Talent Retention In Future

Just out in Harvard Business Review, summary of the Hybrid Experiment results and lessons on how to make hybrid succeed. Experiment: randomize 1600 graduate employees in marketing, finance, accounting and engineering at Trip.com into 5-days a week in office, or 3-days a week in office and 2-days a week WFH. Analyzed 2 years of data. Two key results A) Hybrid and fully-in-office showed no differences in productivity, performance review grade, promotion, learning or innovation. B) Hybrid had a higher satisfaction rate, and 35% lower attrition. Quit-rate reductions were largest for female employees. Four managerial lessons 1) Hybrid needs a strong performance management system so managers don’t need to hover over employees at their desks to check their progress. Trip.com had an extensive performance review process every six months. 2) Coordinate in-office days at the team or company level. Schedule clarity prevents the frustration of coming to an empty office only to participate in Zoom calls. Trip.com coordinated WFH on Wednesday and Friday. 3) Having leadership buy-in is critical (as with most management practices). Trip.com’s CEO and C-suite all support the hybrid policy. 4) A/B test new policies (as well as products) if possible. Often new policies turn out to be unexpectedly profitable. Trip.com made millions of dollars more profits from hybrid by cutting expensive turnover.

Employee retention is not about bean bags or pizza Fridays. 🍕 It’s about how people feel at work. In 2025, with all the uncertainty—layoffs, AI replacing jobs, and pressure to do more with less—people don’t stay because of perks. They stay because they feel respected, trusted, and valued. As HR professionals and leaders, here’s what really helps people stick around: ✅ Give them real chances to grow—upskilling, promotions, meaningful projects ✅ Communicate with honesty—especially during changes ✅ Show up as a human, not just a manager—listen, guide, support ✅ Don’t just talk about work-life balance—make it possible ✅ Recognize the effort, not just the result—both matter ✅ Be consistent and fair—favorites destroy trust ✅ Create a culture where belonging is real—not just on a poster ✅ Protect their mental space—cut the unnecessary pressure ✅ Stand by your team—especially during tough times People leave bad environments, not bad jobs. And they stay where they are seen, heard, and supported. Retention doesn’t need to be expensive—it needs to be empathetic. What’s one small action that helps your team feel valued? #employeeretention #leadership #workculture #HR #peopleFirst #workplacewellbeing #bestadvice #careers

HR doesn’t need more dashboards. It needs better listening. Most people teams measure what’s easy…like engagement scores or turnover. But the best teams? They build feedback loops that help them predict problems, not just react to them. This post gives you 11 of the most useful, often-overlooked loops you can implement across the employee lifecycle: 🟢 Week 2 new hire check-ins (capture early impressions) 🟠 Post-interview surveys (from both sides) 🔵 Onboarding reviews (day 90 is your goldmine) 🟡 Skip-level 1:1s (cross-level truth-telling) 🟣 Quarterly team health check-ins (lightweight, manager-led) …and 7 more. 📌 Save this if: • You’re building a modern HR function • You want fewer “We should’ve seen this coming” moments • You believe listening is strategy Which feedback loop is missing in your company?

Succession Planning (Done Right!) May Be Indian VC’s Biggest Risk With 1,000+ funds managing $170B+ in VC capital, the biggest unspoken risk in our industry might not be bad bets—but what happens when leadership transitions fail. And as more funds mature, this risk is only growing. Venture capital is about the future. We bet on founders who will define it. But are we, as an industry, preparing for our own future? 🤔 Because leadership transitions in VC are uniquely complex: 🔹 Founder-led firms are hard to “handover”—success is deeply tied to personal brands & networks. The founding partner is the brand. 🔹 Performance cycles are long—unlike annual corporate targets, evaluating mid-level leaders takes years. Small firms, unstructured HR—promotions often happen based on relationships, not institutionalized systems. 🔹 LP trust & fundraising risk—many LPs back firms based on founding partners; poorly managed transitions can trigger capital flight. 🔹 Carry structures are fixed and opaque, making economic transition difficult without friction. Meanwhile, the industry is shifting: ✨ Fund mortality is getting real — Kauffman Foundation study (2012) revealed that only 5% of VC firms in the U.S. survived beyond three fund cycles, Indian data is sparse though 📈 New funds are emerging—2024 alone saw 50+ new venture funds in India, many led by ex-partners of older firms. ⚡ Founders are choosing investors who “get them”—the next generation of VCs will be built by those who innovate, not just inherit. Succession planning isn’t just an issue for legacy firms—the assumption that succession is a “late-stage” problem is dangerous. Succession is not about naming a successor. It’s about building a firm that can outlast its founders. That design begins on Day Zero. Some firms are tackling this head-on. But as an industry, we need to be more deliberate. The best VC firms don’t just fund the future—they build one for themselves. Thoughts?! 👇 #venturecapital #leadership #successionplanning

