Return on Investment in Talent

“As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.” – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Have you been wondering how organizations can be ready for the future of work? With the ongoing safety measures for working with Covid-19, tumult in the economy and protests in the streets, many of us are eager to move into the future workplace, knowing that the “new normal” will not be “back to normal”. What can we do as leaders to enable our organizations succeed in this future?

If you have been scanning LinkedIn over that past few weeks, you may have seen many companies putting out Diversity and Inclusion statements that are inspiring, and actually feel tangible this time. Some leaders have even stepped aside to make way for diverse leaders to take the spotlight, which is truly encouraging. As a leadership coach and learning & development professional, I have been thinking about how to enable diverse colleagues to succeed. My observation over the years has been that even in companies where solid commitments to Diversity and Inclusion have been shown in metrics, something is missing. The return on investment for all those efforts has not shown enough significant evolution in the top-level management and overall cultures of even the most inclusive-minded organizations.

Why don’t we position talent development the way that a business leader looks at an investment portfolio? Yes, sometimes you get lucky simply purchasing a single stock, leaving it sit passively, and realizing a significant gain as the stock rises in value. Those instances are often difficult to predict and maintain over time, and present a high level of risk if that particular stock doesn’t pay off.  Investing in a stock and letting it be passively managed involves a lot of faith and luck. Most investment portfolios diversify and spread risk across investment classes, and realize gains over a period of time. Portfolio managers are paid high sums to use their expertise to actively manage portfolios: research trends, know when to take risks and leverage opportunities in the market. While I am not an investment expert, my understanding is that while you pay significantly more for an actively managed portfolio, you typically realize a greater return on investment over time.

Why don’t we view an investment in diverse talent the same way? All talent should be actively managed in order to realize the best return on investment, rather than hiring someone and then hoping they work out. Classically, those who have been “actively managed” are those who are naturally more “like me” in the eyes of management structures. This is where the term “old boys’ network” is derived. For many years in corporate America, people who were known quantities – sure-things – were recruited and hired. Those same select few were actively managed over time, receiving the most direct feedback (it’s easier to give feedback to someone who is “like me”), invited to participate in key projects (it’s natural to surround oneself with people “like me”) and included in golf outings where they build more bonds and receive more feedback.  For those of us who did not grow up playing golf, mingling with corporate types in our families, or attending top schools, that leaves us with significant disadvantages. We also pose significant challenges to the status quo because actively managing us takes much more effort and energy.

I believe that we now recognize the need to diversify our talent portfolios in order to encourage a higher level of innovation in the future workplace. But this is not the time to choose a passive management strategy: a true investment in diverse talent means that we all take on the responsibility of actively managing the talent portfolios so that we realize greater returns on investment.

1. Recruiting Strategies: We need to create an architecture where we are hiring in order to enable the organization’s future. Rather than relegating sourcing and recruiting to junior-level HR folks (often new college grads who do not live your company culture – yet), one step is to re-think how we source talent. Why not look to mature yet enlightened employees with longevity and success in the culture? Give them the tools to create a more diverse recruiting strategy. Leverage the new hires to work alongside and learn from experienced folks who love the company. Rely on the new hires to enact all the important people operations projects and metrics that will help us measure success.
2. Coaching and Development: While I have personally benefitted from Diversity and Inclusion training for many years, I think this is the time to invest more deeply in the development of diverse hires and more intentionally in our existing colleagues. In many cases, a diverse hire is placed in an organization that was not designed for her to succeed. An investment in coaching and development programs to help new hires succeed (beyond new-hire onboarding) is a smart way to actively manage the talent portfolio. We also need to support our current colleagues and leaders to enable the future by offering them coaching opportunities to realize their continued success as well.
3. Transparency: Too often, Executive and Leadership Coaching programs have been meted out to either those who are already succeeding, or those in need course correction. By democratizing coaching opportunities and offering them earlier in our colleagues’ careers, we invest in their future successes and the success of the company by changing the dialog around awareness, effective feedback and continuous professional development. We create coaching cultures that meet colleagues where they are and build them up to be the best they can be. These efforts should be transparent and voluntary. When people opt in for coaching and learning at inflection points in their development, they are more likely to apply their learning and realize the return on investment.

This is an opportune time for Leaders, Coaches, and all Development Professionals to re-think how we can enable the future success of our organizations. If we have learned anything in 2020, it’s that foreseeing the future is less important than creating the architecture to weather the unforeseen that lies ahead. We all want to not only protect our investments, but also to manage them in a way that our organizations thrive and innovate!