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A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision made regarding Harvard and the University of North Carolina admissions procedures doesn't directly affect employers for now, but many fear it will still have an effect on workplace DEI efforts.
This article was first published on July 11, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision against using race as a factor in college admissions doesn’t directly affect employers, but it’s sparking worries about a backlash aimed at efforts to increase diversity in the workplace.
In a June 29 decision, the Court ruled 6-3 that admissions procedures at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, reversing decades of precedent.
The ruling applies only to colleges and universities—not employers—but many fear it will have a chilling effect on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Another worry is that a change in college admissions practices will adversely affect the pipeline of diverse talent coming out of universities.
'Stay the Course'
Michael P. Maslanka, an assistant professor at the University of North Texas-Dallas College of Law, urges employers not to overreact to the ruling. “Companies should not read a case like this to say they cannot engage in DEI,” he says. “That’s not the message to take from this.”
Employers are still entitled to develop pipeline programs to create diverse applicant pools, and they can still recruit from minority colleges and take other steps to increase diversity in the workforce. Maslanka says those practices remain legal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Maslanka’s advice to employers is to “stay the course” with DEI initiatives since diversity makes organizations stronger by bringing in people with different life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view. Those factors create an “intelligence capital” that makes companies “better able to adjust to markets and what’s going on in the world,” he says. “Employers should never lose sight of that.”
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte A. Burrows also urges employers to maintain DEI efforts. In a statement following the ruling’s release, she lamented the reversal of precedent, calling it “a problem for our economy because businesses often rely on colleges and universities to provide a diverse pipeline of talent for recruitment and hiring.”
But Burrows stressed the decision doesn’t address employer DEI efforts, noting that “it remains lawful for employers to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs that seek to ensure workers of all backgrounds are afforded equal opportunity in the workplace.”
Court's Opinion
The Court’s ruling comes in two cases: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which says the Harvard and UNC admissions policies violate the 14th Amendment because they involve racial stereotyping and don’t offer “measurable” objectives justifying the use of race in admissions determinations. In addition, the policies include no specific endpoint.
Roberts also said the ruling shouldn’t be construed as “prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”
Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh wrote concurring opinions. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote dissenting opinions.
'It's not just about fixing individual challenges faced by specific groups, but about addressing the overall ecosystem,' says one leader.
This article was first published on July 10, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Human resources (HR) leaders in healthcare can learn and take valuable information from HR leaders in other sectors. Often great leaders are born of necessity. They see something wrong with the current state of affairs and decide that they should make a personal effort to change things for the better. That’s the case with the subject of this installment of our series on DEI leaders—Hallam Sargeant, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Avanade.
Hallam Sargeant
Sargeant started his career in his native Barbados and came to the United States specifically to study human resources (HR) after being underwhelmed by the state of that function at his previous employer. “The reason I chose HR to begin with was the organization I worked for back in Barbados,” says Sargeant. “I didn’t think we did a really good job of recognizing or maximizing the contributions of our people.”
Once he graduated and entered the field, he says he was soon exposed to a variety of areas and experiences across a wide spectrum of employees from different backgrounds with different lived experiences. This has greatly helped to inform his work and his effectiveness as a leader in this space.
He points to one particularly impactful experience that had a significant effect on him and his career trajectory.
Becoming an Ally
He was facilitating a dialogue with a group of colleagues consisting mostly of men, with only one woman present. The conversation was around determining promotions and assigning new roles for existing employees. The discussion turned to a new mother who was on maternity leave at the time and what roles might work best for her upon her return.
The men in the room assumed that she would prefer a less demanding role. Sargeant, however, paused the conversation and asked if anyone had actually spoken to the new mother to understand her actual preferences. This question was met with complete silence. No one had.
He then posed another question: “How many of you have had someone make the decision to slow down your career when you became a father?” Once again, silence filled the room. This moment highlighted for Sargeant the need for him to intervene and use his voice as an ally to address biases and unfair assumptions.
Another thing about this experience also resonated with him. As the team left the room, the lone woman who was present approached him and expressed gratitude for using his voice as an ally. “She acknowledged that if she had been the one to speak up, the response may not have been the same because her input might have been dismissed,” he says.
This experience was impactful for him. It illustrated the importance of challenging biases, using one’s voice as an ally, and considering diverse perspectives when making decisions that impact individuals in the workplace. The experience led him to delve deeper into the realm of DEI in the workplace and to consider what it could really look like.
He brought his depth and variety of experiences to bear when he came to Avanade in November 2020—in the midst of the pandemic and the social unrest arising from George Floyd’s murder. For Avanade, he says, “inclusion went from a nice to have to a critical business imperative.”
Strategy and Accountability
Brought in as the company’s first Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), one of the first things Sargeant noticed at Avanade was that, while there was DEI-related work being done, that work wasn’t specifically aligned to company strategy or KPIs.
Today, he says, metrics are used to establish direction, ensure alignment, and “hold ourselves accountable.” Metrics are reported to the board and included on the company’s ESG scorecard. In addition, each of the company’s executive leaders was tasked with creating personal DEI commitment frameworks, identifying measurable ways they would contribute to the advancement of DEI at Avanade.
Several Avanade executive team members also serve as sponsors of the company’s employee networks as Executive Committee Champions (ECCs). Their participation and leadership helps to visibly demonstrate their support as well as generate conversations and interest.
Employee Committees Offer Opportunities for Engagement and Development
Membership in employee networks has grown significantly under Sargeant’s stewardship. When he first joined Avanade, the company had four employee resource groups. Today it has 14 groups with 45 chapters globally, and 350 employees leading work being done at the global, regional, or local levels, he says. Over the past year the employee network membership jumped by 641%–one in six employees are members of an employee network.
