Why Virtual Employees?

What is your company’s current policy on telecommuting? Do you embrace it wholeheartedly or give your talent this opportunity only in rare cases? A middle ground is probably the most desirable way to go. While there’s still a persistent stereotype of telecommuters as slackers who just stay home and do not work, studies have shown that tends to be incorrect. In fact, in 2008 nearly a third of companies surveyed reported that they intended to use telecommuting as a way to retain employees.

When planned and executed effectively, telecommuting can be a great talent management strategy because it allows employers to adapt somewhat to employee needs. This makes employees feel valued and happy, and in return, they tend to work hard to let their employer know that they will continue to be a valued asset.

Selecting Telecommuting Candidates

Telecommuting isn’t necessarily right for everyone. How does your company assess who is eligible for a virtual work arrangement and who isn’t? One good baseline is tenure. By requiring employees to have six months, one year, or two years of employment with your company, you can more carefully select people who seem like they would do well in a telecommuting arrangement. 

In particular, length-of-employment is a good baseline because it allows you to develop a good working relationship with a telecommute candidate, and it gives you a record of employee performance in the office. This record can play an important part in assessing how telecommute arrangements may be helping (or harming) the employee’s productivity.

Assessing Their Work and How It’s Working for the Company

To be truly successful with a telecommuting program, every company should have measures in place to assess arrangements. This does not mean visiting each employee’s home to check out their work environment, but rather setting benchmarks for productivity and even ability to communicate and work with a team. You may discover that it is useful to revise annual review policies and review forms. For example, it could be worthwhile to establish telecommuting employee reviews at the 30-day, 90-day, and six-month marks, in addition to the annual performance review. You should also assess communication habits, not just with the telecommuting employee but any other employees who must team with a telecommuter to accomplish tasks. That is, consider the whole-team perspective in assessing how well telecommuting programs work. This is particularly important because studies show that telecommuting can lead to a decline in team cohesion or the feeling that one is part of a team.

The growth of virtual employment arrangements across the United States suggests that telecommuting is being recognized as a useful arrangement for both employee and employer. To make your program most effective, take time to carefully consider how your company approaches its telecommuting options.

There are no foolproof ways to develop your high-potential employees so that you can realize their potential (and prevent them from walking out the door). However, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to evaluate how effectively you are helping your high-potential employees realize their potential.

1. Do you know who your high-potential employees are?
You may think you know who these team members are, but do you? If your company does not have a strategy for identifying employees with potential, it may be time to develop one.

2. Do these employees feel challenged (but not overwhelmed)?
If your high-potential employee is bored at work, that’s not a good sign. You want all employees to be engaged, of course, but a non-engaged, high-potential employee is probably one that is thinking about leaving. Ensuring your high-potential employee has good, stimulating challenges as part of their work can help him or her feel satisfied with their job. On the other hand, you don’t want your employee to feel overwhelmed, so be careful to find the right balance.

3. Do these employees feel they are making a contribution?
And do they like the contribution they are making? Along with engagement and challenge, employees will feel satisfied if they feel like they’re making a positive contribution of some kind. A satisfied employee is often also a happy employee.

4. Do they feel listened to and respected?
All employees want to feel that you’re listening to them and that you respect them. This also helps with job satisfaction, but it’s a crucial part of best practices in high-potential employee development. Showing employees that you value the work they do and support their ideas and initiative can also help them feel they are making a contribution.

5. Do you have a vision of where they could be – and how to help them get there?
Okay, you’ve identified someone as “high-potential,” but what does that mean? Where do you think she or he could be in the company in two, five, or ten years? To really develop a high-potential employee effectively, you need to have some idea of where you think their potential could best be used. You may also want to talk with your superiors about this to let them know about your team member and get their ideas on how to best develop your employee. Additionally, talk to the employee directly to learn about their own professional goals and interests. You may think you know where they should be, but if you don’t know what they want out of their career, you may get nowhere.

