CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP How to Hire Adaptable Talent and Mold Their Skill Sets Through Learning and Development

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS: WHY SKILLS MATTER MORE THAN CREDENTIALS WHEN HIRING ........................ 7 By Charles Coy Despite a 4.1 percent unemployment rate, the U.S. Labor Department reports that more than six million jobs are unfilled. Though pundits point to a dearth of skills in the workforce, there is something recruiters can do: start focusing on the skills that candidates actually do possess.

DID YOU KNOW THAT SKILLS ARE NOT BEHAVIORS .............................................................................................. 10By Dr. Tom Tonkin Behaviors and skills are two different yet related constructs. Teaching a skill, for example, is the most effective way to modify a behavior. In what other ways are the two related? We explore the three ways to discern the difference and understand the connection.

WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A CAREER PIVOTER ......................................................................................................... 13By Lynda SpiegelRecruiters tend to believe that knowledge increases with years of experience in a given field, but that’s faulty reasoning, especially in our fast-changing world of work. Job-hopping is the new normal, and there’s value in hiring candidates with skills that enable them to adapt to any role.

Index

HOW FARMERS INSURANCE PROVIDES EFFECTIVE LEARNING FOR A DISPERSED WORKFORCE ................ 16By Charles CoyConsistently gaining new and developing existing skills through learning programs is a key requisite for today’s employees. But managing a learning program for the modern, dispersed workforce creates unique obstacles. Learn how Farmers Insurance is tackling the challenge.

PREPARE FOR TALENT CURVEBALLS WITH CROSS TRAINING ............................................................................. 19By Suzanne LucasCompanies hire people with skills that meet their current needs. But needs change and employees move on, leaving behind talent gaps. One of the best ways to prepare for these gaps is to offer training opportunities across departments. Here’s how to do it.

HOW TO PREPARE EMPLOYEES TO STEP UP WHEN LEADERSHIP STEPS DOWN ............................................. 22By Rita TrehanPart of HR’s greatest responsibility lies with succession planning: we must identify and develop the next generation of leadership so they may step up when current leadership steps down. Arm your organization’s future leaders with the skills and strategies they need to take over.

STAR EMPLOYEES AREN’T ALWAYS MANAGEMENT MATERIAL—AND THAT’S OKAY ....................................... 24By Steven M. DolanOften, great employees transition into management roles for the wrong reasons, without knowing what the position entail. To prevent mediocre management, HR professionals must help high performers consider career advancement alternatives.

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CHARLES COYCharles Coy is the senior director of analyst and communications relations at Cornerstone. He came to Cornerstone interested in the ways that technology can impact how organizations evaluate, motivate and value their employees. Charles is a study in permanence, having worked in every dark corner of Cornerstone since the early days of the company more than 16 years ago.

STEVEN M. DOLANSteve is the principal consultant of 2020 Talent Management, a boutique HR/OD consulting firm he started in 2013. Prior to that he served in global HR/OD and line executive roles at IBM, Compaq, J&J, American Power Conversion, Juniper Networks and the Human Performance Institute.

SUZANNE LUCASSuzanne Lucas is a writer and speaker who focuses on Human Resources and Business issues. She spent 10 years in corporate HR where she hired, fired, managed the numbers and double-checked with the lawyers. Suzanne focuses on helping managers manage better and helping employees understand how to navigate the world of work. Her work has appeared in Inc., The New York Times, CBS Moneywatch, Cornerstone’s ReWork and many other places. She blogs at www.EvilHRLady.org.

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LYNDA SPIEGELLynda Spiegel is a human resources executive with over 14 years of experience recruiting and hiring thousands of talented individuals. She founded Rising Star Resumes to leverage her background, which affords her a unique perspective on which resumes will get read by recruiters. Rising Star Resumes works with clients to market the value proposition they represent to employers. She is a frequent writer and speaker on recruiting as well as careers in human resources.

