Workplace trends
Relocation concerns are slowing the hiring of tech leaders
While the chief information and technology officer turnover rate jumped more than 30% in 2022 – when companies poached talent with high salaries and flexibility assurance – post-pandemic, many organizations have issued in-office mandates for all employees, including executive tech leaders. Unfortunately, relocation can be the single biggest impediment to changing jobs for technology executives, according to experts. That’s why many of those more accustomed to flexible arrangements are choosing to reject relocation offers and stay put. This has contributed to a significant slowdown in technology executive hiring and a 15% drop in turnover. As a result, some companies are shifting their hiring tactics to focus more on local candidates, while others are trying to compromise with a certain number of days required in person each week – even if the commute is a plane ride away.
California is establishing paid leave for reproductive loss
As of January 1, 2024, public and private employers in California will be required to offer employees up to five days of leave for a reproductive loss, which the state defines as a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction. These losses are very common – with more than 25% of pregnancies resulting in miscarriage, and they trigger post-traumatic stress disorder for nearly a third of women. This new law builds on California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, which allows employees to take up to five days of bereavement leave due to the loss of a family member. Advocates argue that this is a positive step in the right direction, but that there is still a major need for national paid family medical leave.
The AI corner
AI can find out a lot about you from the way you type
New research at ETH Zurich has revealed that AI can accurately guess personal information about people – that is typically protected under privacy regulations – based on what they type online. These attributes include things like someone’s race, gender, location, age, birthplace, job, and more. The study’s authors say that AI bots can effectively infer this sensitive data at a previously unattainable scale, which could be dangerously deployed by hackers using seemingly benign questions on unsuspecting users. Per the study, the best chatbots are almost as accurate as humans at guessing, while being at least 100x faster in inferring such personal information. The study found chatGPT-4 to be the most accurate at determining these details, with 84.6% accuracy.
The U.S. is tightening China’s access to AI chips
The Biden administration is putting more limits on China’s access to American advanced semiconductors in order to restrict the country’s progress on supercomputing and artificial intelligence. The rules appear likely to halt most shipments from the U.S. to Chinese data centers, and they make it so that U.S. companies seeking to sell advanced chips to China will be required to notify the government of their plans or obtain a special license. To prevent the advanced chips from reaching China through other countries, the U.S. will also require chipmakers to obtain licenses to ship to dozens of additional countries that are subject to U.S. arms embargoes. The Biden administration argues that China’s access to such advanced technology is dangerous because it could aid the Chinese military in guiding hypersonic missiles, setting up advanced surveillance systems, or cracking top-secret U.S. codes.
When and how to give promotions - part 1
By monday.com
Clear growth paths have become increasingly important to employees in today’s world of work. Workers want direction and a sense that their hard work and success will result in greater responsibility, status, and compensation. That’s why, when that need for recognition and development isn’t met, employees are much more likely to seek work elsewhere. In a Pew Research survey, 63% of respondents who left their jobs in 2021 cited a lack of advancement opportunities, and a 2022 McKinsey study found that insufficient career development and advancement was the most common reason given for quitting a job.
So, as the end of the year nears, this is a great time to really consider your employees’ career paths and think about who may be ready to move up in the ranks. The challenge? It’s not always easy to determine how to navigate promotions.
How do you decide when it’s the right time to promote a specific team member? How do you promote one employee without offending others? What if there doesn’t seem to be a need for a more senior position? How do you ensure the promoted employee doesn’t just walk away shortly after receiving their new role?
While there’s no secret formula to effectively handing out promotions, there are definitely elements to keep in mind when deciding who’s ready.
How to determine when it’s time to promote a team member:
Establish clear growth paths
Try to create professional development paths that you and your team members can reference as a roadmap to their growth and progress within the organization. From junior roles to senior and managerial titles, try to clearly outline the skills and responsibilities that are expected at each level to make it easy to identify where there may be gaps to fill. It’s not always easy to build these paths and they may need to get adjusted over time, but the more you can clearly spell out development expectations and responsibility levels, the easier it will be to determine when someone on your team deserves to be promoted.
Pay close attention
Be a present leader and aware of each of your employees’ responsibilities and work outcomes. That means keeping an eye out for team members who seem to go above and beyond their current job descriptions, consistently producing excellent work and eager to take on additional challenges. When a team member is interested in and capable of taking on more complex work with greater accountability, it’s a good indicator that they would be open to a position with increased responsibility and authority.
Look out for consistency
When you manage a team, it’s important to be able to differentiate between a major success and the consistent demonstration of leadership and expertise. A successful project or great idea should certainly be acknowledged and celebrated, but career promotions need to be driven by repeated behavior. So, when an employee is continually taking initiative, delivering great results, and finding unique ways to solve problems, it’s a sign that they’re ready for a more senior opportunity.
Evaluate what’s being done
Regularly evaluate your employees’ responsibilities and deliverables because you may have a team member whose job title is no longer aligned with their impact and contributions. If you start to notice that your employee is doing the work of someone above their pay grade, it’s time to promote them. When you’re not quite sure, try to think about it this way: if this person were to leave tomorrow, would hiring someone with their current job description and salary to replace them be enough? Or would you need someone more senior to keep up with the work and responsibilities the employee has taken on? If you answered the former, they’re likely in the right place, and if you chose the latter, it’s time to give them the title and compensation they deserve.
If budgetary issues restrict your ability to offer a reasonable boost in compensation, be transparent with the team member so that they know it’s not due to a lack of recognition. Additionally, given that one of the main reasons to give promotions is to make employees feel valued and rewarded, if possible, offer them their well-earned title change for now, and show them a plan for when they can expect to see the monetary adjustment in the future.
Be proactive with top talent
Top talent today is easily swept up, so it’s important to know when to be proactive. If one of your employees is a real star, make it clear that you see it. Gallup research found that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across different business units, so when a team member feels their manager recognizes their potential and the value they bring, they’ll be much more likely to stick around. That’s why sometimes it’s worth giving promotions earlier than usual in order to help high-performing employees feel seen and valued and enable them to picture a real growth path on your team.
Water cooler chatter
LeBron James and Stephen Curry are set to earn at least $100 million this season, putting them among just 15 athletes across all sports to have reached nine figures in a single year. Experts say that the league’s skyrocketing salary cap could mean more superstars will soon follow.
Sumo wrestlers made a Japan Airlines flight too heavy to fly. When the airline staff learned that the passenger list included sumo wrestlers estimated to weigh an average of 120 kg (265 lbs), far more than the 70 kg (155 lbs) average, the airline took the unusual step of transferring some of the wrestlers to a hastily-arranged special flight amid concern over fuel capacity.
Question of the week
Last week’s answer: Monday
This week’s question: What’s the most common month for employees to quit?
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