Susan Scott's Blog, page 12

5 Tips to Reduce Employee Turnover

Decades ago you could hire new talent and expect most of them to stay for life.

It’s hard to believe such a time existed. Even before Covid job duration and change were accelerating. The pandemic sped up this trend. Employees expect more from their employees, and with a high demand for workers, employees are in the driver’s seat.

A study conducted by LinkedIn found that the average tenure for an employee in the United States is around 4.2 years. The age of employees does impact tenure. The median tenure for workers ages 25 to 34 was 2.8 years, while for workers ages 55 to 64, it was 10.1 years.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual turnover rate in the private sector in the United States was 47.7% in 2020. Certain industries suffer a bigger impact. For example, the hospitality industry has a turnover rate of 70%, while the healthcare industry has a turnover rate of around 20%.

Employee turnover is expensive. There is a cost to acquire talent, then an onboarding cost, and finally you have to calculate the lost productivity the organization experienced during the talent gap. According to a study by the Center for American Progress, the cost of replacing an employee can be up to 20% of their annual salary. 

High turnover rates can negatively impact a company’s productivity and morale. It can also create a talent gap and reduce institutional knowledge. Keeping talent and developing them is a boost to the bottom line. 

So how can you reduce turnover?

Let’s explore five tips you can implement to reduce employee turnover in your organization.

1. Provide Competitive Compensation and Benefits Packages

You can’t discuss employee turnover without addressing the money question. While it is not the only factor for employee retention, it can not be ignored because of the competitive job landscape. Compensation and benefits are one of the primary factors that employees consider when deciding whether to stay with or leave a company. If an employee believes that they are not being paid fairly or that their benefits are subpar compared to other companies, they may start looking for opportunities elsewhere. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to provide competitive compensation and benefits packages.

Companies can start by researching industry standards and conducting salary surveys to ensure that they are paying their employees fairly. They can also consider offering additional perks such as flexible working hours, remote work options, paid time off, and health insurance benefits to make their employees feel valued and appreciated. By providing competitive compensation and benefits packages, companies can demonstrate to their employees that they are committed to their well-being, which can help reduce turnover rates.

2. Offer Professional Development Opportunities

Professional development opportunities are essential for employee retention. When employees feel that they have opportunities to grow and develop their skills, they are more likely to stay with a company. Companies can offer various professional development opportunities, such as training programs, mentorship programs, and tuition reimbursement programs, to help their employees achieve their career goals. 

Prior to the pandemic, the HR Exchange Network said that according to LinkedIn, nearly a quarter of Millennials and Generation Z workers name learning as the top item that contributes to their work happiness, and more than a quarter of them would leave their job if they did not see a chance to learn and develop.  According to a report by The Execu|Search Group, 86% of employees would be willing to change jobs if the new company provided more professional development opportunities.

Providing employees with the opportunity to learn new skills and advance their careers can help them feel engaged and motivated. It can also help them feel that they are a valuable part of the organization, which can lead to increased loyalty and reduced turnover rates.

As part of professional development, don’t only think about skill-based training. Ongoing effective coaching conversations are also proven to increase employee engagement, reduce burnout, and even root out toxic work culture.

3. Foster a Positive Work Environment

A positive work environment is crucial for employee retention. Employees who feel that they are part of a supportive and collaborative team are more likely to stay with a company. Companies can foster a positive work environment by promoting open communication, encouraging teamwork, recognizing and rewarding employees’ achievements, and promoting a healthy work-life balance.

Additionally, companies can create a positive work environment by fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity. This includes implementing policies and practices that support diversity and inclusion, providing opportunities for employees to give feedback, and actively addressing any concerns or issues that arise.

A key component of a positive work environment is leadership integrity. Dr. Brad Shuck, an engagement researcher, found that 75% of employees who work for leaders who are compassionate and live with integrity say they are unlikely to leave their current organization in the next five years.

4. Offer Employee Recognition and Rewards

Employee recognition and rewards are essential for employee retention. When employees feel that their hard work and contributions are recognized and appreciated, they are more likely to feel motivated and engaged. Companies can offer various employee recognition and reward programs, such as bonuses, promotions, and public recognition programs, to show their appreciation for their employees’ efforts.

Companies can also offer non-monetary rewards, such as opportunities for career development, flexible work arrangements, and additional time off, to show their employees that they value their contributions. By offering employee recognition and rewards, companies can increase employee satisfaction and loyalty, which can help reduce turnover rates.

5. Provide Opportunities for Employee Feedback

Providing opportunities for employee feedback is essential for employee retention. When employees feel that their opinions and suggestions are valued and acted upon, they are more likely to feel engaged and invested in the company. Companies can provide opportunities for employee feedback through various channels, such as surveys, suggestion boxes, and regular check-ins with managers.

By listening to employees’ feedback, companies can gain valuable insights into their employees’ concerns, needs, and expectations. This can help them identify areas for improvement and make changes that can help reduce turnover rates.

Goodway Group, a digital advertising agency, reached out to Fierce to help with challenges in their virtual work environment.

In 2010, Goodway began working remotely full-time. Shortly after, managers noticed a problem. Employees working on project teams were reluctant to give each other feedback.

All criticism bubbled up to the direct manager. You could imagine how overwhelmed managers became trying to douse fires and keep projects on track, plus employee morale and confidence in the organization diminished

Goodway leadership approached Fierce for help.

After training in Feedback tools, team members don’t immediately run to the manager, but ask questions to uncover the root of problems rather than hide them inside their manager’s shadow.

Since managers received the training, the number of comments that employees submit to management through the “feedback” platform has dropped from an average of 10 a month to one — a clear sign that employees are now delivering feedback directly.

Goodway now hosts regular virtual office hours where employees can practice providing feedback with one of their learning and development managers which improves both employee feedback practice and creates development opportunities.

Summary

Reducing employee turnover rates is essential for companies to maintain productivity and morale, and reduce costs. Employee engagement is the secret. While compensation and benefits packages can’t be ignored, professional development opportunities, a positive work environment, employee recognition, and feedback systems are proven actions.  

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Drive Performance with Team Resilience

Finding the right lever to drive team performance is a challenge.

But there is one characteristic common to the best teams that will create massive shifts in team behavior. The tip this week is to drive performance is focus on the resilience of your team.

High-performing teams keep people thriving and working together. At the heart of every high-performing team is being resilient in the face of external challenges or internal conflict. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to change, and maintain a positive attitude even when faced with challenges or difficult circumstances.

High-performing teams are often called upon to handle complex projects, meet tight deadlines, and navigate uncertain situations. Resilient team members are better equipped to handle these challenges, as they maintain their focus, remain motivated, and persevere through difficult times.