DR. TOM TONKINDr. Tom Tonkin is a Principal of Thought Leadership & Advisory Services at Cornerstone. He has 20+ years of leadership experience spanning organizational and leadership development with hands-on technical success. He devises and implements learning & development (L&D) programs for customers to maximize their Return on Enablement Investment (ROEI) while maintaining awareness of current developments in the field of training and enablement that provide value back to our customers.

RITA TREHANRita Trehan is a former Fortune 200 Chief Human Resources Officer with over three decades of experience. Now a world-traveling consultant, she’s assisted organizations large and small across the globe in transforming their HR practices and businesses for the better. She can help your organization as well.

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Gone are the days when advanced degrees and decades of experience were the only indicators of a stand-out candidate. Today, 80 percent of CEOs seek a much broader range of skills in their company’s workforce. New research from the Institute for the Future, in conjunction with Cornerstone OnDemand, shows that candidates now must possess not only the technical skills that enable them to engage with constantly evolving technologies, but also the social skills that make them forward-thinking, team-oriented and goal-driven. To attain these skills, workers at every level must become lifelong learners, constantly self-evaluating and finding opportunities to gain new skills.

For employers, hiring or nurturing these workers internally presents challenges. From a recruiting perspective, knowledge gaps are making open positions increasingly difficult to fill. According to a new report from Deloitte Insights, more than half of employers say they consistently can’t fill open positions, because without a minimum number of years experience or the right certifications, applicants are simply not qualified enough on paper. Internal candidates face a similar obstacle—they often lack the skills needed to make the leap to a new role. Still, HR teams have to somehow fill over six million vacant jobs. To do so, they’ll have to rethink not only how they hire, but also how they enable learning and development within their organizations. They’ll have to start evaluating internal and external candidates based on their potential, seeking workers with a combination of soft and hard skills that make them adaptable to change, eager to learn and full of promise.

How can employers identify and nurture these individuals? In this guidebook, you’ll learn what to look for in new workers, and how to help your current workforce develop the skills they need to thrive. With seven articles on everything from hiring the most auspicious candidates, to helping employees build skills for stepping into open leadership positions, our featured articles will enable your organization to cultivate your existing team, onboard promising talent and stay ahead of the skills gap by embracing the idea of lifelong learning.

Introduction

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Skills to Pay the Bills: Why Skills Matter More Than

Credentials When HiringBy Charles Coy

The skills gap is a big problem—one that federal lawmakers and employers alike are eager to close. Despite a 4.1 percent unemployment rate, the U.S. Labor Department reports that more than six million U.S. jobs are unfilled.

Why? Pundits point to a dearth of skills in today’s workforce. But there’s another budding school of thought: recruiters are looking at the wrong qualifications when assessing job candidates.

The classic resume—replete with GPAs and Ivy League or city college credentials—is a thing of the past, some talent managers argue. Instead, recruiters must focus on the actual skills that candidates offer.

Skills-Based Hiring in ActionConsider Google: company recruiters used to ask candidates for transcripts, GPAs and test scores—before concluding

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they were “worthless” for hiring purposes, Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of people operations at Google, told the New York Times. Up to 14 percent of team members at Google never attended college, according to Bock.

Today, Google evaluates candidates using behavioral interviewing, where past behavior is seen as a leading indicator of future behavior. A candidate’s experience leading projects or introducing a better work process are valued above brute intelligence.

Wade Foster agrees with Google’s focus on behavior. “A list of credentials shows how well a person can maneuver through a bureaucratic system,” says Foster, CEO of Zapier, a webapp-automation service, “but it’s a poor predictor of success.”

How One Program Is Rethinking Skills-Based HiringWhile Obama wanted to close the skills gap by revamping job training programs via his Upskills Initiative, the private sector is taking a different approach. The Gates Foundation, for example, is partnering with Innovate+Educate to promote “skills-based hiring.” Employers develop a skills-based credential system based on what they’re looking for, and candidates take tests to demonstrate a skill and can receive training if they don’t pass the test, according to Business Insider.