6. Do they know about their potential?
The point here is that communication is key. If your employee feels valued, respected, and supported, they probably feel like you think highly of them. But that doesn’t mean they know that you think they have potential – and don’t be afraid to tell them. It may be just the boost they need to keep working hard and progress toward realizing that potential.

7. How do you help them realize their potential?
As the manager of a high-potential employee, think about the role you play in their career development. This includes talking to your superiors or the leadership team about this employee, so that they know who to watch for and keep in mind as opportunities open – or helping your employee develop networking contacts within the company or industry.

Fewer, More Strategic Moves
Fewer moves within an organization means there is a greater need for success and return on investment.  Although companies may be moving fewer employees, the individuals being chosen for relocation are the ones with the most talent.  The trick is ensuring that top talent will say “yes” to a relocation offer.  How can an organization optimize the chances of retaining their talent pool during a transition?  Providing more support and benefits to employees will make your workers more comfortable and willing to accept a relocation offer, maximizing your return on investment and saving money in the long run. 

Relocation is No Longer an Afterthought
With many companies downsizing, outsourcing, and consolidating as apart of their business strategy to earn a higher profit margin, employees aren’t being moved for the same reasons as they used to be.  The days of relocating employees for visibility or career-pathing are gone.  “At Vandover, we believe this is the way of the future,” Vandover’s president Margery Marshall says.  “It’s no longer just about tactics.  It’s more about a strategy for the company that makes sense; where they truly have aligned mobility into their talent management plans.  This means they really are pre-planning who they’re moving and why, making sure the tools are in place.  This will provide more support early on for the employee and their family.”

Measuring ROI is Mission Critical
Very few organizations used to measure the return on investment of a given relocation assignment.  However, companies are quickly becoming more strategic.  Today, 60% of business executives say that measuring ROI is mission critical to their business strategy.  They are getting smarter about long-term planning, making the right investments, and having a deliberate human capital strategy. Nobody used to monitor the number of moves, the cost, and return on investment of relocating employees.  Margery says, “The handling of relocation as a tactical afterthought must stop.  This is a major wake-up call.  It’s time to make a change.”

War for Talent
There really has become a “War for Talent.”  Good talent is hard to find, retain, engage, and, often times, relocate.  This, in turn, is causing more corporations to get more receptive to return on investment.  “We are seeing companies making less deliberate moves involving specific talent,” says Margery.  When first-choice candidates say “no” to a move, the company still has to invest the same amount of money for the second-, third-, or fourth-choice candidate who says “yes” to the move.  This cost may also rise if that employee does not effectively and efficiently fulfill the given job assignment.  This is why the War for Talent in the workforce is more vicious than ever.  It is crucial to track the success of your employees in order to ensure the right job gets done.  You may ask yourself a few simple but strategic questions.  Did the employee stay with the company?  Did they get the job done?  These sorts of questions and more will help your company evaluate your need for specific talent. 

More than any other set back in a business; the loss of talent is by far the most detrimental to an organization.  There may be a waterfall effect that takes place if the right talent is not available to ensure smooth and successful business operations.

According to a 2009 Human Capital Institute workforce mobility survey, 67% of employers said mobility of their top talent is the priority for the success of their business plan. The importance of getting first-choice candidates to relocate hasn’t diminished over the years but now requires more preliminary tools. Enter pre-decision.

Organizations Still Fail to Understand Need
A more proactive and thorough approach to talent management and mobility is increasingly essential. The success of each organization absolutely depends on it. Unfortunately, the majority of organizations have yet to realize the necessity of including pre-decision in their formal policies. Over half of the respondents to the 2009 Worldwide ERC® Split-Family Relocations survey reported that they offered no pre-decision assistance whatsoever. Although 24% said they offer employee pre-decision counseling and coaching, only 3% offer a pre-decision survey or combination survey and counseling. Companies still fail to see how complete pre-decision offerings help gauge their employees’ interest and concerns based on influencing life factors and provide an early indication whether their first-choice candidates are likely to accept the move.