When team members are resilient, they are better able to work through conflicts and disagreements, communicate effectively, and support one another during times of stress.

Understanding Resilience in Teams

Resilient teams possess several key characteristics that enable them to effectively respond to adversity. In our work with organizations across industries, we have found 3 common attributes to indicate a team with resilience.

Trust & Openness

Firstly, they believe that they can complete tasks together, and team members manage their confidence level to avoid complacency or unnecessary risk-taking. resilient teams trust one another and feel safe to take interpersonal risks, leading to a greater diversity of perspectives and novel ideas. This team’s psychological safety allows members to openly and honestly voice their opinions without fear of criticism or rejection. 

Model Teamwork

They share a common mental model of teamwork, which includes an accurate understanding of their roles and responsibilities during adversity. A common mental model of teamwork is the idea that individuals work together collaboratively to achieve a common goal. This mental model emphasizes the importance of communication, coordination, and mutual support in achieving success.

In this model, each member of the team has a specific role and responsibility, but their efforts are integrated and coordinated to achieve a shared objective. Members of the team are expected to communicate openly, share information, and provide feedback to each other to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Resourceful & Innovative

Resilient teams improvise and draw upon existing knowledge and skills to develop new solutions in real-time and even under extreme pressure. They believe in their ability to complete tasks together, share a common mental model of teamwork, can improvise, and trust one another to feel safe to take interpersonal risks. If resilience is such a key element in building high-performing teams, what can you do to begin building resilience in your teams? 

Building Resilience in Teams

Clarify Purpose

Resilience needs clarity of purpose, vision, and core behaviors. Have each member jot down what they see as the team’s shared purpose. Sharing and discussing these responses sharpen the focus of its mission and get everyone on the same page about what team success looks like.

Clarifying purpose can be hard. During a Fierce consultation, Kelly Paine, a Costco Accounting Manager summarized the problem perfectly:  “Sometimes it seems like the different groups all speak their own language. Finance speaks accounting. IT speaks Tech, and the Consultant speaks “Consultant-ese”. We need a shared language.”

Creating that shared language is what you need to accomplish to clarify your purpose and become more resilient.

Build Connections

Connection is the commitment to and investment in the good of the whole team across all members, as well as the ability to communicate well and resolve conflicts productively. Highly connected team members trust each other, have psychological safety, and are open to productive conflict. To determine the health of connections on your team, take a closer look at interpersonal behavior. If some team members seem reticent to ask for help, uncomfortable speaking their minds, or engaged in passive-aggressive behavior, install and practice better communication strategies and models.

Reinforce Positive Attitudes

Attitude refers to the competitive spirit, energy, and optimism that sets teams up for resilience. Teams that shine in the attitude department have team members who bring a “can-do” attitude to work. They’re willing to adapt, grow and learn with transparency. To assess the strength of your team’s attitude, look at how they approach risk. Is there a sense on your team that you can all brainstorm freely? That you can experiment with ideas and test strategies that may fail? If not, as a leader, you can take steps to encourage a more risk-tolerant culture, including signaling your attitude about risk through very intentional language.

Enable Decision Making

Performance is the ability to regularly meet or exceed goals, act with agility, and show a significant bias for action. High-performing teams consistently deliver results, but performance also goes beyond the numbers, to process. To assess your team’s performance-related processes, ask yourself the following: Are your team meetings productive? Can the group discuss issues and make related decisions quickly? Are the talents and expertise of all of its members in play? These are some of the issues that prevent high-performing teams from continuing to perform quarter after quarter.

Summary

We all are looking for the right lever to pull that creates change at a faster rate. While there are many elements to high-performing teams, focus on resilience because it touches so many other elements. Finding ways to strengthen the individuals within the team and building a strong network of connections creates an almost impenetrable force against challenges. 

Look for ways to build resilience and you will find your team’s performance improves.

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How to Be an Effective Manager

Effective management, like effective communication, is crucial for the success of any organization regardless of its size or industry. Effective management is important because it ensures that resources, including human, financial, and material, are utilized efficiently and effectively.

Here are some key reasons why good management is important:Achieving goals: Effective management helps organizations achieve their goals by developing and implementing strategies that align with their objectives. This involves setting clear goals, establishing metrics for measuring progress, and monitoring performance to ensure that the organization is on track to achieve its goals.Maximizing productivity: Effective management ensures that employees are working efficiently and effectively by providing clear direction, setting expectations, and establishing performance standards. This helps to maximize productivity and minimize waste, ultimately improving the bottom line.Improving employee satisfaction: Effective management creates a positive work environment that fosters employee engagement, satisfaction, and motivation. When employees feel valued, supported, and respected, they are more likely to be committed to their work and perform at their best.Managing risk: Effective management helps organizations manage risk by identifying potential threats and taking steps to mitigate them. This involves developing risk management strategies, monitoring potential threats, and taking action to minimize the impact of any negative events.

Being an effective manager involves a wide range of skills, behaviors, and attitudes.

Here are ways you can immediately start to improve your effectiveness as a manager:Communicate effectively: Effective communication is essential for successful management. Be clear and concise in your communication.  Remain open to feedback from your team, and provide regular feedback, both positive and constructive.Lead by example: As a manager, you are being observed by others.  Lead by example with your behavior, your values, and how you treat others. Demonstrate effective communication, professionalism, and respect, and your team will follow suit.Empower your team through effective delegation: An effective manager empowers their team to take ownership of their work and make decisions. Trust your team members’ abilities, delegate responsibilities, and give them the freedom to be creative and innovative.Provide feedback: Regular feedback helps team members understand what they’re doing well and where they need to improve. Be specific in your feedback and be sure to recognize and reward good work.Emotional intelligence: Managers with high emotional intelligence are able to understand and empathize with their team members, manage conflicts effectively, and build strong relationships with their team.

Learn more about our training programs and options that can take your management to the next level.

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How to Embrace Radical Responsibility

Year of Resilience Tip #12: Embrace Radical Responsibility 

“It’s all my fault!”

My team’s results, the culture inside my organization, the communication issues, everything. 

Doesn’t sound like a positive way to wrap up the 12 Tips for Resilience, does it?

But there’s power in taking full responsibility for your life and circle of influence. While it may sound counterproductive initially, accepting full responsibility for every aspect of your world transforms you from a victim to an overcomer. This tip this week is to embrace radical responsibility.

What is Radical Responsibility?

Radical responsibility is the idea that you are 100% responsible for your life and the outcomes you experience, regardless of external factors. This mindset shift is essential for achieving success in any area of life and greatly enhances your ability to be resilient in any situation. By embracing radical responsibility, you take full ownership of your decisions and outcomes, stop blaming external factors for problems, and start looking for solutions.

