What do you do if your company's culture of innovation is driving away top talent?

Top talent often leaves organizations due to a combination of factors. These can include limited opportunities for growth and advancement, inadequate recognition or rewards for their contributions, a lack of alignment with the company's values or culture, poor management or leadership, and better offers from competitors. Additionally, if employees don't feel engaged or challenged in their roles, they may seek opportunities elsewhere where they can fully utilize their skills and expertise. Creating a supportive, stimulating work environment and offering meaningful incentives can help retain top talent and foster long-term employee satisfaction.

Healthy cultures don't overlook talent; they engage in "preventive maintenance" to nurture it. This involves proactive strategies such as "???????? ????????????????????," aimed at retention rather than the reactive approach of "Exit Interviews," which signal a talent's departure. If you're witnessing a talent exodus you wish to prevent, you're already too late. It's a red flag for your company's culture, leadership, strategy, and communication of the innovation change. You need an urgent intervention starting with the identification of underlying issues.

Identify the root cause: Determine the reasons behind the negative impact of the culture of innovation on top talent. Is it due to excessive pressure, lack of support, unclear expectations, or something else?

It is helpful to understand the root causes of a degraded culture and to look at interventions that drives the right behaviours required from Leaders and employees in order to sustain the new order. Organisations tend o overlook the importance of understanding underlying issues and want a quick fix which is unrealistic during culture change because it takes time to embed in an organisation

Is difficult to improve what you can’t measure. When it comes to culture of innovation, the only tool that I know does the job of measuring QUANTITATIVELY Culture of Innovation is INNOQUOTIENT. The model was developed by a professor at Babson (No1 biz school in entrepreneurship) & validated by MIT. Why this is important? Because as mentioned by other culture of innovation is key to attract and retain talent, as well as enhancing resiliency in business. An analogy that illustrates this is: investing in culture of Innovation is like investing for your retirement!

Everyone brings their own talent so don't just focus on the 'top talent'. Culture is everyone and everything you do. If the issue is that you're also not attracting good quality candidates, flex your thinking to be as inclusive as possible in your recruitment processes.

Take steps to ensure this open dialogue is true two-way communication. It isn’t enough for leaders to listen to employees tell stories of burnout, there must be complex conversation that moves towards action. Try implementing WhatsApp for example with the chief innovation officer, CEO, CDO or even CHRO. Give employees ongoing and direct access via messaging to converse with leadership. It takes great intention and time - yes - and if a culture of innovation and employee retention are your goal, you will make a way. And you’ll very likely find the volume is manageable because of the inverse rule of candor - the greater the gap between titles the less likely employees are to approach direct dialogue, for those willing, it is transformative.

One effective way to prevent top talent from leaving organizations is through one-on-one conversations. These discussions provide an opportunity to understand employees' concerns, aspirations, and career goals. By actively listening and addressing their needs, organizations can demonstrate a genuine commitment to their employees' development and well-being. This personalized approach allows managers and HC to offer tailored support, provide challenging projects, and create a conducive work environment that encourages growth and engagement. Regular check-ins also help in building trust, resolving issues proactively, and making employees feel valued, ultimately reducing turnover and retaining top talent.

Like we learn in every classroom at a young age, feeling heard and seen, as well as a sense of belonging and community, are important parts of feeling valued — and its importance continues to grow as we invest in organizations and social groups from which we draw our identities. In situations where culture is driving away top talent, rather than assume we understand the issues, leaders must reach out directly to talent and hear what they have to say. Listening is an act of empathy and vulnerability, and an important part of growth, whether you are an individual or organization.

Listening actively is an art: You can listen to hear - and don't understand a thing. You can listen to understand - and you will learn a lot. It requires a certain level of openness and empathy to really understand what people are saying. Less ego bubble, more growth mindset.

Granting top talent freedom to act can significantly reduce the likelihood of them leaving organizations. Empowering employees with autonomy and decision-making authority not only boosts their morale but also fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility. This approach enables them to leverage their skills, creativity, and expertise to drive innovation and achieve results. Providing clear objectives, guidelines, and support while allowing flexibility in how tasks are accomplished encourages self-motivation and a strong sense of purpose. Organizations that prioritize giving autonomy to top talent often experience higher job satisfaction, increased productivity, and greater retention rates, as employees feel empowered and valued.

