How GE Is Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Global Talent

We recently convened a team of 21 millennials from various GE businesses

and functions around the world for a special three-month assignment:
identify ways to attract, develop, and retain talent in the future. We named
the effort Global New Directions, and we knew wed picked the right people
almost immediately when they told us that they didnt want to retain
employees, they wanted to inspire them.
The generation entering the workforce today is uniquely connected digitally
and socially attuned to the forces of change and common purpose. But
whats the best way to unleash their potential? Anticipating their needs is
one of the great tasks of leadership development and an area of sustained
inquiry at GE. At Crotonville, our corporate university, were addressing this
challenge through an evolutionary leadership curriculum, breakthrough
learning experiences, and a transformational environment. Were essentially
reimagining a vision for the global nexus of ideas. And were always looking
to broaden the dialogue.
Hence the Global New Directions group which, after weeks of intense
effort, proved faithful to its ambition to inspire. Its members presented
several recommendations to my team, and ultimately to Jeff Immelt, our
chairman. Here are just a few examples:

Leveraging gaming technology to create a new channel that connects

the world to GE in a fun and engaging way, helping to educate
prospective employees about the company and its economic and social
values. Developing new channels for recruitment and interaction is
especially important in areas where our brand is less well known.
Creating a personalized suite of benefits, providing greater flexibility
and choice to better meet the needs of a global, diverse workforce.
Enhancing our performance-management system with new tools to
help employees navigate their career at GE and identify a wider range
of opportunities across the company. Processes that allow for more
just-in-time feedback and coaching, which the next generation
considers to be highly desirable, round out the enhancements.
Expanding our leadership-development and accelerator programs and
connecting participants across those programs in order to support a
broader base of culturally adaptive global leaders.

We are now implementing these key recommendations.

Our Global New Directions colleagues intuitively understand and typically

demonstrate that tomorrows leaders want more than a career they want
a calling. They want to do things that matter, and theyre passionate about
making a difference on the job and in their communities. Often cited for their
expert use of technology, next-generation leaders are really about creating
deeper connections one reason youll likely find them giving back by
supporting local charities, building homes for neighbors in need, helping
disadvantaged families, and mentoring students to excel in school and in life.
At GE, were proud to support these aims through robust volunteerism,
grants, and charitable-giving programs, which have driven well over $500
million in donations over the past few years.
Results from a new study, 2012 GE Global Innovation Barometer, indicate a
more collegial and personal view of leadership and business now rising
through the workforce. It found that companies are moving beyond the
traditional, closed model of innovation and embracing a new paradigm that
is more collaborative, creative, and focused on delivering local solutions.
Moreover, business leaders agree that great innovations in the 21st century
will be distinguished by shared value addressing both human needs and
the bottom line versus delivering profit alone.
What kind of leaders will be most effective in this novel and shifting
landscape? I believe they share five common characteristics, core values
that we at GE, through decades of evaluation and refinement, have found to
be predictors of success:
1. Tomorrows global leaders possess an exemplary external focus they
collaborate not only with customers but with a wide range of
stakeholders including governments, regulators, NGOs, and community
groups.
2. Leaders are adaptive and agile, clear thinkers who are not only
decisive but able to connect strategy to purpose in a way that fosters
commitment.
3. Leaders possess both the imagination to innovate and the courage to
implement theyre willing to take risks to champion ideas.
4. Leaders are inclusive its the only way to build great teams.
5. Leaders constantly seek to deepen their expertise and motivate others
to do the same.
Great leaders never stop evolving. And in the end, they do the one thing that
makes the biggest difference: They help others thrive. By creating
development opportunities that align with their guiding values, we can equip
leaders at all levels to overcome tomorrows challenges and inspire them to
navigate the complexities of a new age with clarity, courage, and integrity.

This post is part of the HBR Insight Center The Next Generation of Global
Leaders.