That’s likely because of the broad reach and intersectionality these groups have. The company and its leaders have worked hard to “widen the conversations about topics that might have traditionally been considered taboo, Sargeant says. For instance, he says, “conversations around menopause and the impact that can have on women in workplace, especially when they feel they can’t acknowledge that experience.” Conversations are also occurring around various types of disabilities—including invisible disabilities.
In October 2022, Avanade held its first global inclusion and diversity awards to honor “the important work that our people deliver on top of their day job,” Sargeant said—330 nominations came in from across the globe.
It’s clear that, at Avanade, the DEI culture is real—and employees can feel that, Sargeant says. “We’re really intentional about broadening the conversation to include everyone,” he says. In addition, he says, “we’ve done a really good job of expanding the conversation beyond what would be traditionally thought of as I&D.”
Sargeant also makes the point that these groups at Avanade don’t just provide support for DEI, but also for employee development. A number of more junior-level employees have been put into leadership roles in the employee networks. “We believe that they’re giving back to the company by serving in these roles, but we’ve invested in them as well because, as part of their development, they’re getting the opportunity to lead teams,” he says. “We believe that we’ve accelerated their development by putting them in these leadership roles.”
Avanade has successfully opened up doors for inclusive opportunities for employees across its organization, recognizing the value they all bring, allowing them opportunities for input, learning, and growth. And, of course, ensuring that their efforts are aligned with business objectives and accountability.
They’re also making an effort to ensure that DEI isn’t focused on “fixing those in underrepresented groups.”
Traditionally, he says, many companies have approached DEI by trying to fix underrepresented groups—like women, racial minorities, or LGBTQ+ individuals. It’s like noticing a few dead fish in standing water and assuming it’s just a problem with those specific fish.
Imagine, Sargeant says, walking by a body of water and finding one or two dead fish. It’s concerning, but you may think it’s an isolated incident. Yet, if that same body of water is filled with dead fish, you begin to realize that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the water itself.
Sargeant applies this analogy to company culture. If an organization’s culture forces women and other underrepresented groups to assimilate or leave, then there is a systemic issue within the company. It’s not just about fixing individual challenges faced by specific groups, but about addressing the overall ecosystem.
For Sargeant and his team, the focus lies on transforming the company culture, which serves as the “water” in the analogy. They aim to identify and eliminate barriers and obstacles that hinder people from achieving their career aspirations. By doing so, they strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Sargeant’s story powerfully highlights the need for organizations to shift their approach from merely fixing isolated issues to fundamentally transforming their culture, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level and across all employees.
'When new HR professionals join my team, I tell them we are in the question business, not the answer business, and you must listen to what your clients are saying before formulating questions.'
This article was first published on July 6, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Human resources (HR) leaders in healthcare can learn and take valuable information from HR leaders in other sectors. In this article, read about one leaders' career journey, his biggest influences, and his best mistake.
Meet Eric Cormier, manager of HR services for Insperity, a provider of HR solutions. Since joining the company in 2012, Cormier has served in myriad roles, including senior HR specialist and manager of HR services of Insperity’s eastern service region. Cormier brings more than 20 years of HR experience to his current role, in which he supports clients with 50 to 100 employees.
Eric Cormier
“A very long time ago, I accidentally emailed data where it shouldn’t have gone,” Cormier recalled to HRDaily Advisor. “After calling my wife and considering my next career, I decided to talk with my CEO to outline what happened and share my solution. After hearing me out the CEO looked at me and asked, ‘So, what should I do with you?’ I responded by saying I hoped she would allow me to correct the issue. She allowed me to do just that, noting it was because I took ownership of the mistake and proactively provided a solution. From this mistake and this leader, I learned to allow people to recover from errors and succeed. Just because a person makes a mistake does not mean it is not recoverable.”
In our latest Faces, meet Eric Cormier.
How did you get your start in the field?
I started my career at a publishing company in a different role when the HR team invited me to work on an initiative with them. At the end of the program, the HR director suggested I start a career in HR because she felt I had a natural ability. My HR director noted my communication skills and my application of emotional intelligence and empathy during the project and encouraged me to join her team in the HR department. During my time at the publishing company, many different opportunities opened up, making room for me to begin my education in HR and leading me to where I am today.
Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?
I have been fortunate to work with many great people and leaders. While at the publishing company, I had two individuals who influenced me. One was my direct manager, the director of HR at the time. To date, I use many of the concepts regarding leadership, managing people, and problem-solving that they brought to the table. The second person was the CEO of the same publishing company. What I learned from both was a different perspective on trying to understand the business, how people impact the business, and how to motivate them. In addition, I learned about emotional intelligence and how to apply it to an organization and my work.
Both individuals were influential because they had an outside-of-the-box, holistic view of HR and people. For them, it wasn’t about needing people to fill a role to get the job done; it was about needing the right people to push the organization forward. I’ve taken this lesson with me. When hiring, we need someone who understands the role’s essence, the company, and their participation. I’ve used their lessons daily to help guide how I approach communication with my teams and clients. Learning from example, I know I must build trust with clients and employees so they do not fear HR. Once that trust is built, they know everything shared is in confidence and I have their best interests at heart.
What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?
My favorite part about working in the industry is the connections you can make with people. In my current role, I work with people in different sectors with unique challenges. The people and problem-solving aspects have always been the most significant part of HR for me. I enjoy solution-filled conversations with people on how to turn an employee around and how to identify if employees have all the tools they need. Truly, I enjoy helping people succeed.
The changes are frequent and fast in HR; you just wish things would slow down. Aside from the frequent changes, the other aspect of HR that’s my least favorite is when the best advice isn’t taken. In the past, when a client hasn’t taken my advice, I’d use it as an opportunity to self-evaluate. I always ask myself, “What could I have done differently? What part of the conversation did I not share that could have pushed us to the best-possible outcome?” By having this time to self-reflect, I can formulate different communication methods to use with my clients in the future to influence a more positive outcome.
