Why Does Top Talent Leave?

If your enterprise is not embracing innovation and the newest technologies, the best future executives believe that the organization is limiting their career potential. And in this environment, as the following article explains, they will act rather than wait. JL

Victor Lipman reports in Forbes:

Innovation is a priority for retaining employees and increasing business growth. Since 'C-Suiters In Waiting' want to work with cutting-edge, innovative companies, embracing a holistic approach to innovation can help stem the flow of top talent leaving for companies they feel are more innovative and tech friendly.
It’s the bane of executives everywhere: the loss of top talent you can ill afford to lose.
I’m used to seeing studies that place the blame for such “brain drain” on lack of career opportunities, on lack of development and training, on excessive company politics… or some variant thereof.
Which is why I took notice when I reviewed Deloitte’s recent Business Confidence Report 2016 – a high-level survey focused solely on C-suiters and those next in line for the C-suite (300 of each), and recognized a markedly different pattern: frustrations related to technology and innovation.
A key executive concern involves problems maintaining strong leadership pipelines. “Companies must solve the issues driving ‘superstar’ managers away,” the report notes, “by meeting their needs before they leave. One business’s superstar could be another company’s future CEO.” (Indeed, I saw this up close several times in my own experience — when the needs of our very brightest middle-aged execs weren’t amply met they were snapped up quickly by competitors, and went on to stellar CEO and CIO careers.)
So what exactly are the current issues “driving superstar managers away”? According to this survey, the No. 1 factor is:
Desire to work with more advanced technologies: This was named by 54% of CXOs (C-suiters) and 60% of CXOWs (C-suiters in waiting). This finding was followed closely by:
Desire to work for a more innovative company: This was named by 52% of CXOs and 57% of CXOWs.
These two top-tier factors were followed by five more in what I’d call frustration’s second tier:
Lack of employee engagement with company culture: Named by 45% of CXOs and 45% of CXOWs.
Lack of a global approach to business: Named by 40% of CXOs and 42% of CXOWs.
Lack of a strategic plan to address market disruptions: Named by 39% of CXOs and 30% of CXOWs.
Lack of job skills training: Named by 37% of CXOs and 34% of CXOWs.
Lack of leadership training: Named by 32% of CXOs and 32% of CXOWs.
“It’s clear that innovation is a priority for retaining employees and increasing business growth,” the report concluded. “Since CXOWs want to work with cutting-edge, innovative companies, embracing a holistic approach to innovation can help CXOs and other business leaders with their growth agenda while also stemming the flow of top talent leaving for companies they feel are more innovative and tech friendly.”
At first glance I found these results surprising — with today’s “brain drain” driven more by technology and innovation than the traditional career-killers like lack of development, opportunity and compensation.
But on further thought maybe these results aren’t so surprising.
In an economy where technology and innovation are king and queen, is it really surprising that top talent would be keenly drawn to them?
It seems clear that organizations that neglect these elements in their own culture do so at their own peril.
At least that’s what this data strongly suggests. And if you’re not going to listen to data, then why ask the questions?