If there’s one thing that’s certain in today’s turbulent labor market, it’s that employers want to show workers that they’re highly valued. That’s one reason that companies are re-assessing their approach to employee engagement as well as learning and development (L&D) as they decide how to invest in their workforces.

“I see this very intentional pause right now,” said Liz Pavese, PhD, director of behavioral science and solutions at CoachHub, a digital coaching platform. This deliberation she’s witnessing among CoachHub customers is crucial because organizational capabilities are radically shifting and even entire industries are “going through major changes and transformations, requiring whole new skill sets and capabilities from people.”

As a result, L&D programs require a whole new mindset on the part of the teams who coordinate them. Christopher Shryock, senior VP and chief people officer at the retailer Sam’s Club, suggested altering the language they use to better convey their new goals. “I’m not an enormous believer in the concept of ‘lifelong learning,’” Shryock said. “That’s just kind of a means in and of itself. I don’t really know what to do with that, but I’m a really big believer in ‘lifelong employability,’ which is going to mean different skill sets and different capabilities are required [over time]. And if you put that lens on it, it starts to make a lot more sense from an organizational point of view–and from an employee point of view as well.”

The ways in which companies can achieve these outcomes was the topic of a recent From Day One webinar, “Rewriting the Rules of Human Capital Development,” in which Pavese and Shryock joined three other HR leaders. Moderated by Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kelly Yamanouchi, the speakers offered a series of helpful tips and examples of successful initiatives they’ve rolled out thus far. Among the highlights:

For Starters, Maximize Onboarding

Instead of throwing a bunch of instructional information at a new hire during onboarding, utilize the process to set a positive tone. Then the new talent will help reinforce the company culture that so many have worked hard to build. “​​We start by clearly identifying why our company exists—not just how we generate revenue. [It’s] how we become clear about our company and what we are trying to do: Inspire love around the world,” said Robert Solomon, VP of leadership and organizational development at Signet Jewelers. Solomon added that Signet is very intentional about the roles that are created within the organization. They should “support the company’s existence,” he said.

Solomon then cited the Peter Principle, reminding listeners that many workers leave their jobs because of bad managers. Therefore, Signet prioritizes manager upskilling to ensure that they are actually “ready for the next level,” Solomon said, and aren’t moving up simply because they’ve “served their time.”

“And then finally, how do we lower the barriers to success [and increase] the opportunities to learn, grow and advance?” Solomon continued. “For those roles that [employees] have passion, they want to grow and learn more about,” so Signet’s people leaders provide workers opportunities to do so.

Investigate Unique Employee Needs

People leaders cannot address the needs of workers without first knowing what they are. Denise Malloy, VP and global head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)  at Johnson Controls, said yearly employee surveys won’t cut it any longer. Asking what employees require to remain content, engaged and productive should be almost a daily requirement, she said.

“The route that we have now chosen to take [at Johnson Controls] is around pulse surveying, surveying our employees on an ongoing basis, getting the voice of the employee just as I would if I were out selling, I’d seek to get the voice of the customer,” Malloy said. “We’re getting the voice of our employees through roundtables, through listening sessions; we have a perspective listening series where we invite employees to share experiences, what’s happening in their lives.”

When acts of violence increased against Asians and members of other minority groups, Johnson Controls leaders organized panels that Malloy said “bring folks to the table” to discuss the company’s response. “We allow them to share, to talk about the things that are meaningful to them, so that we can understand, What are their needs?” Malloy continued. “What are the things that you look for in your employer, and what would give you a sense of belonging here and create an atmosphere of inclusion?”

Enhance the Employee Experience

Accruing all the data in the world about employee needs won’t do company people leaders any good unless they act on its insights. After the pandemic, if there’s one sector that might need an update to its employee experience it’s the healthcare industry, particularly where its frontline workers operate.

Darci Hall, VP and chief talent officer at Providence, a health care system on the West Coast, said the health care industry didn’t experience the Great Resignation in quite the same way that many other areas did. She described something that might equate to a Great Sigh, instead. Workers communicated that they were experiencing tremendous fatigue and a lack of fulfillment. “What we’ve done is taken a step back and said that we need to start to look more at the human side of the business,” said Hall. “It’s not about work/life balance, it’s about a whole person.”

Among the outcomes of that shift in approach at Providence has been what Hall called a reevaluation of its caregiver-value proposition. The organization surveyed thousands of employees, as well as customers, to find out where the company stood since the pandemic arrived. Hall said that the company found that “people come to Providence for the mission, [which] is caring for the poor and vulnerable.” They also show up to Providence for a “deep connection and sense of belonging,” Hall said.

After learning all this, Hall said Providence has since grounded itself as an organization in its mission, encouraged people to “come to work and be who they are,” and made sure that they feel included. In short, she said Providence is “really honoring the well-being of our caregivers.”

“And we wanted people to know that they had opportunity to grow and to develop,” Hall added. “Maybe one day you’re a nurse, but you want to be in HR tomorrow. We have the ability to support, skill and reskill you, and make sure that you are enabled all the way through for those people that might not see themselves in roles today.”

Enhance Leadership Training

As the panel speakers mentioned multiple times, strong leaders help build a company culture that workers want to be a part of. Considering that, and the fact that upskilling and promotions are vital in retention, effective leadership training is a must. Shryock, the Sam’s Club executive, said that the most important best practice in leadership training is “anchoring learning and development to ensure it’s supporting what the actual business strategy is, what the actual capabilities are that you want to build. He added that organizations must identify and address gaps in those capabilities and gaps in leadership development as well. This can be achieved through mindful surveys, Shryock said.

With the virtual office technology that’s become widely adopted over the past two years, Shryock said it’s also important to create “better, more integrated learning journeys for people.” This requires thoughtful programming, perhaps a combination of experiential learning and classroom content. “But we want to do that in a way where we’re able to not only apply that on the job, but apply that with kind of a cross-functional group that they may be working with,” Shryock said. “The companies that can better integrate learning into a broader ecosystem that’s more personalized get much further ahead.”

Leverage the Democratization of Coaching

People leaders can leverage coaching to help employees feel valued. Liz Pavese of CoachHub went so far as to call coaching a tool of “learning intervention.” It has been “democratized” now, too, with the advent of virtual office technology. “When we can take interventions like coaching or mentoring and be able to provide it to more people at more moments that matter, it’s really going to help fuel their learning in the moment, their skill development in the moment,” said Pavese. “And when you think about what it takes to change an organizational capability, like more innovative, creative thinking, you need lots and lots of skill and capability development across lots and lots and lots of people. So when you can find tools like digital coaching to add to your mixture of interventions, it’s really going to help fuel organizations for the future.”

Still, Money Talks

So there’s coaching, upskilling, access to opportunities, the cultivation of an inclusive culture, and other ways companies can invest in human capital, with a contemporary mindfulness. The panel participants outlined myriad programs their organizations have coordinated to facilitate their respective approaches.

Yet as Shryock noted, for many workers, staying with an employer is going to come down to dollars and cents. Calling wages an “evergreen issue,” Shryock said, “I’ve never met anybody that’s left for less money.” He called frontline associates “perfect economists,” and observed, “if they can earn $1 an hour more, they’re probably going to leave for $1 an hour more. So that becomes a hygiene factor that has always been important, it is important, and is going to continue to be important.”

Michael Stahl is a New York City-based freelance journalist, writer, and editor. You can read more of his work at MichaelStahlWrites.com, follow him on Twitter @MichaelRStahl, and order his first book, the autobiography of Major League Baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón, at Abrams Books.