Women in Super Breakfast – Retaining Talent by Embracing Change

Kaizen Recruitment was delighted to present at the Women in Super Networking Breakfast at the CMSF 2022, hosted by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees in Brisbane.

The breakfast featured a panel discussing the changing attitudes to work that have led to the highest annual job mobility rate since 2012.

Our Associate Director, Jack Brown had the privilege of sharing insights on a panel with Professor Joanne Earl, Macquarie University, Amy Ridley – Head of People and Culture, CareSuper, and moderated by Nadia Schiavon, Managing Director, Head of Securities Services, Australia & New Zealand, J.P. Morgan.

They discussed what some organisations are doing to handle the changing workplace dynamics, and what has been working to embrace these new attitudes and retain their staff.

Some of you may have seen Jack’s LinkedIn post, out of the 32 people, 26 of them said that “I am lacking learning and development opportunities, I don’t see or feel that there is any more growth in my position or team”.

According to McKinsey & Company, the top reason (41%) for people quitting their previous jobs is a lack of career development and advancement opportunities.

Reference: McKinsey & Company – The Great Attrition is making hiring harder. Are you searching the right talent pools? 

The subsequent factors driving people to leave their jobs as per McKinsey’s research are inadequate total compensation (36%) and uncaring and uninspiring leaders (34%). These are alarming statistics that should not be taken for granted. Firms need to take action and accountability to make a conscious change in order to retain talent and attract new staff to their business.

Superannuation funds can take a multipronged approach to reach diverse talent pools. This doesn’t mean that funds need to change their mission, purpose, values, or beliefs. Rather, they can showcase different facets of their employee value proposition (EVP) to a broader number of workers and get creative in their offers to current and potential future employees.

Additionally, Amanda Chisholm conducted a poll on LinkedIn, in which a significant 46% of people surveyed said that they were looking for flexible and hybrid work arrangements as their number one priority when looking for a new role followed by progression and then salary – albeit salary expectations have risen in the current market.

As high-calibre talent in the market remains in high demand, hiring managers may want to look at what they are able to do to attract top talent onto their teams. As candidates look to craft their careers around their lifestyle, organisations that can offer future employees a flexible culture will help secure new talent and retain current talent in a competitive market and create a desirable work-life balance.

So, what’s the number one way to retain talent?

There is no silver bullet, or one size fits all solution. However, there was three main topics raised at the WIS panel discussion for employers to consider:

Offering career opportunities and development

A study that was conducted reported that men apply for a job or promotion when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. Several media outlets have circulated this claim, including reputable sources such as the Harvard Business Review and Forbes, and it appears in books such as Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In.

As a recruitment consulting business, from Kaizen’s experience, we have noticed many female candidates deselect themselves from roles or feel they will never be able to obtain a particular salary level or position of seniority.

We have seen amazing results placing female candidates (Kaizen Recruitment placements in 2021 were 51% female and averaging around 50% in 2022 to date) into roles that they would have never thought they would be able to successfully secure. Kaizen has played an active role in consulting female candidates to advise of their calibre and accordingly deserving the opportunity to put themselves forward for certain positions, without which some female candidates would not have applied or declined by just reading the job description alone.

Professor Joanne Earl from Macquarie University mentioned that our call to action is to engage in career planning across all age groups, celebrate diverse career paths at an older age, and encourage Managers to develop trust with their employees to enable conversations about exploring options. We want people to take a considered approach to workplace exit and develop new networks and skills in order to work for as long as they want.

Amy Ridley from Care Super mentioned progression and development – not just traditional linear methods. In small and medium-sized funds, there can’t always be clear and functional pathways for every role, so you need to think laterally and opportunistically – secondments, cross-departmental promotions, and coaching programs.

The merger domain all super funds are currently living in (whether gone or going through a merger or being open to the possibility) can create uncertainty but also an incredible opportunity for staff to be challenged outside their comfort zone.

Having regular 1-on-1 catch-ups with your team to create, plan, design, and implement a structured career plan is critical to retention. It allows both employees and employers to identify actionable steps to achieve a common goal aligned with both the firm’s and staff members’ values and aspirations.

We need to ensure we create and maintain a safe and encouraging platform for employees to be enabled to speak with their manager about possible career development opportunities within their firm. Joanne added that information about these opportunities shouldn’t just be listed on the firm’s career website page but made easily accessible and also promoted to all staff members with a tone of encouragement for them to pursue them.

Having empowering leaders in place who foster trusting relationships and open communication

Nadia Schiavon from JP Morgan said the leaders and people around her throughout her career played a key role, empowering her, and offering support and guidance which enabled Nadia to succeed in her field and bring her to the position where she is today.

Amy Ridley from Care Super also brought up the need for authenticity – how are staff encouraged to bring their whole selves and opinions and perspectives to work?

