Wow, the buzz today is all about “Ghosting” – not showing up for an interview or even for work. Quitting without notification. Some blame the tight labor market giving talent many choices, some blame no job loyalty, others just say bad manners due to unethical behavior.

Part of this is the chickens coming home to roost. For many decades companies have forgone what was present in the 50’s and 60’s (anybody remember those?) when parental guidance supported loyalty and companies provided some security. Then pensions went away, job protections disappeared, attention to workers well-being and happiness abated all to the effect of “why should I care about the company I work for, they could give a s*** about me.”

Some of the advice to employers is to realize it is the new normal and just keep recruiting when, in fact, they have some culpability. To some extent, they have created the problem by not nurturing a culture that embraces people, helping them to develop along a path that satisfies both sides, selecting and training managers to be less autocratic and more open, being clear about company values and mission plus living them. These practices are embraced by companies like Google and Google does not seem to have a ghosting problem. If they do have a ghosting problem in some areas, I’ll venture it is because the principles laid out in the Book How Google Works are not effectively applied.

As an assessment provider we promote the use of these very insightful tools to not only guide the selection and hiring process, but continued use to integrate new employees into an organization, understand and implement development paths that serve both interests, even if that means helping them find a more suitable position in the organization or helping them find a position in another company.

Changing a company culture is very difficult. It requires great leadership, great managers, a clear promotion path and living the values and mission. The pinnacle of this effort is in the selection and mentoring of great leadership and management. For both of those positions it is not entirely about training and development. It is just as important to determine the innate desire to rise above all others. Understanding the personality; the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors is critical to promoting the highest talent to those levels.

Let’s start a conversation