Early in Career Talent – Investing In & Developing our Future Leaders

I am passionate about developing Early in Career (EIC) talent, which here at Microsoft we define as those in the first 7 foundational years of their careers. I have been lucky enough to serve as Microsoft APAC Leadership Team’s EIC Sponsor over the last 24 months.?I get so much energy from the interaction and learnings with our EIC talent across APAC.

In today’s article I share my learnings on 1) the importance of EIC talent 2) pragmatic real world top tips on how to help attract, onboard, develop, retain, and most importantly grow EIC talent for impact.?I’d love to hear your thoughts on the same!

The Importance of EIC Talent in Today's Workforce

An interesting demographic shift is quietly unfolding across companies and organisations both here in APAC and around the world, with a significant influx of young people joining the labour force. According to CapitalGES, it?is predicted by 2025 over 70% of the global workforce will consist of Millennials and Gen Z, the new generation that consists of people born after 1997.?

Further, technology innovation & automation, coupled with the pandemic means we face significant workforce disruption, with a clear need to prepare for a new ‘Future Workforce’.

Attracting EIC Talent - Cultivating Meaning and Purpose

In many of the roundtables and EIC events I have joined over the last few years, it has become clear money isn’t the biggest motivator. ?Above all, young people joining the workforce want an employer who cares about their well-being, according to a Gallup poll. ?

Technology adoption means younger EIC have access to a myriad of information sources, shaping different expectations from their job and employer.?Beyond employee wellbeing, they are deeply interested in ethical leadership, which also links to a Company’s mission /purpose, as well as diversity and inclusion.?In the interviews I do, these are all consistent themes in the EIC candidate questions.

At Microsoft, Diversity & Inclusion is embedded as a key pillar within our Culture itself, and now runs all the way through how we think about talent from onboarding and right through to performance, impact and more. ?

Top Tips for Nurturing & Growing EIC talent

Onboarding - To help EIC talent adjust to corporate life, EIC candidates first need a line manager’s heavy attention and support, in particular during their first 6 months to 2 years of taking up a job fresh out of university & higher education. ?Beyond the direct manager, creating a system of clearly defined onboarding buddies, mentors and further on career sponsors also helps accelerate the landing and impact.?

Coaching & Leadership - From a direct line manager perspective, many of the same foundational successful leadership traits around empathy, authenticity and transparency are critical for EIC talent, as for all stages of talent.

Empathy - Since they’re digital natives who grew up with digital technology and the internet, one of the easiest ways to manage millennials and Gen Zs at work is to embrace technology with open arms. ?Here at Microsoft we often conduct ‘reverse mentoring’ which is a great experience for senior leaders to not only hear the voices and directly learn from EIC talent, but to gain critical insights and stay in touch with the wider business/front line of the organisation.

Skill Development & Learning - Beyond onboarding, ongoing skill development and learning is vital for young EIC talent.?According to a Harvard study, employers will risk an exodus of restless talent, if their younger workforce’s desire to learn and improve themselves isn’t fulfilled. If nurtured right, these younger talents can help create meaningful impacts and put forward innovative ideas to create long-term value.

Learning Paths - At Microsoft we have a series of role based curated learning paths, spanning multiple years and dimensions to help EIC talent grow.?Beyond classroom trainings, my experience is hands on learning with more seasoned peers, both internally and with customers and partners, also serves as another accelerant for growth.

Shadowing and Stretch Assignments - I am also a big fan of developing EIC talent through very intentional and focused ‘stretch’ assignments.?Provided these stay focused and balanced, as well as aligned with the larger career aspiration, they can be a valuable hands on learning experience.?This might be as simple as covering a segment of a peer’s work while on leave, or maybe sitting in an adjacent team one day a week on a defined assignment for impact. These assignments help provide exposure to a diverse range of roles and domains, ultimately helping inform & shape the EIC talent pathway ahead.

Retention - Deploying a balanced series of the above nurturing and development activities above can help mitigate loss of talent. From a talent retention point of view, it is also important to note that expectations have changed significantly with hybrid work, driven by the pandemic.?In a 2022 report ‘The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work’, Microsoft found that ‘the Great Reshuffle is far from over. Some generations are even more likely to consider changing employers—more than half (52%) of Gen Z and Millennials combined may change jobs in the year ahead.?By comparison, only 35% of Gen X and Boomers say they’re considering a job change.’

As a People-First leader, one of the most satisfying aspects of my job is seeing people develop and reach their goals.?Seeing this impact with EIC talent is particularly rewarding – and well worth the work and effort!

If you’re a young job aspirant or want to explore EIC advice and information, make sure to check out Microsoft’s Aspire Experience to get an opportunity to come as you are and do what you love.