The Need to Evaluate More than Real-Estate Concerns
It’s a common misconception that pre-decision consists solely of real estate and mortgage issues. These are certainly significant factors, but not nearly enough to constitute a complete pre-decision plan. After 25 years of serving those in transition, Vandover identified a pattern for that the largest mobility concerns. Typically they fall under six categories – relationships, lifestyle, location, family finance and legal concerns, employee career development, and spouse/partner career development. A complete pre-decision plan must assess each of these areas, partnered with supplemental coaching and research, for candidates to make informed relocation decisions.

Pre-Decision Assessment – An Essential Component
It’s vital that pre-decision assistance include an assessment component. Recognizing the important need to evaluate lifestyle circumstances related to the move, Vandover created the TalentMobility® online assessment. This confidential pre-decision survey guides the candidate through family, lifestyle, and career concerns – reporting all elements that influence the final decision. The assessment clearly illustrates what the candidate perceives as positive with the move and, more importantly, emphasizes perceived obstacles. Critical issues are immediately exposed so that the candidate can be coached as to how they may overcome them and make the move successful. Coaching often helps uncover pre-conceived notions about certain areas of the move and eliminates them with research. Finally, the assessment provides candid exposure when candidates are truly not the right choice for the relocation or global assignment.

Data to Increase Your Mobility ROI
Companies are slowly discovering that pre-decision assessment and counseling increases return on investment. Pre-decision policies that include assessment, research, and coaching increase their chances of retaining first-choice candidates and attracting new talent. Information is being gathered to track candidates through each step of the decision-making process, enabling the employer to address and potentially overcome hurdles as they arise. In the end, these organizations are left with tangible metrics to help strengthen future mobility programs, policy, and strategy.

The benefits of a complete pre-decision plan are tremendous for both employer and employee. Pre-decision has become the cornerstone of successful, ROI-generating mobility plans, and the key to getting first-choice candidates to accept the move.

A multigenerational team offers a number of benefits to your company because of the wide ranges of experience, knowledge, and perspectives. On the other hand, managing a team of employees who represent such a diverse swath of experience can also have its challenges. How can you and your company effectively manage the diverse talents of your multi-generational team, maximizing communication, productivity, and respect in order to achieve success? Take a moment to think about your team and how it functions to help develop your strategy for effective talent management.

How Well Do We Work Together?
Spend some time thinking about and observing your team members. How well do older and younger employees seem to work together? Are there differences in communication style, how they work, and how they develop solutions? Evaluate the team’s strengths and weaknesses first of all, and then consider whether generational differences may play into those.

Where Do the Leaders Fit?
Where do you fit in the multi-generational workplace? Of course, you can identify yourself by your generation, but also consider: do you work better with older employees, younger employees, or your own age cohort? You can also expand this to the leadership team as a whole to think about how you, as managers, interact with your employees. Do you have your own challenges in communicating with and leading employees outside of your own generational cohort?

Harnessing Diversity
One of the benefits of a multi-generational workforce is that you have a broad talent base that you can use to your benefit. If you can develop an effective team that works well together because they understand each others’ knowledge and skills, your employees can capitalize on that by using each other as resources. Think about it this way: if your Millennials can communicate effectively and win the respect of the World War II generation and Baby Boomers – in effect, the people who are the ages of their parents and grandparents – and vice versa, then your employees can also communicate effectively and win the respect of clients of all ages.

Understand the Differences, But Don’t Stereotype
The AARP offers some thoughts on the traits, communication styles, and perspectives of the four generations in today’s workforce. Click here to download the PDF.

Understanding these differences can be helpful as you lead your team in working together to achieve success. At the same time, remember that these are simply tendencies – there are no hard and fast rules about how any employee approaches their work simply based on their age.

No matter what their age, all employees want to feel that they are heard, that they are respected, and that their contributions matter.  Perhaps the best advice for talent management in the multi-generational remains much as it has always been: take the time to understand your employees’ needs, strengths, and capabilities – and help them understand each other, as well.

If generational differences seem to be a challenge for your team, rather than an asset, set aside some time to get everyone talking to each other. Addressing generational differences head on by making employees aware of them can sometimes be a good first step to helping your multigenerational workforce work well together.