The endeavor, dubbed the “New Options Project,” is billed as a win-win. Candidates find jobs that allow them to apply their skill set, and employers recruit new employees that require 50 percent less time to train and are up to 75 percent less likely to quit, according to Innovate+Educate. Bill Gates, who didn’t graduate from college before co-founding Microsoft, tells Fast Company that the idea behind New Options Project is to create “a skills-based credential that is well trusted and well understood enough that employers view it as a true alternative to a degree.”

“ A list of credentials shows how well a person can maneuver through a bureaucratic system, but it’s a poor predictor of success.”

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Three Fields Where Skills and Degrees Are Battling it OutBusiness: MBAs and their non-degreed peers have long argued about the value of a graduate degree in business. Proponents of the MBA say it’s a requisite for any aspiring business leader, and virtually guarantees a great job with a high salary. Critics counter that business school is a waste of money and doesn’t give aspiring business professionals the specialized knowledge they need to succeed. Mariana Zanetti, author of The MBA Bubble, suggests that wannabe MBAs need only to apply to the top schools, decline any acceptances and then put the acceptance on their resumes. The effect would be the same, she asserts.

Cybersecurity: A credential as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional may get pats on the back in the digital security field, but it’s not a ticket to a job, Philip Reitinger, chief information security officer for Sony Corp, says in an interview in the FierceGovernmentIT newsletter. A candidate’s technical skills and reputation matter more, he says. “If they know their way around a kernel, and they can tell me about buffer overruns and different ways to attach and they’ve got the skills to get the job done, they’ve got a job,” explains Reitinger.

STEM: Science, technology, engineering or mathematics degrees are often seen as the brass ring leading to a golden future of high employment and early retirement. But the statistics suggest otherwise: only 43 percent of employees in a so-called STEM field have STEM degrees, according to the Commerce Department report. “The large majority of STEM workers who lack a bachelor’s degree in STEM actually lack a bachelor’s degree in any subject,” according to a Huffington Post story about the report. Cue Bill Gates.

“Only 43 percent of employees in a so-called STEM field have

STEM degrees.”

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As Learning and Development professionals, one of the big distinctions we need to make when developing training is that behaviors and skills are two different yet related constructs. It is teaching a skill that ensures that the future behavior modification will last longer than just trying to modify a behavior.

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (1977) argues that one way we learn is through mere observation but also warns that this may be pure mimicking, void of context and social sensitivity. A great example is how a child learns from observation. A little boy sees his father grab a beer from the fridge after a long day mowing the grass. The child sees this and is compelled to do the same after he does his chores. One can easily see the issues here. This

is observational learning and reinforced through mimicking.

Behavior is ultimately the thing we want to see changed in people when we are training them to do something. It really is our only manifestation of whether or not we believe they can do something in the future. Although

Did You Know That Skills Are Not Behaviors?

By Dr. Tom Tonkin

“ Although a person is not simply the sum of his or her behaviors, behaviors are the only thing we can observe.”

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a person is not simply the sum of his or her behaviors, behaviors are the only thing we can observe. Thus, it is important that we are able to answer this question: “How can you tell the difference between a skill and a behavior?”

There are three considerations when trying to discern whether someone has gained a skill or is merely performing a behavior.

Skills Transcends ContextTo distinguish the difference between somebody knowing a skill versus just displaying the behavior simply change the context. The skill will be transferable, while the behavior will not.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s discuss the ability to play guitar. I have a good friend who sings well; however, he doesn’t know how to play the guitar. During high school, he had the opportunity to be the lead in a musical. This particular role required him to sing a song while playing it on a guitar. He certainly didn’t have enough time to learn how to play the guitar (let alone become a guitar player), so someone taught him the mechanics of strumming and fingering the guitar chords for that particular song. He was shown where to place his fingers on the fret board and how to strum at the right time when he was singing the lyrics to the song. He picked up the behavior quickly and did a marvelous job in the play.

