Three Steps to Winning the Talent Shift

What started as a book to help an author’s college grad daughter navigate the business world turned into a guide for employers everywhere who want to build a high-performing workforce. In her new book Winning the Talent Shift: Three Steps to Unleashing the New Higher Performance Workplace, Berta Aldrich explains why companies struggle to hire and retain talent—and what they need to do to change that paradigm.

The first step is to take a hard look at reality to understand why things need to change. Technology and the global economy were able to quickly revolutionize the business world. On the other hand, people have been talking about diversity and inclusion for more than 30 years, yet we’ve made little progress on that front. True growth requires transformational changes starting at the top of the organization—and much of that involves removing barriers.

The book is filled with “dirty little secrets” that Aldrich calls barriers, along with suggestions for overcoming these situations. Barriers can be anything from aggression, inequity, and bad bosses to bullying and even abuse. It is sad to admit how prevalent these things are in business today. Some of Aldrich’s stories are difficult to read; some may hit a little too close to home. However, the author offers techniques that can be applied easily in real life.

Real progress can’t be made until those barriers are removed. Ultimately, this means redesigning your workplace to support the hiring and retention of high performers. Aldrich acknowledges this is a big job that involves a strong commitment from HR, leadership teams, and board members. She outlines a five-year plan and a communication strategy for sharing success.

The marketplace has changed but the workplace has failed to follow suit, which puts organizations at risk. The old ways of command and control leaders just won’t work anymore. The companies that will lead the marketplace of tomorrow are the companies that redesign their workplaces, policies, and procedures to support their greatest asset: their people.

To hear host Chad Gordon interview Berta Aldrich, listen to the LeaderChat podcast and subscribe today. 

To learn more about Berta Aldrich, go to www.bertaaldrich.com, or LinkedIn “Winning the Talent Shift” by Berta Aldrich.