Talent Development

Posted on October 6, 2022

Navigating What’s Next: Driving Your Organization Ahead in the Talent Economy

How do we rebuild society around what we're going to be next, rather than what we used to be? This question is top of mind for many leaders who are realizing their employees aren’t responding to the tactics and management practices of the past. What worked in the past simply isn’t working anymore. Welcome to the Talent Economy, where value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people, the sharing of assets, and the accessibility of digital networks. In the Talent Economy, if people...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on August 18, 2022

Talent Development

Reaping What You ROWE: A Management Model for the Talent Economy

Here and now, companies are struggling to navigate the Great Resignation and a post-pandemic world simultaneously. In both cases, employee expectations have changed, and employers are trying to establish parameters and figure out how to make work “work” in a flexible, virtual, hybrid, chaotic, and changing workplace. This is a situation where ROWE would come in especially handy: Results Oriented Work Environment. I interviewed one of the ROWE trailblazers, Jody Thompson, when I wrote my book Talent Generation. Jody and her colleague...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on August 9, 2022

Talent Development

Generating a More Engaged NextGen Workforce

Walt Disney World offers an experience, as do Apple Stores, Cirque du Soleil, the Geek Squad, Dave and Buster’s, American Girl, and TED Conferences. We recognize and cherish these as great consumer and entertainment experiences. Perhaps even more thrilling is the proof that experiences also positively contribute to high employee retention. In fact, companies investing in the employee experience realize higher productivity and profitability. Previously, the employee experience wasn’t a consideration. Employers have always assumed that they can create a place where...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on June 29, 2022

Talent Development

Boosting Your Bottom Line: People Over Profit

“There’s no way we’re printing that passage. That’s not realistic, and every executive out there will have a fit.” This was the response I received from an editor upon reviewing the first draft of one of my books. I had included a passage about a company that didn’t abruptly walk its fired employees out the door. Rather, the company spent time offering to help them find a new role at another company. The year was 2016, and the concept seemed preposterous to...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on June 22, 2022

Talent Development

Measuring Success in a Talent-Focused Organization

The Great Resignation has brought the topic of employee engagement to the forefront. What does it take to get employees to care about the organization and the work they do? In other words – how the heck do we stop people from quitting their jobs? Work as we’ve always known it is changing. We know this to be true, yet the majority of employers have struggled to actually modernize their work environments and prioritize employee engagement strategies. Throughout history, workplace success has...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on June 8, 2022

Talent Development

Constructing Positive Company Culture

In the year 2000, workforce data began to indicate employees were increasingly unhappy at work. Turnover increased, and for more than two decades employers struggled to retain workers. Here and now, the Great Resignation is challenging and perplexing employers unlike any other time in history. The bulk of the turnover blame game has been placed on ‘kids these days’ and their lack of work ethic. But the turnover crisis isn’t due to a lack of smart, ambitious, innovative people. Rather, it’s...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on June 1, 2022

Generations, Talent Development

Giving NextGen What They Need

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say young professionals don’t want to work and have no work ethic. Turnover has been steady among young professionals, and employers are quick to assume it’s the result of a shared character flaw among ‘kids these days’. Rarely do employers look within to ponder whether their business models and management practices are still relevant in the midst of a disrupted, changing marketplace. Why are young professionals more likely to...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on April 28, 2022

Talent Development

Changing Your Tune When It Comes to Talent

The Great Resignation continues along a historic path, resulting in the highest employee quit rates on record. Many factors have been credited with causing the rise in historic turnover — the ongoing pandemic, vaccine mandates, increased retirements, and a strong candidate's market are often credited as the core causes of the crisis. What many organizations fail to realize is that the Great Resignation is the culmination of decades of employee disengagement, turnover, and workforce decline. Take healthcare, for instance. In 2016, The Atlantic...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on April 13, 2022

Talent Development

5 Modern Myths: NextGen Engagement

Ping pong tables. Pet insurance. Parental leave. For two decades now, employers have added to their suite of benefits in hopes of retaining their talent. It isn’t working. Employee disengagement has continued to creep up, even as employers have thrown more perks at the problem, remodeled their office spaces, and introduced remote work options. Still, employee turnover has persisted. Why? Because the perks aren’t addressing the real problem. As a workforce consultant and researcher, I’ve learned there are several myths and misunderstandings as to what...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on March 30, 2022

Talent Development

Keep Calm and Mentor On!

Why don't young employees just do what is asked of them? Why don't they take initiative? This past week I gave a keynote and someone approached me afterwards to pose these questions. She explained her frustration with new hires, explaining they 'won't pitch in to help when help is needed.' Rather, they wait to be told what to do. This is a common complaint among managers who assume young people won't take initiative and lack intuition and drive. In reality, young people...

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by Sarah Sladek

Talent Development

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