Is the Great Resignation going to return with a vengeance globally? If employees act on their ‘very/extremely likely’ intentions, it will. Why? One key catalyst: Employees want upskilling to stay competitive. They recognize the evolving tech-driven, skills-focused job market. ~50%+ of adopters expect GenAI to lead to higher salaries. Employees likely to switch employer are TWICE as likely to “strongly consider opportunities to learn new skills” in their decisions. But ONLY 46% of workers find their employer provides enough upskilling to support career progression.   At the same time, key factors employees find 'very important' or 'extremely important' relating to engagement and performance: - Fair pay - 82% - Fulfilling work - 74% - Flexibility - 65% Is your company poised for a(nother?) Great Resignation? Is talent getting upskilled for their careers and business growth? How was the last feedback about employees' experiences? We all need to up-level for modern work. Change is inevitable and ongoing. It’s easier when everyone engages to co-create the way forward. A human-centric work approach counterbalances tech-infused business operations. Consider steps that facilitate a meaningful mindset shift: - Listen to employees’ requirements and concerns. - Invest in training and upskilling to support competitive needs. - Nurture trusting relationships to create belonging and community. - Foster a learning culture to stimulate ongoing growth. - Connect people with the purpose of their work. - Enable teams to agree optimal work configurations. What will ensure your company competes effectively through year end? A strong emphasis on empathy-centered leadership and skills acquisition will get you a long way. What do you think? Data from 56,000 workers across 50 countries reported in PwC's Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024 #retention #greatresignation #turnover #employeeexperience #employeeengagement #engagement #flexibility #upskilling #skillsinventory #skillsneeds #reskilling

It is no secret that finding joy, meaning and purpose at work is directly linked to productivity, so much so, that employees are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for more meaningful work. Culture and values programs are abundant but given that key employees keep leaving employers to find personal value in their work, so many employers are still not getting it right. There are so many ways to approach the employee value proposition, but to me no matter what your approach the following four key principles are critical to building or fostering a great culture. 1. Employees are people, not just workers. 2. Acknowledge that work is a subset of life, not separate from it. 3. Understand that value comes through feelings, not just features. 4. Mental well-being of all your people is paramount, and if your people don’t feel safe nothing else you do matters. Employees are looking for 1. Connections between their work and their true selves. 2. A sense that their wellbeing is protected and enhanced at work, it’s more than yoga and free fruit 3. Opportunities to grow and develop 4. Genuine flexibility in how they work, with an emphasis on trust and autonomy. 5. Genuine sense of shared purpose. So when thinking of your culture program or employee value proposition, don’t think of the generic/typical employee. Think about the individual people who stand in front you each day. What makes them human? What brings them joy? What gives them purpose? What makes them feel safe? It must be human centric. #culture #leadership #whatinspiresme #humanresources #people #wellbeing

In 2022, I predicted that by 2025, 60% of enterprises would actively foster socialization to combat chronic loneliness and social isolation exacerbated by digital technology. How has loneliness progressed? 🔍 Here's a snapshot according to Gallup's Global Workplace 2024 Report : 🌐 Globally, 1 in 5 employees report experiencing loneliness frequently, with those under 35 and fully remote workers most impacted. 😔 62% of employees are not engaged, while 15% are actively disengaged. 🆘 58% of employees feel they are struggling in life, with only 34% considering themselves thriving. ⚠️ 41% experience "a lot of daily stress." Loneliness and disconnection are silent problems — they often manifest as apathy, disengagement, or learned helplessness at work. So, what can we do to help? 💡 Steps to Consider: -Create a Support Network: Identify your team’s needs and implement channels to address them, such as employee assistance programs, financial planning tools, family assistance, buddy systems, communities, and ERGs. -Rethink the Work Environment: Co-design spaces for deeper relationships by mapping the employee experience and identifying changes in physical spaces, inclusive technology, and management practices. -Redesign Teams: Foster interdependence with collaboration platforms like fusion teams, cross-functional mentoring, and shadowing for problem-solving. - Recognize and Incentivize Goodwill: Acknowledge efforts with peer recognition/gratitude programs, making support visible to all. Implement an Inclusion Index: Measure fair treatment, collaboration, psychological safety, trust, belonging, diversity, and integration of differences through various feedback methods. - Train Managers: Provide managers with guidelines on the expected level of involvement in employee well-being. Train them in handling sensitive conversations, building personal connections, and evaluating mental health on a spectrum. Managers account for 70% of the variance in team employee engagement. Let's address these silent issues head-on and create a more connected and supportive workplace! 💪✨ #WorkplaceWellness #EmployeeEngagement #Inclusion #MentalHealth #FutureOfWork #Leadership #TeamBuilding For data see: Gallup's State of the Global Workforce Report https://lnkd.in/ecj8KUuw