Radical responsibility goes beyond just taking responsibility for your actions and consequences. It means taking full responsibility for your emotions as well. Emotions are generated internally, and no one can make you feel anything. When you don’t take radical responsibility, you rely on blame, shame, and guilt to rationalize your circumstances and feelings and keep the ego intact. Blame, shame, and guilt all come from toxic fear. Radical responsibility means locating the cause and control of our lives in ourselves, not in external events.

Radical Responsibility is the voluntary choice to assume or embrace 100% ownership for every circumstance we face in life, not as some kind of “should” or burden, but rather as a conscious act of self-empowerment and the genuine exercise of personal freedom. By focusing on finding solutions rather than someone or something to blame, we take our power back and can ask the question: “What Can I Do?”

The Benefits of Radical Responsibility

Taking radical responsibility is crucial for leaders, especially given the high stakes involved in their work. Leaders are accountable for making critical decisions that can significantly impact their team and organization’s success. By taking radical responsibility, you transform your approach to the external world. You will see an immediate improvement in 3 key areas of your leadership as you shift your mindset.

Decision Making – Radical responsibility leads to improved decision-making. You lead from strategic choices based on your own values and goals, rather than being influenced by external factors or others’ opinions. 

Accountability – Taking radical responsibility increases accountability, you take ownership of your mistakes and take action to correct them, instead of blaming others. This behavior has a cascading effect inside the culture prompting others to shift toward action rather than hiding mistakes and blaming others.

Resilience – Taking radical responsibility also promotes resilience because you view setbacks and failures as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than reasons to give up. 

How to Practice Radical Responsibility

Radical Responsibility is a mindset shift and by embracing the concept and seeing the world through this lens the path to change becomes apparent. 

Yet reprogramming our minds can be difficult. Most of us live in a world where blame, shame, and guilt are used to justify feelings and situations and protect the ego. These negative emotions stem from fear. Instead of placing the blame on external factors, accept that you control and determine the outcomes of your life.

These steps will help begin shifting your mindset:

Accept responsibility for your life and outcomes. Stop blaming others and start looking for solutions.Develop mindfulness and emotional intelligence to recognize when you are giving away your power through blaming.Practice self-awareness to reflect on your actions and decisions and identify where you may be falling short.Set clear, measurable goals to take ownership of your future and commit to taking action.Take action to achieve your goals and hold yourself accountable for your progress.Embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, rather than a reason to give up. View every experience as a chance to become a more conscious leader.

By embracing radical responsibility, you take control of your life, make better decisions, and become a more effective leader.

Summary

The idea that you are responsible for your life and every outcome you experience, regardless of external factors, is a demanding concept, but a powerful step toward becoming resilient. By embracing this mindset, you take full ownership of their decisions and outcomes and stop blaming external factors for problems. This makes you a powerful leader with improved decision-making and increased self-accountability.

To practice this new mindset, accept full responsibility for your life, emotions, and outcomes. Develop mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Practice self-awareness, set clear goals, take action, and embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. By doing so, you take control of life, make better decisions, and become a more effective leader.

As a closing action when obstacles and challenges and mistakes occur, instead of asking “Who’s to blame?” ask: 

“What can I learn and how can I grow from this? What is my responsibility in this?” 

Radical responsibility will create huge growth opportunities on a personal and organizational level.

Check out these Fierce Resources for Resilience, Responsibility, and Self Awareness:

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3 Ways to Improve Your Collaboration Skills

When I’m thinking about improving a skill, to focus on something to be better, I often go to the definition of the skill of the word. For me, words matter, and I like to know how do others define it. When it comes to collaboration, I looked it up on the “interwebs” and found that it means to work jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something. It’s that last bit that I really like to focus on if I’m looking to produce something or create something or get a different outcome.

That’s why I focus on collaboration, I like to think I know a few things, but I’m certainly not as brilliant as I am with a group of smart people around me. So with that end in mind, there are three things that I encourage you to also embed in your practice to get to those results you’re looking for. Whether it’s to produce something, to create something, or to get better results.

The first thing is to be genuinely curious

Really expand your horizons to achieve better outcomes by having a variety of ideas represented in options shared by others. When you’re doing that, think about who is not like you, and who thinks differently. In our terms, from a Fierce perspective, we often introduce a team conversation with the idea of a beach ball. Every single one of those stripes is represented by the different people that are part of your organization, that is part of your think tank, helping you to collaborate to get the outcome you’re trying to achieve.

As you’re adopting that curious mindset, focus on learning, growing, and expanding, instead of just trying to be right and that will help you to seek the outcomes that you’re trying to achieve. The other thing is to think about when you’re seeking input from others, pay attention to what they’re saying, really listen to understand. Sometimes it’s natural when you have others that provide opposing input or opposing perspectives, or something you hadn’t considered. It’s almost natural to dig in your heels and come back with why your idea is the one that you’re proposing.

Intellectually I know it makes sense, if you’re trying to collaborate, you should be open and this is one of the best ways to stay open is to focus on your listening.

Truly listen to understand…

where the other person is coming from, what are they representing, what is it they’re saying and not saying? Really appreciate the diverse perspectives that others can bring when you’re collaborating. The other advantage to listening well, so that you understand where the other person’s coming from, not just their words, but also the emotions behind them, you leave them with a powerful, uplifting emotional wake. People remember that, and they’ll want to come back and collaborate more with you in the future.

The other thing to keep in mind, to embed in your practice as you’re collaborating, is really for yourself, push those boundaries. The longer any one of us holds on to a view or a perspective, the harder it is to appreciate different ones, from a different perspective. We tend to really love our well-worn grooves because they’re easy and they require little expended thought or action, right?

Make it a practice to make yourself uncomfortable

maybe once a week, if you want to start off slower once a month. You decide where you are, but really find those things that put you on the edge of your comfort zone, because that’s where you really have to pay attention.

I had a colleague once that was an expat in Belgium, and she described how just the simple act of leaving the apartment with her spouse and forgetting the key took an entirely different amount of effort than if she had done that at alone. The need to really pay attention to the surroundings and understand where everything is. It was all new, so all of her senses were heightened.

That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about when I’m asking you to consider pushing your boundaries. Things like taking part in a group where you aren’t the expert, where you know very little about the subject to offer a perspective, maybe even taking on leading a project that’s not in your functional area, to really learn, understand and make yourself uncomfortable.

When you’re in those settings and there’s a lot of people talking, whether it’s a team meeting, group meeting, seminar that you go to, wherever you are, where other people are around. Raise your hand and ask the question that will reveal to others that you’re still learning, you don’t know it all. That’s the sort of thing that will help you to expand and to grow and to develop some new, well-worn paths for yourself.

