The process of inclusion engages each individual and makes people feeling valued essential to the success of the organization. Individuals function at full capacity, feel more valued, and included in the organization’s mission. This culture shift creates higher performing organizations where motivation and morale soar.
We usually see inclusion relating to diversity or those already in the organization. However, I want to talk about inclusion of the new employee because this topic is crucial for the success of organizations.
Organizations know they must bring in external talent to ensure organizational success. Sometimes a skill set is missing internally or sometimes a new employee can bring new innovation to the organization to take the company to the next level.
And what if your organization has one huge problem…
This problem can be that current employees actually do not want to see the new high-level leader or manager be successful. The following are actual comments I have heard as a consultant/coach from internal employees about new leaders:
“We watch and wait, and it actually feels good when they fail on a huge project.”
“I know that soon enough they will leave the organization; I just wait it out.”
To me, these are scary comments indicative of cultures that do not promote or reward for inclusion of new employees. These companies could literally be (and probably are) throwing away millions of dollars a year. The cost of executive turnover is approximately $500,000 and up depending on many circumstances.
The types of organizations that I have witnessed struggle the most with this phenomenon include:
• Organizations that have a lot of history and have grown astronomically but still treat employees as family, thus creating a step-child feeling of new “family members.”
• Organizations that have built a culture of “growing their own” or “promotion from within” where internals feel it is unfair that externals don’t have to “do their time.”
• Risk-adverse organizations that operate from “fear of failing” vs. “succeeding,” meaning new employees are scary and hard to trust.
As a leadership and executive coach and consultant, I have designed processes to measure the current level of inclusion in your organization as it relates to new employees.
We work with the current executives and HR leadership to look at what the organization can do to better assimilate new leaders into the organization. We also make inclusion a performance expectation for current leaders.
There is one key component to any mid to high-level leader who is new to an organization: They should have a coach that assists them with this transition. It is a small price to pay compared to the cost of the leader leaving the organization. From my personal assessment, depending on the organization it can increase retention by over 50% of what it would have been if they did not have a coach. It also provides another value, the new employee is up and running and productive faster. A coach provides coaching on how to more quickly integrate and be successful in the new culture.
The key is to coach new leaders to ensure their success in the specific culture of your organization. Leaders have told me this coaching has been invaluable in learning the culture and integrating into the organization. I am there to ensure they make it through this “test phase” while they establish a “circle of trust” in the organization. I am a sounding board to whom they can vent, and I make an agreement that they must check in with me before they make any big change. I am honest with my new leaders about the culture, and I work with them as their partner to create strategies that help them become successful in this culture. It is my honor and privilege to work with leaders to ensure their success as they enter and contribute to your organization’s success.
Shannon R Rios Paulsen MS CPCC is an Executive and Leadership Coach that has partnered with organizations and leaders for the last 18 years to ensure the success of leaders in organizations. She can be reached at 720.515.3212.