It sounds like, through your experience, you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.
I think it starts with being a trusted advisor and listening. I believe HR professionals need to listen more than they speak. When new HR professionals join my team, I tell them we are in the question business, not the answer business, and you must listen to what your clients are saying before formulating questions. We can spout knowledge, details, information, and laws, but if I’m not hearing what you want or your concerns, then I am not helping. In my current role as a consultant, it can take time to get to know clients on a personal level, but it is important to do so, as it builds trust. One way I do that is by allowing people to feel heard, which helps make that personal connection stronger. Therefore, when I provide solutions or outline next steps, the client knows that I am partnering with them to reach a positive outcome. This makes for a successful HR career.
How can company leaders make HR a value within their organization?
I would say, don’t make HR the party-planning group. Outside of that, companies can support the strategy HR brings to the table as we face one of the most interesting times for talent acquisition and retention and realize the value of having an HR advocate. Leadership could consider altering the business-like titles for their HR team to more approachable HR titles to help remove the negative stigma associated with the department. HR is not just about hiring and firing employees. Instead, it is about bringing the right people into the organization and how we strive to help teams achieve and excel together. Other times, some situations require us to work with an employee to turn them around, and if we can’t, then we are charged with having difficult conversations. Many leaders today realize HR is much more than disciplinary action.
Where do you see the industry heading in 5 years? Or are you seeing any current trends?
I think there is a focus on the multigenerational workforce. I manage a couple of young adults, and I see what they are looking for in the workplace. They don’t always want to go into an office. Instead, they want more flexibility and to be heard and contribute. I suggest employers look at all the different ideas each generation brings to the table and listen. I think the trend is to embrace the diversity of ideas, beliefs, and people entering the workforce, which can lead to a more innovative and productive business. Additionally, we need to be sure we are not losing focus on current employees and their ideas either. Companies miss opportunities when they aren’t tapping into their own in-house innovation.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the people I have met, managed, and mentored. In essence, I am trying to pay it forward from when people mentored and helped me in my career. I have a pretty good coaching tree of people who have worked with me going on to do bigger and better things, and I am proud when I see someone I’ve worked with or mentored succeed in their career.
Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?
My one piece of advice is to shake it up. Bring your own style and brand to your HR role. Be adventurous, and don’t be the run-of-the-mill HR person. Be different. I would love to see people not cringe when you tell them your profession. I think people entering the profession should work to change how people view HR, break the stigma, and bring their authentic selves to the field.
Employee well-being includes monitoring and taking steps to address both physical and mental well-being, as well as opportunities for advancement and a sense of belonging and inclusion.
This article was first published on July 5, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Although there are many examples of friendships and romances in the workplace, it’s typically a professional environment where people keep personal feelings and information private. This tendency has increased significantly in workplaces that shifted to remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is unfortunate because improving overall employee well-being can have important and positive impacts on the engagement, loyalty, productivity, and innovation of a workforce.
Although the term is broad, employee well-being includes monitoring and taking steps to address both physical and mental well-being, as well as opportunities for advancement and a sense of belonging and inclusion.
Self-Awareness
One of the biggest benefits of well-being programs is they often encourage employees to do some sort of self-evaluation—for example, to identify key strengths and weaknesses or sources of stress or anxiety.
By better understanding their current skills, areas for improvement, and mindset, employees are better positioned to improve their performance.
Feedback Loop
Another key benefit of well-being programs is the creation of valuable feedback loops and channels of communication among employees, their managers, HR teams, learning and development professionals, and others. These are vehicles for employees to express concerns or share feedback on company policies and initiatives, as well as to receive valuable feedback themselves.
The office isn’t intended to be a place where people overly share personal information, but employees’ general well-being does impact their work, and it’s influenced by a variety of factors that aren’t necessarily work-related.
When structured appropriately and with genuine business objectives in mind, employee wellness programs can successfully bridge the gap between the professional world and the outside factors that drive performance.
'To effectively demonstrate the value of HR to the leadership team, it is important to align HR initiatives with the overall business strategy and objectives.'
This article was first published on June 29, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Human resources (HR) leaders in healthcare can learn and take valuable information from HR leaders in other sectors. In this article, read one leader's secret to their success in leading HR work in the public accounting industry.
While studying accounting in undergrad at Menlo College, Lupita McLane discovered she was interested in the people aspect of organizations.
Lupita McLane
“I realized that the success of any business ultimately depends on its people and their effective management,” McLane shared with HR Daily Advisor. “This realization led me to switch my major from accounting to human resource management.”
After graduation, McLane started her HR career in biotech, working at ChemoCentryx. The role provided her with “hands-on experience” in HR compliance, recruitment, and employee relations. She eventually transitioned into an HR role within public accounting, serving as an HR assistant at Seiler LLP. At the time, McLane didn’t know her new role would set the stage for a “long and rewarding” career in the industry.
Nine years after starting at Seiler LLP, McLane rose through the ranks to serve in her current role as chief people officer (CPO). McLane leads talent planning and acquisition, professional development, organizational assessment and design, diversity and inclusion, change management, benefits, and compensation. Additionally, she advises senior executives, oversees employee engagement and relations, advocates for culture development, and guides performance management procedures.
With more than 20 years of experience in HR, McLane has been successful since she took the helm of her role as CPO by building a culture in which the key ingredient is trust, having a voice for employees, and staying on top of workplace issues by creating cultural shifts.
And Seiler LLP has benefited greatly from it. During her 17-year tenure at the firm, McLane has grown the organization more than 220%, and her hiring retention rate remains 100%. Additionally, not only has she created more roles for women in leadership, but she has also increased diversity and inclusion and overseen more women promoted to partners.
So, what’s the secret to their success? According to McLane, they’re always changing their secret sauce.