The other thing to keep in mind if you’re pushing your boundaries is to…

Seek the unfamiliar

Where are those mouse traps in your functional area of the business that needs some reconstruction or better opportunities to get those outcomes you’re looking for? Really push comfort level, I know that sounds like a lot, it’s almost become a trite expression and yet it’s so powerful. We learn more when we are paying close attention when all of our senses are heightened, and that’s often on the fringe of where we’re comfortable.

If you’re looking to improve your collaboration skills, keep in mind embedding those 3 practices that I just mentioned. Be genuinely curious, and listen to understand what others are saying. Push your own boundaries to expand your view of the world.

Remember to close where you started. Ultimately, start with the end in mind. Why are you collaborating, what outcome is it that you’re trying to achieve, and what do you want to create and build? With that in focus and these three tips embedded in your thinking, your success is practically guaranteed.

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Turn Positive Thinking into a Method for Reframing Obstacles

Year of Resilience Tip #11: Think Positive

Positive thinking is not avoiding negative reality, but reframing it so you have the power to make productive change.

This week’s tip is to turn positive thinking into a method for reframing obstacles.

There is a well-established psychological principle that our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes have a significant impact on our behavior and our perception of reality. This principle is often referred to as the “self-fulfilling prophecy,” which suggests that if we believe something to be true, we are more likely to act in ways that make that belief a reality.

You’ve seen this play out in the lives of friends and co-workers. Some seem to always be falling into opportunity and others into constant chaos. While we can’t promise a life of ease and financial abundance from this week’s tip. We can promise that shifting your mindset toward a positive direction and learning to reframe negative situations will improve your resilience and even impact those around you.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

Over the last several decades much research has been done on happiness. This has been an interesting shift for many psychologists and sociologists.  Rather than focusing on the negative and disturbing parts of human nature, groups of psychologists embarked on finding ways to improve happiness and well-being. 

The results of the research have proven to be beneficial. In studying happy and positive people several major benefits for the modern workplace have risen to the surface.

More productive

According to a study by the University of Warwick, happy employees are 12% more productive than their unhappy counterparts.

This shouldn’t be too surprising. When you are overwhelmed and allow yourself to sink into negativity about challenges it drains your energy and often leads to procrastination.

It doesn’t only apply to project work or daily tasks but has a direct impact on how effective your salespeople are. 

A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56%.

No one wants to buy from grouchy unhappy people. A key component of the sales process is the initial rapport with a prospect. Positive people immediately are more engaging and connect faster, especially on new sales relationships. 

Deeper engagement at work

With issues of employee retention and engagement at critical levels in workplaces. Anything we can do to move the needle in a positive direction will have a massive impact on bottom-line profits. A Gallup survey found that employees who receive regular recognition and praise have 34% higher engagement levels than those who don’t.

Also, in a study by the University of California, researchers found that positive feedback can lead to increased motivation and better performance among employees.

As a leader, expressing yourself to your teams in a positive language not only increases your work engagement but ripples out into greater productivity for everyone you connect with. 

According to a report by the Society for Human Resource Management, companies with a positive corporate culture have lower turnover rates and higher employee retention rates.

Learning to think and act positively is a critical quality of leadership that not only supports the growth of your people but improves company metrics as well.

Creative and innovative

Creativity and innovation among leaders and employees allow all of us to solve problems effectively and efficiently. In a study by Harvard Business Review, researchers found that positive emotions lead to more creative and innovative thinking in the workplace.

Every organization needs innovation to succeed and win in the marketplace. Your ability to be innovative is a key element in setting yourself apart from competitors. 

How Does Positive Thinking Work

There is a well-established psychological principle that our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes have a significant impact on our behavior and our perception of reality. This principle is often referred to as the “self-fulfilling prophecy,” which suggests that if we believe something to be true, we are more likely to act in ways that make that belief a reality.

For example, if you believe that you are capable of achieving your goals and that you have the skills and resources necessary to succeed, you are more likely to take proactive steps toward achieving those goals. On the other hand, if you believe that you are destined to fail or that you lack the necessary skills or resources to succeed, you are more likely to give up or not even try in the first place.

In this way, our thoughts and beliefs create a kind of feedback loop, where our beliefs shape our behavior, which in turn reinforces those beliefs. This lead to a self-reinforcing cycle where our thoughts and beliefs become increasingly entrenched over time.

Myths about Positive Thinking

Before we jump into practical ways for becoming more positive, let’s talk about significant misunderstandings about positive thinking. Positive thinking has been a buzzword in the self-help industry for decades. It’s the idea that if we simply focus on the positive, we can manifest our dreams and create a happy life. However, this popular way of thinking is a pitfall to our progress. It’s not about avoiding negative reality, but rather reframing it so we have the power to make productive change. This is not beneficial positive thinking but rather – toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity is the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic attitude. It is the belief that one should always focus on the positive and suppress any negative thoughts or emotions. This is harmful because it ignores the reality of difficult situations and prevents individuals from processing and coping with negative emotions.

To combat this misunderstanding of positive thinking it’s important to acknowledge negative emotions when they arise. It’s okay to feel sad, angry, or frustrated. These emotions are a natural part of the human experience. Instead of trying to avoid them, we use them to our advantage.

How to Think PositivelyAcknowledge Obstacles 

In any job, it is essential to acknowledge that encountering obstacles and negative circumstances is a typical occurrence. These manifest in many forms, such as an uncooperative coworker, a complex project, or a career setback, and they lead to stress and demotivation. By acknowledging reality, you identify ways to learn and improve from these experiences.

One crucial step is accepting mistakes. It is only human to make errors, and it is essential not to dwell on them. Every mistake presents an opportunity to learn and develop. Rather than fixating on the mistake itself, it is more productive to analyze it objectively and determine what can be done differently in the future. By doing so, mistakes are transformed into opportunities for improvement and help you grow both personally and professionally.

Learn to Reframe

Reframing negative situations by focusing on solutions instead of problems transforms your thinking. By shifting your mindset, you find creative solutions to overcome obstacles. To practice reframing, analyze how you process information and retrain your thinking habits to be more positive. Reframing questions help you and your employees see things through a different lens and improve problem-solving skills.

Reframing negative emotions means taking a step back and looking at them from a different perspective. It helps us see them as an opportunity to learn and grow instead of a roadblock. Positive thinking and reframing go hand in hand, as they both involve consciously choosing to focus on the positive aspects of a situation, rather than the negative. Reframing reduces negative emotions, increases feelings of optimism and hope, and improves overall mood and outlook on life.

Combine with Gratitude

Practicing gratitude and positive thinking helps to shift your mindset towards positivity, enabling you to navigate even the most difficult situations. Seek out positive things happening around you, such as the love of your family and friends, the support of your colleagues, and the beauty of nature. By focusing on these positive aspects, you maintain a positive outlook and carry this mindset into the workplace.