I always look at these problems from a cultural difference in organisational behaviour context. While innovation and change are key for transformation, if the top talent is not considering this as growth / motivation , there might be a cultural dynamic that plays a role. Risk taking appetite varies from country to country. The historic episodes in past, the way culture has shaped up in the country influencing professional behaviour is the reason. So, understand the ethnic spread and how change management can be implemented on culture of innovation in a phased manner to retain the top talent. This will also become a sustainable model in innovation

A culture of constant innovation can be perceived of instability. Striking the balance between a solid baseline and a culture of innovation is key. People need to know what is here today and what works well will be here tomorrow regarding how certain things are run. Then they can dive into innovation where it's needed the most.

Balance is key, and this would look different in different industries, and would even look different within the same company. It would be case of different strokes for different cases. For example, an R&D department would obviously strongly encourage innovation and have minimal boundaries to this. On the other hand, a manufacturing environment could require stringent adherence to certain standards to allow for export or sale of the product. In this case, while innovation is definitely encouraged, there would be clear and strong boundaries in how this is carried out. To conclude, each company, department or function would need to find their own sweet spot.

Recognition goes a long way to any employee. It is the unappreciated or under-appreciated employees who leave the fastest. This is especially true for top talent. Inclusive and diverse recognition programs would help a lot, but what is most helpful is a manager or supervisor who is secure and confident enough to recognize and support his staff. In the end, most employees leave their managers, not the company.

You need to enable the kind of behavior that you want to see. Having a 7-step, 4-months product feature approval process does not align with a claim of innovation. Giving space, delegating responsibility, and offering flexibility are key elements of an innovation culture.

One effective strategy to prevent top talent from leaving organizations is by adjusting policies, if feasible. This could involve revisiting and updating policies related to compensation, benefits, work-life balance, career development opportunities, and recognition. For instance, flexible work arrangements, comprehensive benefits packages, and clear paths for advancement can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, implementing policies that promote a healthy work environment, encourage open communication, and prioritize employee well-being can contribute to a positive organizational culture that retains top talent. Regularly assessing and adapting policies based on employee feedback and industry trends.

Investing in top talent is crucial for retaining them within organizations. This investment can take various forms, such as providing opportunities for continuous learning and skill development through training programs, workshops, and certifications. Additionally, providing challenging projects, career advancement opportunities, and meaningful responsibilities can keep top talent engaged and motivated. Recognizing their contributions and achievements through rewards, promotions, and public acknowledgment further reinforces their commitment to the organization. By demonstrating a commitment to their success, organizations can significantly reduce turnover among top performers and foster a culture of loyalty and excellence.

The A performer who drives and take company to growth and greater success, will always love to move forward in his/her career and ideally, companies do their best to attract A performer. However, retaining A performer is a bigger challenge than attraction. For A performer, Companies must come up with something more and different to retain other than best practices in terms of growth and development. Every single A performer must have a well defined retention plan aligned with his/her passion, capabilities and overall company's growth. We need to address one of the most critical and important question, Why would A performer stay with the company for next 5 or 10 years. Finding the right answer will be an architect and a great way forward

This question was clearly generated by AI. It contains an obvious contradiction. If you have a genuine innovation culture, top talent do not leave because they find meaning, purpose, achievement, recognition, satisfaction and purpose in their work. If top talent are leaving, then you don't have an innovation culture or you have a pseudo- innovation culture.

If my company's culture of innovation is undermining its top talent, first i need to understand the problem. Is it happening because the company's culture of innovation is putting excessive pressure on employees, or is there disorder in the culture of creativity? Once the cause of the problem is clear, solutions need to be implemented. These solutions can involve changes in rules and policies, employee awareness programs, and cultural changes through dialogue. In addition, top-level leadership also needs to support and encourage innovation, so that the company's people are motivated to promote new and unique ideas.