The first thing that hit me when I joined this mid-sized engineering company as a CHRO was the lack of structured #SuccessionPlanning. At an organizational growth rate as steep as it was, the importance of a robust #SuccessionStrategy to keep our growth momentum on track and ensure continuity in leadership was very clear. To this end, I initiated my work with a critical review of our current leadership structure, #TalentPools, and future organizational requirements. I met senior leaders and key #stakeholders to identify critical roles for which #SuccessionPlans should be developed. This review identified several gaps and potential risks. Some of the huge barriers were #ResistanceToChange. To many senior leaders, succession planning was an unnecessary complication rather than a strategic necessity. Secondly, our #TalentManagementSystem lacked the necessary analytics to effectively predict and plan for the #leadership needs of the future. The next challenge in the process was to make the process inclusive and unbiased. We did not only need a system that would identify the #FutureLeaders, but one that would also be fair and transparent in the development of their capacity. Knowing these challenges, we established a comprehensive #SuccessionPlanningFramework that includes both quantitative and qualitative tools. #TalentAssessmentTools: We used #PsychometricAssessments, performance reviews, and 360-degree feedback to assess the current leader in finding a successor. Tools like #HoganAssessments and #GallupStrengthsFinder helped us truly understand individual capabilities and suitability for future roles. #LeadershipDevelopmentPrograms: Based on assessment results, customized development programs for potential successors have been designed. This includes #mentorship, #coaching, and focused training sessions to get over the shortcomings in competencies and groom them for the leadership role. #SuccessionPlanningSoftware: We implemented succession planning software in the HR system— #SAPSuccessFactors and #CornerstoneOnDemand. These tools enabled us to track potential successors, review development progress, and evaluate succession readiness. It runs scenario planning and #SuccessionModeling to simulate organizational changes and what would be affected in such scenarios. Our succession planning strategy, therefore, bore its first benefit: a strong #LeadershipPipeline ready for the challenges ahead and improved employee engagement through clear career pathways. It also enhanced the organizational agility required for smoother transitions. Our organization is more resilient, with a strategic approach toward developing leaders that places us in good stead for the future. #CHRODiaries #SuccessionPlanning #LeadershipPipeline #HighPotentialEmployees #PerformanceAssessment #360DegreeFeedback #ChangeManagement #CareerProgression #EmployeeEngagement #StakeholderBuyIn #OrganizationalGrowth

I recently coached a new CEO whose transition into the new role is incredibly challenging. Why? His predecessor was a Marathon CEO: Someone who led for decades, deeply embedding their ways into the organization. Their decisions shaped the culture. Their leadership style became the norm. Their influence lingered in every meeting, every habit, every unspoken rule. It’s really tough: 🌘 The company wasn’t just adjusting to a new leader - it was grieving the old one. 🌘 Employees clung to ‘the way things have always been done.’ 🌘 Decisions felt pre-programmed, leaving even the most capable new CEO battling a ghost. Compounding the challenge: a lack of succession planning made it harder. But through coaching, we didn’t just adapt; we rewrote the script: ➤ He harnessed his unique strengths to break free from the past, not just stepping out of the shadow but gradually transforming it. ➤ We sharpened a leadership style that didn’t just rival the old norm - it redefined it, igniting fresh momentum and ownership. This makes me realize a critical question: Organizations often underestimate succession planning, especially when replacing a long-standing CEO. The longer the tenure, the more vital it is to invest in: 1️⃣. Early & Strategic Succession Planning ↳ Had it started earlier, my client might not have felt like he was “racing against a shadow CEO” (his own words). ↳ Thankfully, through coaching, he solidified his style and rose to the challenge. 2️⃣. Clear Internal Communication ↳ Employees need reassurance and alignment during leadership shifts. ↳ A unified message could’ve steadied the team as they adjusted. 3️⃣. Support for the New CEO ↳ Transitions demand more than a handover - structured onboarding and cultural integration are key. ↳ For my client, a stronger support system might’ve eased the weight of such a legacy. A Marathon CEO’s influence doesn’t end when they step down - it lingers. The real test of their tenure isn’t longevity; it’s whether the organization thrives after they leave. So 2 Key Takeaways: 1) Organizations must prioritize early effective succession planning to replace a Marathon CEO. 2) A compelling leader can build their own legacy - with the right support. Catherine Catherine Li-Yunxia (Transforming leaders, Moving the world)

After joining three Town Halls this week, talking to the incredible teams of Gina Mastantuono, Russ Elmer, and Jon Sigler, I’m reminded that top tech talent has more options than ever. To compete, companies need to rethink retention - because a salary alone won’t cut it. The most compelling organizations understand that a few things are key: First, purpose drives performance. Engineers and developers don’t just want to write code - they want to solve meaningful problems in a culture that invites fresh thinking. Whether it’s streamlining emergency response systems or simplifying global HR operations, connecting their work to real-world impact is what keeps people engaged for the long haul. Second, continuous growth is non-negotiable. The best technologists are lifelong learners who crave new challenges (sound familiar?). Upskilling in AI, rotating into stretch roles, or leading cross-functional projects - these opportunities create momentum. Stagnation, on the other hand, is the fastest way to lose your brightest minds. But perhaps most critical? Fostering a culture where innovation thrives. Flexibility matters, but so does psychological safety. The most dynamic teams operate in environments where experimentation is encouraged, failing fast is treated as learning, and ownership is rewarded. When people feel trusted to push boundaries, they’re far more likely to invest their talent - and their future - in your organization. Here’s the truth: Retention isn’t about ping-pong tables or signing bonuses. It’s about building an ecosystem where top performers choose to stay - and grow. At ServiceNow, I’m proud to say we see this play out every day. What’s YOUR secret to keeping great talent? Share your thoughts below. #TechTalent #Leadership #EmployeeExperience