by Ethan Bernstein and Michael B. Horn, Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2025 Today’s playbook for retaining high-performing employees is pretty straightforward: more money, a fancier title, better benefits and a greater sense of “purpose.” The problem? It isn’t working. Individuals change jobs more than ever before—every 3.9 years, on average, globally, with younger generations moving even more often. Our research shows that their reasons for switching are more complex than the ones people consistently check off on surveys—such as better salaries and titles. After 15 years of studying more than 1,000 job changes, we’ve [...]

by Zach Mercurio, Harvard Business Review, May 29, 2025 Last year, I worked alongside a major airline’s cleaning crew at a busy airport. In the airline business, turnaround time is everything. When you deplane, these workers begin sanitizing the bathrooms, seats, and floors. They’re under constant pressure. The team I observed that day had some of the highest cleanliness scores at the airline, and it didn’t take me long to find out why. Tanya is the cleanliness support coordinator who audits the planes and is responsible for the team. When I met her, she took me [...]

by Ron Carucci, Harvard Business Review, April 28, 2025 Recent research reveals a sharp decline in people’s confidence in their executive teams’ capacity to execute, align, and endure the volatility of economic, geopolitical, and technological disruptions. These views hold true across organizations: Everyone from boards to the C-suite to employees believe their leadership teams are unable to withstand the demands of conflicting constituents and put the interests of the enterprise above their own. I’m hearing this too. My clients cite several forces that are encroaching on their cohesion and ability to lead—and subsequently diminishing others’ confidence [...]

By Daniel Muzio, Claudia Gabbionneta and John Mawdsley HBR, March 31, 2025 Prior research on poaching “star” employees has shown that hiring stars is not only difficult but often counter-productive. Newly hired stars often find it challenging to reproduce their exceptional performance. They may also harm their new employer, for example, by hindering innovation or lowering incumbents’ performance. This is both surprising and troubling given the costs, time, and effort involved in the hiring process. Organizations that rely on the knowledge and skills of their employees as their primary asset and source of competitive advantage still [...]

By Lynda Spiegle, Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2025 Job candidates have never been fans of the application process at many companies. But their complaints have reached a level that I’ve never seen before. My LinkedIn feed is filled with posts railing against companies that primarily rely on software to screen and track applicants, as well as those that create unnecessary steps to apply for a job, refuse to provide meaningful salary ranges and, most egregiously, “ghost” candidates—meaning they suddenly stop communicating with them. Such complaints can damage [...]

By Xena Wang, Harvard Business Review, January 28, 2025 Picture this: You’re a manager seeking to fill an important position on your team. You’ve shortlisted a few people, but you’re looking for the candidate to give your final rose. Based on their resumes, you know each finalist is tech-savvy enough to perform well in the role. But you want the entire package: someone who will enhance your team, both in skill and in compatibility. You’re banking on the interview round to find the perfect match. The caveat? You’ve never interviewed someone before. How do you prepare [...]