Yet, if he had needed to play another song, in a different key, with different lyrics, or even the same song in a different key, he certainly would not have been able to do so. Playing different songs, changing keys, etc. necessitates having the skill of guitar playing. What my friend did was merely demonstrate guitar-playing behavior. He was playing the guitar (behavior) but he was not a guitar player (skill).

Closer to our interest, because of such great emphasis on behavior, many training programs focus on behavior modification and not skill attainment. For example, sales training programs provide the “10-step” process to conduct a sales call. The sales programs are contingent on the context of the sales call not changing. They are laced with assumptions for the program to be able to work. However, anybody who has been in sales for more than five minutes knows that nothing ever goes as expected. Many variables change within any given sales call, sales cycle or overall account management.

“ Many training programs focus on behavior modification and not skill attainment.”

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Thus, to become a well-equipped sales rep, you must have the requisite skill that transcends behavior and context. One diagnosis might be to challenge your skills for behavior by changing the context. If your skill or behavior does not stand up to that change, then it is merely a behavior.

Behaviors = “What” / Skills = “How”The second consideration when evaluating the differences between skill and behavior is the classification of each. In essence, behaviors really describe what is going on while skills describe how it is happening. Again, many training programs give you a lot of what and very little how. For example, how often have you heard “gain trust” or “build rapport”? These are all very valid outcomes for one to tackle if learning better communications; yet, these statements address what one needs to do (behavior), not how she needs to do it (skill).

This is commonplace in our field because too often management truly wants the employee to attain an outcome but seems not to care how they get there. Arguably, there are multiple ways of achieving these behaviors; however, rarely are they addressed in a systemic way through skill development.

Behavior Is a Result of Skills The bottom line here is that we must have some kind of skill to be able to manifest the behavior consistently.

We must ask when we observe behavior, “What are the skills that are truly being manifested in the behavior?” Someone who wants to develop a new skill is most likely mimicking what a more successful person is doing and is not developing the skill; rather, she is simply mimicking another’s behavior, which ultimately fails as the context shifts.

It is my experience that many successful employees utilize different skills and approaches to achieve similar results. What distinguishes one employee from another is their associated skills and approaches; thus, someone mimicking another’s behavior without understanding the underlying skill will most likely not lead to similar results. Ultimately, while I can’t say that a particular skill always yields a particular behavior, we can argue that a particular set of behaviors likely stems from multiple diverse skills.

What other constructs in learning and development need more clarity when it comes to their operational definitions in order to enhance training and learning effectiveness?

“ The bottom line is that we must have some kind of skill to be able to manifest the [right] behavior consistently.”

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Why You Should Hire a Career PivoterBy Lynda Spiegel

Let’s say you’re hiring a senior HR manager at your company. What are the chances you would interview a candidate who had been teacher, a stay-at-home mom and a communications manager in financial services?

Pretty low? I thought so.

Recruiting firms, corporate HR departments and, today, even applicant tracking systems (ATS) gravitate toward job candidates whose careers have traveled a fairly straight trajectory. In HR, for instance, we expect candidates for mid-career roles to have started as an HR coordinator (or even an administrative assistant) before climbing the ladder to manager, director and vice president.

Why? Recruiters are conditioned to believe that knowledge increases in proportion to years of experience—but that’s faulty reasoning, especially in our fast-changing world of work.

Rethinking the Definition of ValueA particular skill or years of practice isn’t what makes a candidate truly valuable; instead, it’s his or her ability to learn new skills, methods or technologies that matters. Adopting a strategy that values intellect over line-by-line adherence to a job description will produce a better pool of viable candidates.

“The nature of work is undergoing unprecedented change, and the

ways in which we accomplish certain tasks change with every

advance in technology.”

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As the old adage goes, “You can teach an intelligent person, but you can’t teach intelligence.” Recruiters should adopt this mindset when evaluating job candidates, particularly those who have pivoted direction throughout their career.

