You might suspect that your best young
managers are looking for a better gig—and you’re probably right.
Research shows that today’s most-sought-after early-career professionals
are constantly networking and thinking about the next step, even if
they seem fully engaged. And employee-development programs aren’t making
them happy enough to stay.
We
reached these conclusions after conducting face-to-face interviews and
analyzing two large international databases created from online surveys
of more than 1,200 employees. We found that young high achievers—30
years old, on average, and with strong academic records, degrees from
elite institutions, and international internship experience—are antsy.
Three-quarters sent out résumés, contacted search firms, and interviewed
for jobs at least once a year during their first employment stint.
Nearly 95% regularly engaged in related activities such as updating
résumés and seeking information on prospective employers. They left
their companies, on average, after 28 months.
And
who can blame them? Comparing the peripatetic managers’ salary
histories with those of peers who stayed put, we found that each change
of employer created a measurable advantage in pay; in fact, a job change
was the biggest single determinant of a pay increase. This represents a
significant difference from the past. Job hopping has long been viewed
as a shortcut to the top, but research showed that was a myth for
earlier generations, who paid a price in terms of promotions and often
saw their salaries suffer as well.
Dissatisfaction
with some employee-development efforts appears to fuel many early
exits. We asked young managers what their employers do to help them grow
in their jobs and what they’d like their
employers to do, and found some large gaps. Workers reported that
companies generally satisfy their needs for on-the-job development and
that they value these opportunities, which include high-visibility
positions and significant increases in responsibility. But they’re not
getting much in the way of formal development, such as training,
mentoring, and coaching—things they also value highly.
Why
the disconnect? We think it’s because formal training is costly and can
take employees off the job for short periods of time. Employers are
understandably reluctant to make big investments in workers who might
not stay long. But this creates a vicious circle: Companies won’t train
workers because they might leave, and workers leave because they don’t
get training. By offering promising young managers a more balanced menu
of development opportunities, employers might boost their inclination to
stick around.
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