Based on our experience with over 5000 presentations, the Presentation Excellence team created a simple guiding formula to help presenters become more effective. ADAP – Audience-Driven Authentic Presentations. Over the next decades, our clients consistently report that understanding the audience’s real needs and meeting them with an authentic presentation is the key to success.
In a study cited by Jon Levy in You’re Invited: the Art and Science of Cultivating Influence, he demonstrates that it also applies to how we onboard new recruits. Given the Talent Management challenges of post-pandemic 2021+, it’s something every organization should heed.
Wipro BPO, an Indian-based provider of telephone and chat support, noted in 2010 that turnover was reaching 50-70%. Committed to reducing this disruptive result, they hired 605 new employees and created an experiment, by dividing them into three groups, two experimental and one control.
- First Experimental: the Individual-Identify Group spent an extra hour of training focused on the person. It included both individual work and group discussions on how they solve problems, how they describe themselves, what makes them happiest and perform best at work, and how they can bring their best self to the work group. At the end, they received a badge and sweatshirt with their name on it.
- Second: the Organizational-Identity Group. The extra hour focused on “pride in their organizational affiliation and (acceptance of) the organization’s norms and values. It included a discussion of Wipro values, why the company is great, and star performer discussing the same. Then, employees reflected on what was shared and discussed it. At the end, they receive a bade and sweatshirt with the company name on it.
- Control group: They received the standard onboarding process without an extra hour intervention.
What differences, if any do you expect?
The Control group’s turnover rate was higher than the experimental groups (no surprise); but it was 47% higher than the first group and 16.2% higher than the second. Additionally, they found that turnover was 26.7% higher for Group One than Group Two.
Driving home the general perks offered by the company had a minor effect. What had the most impact was the one hour conversation, just once, “about you, what matters to you and what you can bring to the team’s success.” In other words, the one hour audience-driven communication that the company truly cares about the individual had the greatest impact.
If this single experience can have that much impact, then it is likely that a culture that continues to communicate caring about each individual worker’s growth is going to make a big difference! So make sure that your corporate messaging elevates the importance of each individual and her/his growth while with the company in years to come!
What are your experiences? Share them with us.