It is critical for a healthy relationship between employer and employee that there is open and honest communication and of course constructive feedback going both ways.

Leaders need to be open-minded and have diversity at the forefront of their decision-making process, to allow employees from different sexual, racial, cultural and religious backgrounds (amongst other factors) voices to be heard.

The people we work with in most cases are an indicator of our own development potential and career path. The people on your team equip you with the expertise, insights, and knowledge to perform your role and add value to the wider organisation. Look for teams that not only you enjoy, but those you want to learn from and bring out the best version of yourself in alignment with your personal values and goals.

Jack added that having a connection with your manager and team around you fosters a positive environment that allows the ‘whole of self’ employee to grow both personally and professionally, which in turn can increase retention levels.

Prioritising engagement, purpose, and wellbeing

Superannuation funds can retain talent by becoming a for-purpose organisation, focusing on ESG and having an impact to make the world a greener place. A strong push to foster a workplace environment focused on health and wellbeing, whether it be fitness classes, mental health awareness workshops, and making time in the office spent with colleagues meaningful and engaging.

Joanne mentioned that AIA has implemented a smartphone application into their organisation called AIA Vitality. It is a personalised, science-backed health and wellbeing program that supports employees every day to make healthier lifestyle choices. The program incentivises employees to move more, eat well and complete regular health checks and rewards them for doing so. Perhaps this idea could be adopted by superannuation funds to encourage staff members to be active and healthy.

Employees can select the organisation and their role within that organisation based on the three Ps: purpose, people, and pace.

Ask yourself:

• Does the organisation I want to join or am currently in share the same values as I do?
• What is their purpose?
• Do the people in the organisation empower their employees?
• Do they support and develop their staff through structured career opportunities?
• Does the organisation foster an open and transparent platform that allows staff to speak freely to the management team and those around them?
• Does the organisation give its staff a voice?
• Does the organisation make its staff feel wanted?
• At what pace do I want my career to travel?
• How quickly do I want to be promoted?
• Do I want to take a step back and focus on my personal life?

If the honest answer to these questions and any other concerns you may have considered isn’t right or don’t sit well with you, then it may be time to look for another opportunity or work towards improving your situation. If you are comfortable with the answers when auditing your current situation and organisation, then use that as an opportunity to thrive.

Ann Hiatt was featured in the Harvard Business Review, for crafting what became a value-alignment scorecard for how someone could choose their next professional challenge.

Employees can also apply this to their current firm and conduct a self-audit, to make sure their organisation is aligning with their personal values, making them feel wanted and promoting a culture of health and wellbeing, to truly create an ecosystem of psychological safety and empowerment of their staff members.

Reference: https://hbr.org/2021/12/how-to-figure-out-what-you-want-next-in-your-career

Joanne Earl mentioned we want to encourage people to see the relationship between health and career, couple health promotions with workplace longevity/flexibility and help improve self-efficacy and mastery to empower people to access super/financial advice to round out the picture.

It is no secret that the superannuation industry is transforming. Funds need to build a diverse and inclusive culture to cater to all employees. Smaller to medium-sized funds that cannot compete with other firms on their salary offering must look to their employee value proposition (EVP) to remain competitive.

If you do not have a regular 1-on-1 catch-up with your manager to discuss your career development within your organisation or take action to schedule a time with them to design, plan and implement a path that aligns with both your and your firm’s values.

It is clear superannuation funds need to evolve as employee demand evolves. As funds continue to in-house capabilities and grow in size, they need to ensure that they have structured career development opportunities and have empowering leaders who foster trusting relationships and communication, as well as prioritising engagement, purpose, and well-being.

Super Funds need to host an ecosystem of psychological safety and empowerment for their staff members to increase retention and attract future employees to their business.

Thank you to Women in Super, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, and JP Morgan for hosting such a great event.

Kaizen is grateful to be serving the superannuation and funds management industry and looks forward to continuing to support our clients throughout this evolutionary period of change.

References:

1. Mckinsey Article on The Great Attrition and How to Attract and Retain Talent https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-great-attrition-is-making-hiring-harder-are-you-searching-the-right-talent-pools?stcr=BA9E07F88B58440CA852479B68C7D145&cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck&hlkid=16a6b2d57dab4b6c80769c48244f8781&hctky=2131511&hdpid=2cdbc6c9-ca5d-4e05-8a65-e6a2e015ddfa

      2. Three P’s – Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2021/12/how-to-figure-out-what-you-want-next-in-your-career 

 

Get in Touch

Based in Melbourne and Sydney, Kaizen Recruitment specialises in financial services recruitment across funds management, wealth management, superannuation, investment consulting and insurance. If you’d like to discuss candidate career drivers and the current state of the market within the financial services recruitment landscape, feel free to reach out to us with your details below. 

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