Have You Got the Right People in the Right Seats?
Career development can make the difference between whether your brightest and best stay or go. New research finds one in five people are in the wrong role. That means jobs they aren’t motivated by, engaged with or productive in. I asked Phyllis Millikan, senior vice president for Career Management at Right Management, four key questions to shed light on how employers can match the right people to the right role. 
What is the impact of having good employees in the wrong roles?
An employee in the wrong role is costly. Right Management’s latest research, Right Person Wrong Role, found that 33 percent of people are not engaged in their jobs or their organization. This can dampen the organization’s success and lead to low retention levels. The effect on performance is also clear. The value of an employee who wants to come to work versus one that doesn’t, equates to a 4 percent increase in revenue growth and a 10 percent increase in customer satisfaction.
How can organizations find talent and develop skillsets to fit jobs today?
Employees don’t just want an annual performance review. They want – and 68 percent expect – a career development strategy. An effective strategy can save employers millions of dollars in reduced staff turnover. Milliken recommends employers use a multi-pronged approach to ensure the right people are in the right roles:
- Use a blend of art and science to assess skills, abilities and knowledge gaps to attract and develop the best talent.
- Enable workers to map their own career journeys. Help your employees personalize their career development plans by using a combination of assessments and career coaching. This gives individuals control over their personal development, leading to increased focus on their career success and increased engagement in their current position.
How can talent be redeployed?
How can talent be redeployed?Wrong for the role doesn’t always mean wrong for the business. The right person may have been hired, but in today’s rapidly changing work environment, the right role can quickly become the wrong fit.
Talented individuals know that to remain employable throughout their career they must continually learn and upskill. Internally, employers can offer easy access to open positions and opportunities for career mobility within their organization. Externally, organizations should look to hire individuals willing and able to be redeployed. Employers should create a culture of learnability – encouraging people to continually learn new skills to stay relevant and employable for the long term.
Where should organizations invest to retain top talent?
Millikan recommends seven practical steps to introduce an effective career development strategy to attract, engage and retain the brightest and best:
- Educate: Coach leaders to provide career management guidance aligned to business goals.
- Attract: Use employer branding and workforce development to attract top-talent.
- Retain: Have high-touch career conversations and use high-tech tools to enable development, create a learning culture and encourage career mobility.
- Engage: Keep employees engaged and productive by providing ongoing career coaching and opportunities to upskill.
- Redeploy Talent: Offer easy access to open internal positions and opportunities for career mobility within your organization.
- Plan For Future Talent Needs: Plan ahead and leverage tools to stay up to date with new HR, talent and technology solutions as they emerge.
- Develop a Sustainable Leadership Program: Identify high potential talent and prepare them to take on leadership roles.