While you cannot control everything in life, it is important to focus on the things that you can control. Rather than feeling helpless when things go wrong, become a problem solver and search for ways to improve your situation. If you cannot find a solution, try to learn from the experience and comfort yourself with the knowledge that things can always get better. By focusing on what you can control, you regain a sense of agency and increase your resilience in the face of adversity.

Network Positively

When facing difficult situations, seeking support and feedback from others is crucial to finding effective solutions. Many people are hesitant to ask for help or advice, fearing that it may make them appear weak or incompetent. However, recognizing when you need help and reaching out to others is a sign of strength, not weakness. Seeking guidance from others provides fresh perspectives on the situation, and working together with others leads to creative and innovative solutions that you may not have thought of on your own. Whether it’s seeking feedback from a mentor, brainstorming with colleagues, or asking for assistance from a friend, remember that you do not have to face challenging situations alone.

Surrounding yourself with positive people also has a significant impact on your overall well-being. Positive people help elevate your mood and inspire you to be your best self. They provide you with encouragement, support, and motivation during difficult times. In contrast, negative people drain your energy, bring you down, and make it challenging to stay focused and motivated. Try to cultivate relationships with positive coworkers or friends who share your values and help you achieve your goals. Surrounding yourself with people who uplift and inspire you to navigate through challenges with a more positive outlook and a greater sense of resilience.

Summary

We can learn to navigate the intricate interplay between our thoughts, behavior, and the world around us by fostering self-awareness and critical thinking. As a manager, leader, or team member, negative situations and obstacles are inevitable. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to approach these challenges positively and view them as opportunities for growth and development. 

Leaders, especially, must possess the essential skill of healthy positive thinking. By concentrating on solutions, cultivating gratitude, reframing negativity, and seeking support from others, leaders can surmount even the toughest challenges and emerge more resilient and stronger than before. So, the next time you encounter an obstacle, take a deep breath, change your thinking, and prepare to tackle it head-on.

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The Benefits of Virtual Reality Training in the Workplace

COVID forced many of us to adopt virtual training to onboard new employees, enhance skills, and instill company values. Now that many companies have brought the majority of employees back to in-person work, some virtual training programs have been abandoned or scaled back. 

But we learned something during our time of remote work, virtual training can be more effective than in-person training. Rather than traditional training methods filled with endless PowerPoints and awkward conversations, we can engage team members with creativity and innovation. Interactive virtual learning boosts engagement by 50 percent and enhances knowledge retention by more than 20%. 

Of course, there are also advantages to the cost and delivery of this training modality. Let’s examine the benefits and the best use cases for implementing virtual training in your organization. 

Benefits of Virtual Reality Training in the WorkplaceCost Effective

Virtual training is often more cost-effective than in-person training. According to one study, virtual training can save up to 50% in training costs when compared to in-person training. Especially when you factor in potential travel costs, event planning, and food costs, in-person training can put a dent in your training budget.

Flexibility

Virtual training allows for greater flexibility and convenience for employees. According to a survey, 68% of workers prefer to learn at their own pace, and 49% prefer to learn at the time and place of their choosing. This dramatically reduces business operations. Training is necessary, but taking employees out of their normal pace of work creates a backlog of work when employees return. Allowing people the flexibility to insert training into their schedule when convenient not only prevents interruptions but creates a deeper focus on the training. 

Improved Skill Retention

Virtual training can lead to better retention of information. According to a study, participants in virtual training retain up to 60% more information than in-person training.

Accenture, the global consulting firm, says that “experiential learning has long been argued as the most effective way to learn, and studies have shown that learning through experience increases learning quality by up to 75 percent.” The firm indicates this approach allows companies to recreate real-life situations, reduce travel costs to outside training, and increase the repetition of experiences to allow employees the opportunity to practice for longer periods.

Increased Engagement

Virtual Training is bigger than merely delivering videos or PowerPoint with a retention test. Real-time virtual interactions can take place that allows employees the ability to practice the skills being taught. Gamification, interactive quizzes, and virtual reality simulations are just some of the ways that virtual training can be made more engaging.

At Fierce, we’ve seen this, especially in what we refer to as “micro-learnings”. Rather than long session training, research, and experience have shown us that small chunks of training in as little as 15-minute increments can provide deep skill acquisition.

Software Advice reported that most employees (58 percent) would more likely use online learning courses if they were broken into “multiple, shorter lessons” and creates more than 50 percent higher engagement

Reduces Onboarding Time

Onboarding new employees can be daunting, especially when employees are remote. Virtual training has allowed companies to decrease onboarding time and also improve overall employee retention. 

Virtual simulations allow new employees to practice skills they will need in their roles as well as quickly assimilate company knowledge.

Instills Company Culture and Values

Creating a cohesive company culture is challenging. Virtual training has proven to create a real-world experience that demonstrates the company’s values and brand promise to customers.

Because of the flexibility of virtual training, these don’t have to be annual events where you attempt to transmit culture but can be an ongoing process throughout the year.

Fierce Experience with Virtual Training

As an organization committed to transforming company culture, creating strong leaders, and high-performing teams, we knew we must move beyond traditional training models. While the Fierce methodology has been effective, we knew we could improve skill acquisition more broadly through the organizations we work with. 

In early 2020, one of our key solutions and crucial strategies was to use 3D/VR simulations. The simulations put the user in a gaming-like environment in which they control the direction of the conversation, learning along the way as well as from the outcome.  

The 3D/VR environments can be very elaborate. Still, the point is to immerse the learner in the scenario and allow the learner to participate in a safe environment where they can learn or hit re-do to try again.  

3D Simulations allow you to bring short and engaging 3D real-world micro-learning to your organization for optimum scalability and knowledge retention. 3D simulations delivered through WebVR are a powerful and interactive way to learn. 

Training doesn’t have to be hours or days in length to be effective. Recent research shows that micro-learning improves training engagement by 50 percent, while also enhancing knowledge retention by more than 20 percent. In addition, studies have shown that this quick and easy real-world learning modality means employees spend up to 40 percent less time in training.

Above and beyond the reality of higher knowledge retention and better learning is the huge benefit of convenience that WebVR bite-size learning provides. Using technology like WebVR for micro-learning allows organizational leaders to provide employees with scalable training that addresses what’s most needed, in the moment, and a 3D real-world experience. Plus, it doesn’t take more than a few moments for learners to absorb.