“I would like to emphasize the importance of HR professionals staying informed about emerging workplace trends and issues,” says McLane. “Keeping a pulse on topics such as remote work, diversity and inclusion, mental health, and employee engagement will enable HR professionals to proactively address these matters within their organizations. Furthermore, I encourage HR professionals to leverage technology to enhance HR processes and streamline operations. HRIS systems, analytics tools, and digital platforms can greatly support HR functions, allowing professionals to focus on strategic initiatives and providing a seamless employee experience.”
In our latest Faces, meet Lupita McLane.
Q: Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?
Lupita McLane: Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to encounter several influential figures who have shaped my professional journey. However, if I were to single out one individual, it would be my first HR manager. They demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, a deep understanding of human resources, and a genuine passion for fostering a positive work environment.
My first HR manager believed in the power of mentorship and invested time in developing my HR knowledge and skills. They encouraged me to take risks, explore new areas within HR, and provided guidance during challenging situations. Their unwavering support and belief in my abilities played a pivotal role in shaping my career and instilling in me a commitment to continuous learning and personal growth.
Q: What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?
McLane: One of the most significant mistakes I learned early in my career is that the world of HR is not black and white. It’s gray. Sometimes you have to break the rules to make things right. People are complex, and there’s never a black-and-white answer.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?
McLane: My favorite part of working in the public accounting industry is the dynamic nature of the work and the opportunity to engage with a wide range of professionals across various departments. The collaborative environment fosters continuous learning and personal growth, as each day brings new challenges and opportunities.
However, the fast-paced nature of the industry can also be its downside. The constant pressure to meet deadlines and the high-stress levels experienced by many employees can take a toll on work/life balance and overall well-being. To address this, we have implemented comprehensive employee wellness programs, promoting work/life integration and encouraging open communication channels to identify and address stressors proactively.
Q: It sounds like, through your experience, you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.
McLane: Absolutely! Creating a safe and comfortable work environment is paramount in any industry, and public accounting is no exception. The industry is known for its demanding nature, tight deadlines, and complex client engagements. In such an environment, it is crucial to prioritize the well-being and mental health of employees.
As an HR professional, I strive to foster a culture that values open communication, psychological safety, and work/life balance. I work closely with leaders and employees to promote a supportive environment where individuals can voice their concerns, seek assistance, and feel valued for their contributions. I have championed initiatives such as flexible work arrangements, employee assistance programs, and training on stress management to address the unique challenges faced by professionals in public accounting.
Q: How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?
McLane: To effectively demonstrate the value of HR to the leadership team, it is important to align HR initiatives with the overall business strategy and objectives. By clearly linking HR initiatives to key performance indicators and demonstrating the impact on the bottom line, HR professionals can showcase their value as strategic partners.
Another crucial aspect is data-driven decision-making. HR should collect and analyze relevant HR metrics and data to identify trends, insights, and areas for improvement. By providing accurate and actionable data, HR professionals can support the leadership team in making informed decisions and optimizing organizational performance.
Furthermore, proactive communication and collaboration with the leadership team are essential. HR professionals should actively engage with executives, seeking their input and understanding their priorities. By acting as trusted advisors, HR can contribute to strategic discussions, offering insights on talent management, succession planning, and employee engagement strategies.
Q: Where do you see the industry heading in 5 years? Or are you seeing any current trends?
McLane: In the next 5 years, I anticipate several significant trends shaping the public accounting industry. One notable trend is the increasing integration of technology and automation into accounting processes, such as robotic process automation and artificial intelligence. This shift will necessitate the upskilling of professionals to adapt to these technological advancements.
Q: What are you most proud of?
McLane: Witnessing the growth and development of our people as they advanced in their careers has brought me immense satisfaction and reinforces the importance of investing in talent development within organizations.
Q: Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?
McLane: For those entering the HR profession, I offer the following advice:
1. Develop a solid foundation. Obtain a strong understanding of HR fundamentals, employment laws, and best practices. Continuously build your knowledge base through certifications, workshops, and professional development opportunities.
2. Cultivate strong interpersonal skills. HR is a people-centric field, so focus on honing your communication, empathy, and relationship-building skills. The ability to connect with individuals at all levels of the organization is invaluable.
3. Embrace continuous learning. The HR landscape is constantly evolving, so embrace a mindset of lifelong learning. Stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices to remain effective and relevant in your role.
4. Seek mentorship and network. Connect with experienced HR professionals who can provide guidance and support. Networking within the industry can open doors to new opportunities and help you build relationships with like-minded individuals.
5. Be adaptable and resilient. The HR profession presents a diverse range of challenges. Embrace change, be adaptable, and approach setbacks as learning opportunities. Cultivate resilience to navigate through the highs and lows of the profession.
There were 9.6 million job vacancies in March 2023 compared to 12 million job vacancies in March 2022, showing that more employees are sticking around for longer.
This article was first published on June 27, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
For the past few years, recruiting and retention have felt like Olympic-level difficulties. Good talent was hard to find, and it was even harder to keep—almost everyone in HR had turnover stories that sounded like nightmares. 2022 had the highest number of quits since the government started tracking the trend in 2000.
These record-high quits have left recruiters, talent managers, and HR professionals scrambling to fill open job seats and lower turnover costs for their companies.
But the tide may finally be turning.
According to the ADP Research Institute, Americans are quitting their current jobs at a rate that’s down by 5% from this time last year. While that number may not seem monumental, it’s significant enough to give HR professionals pause.
ADP also shared that job vacancies in March 2023 were 9.6 million vs. the 12 million job vacancies available in March 2022. More employees are sticking around for longer, shifting the way recruiters are thinking about acquisition and retention.
While it can sometimes be useful to keep your head down and focus only on your individual company and its needs, it can also be helpful to pay attention to larger trends in hiring. And the “Big Stay,” as it’s being dubbed by numerous employment experts, is something you want to pay attention to.
Why Has Quitting Slowed?
