How organizations can better attract and retain young talent

Globe and Mail

a day ago

Question: My workplace is having trouble attracting and retaining young people. How can we position our organization as a great place to build a career?
We asked Susan Zettergren, chief people officer, Capital One Canada, to tackle this one:
Once upon a time, upskilling and career development was considered a perk in a workplace, but now it feels like a must-have to attract and retain young people. We know that folks in their early careers are actively seeking out organizations that are helping them to develop skills and keep pace with a world that is evolving so quickly.
For organizations that have these kinds of opportunities in place, it starts with the way that you are talking about yourself to potential employees. It's about marketing that up front and then almost immediately putting your money where your mouth is. Start investing in folks as soon as they are hired, because you won the talent, right? You got them in the door, and now your challenge is to keep them.
Career development can start as part of the onboarding process. It's an opportunity to connect them to what your company is about, to what growth paths might look like for them and to show them that you are there to help them be successful long-term. It will also give you an early win from an engagement perspective.
Give people options in how they can dabble in growth and development at work. Everyone learns differently, so we can think about that in the way that we offer professional development, whether it's online courses, tuition reimbursement for external programs, in-person mentorship or one-on-one coaching. If you provide an array of things for people to choose from, it gives them the autonomy to own their development path.
I think the two biggest categories of career development that are in demand right now are technology and soft skills.
Right now everything is about AI. In the absence of learning, AI can feel like a threat to people. There is a question of, 'Will this replace me?' Folks that are smart about being ready for the future are taking the opportunity to figure out, 'How can AI make me better at what I do?'
Having a robust way to help people learn soft skills will help you develop your pipeline for leadership roles. It's also a way to communicate the key soft skills are important within your company because of your customer, your culture, your values and your mission. So it's a win for the employee and the employer.
I think another thing an organization can do is survey. Every workplace is different, so it's about understanding what your workforce is looking for and asking: Are we meeting that need?
Employees, especially newer employees, are going to be your strongest advocates when they come in to your organization and have a positive experience [with upskilling and career development]. And that's going to hopefully bring you another person who may be looking for the same thing.
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