Why do I say this with such conviction? The nature of work is undergoing unprecedented change, and the ways in which we accomplish certain tasks change with every advance in technology.

Job Hopping Is the New NormalAs Charles Coy points out in, “Why Job Hopping Is the New Career Ladder” it’s difficult, if not impossible, to predict the types of jobs that will be available even five years from now. In fact, the skills required for these jobs may not even have been invented yet. This uncertainty requires recruiters to focus on a variety of core skills; arguably, the most critical skill is the ability to learn.

That is precisely the skill that career pivoters have mastered through the variety of positions they’ve held. Whether employees pivot early or midway through their careers, adopting new skills develops new synapses in their brains, allowing them to learn even more.

For example, Noah majored in music at college and intended to teach, when he was recruited to run operations in his family’s manufacturing business. Two years later, when my company needed CRM sales support, the hiring manager wanted me to hire a Salesforce ninja, and was shocked when I suggested Noah. “But he’s never even used the app!” the manager protested.

Pointing out that any college grad Noah’s age had grown up using apps and would soon learn Salesforce, the manager agreed to meet Noah and was impressed by his interest in learning new things. Noah has since earned his Salesforce certification and is now running market research at a major publishing company.

A New Set of Core SkillsAs HR professionals, we need to learn a new way to evaluate candidates—not only to prepare ourselves for how recruitment is changing, but also to develop a better understanding of career pivoters whose paths are marked by a variety of industries and professions.

“Whether employees pivot early or midway through their careers, adopting new skills develops new synapses in their brains, allowing them to learn even more.”

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So, what are those new “core skills” we should be looking for? With a predictive eye toward the future, here are my recommendations:

• Social intelligence: In a global work environment, employees need to collaborate with far-flung groups of co-workers/clients, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity and openness to diversity.

• Innovation: Candidates whose resumes showcase their creativity and willingness to propose new processes represent value for your company. This type of employee is interested in examining the paradigm and reconfiguring it—and that’s a skill you need in a world where following the “traditional” way of doing things will leave you behind.

• Technical literacy: Every profession requires knowledge of industry-relevant technology, but that

doesn’t mean recruiters should reject candidates who don’t have specific software skills. Look for quality and quantity in the types of technological tools the candidate understands—an employee who learned one app can always learn another app.

• Adaptability: A good indication of adaptability is one or more career pivots, either within a job function or an industry. Exposure to and success in a variety of industries and environments likely means a candidate works well with others and learns fast.

Let’s return to the candidate for the HR position. The one who had been a teacher, a stay-at-home parent and manager of a communications team? That was me.

I didn’t know about employment law, benefits or compensation analysis when I started, but those and other responsibilities of a HR generalist were acquired over time, through careful study and observation. They weren’t the skills that landed me the job, or allowed me to excel. Rather, the variety of roles I had held demonstrated my adaptability, teaching in a multicultural environment developed my social intelligence and I had made it a point to stay ahead on technology.

So, recruiters: Next time you receive a career pivoter’s resume, get excited—it could just be your next star employee.

“ Exposure to and success in a variety of industries and environments likely means a candidate works well with others and learns fast.”

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How Farmers Insurance Provides Effective Learning for a Dispersed Workforce

By Charles Coy

Managing a learning program for a dispersed workforce carries unique challenges—with employees across different schedules and devices, fostering collaboration and ensuring accountability is difficult. General content is too vague, and highly individualized programs are tough to scale. But at Farmers Insurance, Katherine Kokenes* and Kelly Minick are meeting the challenge with zeal.

Kokenes, former learning and development manager, and Minick, director of design and development, helped to develop customized, innovative training for more than 50,000 exclusive and independent agents across the country. We sat down with the duo to learn how they incorporated tailored learning paths, improved reporting and multiple areas of study into effective training for thousands.