Although there are many things that could be considered factors, one main contributor is the economy. As inflation continues to rise, yanking interest rates along with it, companies are needing to tighten their belts.
Leaving your current gig for a new one can be a major risk. Although job seekers have gotten comfortable having all of the bargaining power, some businesses are simply no longer able to meet skyrocketing salary demands and requests for flexibility from brand-new employees.
The year-over-year pay increases workers were receiving from job switches actually peaked in June 2022 at 16.4%, according to ADP Pay Insights. Pay increases for those switching jobs have since decelerated. ADP Pay Insights also shares that April pay gains of this year for job switchers was at 13.2%, which is the lowest pace of growth since last autumn.
What does all of this mean? A new job no longer means instant increases and benefits, which means employees may feel less comfortable taking a risk and jumping ship. After all, a new position is a significant risk, and if they’re not going to be highly compensated for it, what’s the point?
Furthermore, companies have adapted to their new employees’ demands. Because more and more businesses have been willing to meet existing employees’ demand for flexibility, those employees feel better about their decision to stick around.
Companies during the Big Quit were basically forced to meet employee demands, and if employees are now able to work from home 3 days a week, they’re much more likely to stay put instead of risk being unable to find such a great situation elsewhere. In other words, the loyalty businesses were able to show their employees is now being handed back to them.
How Does This Affect Talent Retention and Recruitment?
If you’ve felt immense pressure to keep your employees from quitting over the past few years, you’re not alone. But the Big Stay might allow you to ease up a bit.
Consider focusing on innovation and talent development. By showing your employees you’re interested in their growth, you’re demonstrating your desire for your partnership to be a long-term one. Providing ongoing education for your employees can be a great way to refocus your retention efforts into something that will benefit both you and your employees in the long run.
Because employees are becoming slightly less likely to quit, you may be able to shift more of your attention to recruitment. Logic stands to reason that if fewer employees are leaving, you won’t need to recruit as hard either.
But if you are facing open positions, it may actually be harder to find high-quality employees. Those employees are also more likely to be sticking to their current gigs, leaving the talent pool shallower than it was last year. There’s still a lot of great talent out there; it may just continue to be difficult to track down.
How Does This Benefit Your Company?
Keeping a low turnover rate has obvious financial benefits. Finding new employees, interviewing them, onboarding them, and training them all while the role they’ve been hired to fill isn’t being fulfilled? It’s an immense cost any business would want to avoid.
In the past few years, talent acquisition and retention has likely been a huge part of your business’s budget. Being able to hold onto employees for longer can have a major impact on your bottom line.
But there’s a cultural aspect, as well. When fewer employees are leaving, you’re able to build a company culture that’s much stronger. Employees get in a groove of working together, and they understand each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. They become more comfortable voicing disagreement or having conflict, and they’re more willing to trust one another’s risks or new ideas. While you don’t want things to get stale or overly comfortable, employees who have been around for longer than a handful of months can really make a positive difference within your company culture.
We’re Not Out of the Woods Yet
Quitting numbers aren’t quite back to where they were pre-pandemic. If your business is on the lower end of the salary and flexibility bell curves for your industry, you may still be facing employees with one foot out the door.
But the Big Quit has all indications of slowly transitioning into the Big Stay. The light at the end of the tunnel is there, however dim at the moment. So feel free to have some tentative optimism and look forward to things continuing to improve in terms of employee retention.
'My interest in diversity fundamentally was born out of my experience growing up alongside diverse individuals.'
This article was first published on June 26, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Human resources (HR) leaders in healthcare can learn and take valuable information from HR leaders in other sectors. In this article, read how one leader's passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Patricia “Pat” Mayers is the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) business partner at Seismic, a global enablement platform that was recently placed on the prestigious Forbes Cloud 100 List. Mayers’ unique background includes a childhood spent growing up abroad, and she attributes her passion for DEI, at least in part, to the race-relations culture shock she received when returning to the United States.
Patricia Mayers
A Career Spent in DEI
Unlike many of the DEI leaders we interview for this series, Mayers started her career in DEI. “After getting my MBA at Texas Woman’s University, I was fortunate enough to start my career at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where I was a Diversity and Inclusion Manager,” she explains. “During my time there, I quickly found a love for advocating for underserved patients and discovered that geography, socio-economic status, education, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, income, and many other determinants had a huge impact on access to healthcare and health outcomes.”
Early Exposure to Diversity
As noted, Mayers’ social and corporate outlook and her passion for DEI are driven in part by her childhood. “My interest in diversity fundamentally was born out of my experience growing up alongside diverse individuals,” Mayers says. “For background, I was born in Panama where Spanish was my first language. From there, I went to a school at a military base in Zaragoza, Spain. Once I came to the United States, I found that race and ethnicity played a much bigger role here in the US than in other countries, and I developed a stronger passion for DEI. Enabling organizations to embed DEI into every corner of their business will always drive me, so I have yet to take on a role in my career where I am not working on diversity efforts in some capacity.”
Inclusion Needs to Be an Inclusive Effort
Like many successful DEI leaders, Mayers understands and appreciates the importance of the entire organization’s involvement in the success of its DEI efforts. “DEI cannot be done by the DEI team alone—it takes collaboration from everyone,” Mayers says. “The best way to deliver on that is through a strategic partnership with HR and partnerships across the organization.” And Seismic has done that in a variety of ways:
Partnership with the talent acquisition team, which, she says, has been crucial to improve diversity recruiting across the recruiting pipeline.
Work with diversity partner organizations and universities, along with other external partners, to ensure diverse candidate slates and review of internal and external metrics in collaboration with the HR data analytics team.
Collaboration with Seismic’s talent development and growth team. “DEI is embedded in onboarding and how we think about all learning opportunities throughout an employee’s learning journey at Seismic,” Mayers says.
