Loyalty: Where is it?
10 June 2008
Read by 1913 persons
Text: "Didn't you hear? Michel just announced he's leaving for a competitor! They must have given him a golden parachute; it's the only explanation for him leaving like that." What really happened for this executive to make such a decision at a time when the overall climate hardly encourages risk-taking?
One of my clients recently complained about the lack of loyalty of the younger generation of executives, arguing that they were most often attracted by the prospect of increased compensation. This is a subtle and implicit way of questioning our profession, which encourages the inflation of salaries resulting from executive mobility.
I don't believe it, and studies prove it, even if it's true that the current generation is immediately experiencing precariousness and is undoubtedly drawing some conclusions about the loyalty... of companies!
Despite appearances, loyalty in this area is rarely a matter of money but rather of the heart.
Unless you are notoriously underpaid (and undervalued), you will not leave your company for this reason alone. If this logic applied, only the most economically successful company in its sector would be able to retain its executives. In reality, the emotional cost of change is high and makes many candidates think twice.
The risks of integration are significant, and the transition may not work for many reasons. In the United States last year, nearly one in three CEOs left their posts. This was only the case for one in eight in 1995. Food for thought before taking action.
Affiliation is a powerful feeling that binds everyone to their company, their boss, and their teams. A strong company culture fosters loyalty far more than any stock option plan, however well-designed.
First and foremost, it's their boss they leave. This is the primary cause of the break, the one that triggers the desire to listen to outside solicitations, to answer the calls of our profession.
So, human resources management should be rethought as a "marketing job," to quote Peter Drucker, one of the gurus of management. And business leaders should devote more of their time to retaining their best talent before it's too late.
However, in marketing, the key question is not: "What do we want?" but rather "What are the consumer's expectations? Their objectives? Their values? What do they consider a benefit?"
In fact, it's all about taking the other person's desires into consideration. I, for one, attach great importance to understanding motivations, those of candidates as much as those of clients. Loyalty depends on a co-construction based on values of mutual respect and transparency of decisions. It is at this price, and not at the price of bought loyalty, that we contribute to building the balance of individuals in the company of tomorrow.
Published May 19, 2008
Posted online May 23, 2008
lefigaro.fr
One of my clients recently complained about the lack of loyalty of the younger generation of executives, arguing that they were most often attracted by the prospect of increased compensation. This is a subtle and implicit way of questioning our profession, which encourages the inflation of salaries resulting from executive mobility.
I don't believe it, and studies prove it, even if it's true that the current generation is immediately experiencing precariousness and is undoubtedly drawing some conclusions about the loyalty... of companies!
Despite appearances, loyalty in this area is rarely a matter of money but rather of the heart.
Unless you are notoriously underpaid (and undervalued), you will not leave your company for this reason alone. If this logic applied, only the most economically successful company in its sector would be able to retain its executives. In reality, the emotional cost of change is high and makes many candidates think twice.
The risks of integration are significant, and the transition may not work for many reasons. In the United States last year, nearly one in three CEOs left their posts. This was only the case for one in eight in 1995. Food for thought before taking action.
Affiliation is a powerful feeling that binds everyone to their company, their boss, and their teams. A strong company culture fosters loyalty far more than any stock option plan, however well-designed.
First and foremost, it's their boss they leave. This is the primary cause of the break, the one that triggers the desire to listen to outside solicitations, to answer the calls of our profession.
So, human resources management should be rethought as a "marketing job," to quote Peter Drucker, one of the gurus of management. And business leaders should devote more of their time to retaining their best talent before it's too late.
However, in marketing, the key question is not: "What do we want?" but rather "What are the consumer's expectations? Their objectives? Their values? What do they consider a benefit?"
In fact, it's all about taking the other person's desires into consideration. I, for one, attach great importance to understanding motivations, those of candidates as much as those of clients. Loyalty depends on a co-construction based on values of mutual respect and transparency of decisions. It is at this price, and not at the price of bought loyalty, that we contribute to building the balance of individuals in the company of tomorrow.
Published May 19, 2008
Posted online May 23, 2008
lefigaro.fr