What are some issues you’ve noticed with traditional learning methodologies?Minick: Our past training was online courses only; agents could procrastinate taking the training and then cram everything in at the last minute. A lot of things weren’t topic-specific, and we lacked instructor-led pieces.

Kokenes: We didn’t have specific learning paths based on people’s roles, so it was kind of a one-size-fits-all approach. Everyone had to take all of the training. Now, if agents come in with a background in business or insurance, they can test out of parts of training. If they fail a test, they are automatically enrolled in that curriculum.

*Editor’s note: Katherine Kokenes has moved on to a new role and is no longer working at Farmers Insurance.

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What was the motivation behind implementing the new training methodology?Minick: Two years prior to launching the program, we learned we were going to start recruiting agents with a variety of backgrounds. When we looked at our program, we realized new hires shouldn’t all take the exact same training, so we created separate learning paths.

Kokenes: Another driver [behind the new program] was reporting ability. Now, we only track passed assessments rather than all of the curriculum components. We worked with IT to build an automated tracker on the agent portal—similar to an intranet for agents — so managers can log in and track progress.

What is innovative about the new training program?Minick: We incorporated skill assessments, and managers can now require agents to perform skills they learned at the end of each milestone. We have reports that measure progress every six months, and we have classroom training to supplement online training.

Kokenes: Skill assessments were a real game changer, and that has taken the training to a whole different level. Managers now have their own ‘learning library’ that provides easy access to course materials like participant and facilitator guides.

“When we looked at our program, we realized new hires shouldn’t all

take the exact same training, so we created separate learning paths.”

“Skill assessments were a real game changer, and that has taken the

training to a whole different level.”

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Why is continuous learning important?Minick: In the past, we’ve sided towards formal learning, but we’ve learned that creating a continuous learning environment works best. We do this by following the 70-20-10 rule: 70 percent of knowledge should come from on-the-job experience, 20 percent from exposure and interaction with others, and 10 percent from formal learning.

Kokenes: To help foster a learning community, we’ve made the learning paths available to all of our employees, even though the training is designed for agents. Since we’ve implemented this training, multiple business units—IT, claims, training and personal lines—have come to us and said, ‘This is awesome; how can we replicate this for our department?’

How can HR leaders transform their learning programs to be more effective?Minick: Incorporate skill demonstrations and observations. From a design and delivery side, we are always dealing with changing culture, which takes a while. We want people to embrace learning through cultural accountability. Learning should be readily available and easy to access when people seek it out.

Kokenes: Build collaborative communities and use skill assessments. In a recent user survey, we received feedback about continuing to innovate and use emerging technology. We hope to incorporate video more in the future. Currently, learners can access assessments on mobile devices or iPads, which has been helpful. To help increase engagement in learning, we’ve redesigned our employee portal so things are easier to find, and incorporated banners that highlight recommended courses.“We want people to embrace

learning through cultural accountability. Learning should be

readily available and easy to access when people seek it out.”

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Prepare for Talent Curveballs With Cross Training

By Suzanne Lucas

The biggest reason we hire people is because they have skill sets that meet our current needs. But business needs change and, perhaps more frequently, employees’ lives change: people have babies, get married and move on to new opportunities.

It may look like you have every skill your department needs on paper, but when you face these changes, you’ll need people to do tasks and projects they weren’t hired to do. This is not an “if” situation; this is a “when.” So, what can your organization do to handle these inevitable moments with ease?

One of the best ways to prepare for talent gaps is to offer training opportunities across departments.

While cross-training, or employee rotation, is often recommended as a retention strategy, it’s also a great succession planning strategy. By arming employees with a variety of skills, you simultaneously arm your company to handle the talent curveballs thrown your way.

“You should remain open to employees’ interests when it comes

to cross-training—your junior accountant might actually make a

great sales associate.”