Collaboration with HR business partners who provide valuable insight to embed DEI in internal talent mobility, to manage issues as they arise with a diversity lens, and to assist in business units’ HR processes.
Partnership with executive leaders to embed DEI in their business units through the development of DEI goals.
The Importance of ERGs
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are popular in many organizations, but not all of them fully leverage the tremendous value they can provide to employee engagement and morale. Seismic does.
“Employee resource groups (ERGs) should be at the heart of every organization,” Mayers asserts. “They play a critical role in Seismic’s DEI efforts and contribute to advancing our DEI strategy by leading bold conversations and impacting inclusion efforts for our customers, employees, and communities.”
At Seismic, ERGs are called Communities of Belonging (COBs) and represent several dimensions of diversity (i.e., women; African Americans/blacks/black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI); veterans; LGBTQIA+; parents and guardians; the international community; those with disabilities; Hispanics/Latinx). Each COB leverages and develops the unique contributions of its members and allies to foster a culture of belonging and promote an inclusive work environment, Mayers says.
Organizational Reach of DEI Efforts
Just as the entire organization should support the company’s DEI efforts, the DEI team should be empowered to exert influence throughout the organization. This includes everything from hiring to talent development and employee satisfaction to compensation.
“Seismic encourages personal and professional growth and connects with employees from day one by providing an inclusive onboarding experience,” says Mayers. “Ensuring diversity of participants in the LEAD program, a program for high potential employees, and incorporating diversity topics in their workshops continues to grow. Our Communities of Belonging provide a shared sense of belonging, a safe space and support to a variety of identities. We also conduct pay equity analysis to identify any gaps within job functions.”
Seismic has also added diversity questions to its employee engagement surveys to gain insights from employees and ideas for actions to create change and promote inclusion. One of the company’s core values is “We are Inclusive,” Mayers shares. “Our mission, vision, and values are at the foundation of our culture and work environment to support all employees.”
Seismic also takes a holistic approach to recruitment and talent evaluation as part of its broader DEI efforts. “Again, our focus here is really on experience and expertise, rather than credentials,” says Mayers. For instance, requirements like 4-year degrees can keep otherwise incredible candidates from taking on a role that would be a great fit. Recruiters may also unintentionally let bias play a role when evaluating women who took time away from the workforce, she adds.
Seismic believes all candidates deserve equal opportunities and resources for career opportunities. “Seismic supports a culture of careers being a collection of skills and we support career pivots and diversity of thought and experiences,” Mayers notes.
Diversity as a Journey, Not a Destination
DEI is a relatively new discipline in corporate America. Just a couple of decades ago, most companies paid little, if any, attention to diversity, equity, or inclusion. Today, DEI is a key focus of top companies around the country. DEI’s rapid shift in importance, though, hasn’t slowed, and it’s a highly dynamic corporate competency. In this sense, there’s no end point to DEI efforts. It’s a constantly evolving subject matter.
“I think about DEI as a journey—rather than a destination,” says Mayers. “You start by mapping out where you want to go, but along the way, you may need to pivot that plan—or reroute to a new destination. What’s most important is that you keep progress moving.”
According to a new study, those who leave may lead many others to leave, too.
This article was first published on June 23, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders.
After a round of layoffs, remaining employees typically feel a range of emotions. On the one hand, they’re relieved to still have a job. Layoffs are stressful and can have life-altering impacts on workers and their families. On the other hand, no employee is really a winner in a layoff scenario.
Remaining employees will likely have lost close workplace friends and trusted colleagues, and their work may suffer, as well, if their mind is preoccupied with the possibility of future layoffs. Some may even look for work elsewhere if their concerns over the company’s health are strong enough.
According to a new study from the UBC Sauder School of Business, those who leave may lead many others to leave, as well.
Layoff Survivors May Be at Risk of Leaving
The researchers looked at employment data from a major retailer that was experiencing high turnover. The study included data for approximately 1 million employees, including when those workers were hired, which store, which position, performance evaluations, and when and why employees left.
“We looked at these stores as systems, and looked at the flow of employees in and out of them over time,” explained UBC Sauder Assistant Professor Sima Sajjadiani, who co-authored the study with John Kammeyer-Mueller and Alan Benson of the University of Minnesota. “It gave us a great opportunity to look at the immediate, short-term and long-term effects of each exit event, and compare them over time.”
The researchers found that layoff announcements have a strong and immediate impact on voluntary turnover among those who survive the layoffs.
It Pays to Be Proactive
“It’s very bad news for organizations, especially if they are laying off high performers, because if those positions get eliminated, both high and low performers start quitting,” Sajjadiani said. “It’s a signal that people’s jobs aren’t secure, and the organization doesn’t care about them, no matter how hard they work. So they think, ‘I should leave as soon as possible.’”
This data should be top of mind for employers when considering staff cuts. Sometimes layoffs are the best-available option, but it’s important to fully understand the broader impacts of a layoff decision—both on the company and on remaining workers—before pulling the trigger.
A new study found that leadership development is changing in four key ways to support the needs of both leaders and organizations.
This article was first published on June 19, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders.
Although traditional approaches to workplace leadership development aren’t producing the critical skills needed for the future, today’s leading organizations are evolving the way they develop leaders. This was one of the key findings of recent research from Torch, a people development platform, and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
The study, based on the responses of 665 business leaders across industries globally, found that leadership development is changing in four key ways to support the needs of both leaders and organizations. One of those ways is redefining essential leadership skills, including the language we use around them.
“In the face of multiple global crises, growing uncertainty, hybrid work, workers who demand that their employers commit to inclusive values and actions, many firms have found that leaders need new skills in addition to more traditional management skills,” Elizabeth Weingarten, Head of Behavioral Science Insights at Torch, recently shared with HR Daily Advisor. “We see organizations investing more in the development of relational skills, such as active listening, empathetic communication, and the ability to inspire teams. In the past, these relational or ‘power skills’ were traditionally known as ‘soft skills.’”
