CASE STUDY
The Benefits of Engaging
Changing Behaviors Consulting
Greg, at the end of the case study after Changing Behaviors Consulting improved retention.
Case Study for Hiring and Retaining Young Professionals…
Greg is the CEO of a small financial services business with about 50 employees. He recognized the need for more younger people with technical skills, as he anticipated the retirement of his older loyal leaders who helped him found the company.
He has had multiple interns, but they never seemed to work out. Either they left for better opportunities or left after about a year or so, never staying long enough to reach the next level. Besides, he found it difficult to relate to these young professionals.
As Greg’s business volume grew, he became more concerned his business would fall behind because of inadequate resources. He collected some data to figure out what was missing. His peers had no problem retaining young professionals, and one of them was the leader of a competitor in financial services. So what was the difference?
He decided to promote several star employees into Management. They were excellent role models who knew the ropes. He thought this would improve the situation with more time to support employees. He also began working on softening his style because he knew that he could be abrupt and direct. When he received feedback on this, it helped him recognize that his leadership style only worked for a few.
Data Gathering I
Greg went to his HR person and asked him about the exit interviews. He found that the talks were pretty vanilla, with various reasons for leaving, ranging from different opportunities such as “this isn’t the field I want to be in,” relocations, or going back to school. Greg wondered if it was a string of bad luck. He wanted to know if HR or anyone else had stayed in touch with the previous employees and he learned that no one had.
The retention figures told him that since COVID and remote working, fewer young people were leaving (scarcity of jobs?), and he wondered about the difference.
Next, he decided to work with HR to conduct a few focus groups. Greg was left with the distinct impression that no one wanted to level with him about what they thought were critical issues. It was something he just sensed. From the information that he did receive, he couldn’t discern any real pattern.
He reviewed the result of the employee engagement surveys. These, too, left him with questions. Since the surveys only had a small sample of young professionals, the data was inconsequential.
He also learned that the new managers did not have the impact that he had wanted. Six months after hiring the new managers, two interns left. Although the two new hires were still on board, their reviews were less than stellar. They seemed to be just getting by.
At the same time, Greg analyzed the workload and workforce. He found that productivity had dropped compared to the output a year ago when his company had fewer people.
Changing Behaviors Consulting
Finally, Greg recognized that he wasn’t going to get to the bottom of his problem independently. He handed over the data he had collected and asked the consulting team to develop a solution to his problems, agreeing to a 2-month contract of data collection, analysis, recommendations, and action items. He also wanted some metrics so he could measure progress.
Data Gathering II
Changing Behaviors Consulting generated additional data by:
Conducted interviews with the leadership team.
Tracked down past interns and employees who left and reconnected with interviews to learn more about why they left.
Led several Focus Groups with active employees, ensuring confidentiality.
Reviewed policy and management practices. Conducted a culture analysis.
Findings
They analyzed and shared the findings with Greg and the leadership team. They found:
1. Very little mentoring and interest in developing employees. The culture was characterized by everyone out for themselves.
2. A lack of visible opportunities for advancement.
3. A disconnect between what leaders said and management behaviors.
4. The tight job market kept remote employees. They were under-producing due to a lack of direction and support working virtually.
5. That there were many areas of dissatisfaction but little communication with managers or leaders.
Action Items
The leadership team and Changing Behaviors Consulting devised action items. They agreed that Changing Behaviors Consulting would help implement them.
Create a culture of Mentoring and Coaching
Alignment and education of leaders and managers to help Gen Z thrive
Career Development and Advancement Plans and Programs for Gen Z
Focus on Remote Employees
Follow up
Changing Behaviors Consulting consulted with the company for another three months to reinforce the changes and keep the changes active and alive. They defined and tracked metrics. These services were available at no charge.