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Here, five tips for setting up effective employee rotation:

1) Realize LimitationsIt might seem like a good idea to teach your accounts payable clerk how to do the tasks of your chief scientist, but unless your training program allows employees time to gain a PhD in chemistry, you’re going to have to teach people somewhat familiar skill sets. It’s much easier on you and the accounts payable clerk if you keep cross-training relevant to their current strengths. Of course, you should also remain open to employees’ interests when it comes to cross-training—your junior accountant might actually make a great sales associate.

2) Make Time for Cross-TrainingIf you never give your employees time to train and learn, then cross-training is a moot point. Rotational opportunities should be a priority for everyone, which means managers need to be flexible if their employee is doing a rotation or if someone new comes to their department for cross-training. To integrate cross-training into your company culture, consider making it part of every department’s and employee’s performance goals.

3) Identify Key Tasks

Everyone has responsibilities that aren’t time critical. Of course, everything needs to get done, but not everything has to get done every day—and different types of work require different types of time management. When you plan for cross-training, make sure that employees are not only training their team members in general tasks, but also sharing time management tips for those tasks.

4) Plan for Key TasksAfter identifying key tasks and priorities for each position, identify who can do the tasks if the main employee is out. You may think this is impossible—who else can handle critical legal documents if you only have one attorney? If you don’t have another employee

“ When you plan for cross-training, make sure that employees are not only training their team members in general tasks, but also sharing time management tips for those tasks.”

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who’s interested in learning about business law, consider building a relationship with a law firm as a backup. Will this cost you? Yes. But will it be better (and cheaper) than dealing with panic if your in-house attorney suddenly quits? Yes.

This certainly creates a little extra work, but it also plays into the succession planning you should already be doing in HR. If your IT manager’s appendix bursts and no one else can restart the server, you don’t want to say, “Gee, we probably should have cross-trained someone to do this critical task. Instead, we have to wait for the anesthesia to wear off.”

5) Keep an Eye Out for Surprises

You may find out that your HR manager has a special knack for payroll, or that your payroll manager is fantastic at screening candidates when she cross-trains with your recruiter. Nobody should feel that their job is in jeopardy when you cross-train, but you may find out that certain people have talents and interests they didn’t know they had. Keep that in mind for succession planning.

It may be impossible to have every task and department perfectly covered, but as you begin this process, you’ll develop a business that can handle the unexpected. And that’s well worth the effort.

“Nobody should feel that their job is in jeopardy when you cross-train.”

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How to Prepare Employees to Step Up When Leadership Steps Down

By Rita Trehan

Part of HR’s greatest responsibility lies with succession planning: we must identify and develop the next generation of leadership so they may step up when current leadership steps down. It’s incredibly important to the future of an organization: a 2016 Borderless survey on Leadership Development cited having enough capable leaders as one of the top organizational challenges most companies face.

It’s been said the higher you advance in a company, you should be able to readily identify someone to take your place so you can move to the next spot. Succession planning, in this example and in business overall, is the path to progress.

“In order to prepare aspiring leaders for the next level of responsibility, you must expose

them to experiences that develop their abilities. ”

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Here’s how to develop the next layer of leadership for your business:

Skill DevelopmentIn order to prepare aspiring leaders for the next level of responsibility, you must expose them to experiences that develop their abilities. It doesn’t have to be all hard, job-related skill development: a 2016 Forbes article cites leading change, responding to feedback and facilitative communication as critical abilities for emerging leaders.

MentorshipPartnering emerging talent with existing leadership is crucial to ensuring cultural continuity and guidance. Not only does mentorship help emerging talent navigate growing pains, but it’s an important opportunity to champion diversity by pairing individuals who can experience growth through the experience. Also, the best mentors see the ability to develop character over competence and balance criticism with enthusiasm.

Stretch Projects and Roles Nothing prepares you to jump into the deep end like a stretch role, which can start with larger project assignments and leading meetings and expand to jobs outside their chosen department or rotations through roles that can expand their experience and leadership acumen. Stretch roles aren’t just part of a softer leadership training initiative: it’s a strategy to retain top talent.