Weingarten notes that leaders are shifting away from “the problematic binary of soft versus hard skills” because the language is misguided. “Calling these skills soft sends the message that they are easier to learn, or even that they may be innate– devaluing their role in the workplace,” she continues. “This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Relational skills are among the most important in our workplaces today, and they are not easy to get right, as anyone who has ever tried to sustain and strengthen a relationship with another person can attest to. Cultivating human relationships is perhaps the hardest, and most rewarding, work we will ever do.”
In this week’s HR Query, Weingarten shares how leadership development has evolved over time, how HR leaders can cultivate trusted relationships in the workplace, and key leadership skills that should be top of mind for organizations.
Q: How has leadership development evolved over time, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic?
Elizabeth Weingarten: There are so many ways to answer this, but I’ll pick two key points we found in recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services research, sponsored by Torch. First, the strategy of leadership development is changing, and has changed significantly, since the pandemic. Leadership development is moving from one-size-fits-all to a one-size-fits-one approach inside many organizations. In fact, 86% of respondents agreed that personalized leadership development, like coaching and mentoring, is required in our ever-changing work environment. To quote Dani Johnson, cofounder and principal analyst for RedThread Research, organizations are starting to realize that leadership development must change to meet the evolving needs of leaders: “We’ve heard all kinds of things about support for leaders that we haven’t heard in the past. Leadership development isn’t just a one-time, two-week course and then you level up. Leadership is a deeper challenge, and they need consistent support.”
The scope of leadership development is also changing from exclusive to inclusive. Leadership development opportunities like coaching and mentoring used to be limited to executives. Today, 64% of research respondents strongly agreed that it’s important to provide leadership development more broadly across their organizations. Part of this reflects diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments organizations made in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd catalyzed protests around the world. Indeed, about half of the organizations said that they’re working to increase the equity and inclusiveness of their coaching and mentoring programs.
Q: What are some of the key leadership skills that organizations should have top of mind?
Weingarten: Organizations need to be thinking about developing leaders who can find a balance between empathy and accountability. Our founder and CEO, Cameron Yarbrough, was prescient when he wrote about the empathy-accountability spectrum a few years ago because that’s exactly what we’re seeing organizations grappling with today. Ideally, leaders approach their roles with openness, compassion, and curiosity characteristic of empathy, but they also hold their colleagues accountable. In fact, he makes the point that being too empathetic—not holding employees accountable for their performance—can be actively harmful. Trying to find the balance between empathy and accountability is baked into the approach of our customer, Twitch. The gaming and content service company has a program designed to support managers to lead with both empathy and accountability.
Q: Key findings of the study also found that many organizations are moving from authoritative leadership styles towards trust-based ones. In a post-COVID world, how can HR leaders cultivate strong, trusted relationships in the workplace?
Weingarten: This is something I bring up a lot, but that’s because it’s so important and so rarely done well: active listening. HR leaders, maybe even more than other leaders, have the opportunity to model this skill for their organization, which includes listening for the total meaning of what someone is saying, not just the words but the feelings underneath, paying attention to nonverbal cues and responding sometimes more to feelings than to words.
And of course, it can also mean asking great questions and not assuming that you know someone’s perspective already. All these skills can help HR leaders cultivate trust in the workplace, and all of them are coaching skills that can be learned from coaches. Sometimes it can be hard to suddenly become a great active listener or question-asker if you haven’t experienced it yourself. I think the author and organizational psychologist Adam Grant puts it beautifully in his book Think Again: “Many communicators try to make themselves look smart. Great listeners are more interested in making their audiences feel smart.”
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Weingarten: One thing we found interesting from this research was that all respondents intend to increase their use of leadership development initiatives over the next couple of years, even in the context of economic uncertainty. And that was especially true for a subset of organizations that reported getting the most benefits from their leadership development programs—benefits that included increased revenue, productivity, and collaboration.
'Over time, I have learned the power of empathy and advocacy and gained a powerful sense of equity and fearlessness that I hope is infectious,' says one HR leader.
This article was first published on June 15, 2023, by HR Daily Advisor, a sibling publication to HealthLeaders, and has been adapted for HealthLeaders.
Human resources (HR) leaders in healthcare can learn and take valuable information from HR leaders in other sectors. In this article, read how one HR exec is leading a manufacturing company’s global HR department, including benefits, learning and talent development, HR technology, mergers and acquisitions, and total rewards and communications work.
Dipa Homer is a risk-taker, an important trait her parents passed on to her before she was born. Homer’s parents were born and raised in Bangladesh but decided to move to and start their family in a new place that offered opportunities. They chose Sydney, Australia.
Dipa Homer
Both Homer and her brother were born and raised in Sydney. She advanced in college and went on to build her career, and after some time, an opportunity from the United States came along. There were plenty of risks that came with accepting a new role in another country: a new home, new schools, a new country, new people, and a new life.
Much like her parents leaving their homeland, Homer mirrored them by doing the same with her husband and two children. She started her career in the United States, serving at NCR Corporation, and then in 2019, she became VP of HR for Rheem’s water heating division.
“My background was admittedly more tech-focused, and I was apprehensive about making the shift to manufacturing,” Homer shared with HR Daily Advisor. “But what is life without taking a few calculated risks? So, I took the plunge and accepted the offer. The first six months in my role took place pre-pandemic and entailed a lot of traveling to various Rheem facilities.
“After March 2020, there was a shift in the world and a large portion of our staff had to pivot quickly to a remote work model,” she continued. “Keeping employees safe in the workplace became my primary focus. Mid-2021, Rheem’s then-Chief Human Resources Officer moved on and the role became available. I had to benchmark myself against external talent but, ultimately, I was offered the role and today I serve as the EVP for Global HR & Communications.”