Fierce 3D Simulations

Fierce 3D simulations is one aspect of our journey into virtual training. We designed it to be fully customized for any business needs no matter how challenging they may be.  Fierce 3D simulations include: 

Micro-learning interactive real-world scenarios, which are custom-built by Fierce specifically for all levels of learners in any organizationPersonalized, unique avatars that create captivating roles within your scenarios to build empathy and engage your learnersHands-on training to explore emotional responses, get immediate feedback, and reflect on performance all in a safe environmentAvailable on laptop, mobile, tablet, and desktopCustomized branding within all simulationsIntegrates with Articulate, Adobe Captivate, Google Docs, Microsoft Office 365, and many moreGamification capabilities for maximizing learner engagement and knowledge retentionCustomized to capture the look and feel of your location, organization, and audiences

Chantell Brandt, VP of Leadership Development at Hancock Whitney implemented Fierce Simulations in her organization and commented:

“When looking for a way to help our associates have meaningful conversations around belonging and inclusion, we turned to Fierce. The simulations allow us to provide actionable real-time learning to embed the desired behaviors.”

Summary

Virtual reality training has proved to be a cost-effective and flexible solution that enhances knowledge retention and learning engagement, allowing employees to learn at their own pace and convenience. It reduces onboarding time and instills company culture and values. Interactive learning and real-world simulations through virtual reality can be fully customized to any business need and offer a safe environment for learners to practice skills they need in their roles. The benefits of virtual reality training have been proven through both research and experience. It is a valuable addition to any organization committed to transforming company culture, and creating strong leaders, and high-performing teams.

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Understanding Gratitude and How to Implement it in Your Life and at Work

Year of Resilience Tip #10: Practice Gratitude

 

Research around gratitude is one of the secrets of a resilient life. Understanding gratitude and how to implement it in your life and work teams will strengthen your ability to 

The tip this week is to begin implementing a proven gratitude practice, resilience. 

In the face of adversity, it is easy to feel down and discouraged. However, cultivating gratitude and resilience can help us to maintain a positive outlook and overcome challenges. Gratitude is the practice of acknowledging and appreciating the good things we have in life, while resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult situations. In this blog post, we will explore the connection between gratitude and resilience, and how these two qualities can help us to thrive in the face of adversity.

The Benefits of Gratitude on Resilience

Gratitude has been shown to have several benefits for our mental health and overall well-being. When we focus on the good things in our lives, we are less likely to feel anxious, depressed, or stressed. Gratitude helps us build stronger relationships with others, as we are more likely to express appreciation and kindness towards those around us. Research has even demonstrated physical benefits such as improving sleep quality and boosting the immune system.

Gratitude plays a key role in building resilience. as it helps us to maintain a positive outlook even in the face of adversity. By focusing on the good things in our lives, we can develop a sense of perspective that allows us to see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. When we practice gratitude regularly, we are better equipped to handle difficult situations and maintain our emotional well-being in the face of adversity.

The reason that gratitude impacts mental health is that it literally rewires our brains and induces structural changes that impact emotion and our ability to find opportunities.

Benefits in the Workplace

Gratitude and resilience are important qualities not just in our personal lives, but also in the workplace. When we express gratitude towards our colleagues and bosses, we build stronger relationships and foster a more positive work environment. 

Imagine a sales team that is struggling to meet its targets. Instead of becoming discouraged, giving up, or descending into toxic competition, the team leader encourages them to focus on the positive aspects of their work, like building relationships with clients and helping customers find solutions to their problems. By cultivating a sense of gratitude for the good things in their work, the leader instills motivation for healthy attitudes and improved performance.

Another major benefit in the workplace is the “witnessing effect.” This term comes from Sara Algoe, a psychology and neuroscience researcher. Expressing public feelings of gratitude toward another person causes others who “witness” this expression to view the benefactor in a positive light and as a resource for help and action. As a leader, expressing gratitude to an individual in a team setting changes how that person is viewed by other team members. This is a powerful motivational and team-building strategy.

Strategies for Cultivating Gratitude and Resilience

There are many strategies we can use to cultivate gratitude and resilience in our lives. Robert Emmons, a psychology researcher at UC Davis, breaks gratitude into two key parts. 

Affirming the good things we’ve receivedAcknowledging the beneficial role other people play in our lives

When you seek to practice gratitude, it is about focusing on the small things that rewire the brain. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says, “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” 

These 8 strategies will help you begin to instill gratitude in your life.

Gratitude Journal – In every study on gratitude, the gratitude journal always makes a list of actions with the power to quickly change our mental health. This doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Daily writing down 1-3 things you are grateful for is the minimum effective dose. This focuses us on the positive aspects of our lives and builds a sense of appreciation for the good things we have. 

By recalling moments of gratitude, you retrain your mind to look for good events in your daily life.This is exactly why grateful people tend to see more opportunities.

Mindfulness – Mindfulness is the act of being present and aware of your surroundings. By taking the time to tune into the present moment, you increase your ability to notice the positive things around you and feel grateful for them. For example, if you are a naturally grateful person, you may already be more mindful of the kind gestures of others. The more you practice mindfulness, the more likely you are to recognize the good things in your life that you can be thankful for. This, in turn, leads to greater satisfaction and happiness. Being mindful of your surroundings is crucial for appreciating the beauty of nature, the kindness of others, and the opportunities that life presents. Whether it’s noticing someone’s help in the kitchen or the color of the sky, simply taking the time to be aware will generate a sense of gratitude.

Share your gratitude for your loved ones – It’s common for many of us to unintentionally overlook the kindness shown to us by our loved ones. To combat this, why not make it a habit to express gratitude through simple gestures like saying ‘thank you’ or giving a hug when you notice their acts of kindness? It’s important to appreciate and acknowledge their efforts, and not take them for granted. This practice of regularly showing gratitude improves and fortifies your relationships with those around you.

Studies have shown that sharing your gratitude with others has a positive impact on your relationships.

So, the next time your partner, friend, or family member does something that you appreciate, make it a point to let them know how grateful you are for their kindness.

Be Grateful for Adversity – Try reframing every event, including negative ones, as something that happened for your benefit. Even if it was bad, remember it. It’s useful to recall past hardships to cultivate gratitude in your present state. By reflecting on how challenging life used to be and how much progress you’ve made, you create a clear contrast in your mind. This contrast provides a rich foundation for gratitude.

Use Visual Reminders – Visual reminders are effective in triggering gratitude as forgetfulness and lack of mindful awareness are the primary obstacles to gratefulness. Other people often serve as the best visual reminders.

Make a Vow to Practice Gratitude – According to research, taking an oath to perform a behavior increases the chances of actually following through with it. As a result, create your own gratitude vow, such as “I pledge to acknowledge my blessings every day,” and display it somewhere where you’ll see it daily to serve as a reminder.

