What is the H4L System?
The H4L System includes two groups of precepts: the Foundation principles and the Execution principles
THe
FOUNDATION
"Maximizing the lifetime value of associates begins with implementing a culture, developing a management philosophy, and fostering a better employee mindset using the five HIRED principles: Honesty, Inner Awareness, Removing Anxiety, Engaging Alumni, and Demonstration"
HONESTY
Many if not most organizations are dysfunctional when it comes to honesty. Employees can be dishonest about their goals, plans, and desires; and management can be dishonest about employees long-term prospects, what employees need to advance, and management’s own goals, plans, and desires.
Creating a safe and vulnerable environment that accepts imperfection can create win-win situations for organizations, managers, and employees.
INNER
AWARENESS
Young professionals, whether it’s from ego, or necessity driven by the up-or-out system many firms employ, must learn to better evaluate themselves so that they can make better decisions when options are available. Also so they can better understand where they need to improve, and accept where they need to improve
REMOVING
ANXIETY
A lack of inner awareness can create significant status anxiety about one’s place in the industry.
By removing this anxiety, young professionals can make decisions based on what’s best for them, rather than what will improve their status.
ENGAGING
ALUMNI
Alumni has the potential to be such a powerful tool for firms. Some embrace it, some do not.
Those that embrace their Alumni network sow the seeds for a constant stream of work referrals ($$), employee referrals ($$), and enhanced reputations which can lead to both work and employee referrals ($$$$).
DEMONSTRATION
H4L asks for honesty, for inner aware- ness, for removing anxiety and dropping the focus on status and prestige, and for engaging alumni to help new alumni, and build the firm’s network.
For employees to be vulnerable, and buy into the H4L foundational principles, they must trust that the organization and management will hold up their end of the bargain. Organizations can ensure this trust through demonstration.
THE
execuTION
"H4L organizations maximize the lifetime value of their associates because they play the Long Game by building on those principles to have better Career Conversations and Performance Conversations, develop manager Playbooks to quickly orient new employees, and encourage Job Crafting to align employees with their career goals"
CAREER
CONVERSATIONS
Career conversations are conversations between employees and management about how an employee’s career aspirations can help an organization. It’s also about how the conversation can help an employee realize those goals.
When employees and management have honest career conversations, then both sides can tailor the experience to maximize the benefit to all parties.
PERFORMANCE
CONVERSATIONS
Unlike career conversations, performance conversations detail the execution of an employee’s career goals.
Performance conversations focus on actionable feedback, both positive and growth, to ensure that an employee stays on path to reach their performance and career goals, and to ensure that management is holding up their end of the bargain.
PLAYBOOKS
The Playbook is a way to give new associates “cheat sheets” into various senior employees to help them hit the ground running.
The Playbook, like a playbook given to an athlete, is a toolbox of techniques to succeed at a firm. Instead of plays to outwit your enemies, they are “plays” that the organization and management freely give to new associates to help excel.
JOB CRAFTING
Job Crafting is a system where employees are given agency of some portion of their job duties.
This could allow employees to focus on a particular type of work they like (reasonably common already in many firms); can allow employees to test other practice areas to explore a prac- tice area change (reasonably uncommon); can allow entrepre- neurial employees to chart their own course
THE LONG GAME
All roads lead here. Firms’ existence can span decades, generations, centuries; and employees’ careers can span 40+ years.
Rather than being short-sighted, orga- nizations, management, and employees should consider how each group can impact the value of each other group well beyond the initial relationship end.