The Benefits of Cultivating In-House Leadership

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. —John F. Kennedy

In our modern world of business and society, leadership is needed in every sphere of influence. An organisation cannot function effectively without strong and intelligent leaders, nor can the family home or a country in general. In the working environment intelligent, just leadership goes hand in hand with employee motivation, achieving corporate targets and objectives and the long-term viability of an organisation. Whilst many companies look to external recruitment to gain their next leaders, there is a growing realisation that cultivating leadership within the organisation can be a more effective method on multiple fronts. Here are just some of the reasons why that is.

Reduce staff turnover

The financial services sector in particular is plagued by higher-than-average levels of staff turnover. According to a 2020 survey, the Banking & Finance industry has an 18.6 percent turnover rate, which is one of the highest among all industries. One factor attributable to this is external recruitment for senior positions over the progression of emerging in-house talent. Consider this: if your highly engaged and ambitious employees see that the top jobs are filled with outside applicants, they also see a lack of career progression in the organisation. When they consider themselves suitable qualified why shouldn’t they become external applicants in another firm’s recruitment drive so that they progress their careers? To combat this situation, forward thinking organisations should offer a comprehensive suite of training programmes for all levels of staff. This should go above simple mandatory annual training packages and should include leadership programs and coaching packages for staff that show the desire and ability to rise up and lead. Strong future leaders are built by learning and experience. Develop your existing pool of talent and ensure internal promotions are commonplace so that you demonstrate the career progression in your teams and reduce staff turnover.

Retain your millennials in particular

All generations have different defining characteristics but one startling fact about the millennial generation is their lower levels of engagement with an organisation than previous generations. Surveys consistently find that millennials are the least engaged generation in the workplace and are the most likely to switch jobs, with six out of ten respondents stating that they were considering new employment opportunities at the time of the survey. Even more startlingly, according to goremotely.net, 21% of millennials changed their job in the last year Clearly for this generation the adage that “a job is for life” does not necessarily apply. Once again, the need to offer attractive staff development packages and clear internal routes to senior roles within the organisation become key strategies in staff retention as millennials start to account for more of the workforce.

Avoid skill shortages

It is hard to predict the future in terms of the availability of suitably trained and competent staff. If the leaders of tomorrow became short in supply or your organisation faced the prospect of losing some of its most gifted leaders through retirement, there would be numerous operational challenges. Developing your talent in-house with performance coaching, leadership programmes and comprehensive training ensures that should the job market or talent pools dip you have sufficient emerging talent to replace your senior and leadership structures. Recruitment processes are also likely to be shorter and less expensive.

Add real value to your culture and corporate image

Any jobseeker will have read numerous advertisements about a companies cycle to work scheme or various voucher promotions. Do these really help to build on an attractive job offer for new starters and a substantial incentive for existing staff? Conversely an organisation with a substantial suite of effective development and coaching opportunities gives out a clear message to current and future staff that the organisation is a place to build a career filled with progression. This organisation is also likely to retain the staff that want progression and have the desire to lead.

In house progression leads to increased staff effectiveness

Staff with years of experience within your firm will have seen the emerging changes, projects and new initiatives take place within the organisation during their tenure. They will have seen what works and what does not and may have finely honed expertise from their years of work. It makes perfect sense to offer progression to such staff rather than to opt for external recruitment. External starters may of course have “a fresh pair of eyes” on projects and corporate strategies but can also bring methods of working from their previous positions that do not fit as well in your organisation. Years of practical experience and insight gained from on the job working cannot be underestimated or undervalued. Train and coach these staff members and watch as they grow to lead with both experience and knowledge that is specific to your firm.

To sum up

It should now become self evident that there are numerous benefits in developing the leaders of tomorrow in-house. Employee retention can improve, staff become more attuned to the vision and values of the organisation and the organisational culture becomes more than a set of soundbites and hollow values. All forward-thinking firms should consider a comprehensive package of training and organisation coaching for its emerging talent to ensure is longevity, cost effectiveness and ongoing viability. Learning and leadership are truly entwined. If your organisation wishes to develop the next generations of in-house talent, consider investing in bespoke performance coaching for your emerging leaders such as those provided by Theta Coaching Services. Alongside comprehensive training and leadership courses, business performance coaching can bring out the best in your staff, unlocking their full potential and adding significant value to the work they do for your organisation.