Watch Your Language – Your words are powerful in shaping the way you view the world. Individuals who experience gratitude tend to utilize a specific style of language that emphasizes gifts, givers, blessings, being blessed, good fortune, being fortunate, and abundance. It is important to note that when expressing gratitude, the focus should not be on one’s own inherent goodness, but rather on the good deeds performed by others on their behalf.

Pretend to be grateful – Performing grateful gestures such as smiling, expressing appreciation, and composing letters of gratitude induces feelings of gratitude. Even when you don’t feel grateful, engaging in these “grateful motions” frequently helps evoke the emotion of gratitude more regularly.

Conclusion

Gratitude and resilience are powerful tools for maintaining a positive outlook and overcoming challenges. By focusing on the good things in our lives and building a sense of perspective, we develop the resilience we need to thrive in the face of adversity. Whether we are facing personal struggles or workplace challenges, cultivating gratitude and resilience helps us to stay strong and move forward with our lives.

Additional ResourcesThe Science of GratitudeHow to Practice MindfulnessFierce Resilience Pulse by Fierce 

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How to Create Resilient Goals

Year of Resilience Tip 9: Create Resilient Goals“A Goal without A Plan is Just a Wish”

The origins of this modern proverb are unknown, but it gets to the heart of why goals generate stress in our lives. We know something needs to happen. We have a vague sense of what that will look like, but nothing is crystalized into clear steps.

Vague and unclear goals create feelings of overwhelm. Creating manageable goals with clear actions avoids the stress of achieving the impossible.

The tip this week is to build resilience by creating the right kind of goals.

The Truth about Goals

Goal-setting is important. Merely setting a goal in writing, even if it is vague, increases your ability to achieve them A study from the Dominican University found that people who wrote down their goals were 42% more likely to achieve them.

Even though goals can create stress, setting challenging goals does lead to higher levels of performance than setting easy or vague goals (Journal of Applied Psychology). The key is knowing how to articulate and manage the goal-setting process for achievement.

Having accountability also increases the likelihood of achieving goals. One study found that people who had a specific accountability appointment with a friend were 95% more likely to achieve their goals than those who didn’t have such an appointment (American Society of Training and Development).

Goals are important not only in the workplace where we all have financial targets to achieve and projects to be completed, but goals toward personal development and skill building help develop greater resilience against change and obstacles.

SMART Goals

The tried and true method for creating strong goals is to follow the SMART model of goal setting. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This method of goal setting helps individuals and teams to create clear, actionable objectives that are designed to lead to success. 

Specific:

The first step and most important step in setting SMART goals is to be specific.

Goals should be well-defined, clear, and concise. This helps to avoid ambiguity and ensures that everyone involved knows exactly what is expected of them. Remember, it is the ambiguity that creates stress around goals. Clear conversations with your team are necessary. 

A specific goal should answer the following questions:

What needs to be accomplished?Who will be responsible for achieving the goal?When will the goal be accomplished?For Example: Increase Sales by 10% in Q2The goal is to increase sales by 10% in the second quarter of the year.The sales team will be responsible for achieving this goal.The goal will be accomplished by the end of the second quarter.

One reason this step in goal setting is so critical is that it forces conversation within groups. The collaboration within the group toward the goal helps refine the goal and brings a diversity of ideas on the details of the goal.

There is power in specificity. People who have a specific goal in mind are more likely to achieve it than those who have a general goal. For example, people who set a goal of “losing 10 pounds in 3 months” are more likely to achieve it than those who set a goal of “losing weight.” 

Measurable:

The second step in setting SMART goals is to ensure that they are measurable. This means that progress toward the goal can be tracked and measured over time. Measurable goals are essential for determining whether or not you are making progress toward achieving your objective.

For Example: Reduce Customer Wait Time by 25%

The goal is to reduce customer wait time by 25%.The time that customers spend waiting in line will be measured using a tracking system.Progress towards the goal will be reviewed on a weekly basis.Achievable:

The third step in setting SMART goals is to ensure that they are achievable. Goals should be challenging, but also realistic. If goals are too easy, there will be no sense of accomplishment, but if they are too difficult, they will be demotivating.

For Example: Launch a New Product Line in 6 Months

The goal is to launch a new product line in six months.The product development team will be responsible for achieving this goal.The goal is achievable based on the team’s current capacity and resources.Relevant:

The fourth step in setting SMART goals is to ensure that they are relevant. Goals should be aligned with the overall strategy and objectives of the organization. They should also be relevant to the individual or team responsible for achieving them.

For Example: Improve Employee Retention by 20%

The goal is to improve employee retention by 20%.Employee turnover rates will be measured and reviewed.This goal is relevant to the human resources team, as they are responsible for employee retention.Time-bound:

The fifth and final step in setting SMART goals is to ensure that they are time-bound. This means that a specific deadline is set for achieving the goal. Time-bound goals help to create a sense of urgency and motivate individuals and teams to take action.

Example: Complete Website Redesign in 3 Months

The goal is to complete a website redesign in three months.The website design team will be responsible for achieving this goal.The goal will be accomplished by the end of the third month.

Having goals in place that follow the SMART model allows you to begin creating detailed action plans. The real key to reducing stress in goal setting is clarity, and this only happens with deep conversations within teams. 

Systems vs. Goals

Another approach to goal setting that reduces the psychic strain of trying to achieve the impossible is to think in terms of systems vs. goals. While it can be motivational to have a vision of a goal achieved, they tend to loom over our heads and just out of reach. 

Creating systems for achieving a goal and focusing on those simple repeatable steps is much more manageable. 

A goal is a specific outcome that a person wishes to achieve, such as losing 10 pounds or getting a promotion at work. A system, on the other hand, is a set of habits or routines that a person adopts in order to achieve a desired outcome. For example, instead of setting a goal to lose 10 pounds, a person might create a system of healthy eating and regular exercise.

Real-Life Examples

Let’s take a look at some real-life examples of how systems and goals can be used to achieve success:

Sales team: The goal of a sales team is to meet or exceed its sales targets. However, the system they use to achieve this goal is equally important. A well-designed sales process that involves lead generation, lead qualification, product demos, and follow-up is a good system that can help the team achieve its sales targets.

Manufacturing company: The goal of a manufacturing company is to produce high-quality products at a low cost. The system they use to achieve this goal includes process optimization, waste reduction, and quality control measures.

Marketing department: The goal of a marketing department is to increase brand awareness and generate leads. The system they use to achieve this goal includes social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and SEO.

Project management: The goal of a project manager is to deliver a project on time, within budget, and with high quality. The system they use to achieve this goal includes project planning, task allocation, risk management, and communication protocols.

Customer service: The goal of a customer service team is to provide excellent customer support. The system they use to achieve this goal includes call center operations, ticket management, and feedback mechanisms to improve service quality.