Consistent Feedback and CoachingRegular conversations and check-ins can vastly accelerate growth for an emerging leader as a means of hard and soft skill review, but also for critical feedback of external perception of culture fit and performance. Be sure to build in consistent information sharing, both formal and informal, and open the door to answer questions and capitalize on learning opportunities immediately.

Allow for Fall OutNot everyone is meant to evolve into a leadership role. Once individuals identified as high potential opt out of a leadership role, find other challenges for their skills and abilities and move another into their role. It’s not for everyone, and the sooner you know, the more swiftly you can adjust.

“Regular conversations and check-ins can vastly accelerate

growth for an emerging leader as a means of hard and soft skill review.”

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Star Employees Aren’t Always Management Material—And

That’s OkayBy Steven M. Dolan

My colleague once shared a story about managing that I will never forget. At the conclusion of her company’s performance management process, one of the new manager’s evaluations were the most thoughtful, honest and actionable she’d ever seen–despite it being his first time providing formal feedback. Unfortunately, it was also his last time. Upon realizing the effort required to manage people, the employee decided to relinquish his managing role and return to his passion as a software developer.

I love this story because it highlights the importance of truly understanding people management. “Manager” is a responsibility–not just a fancy title–that requires

a special set of skills and immense effort. And it’s not for everybody: It should be okay for ambitious high performers to decline the management career path.

The many consequences of ineffective and uncommitted managers take a high toll on organizational effectiveness. Far too often, top individual contributors transition into management roles for the wrong reasons and without

“Only about one in 10 people possess true management skills.”

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knowing what the role truly entails. According to Gallup’s State of the American Manager report, companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for a managerial role 82 percent of the time.

In order to avoid the mediocre management syndrome, human resource professionals need to provide career path alternatives, help high performers consider alternatives and then carefully select qualified and committed managers. Below are three ways to cultivate the best managers for your company and determine the best paths for your employees:

1. Offer Alternative Career LaddersCommonly found in technology industries, dual career ladders allow those not well-suited or interested in management to advance their careers up a comparable professional ladder. “Distinguished engineer” might be the job-level equivalent of a senior manager or director, for example. And an engineering or scientific “fellow” may be the equivalent of a vice president.

2. Mentor Aspiring ManagersYou can design a set of tools, programs and experiences to help top performers gain an understanding of the

management path, and make an informed decision about whether it’s right for them. Only about one in 10 people possess true management skills, according to Gallup’s report. But another two in 10 people also have some aspects of managerial talent and may be able to perform management tasks at a high level, only if their company invests in coaching and developmental plans for them. With the right training and mentorship, some potential leaders can rise to the occasion.

3. Design a Comprehensive Selection ProcessJim Clifton, the chairman and CEO of Gallup, said, “The single biggest decision you make in your job—bigger than all the rest—is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision.”

“Establishing a formal process for selecting new managers is

critical to the future success of your organization.”

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Cornerstone OnDemand is the global talent management software provider that is pioneering solutions to help organizations realize the potential of the modern workforce. csod.com

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Establishing a formal process for selecting new managers is critical to the future success of your organization. While the hiring manager is ultimately responsible for any decision, the smartest hiring choices are made in consultation with others (i.e. HR, Leadership Development, current colleagues). When selecting new manager candidates, consider their skills and experiences, such as leadership on informal teams or projects, collaboration and ability to establish relationships beyond their immediate team, as well as their personal motivation and commitment to being a manager. Consider utilizing standardized tools that assess attributes that correlate with manager/leader success, such as emotional intelligence and learning agility.

If you offer a mentorship or self-selection management program as described above, did the candidate take advantage of it? You can also ask candidates to work through a manager-oriented case study, such as the HBR case study, “Is the Rookie Ready?”

Great leaders foster engaged teams that deliver great results. By carefully selecting and developing effective and committed managers, you can enhance your organization’s competitive advantage and ensure a sustainable future for your company.