In her role, Homer leads the manufacturing company’s global HR department, including benefits, learning and talent development, HR technology, mergers and acquisitions, and total rewards and communications.
In our latest Faces, meet Dipa Homer.
Q: Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?
Dipa Homer: I would say for me, there is no one major/biggest influence from an industry perspective. I am, however, an avid reader and enjoy leadership books, particularly ones that examine human behavior, our choices, and resulting actions. This type of reflection is deeply helpful to me in first increasing my own self-awareness and then using that knowledge to positively impact those around me.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?
Homer: This may sound cliché, but I enjoy being around people. In fact, it gives me energy. The chance to connect with people from all walks of life every day is something I look forward to, and if I can be of service in some way, to me that means I have had an excellent day.
My least favorite part in this industry is that some of the problems we deal with can have a negative impact on others. So, leading with empathy and compassion as my North Stars may result in helping to change the outcome.
Q: It sounds like through your experience you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.
Homer: Thank you for recognizing my passion for creating a safe and comfortable work environment for my fellow employees. I strongly believe that the people who make up Rheem are our greatest asset, and their well-being is critical to our success. At Rheem, we prioritize and provide a healthy and inclusive work environment to keep all employees safe and comfortable. This includes implementing rigorous safety protocols for everyone, be it workers in our facilities or those in an office setting, while also offering comprehensive health and wellness programs and fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity.
To me, caring about people means leading by example in all that I do. I also recognize that every employee’s needs are unique, and I strive to create a workplace that accommodates those needs. This involves providing flexible work arrangements or offering additional resources to support an employee’s mental health and well-being.
Additionally, we support our larger Rheem family through opportunities to learn and grow. Rheem began opening state-of-the-art Innovation & Learning Centers (ILCs) worldwide. Our ILCs are designed to accelerate training through hands-on and online education modules. We’re spreading the word and making ILC courses widely available to partners such as contractors, distributors, and trade groups. To date, I’m proud to say that Rheem has trained more than 300,000 key industry stakeholders since 2019.
In the same spirit, I ensure my team knows I am actively listening to them, addressing their concerns promptly, providing training, and making improvements where needed.
Q: How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?
Homer: To effectively execute larger business goals, the entire culture must be aligned. This is where HR insights and support are required. To make a real impact, employees’ work must support the company’s growth goals. HR is crucial in such cases, as the HR team has the skills and means for creating employee development plans. This means effectively communicating with all employee stakeholders to find out what their career goals are, where they see themselves in the future, and what development support and tools they may need to get there.
Keeping people challenged and satisfied at their jobs is no small feat, and HR can be proactive in this area. Happy employees equal an increase in the company’s top-line performance. Being proactive and improving productivity and efficiency are the only tangible ways impact can be felt by leadership to prove that HR can positively impact the bottom line. Furthermore, when HR teams provide data-driven insights and real people analytics that help drive talent-related decisions, it can clearly demonstrate the value HR functions can deliver. At Rheem, our HR team prioritizes what really matters: the organizational needs and streamlined processes that show deep commitment to the organization’s purpose.
Q: Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Or are you seeing any current trends?
Homer: HR will be the driving force for many initiatives, including industry trends such as mapping talent to value, making the workforce more flexible, prioritizing strategic workforce planning, performance management, upskilling and reskilling, building an HR platform, and developing an HR tech ecosystem.
In the next 5 years, I see the HR industry heading toward a more tech-driven and data-focused approach. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics will become increasingly prevalent in HR operations, including talent acquisition, workforce planning, and performance management. Moreover, the role of HR will continue to evolve, moving beyond traditional functions and becoming a more strategic partner to the business. This shift will require HR professionals to have a broader range of skills, from business acumen to data analytics and digital fluency.
Another trend that I see in the HR industry is the focus on employee well-being and mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of supporting employees’ mental and emotional health, and this will remain of critical importance in the coming years. Overall, the HR industry is constantly evolving. It is essential for HR leaders to stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies to ensure that their organizations remain competitive in attracting and retaining top talent.
Q: What are you most proud of?
Homer: Over time, I have learned the power of empathy and advocacy and gained a powerful sense of equity and fearlessness that I hope is infectious. These are values I hope to instill and encourage within my team and as part of the larger company culture at Rheem. We recognize and create a highly positive culture because we know that our people are our biggest assets. Sustainability is a large differentiator of who we are in the market. I am extremely satisfied with the environment we have developed where people are proud to work for an eco-friendly-focused company.
A recent example of this at play is our GoodWorks program, which promotes sustainability engagement, alignment, and accountability across our global operations. GoodWorks offers Rheem employees a platform to make a difference both inside the company and in the world at large. We empower our employee volunteers, called GoodWorks Explorers, to ideate on sustainability and ultimately share their ideas with local sustainability leaders, called GoodWorks Ambassadors. The ideas are then amplified and refined as business unit steering committees work toward implementation.
At the end of the day, I am grateful for the outcome of such programs that help our employees develop a sense of purpose and contribute to the larger good of the company and planet. The biggest win is when the company’s employees become the biggest endorsers of the culture.
Q: Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?
Homer: I would say, take the risk! There are no rules to embracing risk, except “do not be afraid.” Easier said than done, I know. But don’t be afraid to seek out guidance and mentorship from those you admire. People like to know they’re admired and appreciated. Don’t be afraid to apply for that job. The worst thing that will happen is that you will see your gaps—and that’s a good thing. You might not get the role, but you will have a much better understanding of the work you’ll need to do to close the gaps.
As a woman leader in manufacturing, I would strongly say to other women: Don’t ever ask yourself if your gender is a liability or feel any sense of imposter syndrome. You know you can deliver the results needed to move the company forward, and each experience you had leading up to these moments will prepare you to succeed. Jump in, be your authentic self, and you will exceed your employer’s—and perhaps your own—expectations.