Focusing on the system rather than the massive goal reduces the emotional pressure of achievement. You focus on small steps that lead to consistent progress, flexibility, and sustainable habits.

Summary

In conclusion, setting goals is crucial for achieving success, but it’s important to set the right kind of goals.

Vague goals create overwhelm and stress, while specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals lead to success. SMART goals enable teams to create clear, actionable objectives, and provide clarity and detail actions. Moreover, the key to reducing stress in goal-setting is clarity, which can only happen through deep conversations within teams. Lastly, creating systems for achieving goals instead of focusing on the outcome is a more manageable approach. By following these strategies, you can achieve your goals and build resilience against change and obstacles. Remember, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.”

For over 20 years, Fierce has worked with organizations to build the conversation skills necessary for developing clear goals and the systems to achieve them. Click here to learn more about how Fierce has helped organizations achieve their goals and transform their performance culture

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4 Reasons to Invest in Developing Your Leaders

Leadership development is crucial for any organization that wants to succeed and thrive in today’s fast-paced business world. However, many companies struggle to invest in this important aspect of their operations. While 86% of business and HR leaders agree that leadership development is important, only 13% believe that they do an excellent job at it, according to a study by Deloitte. A survey by PwC found that 77% of CEOs believe that the lack of key skills is the biggest threat to their business, highlighting the need for leadership development. In addition, replacing a senior executive can cost six to 24 times their salary, as reported by Harvard Business Review.

Many organizations struggle with professional development and often expect motivated employees to seek out resources on their own as they would for extra-curricular activities or hobbies. By not prioritizing development activities internally, they end up signaling to their employees what they value. If your organization is struggling to prioritize its own professional development programs, these four reasons will help support the need for a more robust leadership training focus. 

4 Reasons to Invest in Leadership Training

1. Improving revenue

Investing in leadership development can have a significant impact on a business’s bottom line. By providing leadership training, organizations can reduce costs and identify new opportunities for revenue through innovation. 

According to a report from Training Industry, businesses that invested in leadership development training in 2019 saw a return on investment (ROI) of 29% within just three months and an annual ROI of 415%. This means that for every $1 spent on training, organizations saw a return of $4.15, making leadership development training a wise investment for businesses looking to improve their financial performance.

2. Attracting talent and increasing loyalty

Developing talent internally is often less expensive than searching for and hiring new employees externally. In fact, it can cost up to 60% more to hire a new employee than it does to train and develop an existing employee to take on new responsibilities. Additionally, investing in the professional development of your current employees can lead to higher employee retention rates, improved job satisfaction, and ultimately, a more productive and engaged workforce.

When organizations choose to hire external candidates instead of developing and promoting internal talent, it can lead to a lack of trust and even resentment among current employees. This is because employees may feel that the company does not value their skills and abilities or see them as promotable. This can cause a negative ripple effect, as employees may start to seek opportunities elsewhere, leading to a higher turnover rate and potentially even a loss of institutional knowledge.

According to a report by The Execu|Search Group, 86% of employees would be willing to change jobs if the new company provided more professional development opportunities. This highlights the importance of providing opportunities for growth and development within your organization if you want to attract and retain top talent. By investing in the development of your employees, you show that you are committed to their professional growth and value their contributions to the organization.

Companies with leadership development programs also have 34% higher retention rates

than those without such programs, according to a study by Better Buys. This is because leadership development programs can help employees feel more engaged and invested in the organization, as they see that their employer is committed to their personal and professional growth. 

3. Drives performance and execution

Effective leadership development is critical to reaching the stated goals of every organization. However, simply implementing generic development programs without considering the unique culture and goals of the organization is unlikely to yield the desired results. In order to create a leadership development program that drives lasting change, it is crucial to tailor it to the specific needs and goals of the organization.

Research by the Association for Talent Development has shown that 83% of all organizations have a skills gap, meaning that they lack the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve their strategic objectives. This underscores the importance of effective leadership development programs that are tailored to the specific needs of the organization. By addressing the skills gap, organizations can improve their competitiveness, drive innovation, and position themselves for long-term success.

By taking a one-size-fits-all approach, these programs can fail to address the unique challenges that the organization faces, and may not resonate with employees or leaders. The best strategy is to work closely with leaders, employees, and other stakeholders to identify the specific skills and behaviors that are needed to achieve the organization’s strategic objectives. By doing so, leadership development programs can be tailored to address the specific needs of the organization, while also helping to build a strong, cohesive culture that supports the achievement of its goals.

4. Increases resilience through change

Leadership development is a crucial element of building this kind of resilience within an organization. It helps to cultivate leaders who are flexible, proactive, and able to navigate change with ease. These leaders are able to identify opportunities and challenges in the ever-changing business landscape and respond quickly and effectively to them.

To remain competitive in today’s fast-paced business world, organizations must be agile and adaptable. This requires not only having the right strategies and resources in place but also having the right leadership in place to guide the company through change and uncertainty.

By investing in leadership development, organizations can build a more resilient workforce, better equipped to handle change and uncertainty. With the right leadership in place, organizations can adapt quickly to new challenges and seize new opportunities, which can give them a competitive advantage and help ensure their long-term success.

Why Organizations Don’t Invest

Many businesses understand the importance of investing in leadership development, particularly at entry-level roles, as it can lead to a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. Yet, only a small fraction of organizations actually invest in such programs. This begs the question: why don’t more companies prioritize leadership training and development?

One of the primary reasons is the perceived difficulty of measuring the return on investment (ROI) of leadership development programs. Companies may be hesitant to invest significant resources into training and development without a clear understanding of the tangible benefits that will result. It’s important for organizations to conduct a baseline assessment and identify key metrics that they hope to improve through such programs.

However, the benefits of investing in leadership development can be significant. 

For example, Coast Capital Savings Credit Union valued relationships with its 500,000 members for over 75 years but realized they weren’t living that vision internally. They needed a culture change and reached out to Fierce for help.

As a direct result of customized Fierce programs, Coast Capital lifted monthly revenue by over $450k over the previous year. They exceeded the cost of implementing the program by nearly $300k

True culture change took place and because of early benchmarking assessment, Coast Capital was able to measure the direct impact of the training on specific key metrics.

In the post-implementation assessment, the organization showed positive growth in:ConfrontationCoachingDelegationStrategy ExecutionFeedbackCollaborationAccountability

Each of these segments contributed to the increase in overhaul revenue and could be tied back directly to the skill development they invested in. One senior leader said Fierce programs “allowed me to have more engaged conversations with my team and colleagues, resulting in greater clarity and understanding.”

If you continue to struggle through employee engagement issues, missing goals and milestones, and finding a deep enough talent pool to remain competitive in today’s marketplace, consider leadership development as an essential strategy for growth.

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