How to ensure a smooth leadership transition

From Starbucks to Cartier, 2024 has been the year for naming new CEOs. But are CEOs prepared for what that change in leadership means for employee morale and operations??

According to career coaching firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas , 622 CEOs announced their resignations in the first quarter of 2024 — a 50% increase compared to the previous year. Household brands like Papa John's, Victoria's Secret, Hugo Boss and Walmart have appointed new CEOs, likely in a bid to move their businesses forward . However, changes to leadership at the very top of the C-suite will likely come with some growing pains.?

"The CEO is there to lead and deliver on the commitments they made to the market, employees and stakeholders," says Christine Greybe , president of DHR Leadership Consulting . "But there's uncertainty and it may impact employee morale and productivity. If you're a publicly listed company, you can have stock price volatility. You have to make the right decisions from the start."

Read more: Could your company survive a new CEO?

REMOTE WORK AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT: As the digital generation, Gen Z has been the poster child for the success of virtual and hybrid work, but the very thing they've excelled at is starting to hurt their careers .?

Forty percent of business leaders believe that Gen Z is unprepared for the workforce , according to a survey from educational insights resource Intelligent.com . Additionally, 88% said this younger generation was less prepared than graduates from more than three years ago , and 94% admitted to avoiding hiring recent grads.?

Part of this issue stems from the lack of professional development opportunities in remote and hybrid work settings. Overall, Gen Z has worked remotely a significant portion of their careers to date due to the pandemic, meaning they have missed out on some experiences that only come with in-person interactions .?

"When the pandemic hit and people went home, people obviously did a good job," says Neil Costa , founder and CEO of recruitment marketing agency HireClix . "But I feel like we've hit the point since where you can tell that there's like a deficit now in employees that's starting to become obvious when we want young people to step up and accept more responsibility and they're missing certain things that were typically developed prior to the pandemic when we're all in the office."?

Read more: Remote work is stunting Gen Z's professional development

THE BEST OF THE BEST: This year's annual Excellence in Benefits honorees stand out in the areas of HR leadership , tech innovation and benefits brokerage and advisory, going beyond their written roles to bring positive change.

Creating the best experience for customers or their own employees, building personalized benefits and offering financial wellness opportunities are just some of the ways these dedicated executives work to give people what they need to be successful. They also know the power of continued learning , and because of that, they have shared moments that have shaped them as leaders.

Join us at Employee Benefit News’ BENEFITS AT WORK on September 17-18 in San Diego to explore mental health, building the modern family, and employee retention and workplace culture.

Read more: 2024's Excellence in Benefits winners