With an estimated 120 million viewers tuning in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle it out, fans have their favorite part of the annual game. They’ll debate the best snacks, players, and half-time show, and place their bets on whether Taylor Swift will make an appearance in the stands.
As much as I’ll be watching the Super Bowl while reaching for the buffalo wings (snack debate settled), I’m in it for the commercials. This is a coveted time slot for companies to debut memorable ads, and I always enjoy looking back at the ads from previous years.
One of my more recent favorites aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. RadioShack, an electronics retailer that thrived in the 1980s, bet big on an ad featuring iconic 80s celebrities to announce its comeback. They brought in just about every headbanging, breakdancing, and legwarmer-donning superstar from the decade of decadence to proudly make the claim that RadioShack was back…and bigger than ever.
[Screeech]… That’s the sound of a needle scratching my Fleetwood Mac album.
Despite the star-studded commercial, RadioShack didn’t quite achieve the comeback they hoped for. I was rooting for them, as they often saved me when I needed a 9-volt battery, a wire for my Atari 2600 joystick, or a replacement cassette for my answering machine.
You can find articles and videos online from experts, both real and self-appointed, discussing why RadioShack failed. Most suggest that they lost sight of their customers, didn’t adapt to changes, and were plagued with unstable leadership and competition from online retailers.
With the rapid evolution of global mobility over the past five years, there are a few valuable lessons to be learned from RadioShack that can be applied to your relo program:
Mobility Issue: Business units often retain their top talent instead of upskilling employees and supporting internal opportunities.
Meanwhile, they aim to find the most innovative workers in other areas of the organization and bring them into their business. This creates a culture where managers protect their own talent to protect their business units, potentially affecting overall company productivity. What is not at the center of the equation is the employee. Without opportunities to develop new skills or advance, employees will leave.
Companies are adopting skills-based talent strategies to reduce silo behavior and engage employees. How it works: Organizations list the skills needed for roles and outcomes. Employees can match their skills or develop new ones to fit open tasks, projects, or roles. This approach isn’t new, but technology has popularized it by improving job postings and enabling previews of jobs through interviews, training, and team meetings before committing to a role. This transparency of skills is further facilitated with accompanying relocation and assignment benefits that accompany the skills-based criteria.
Mobility Issue: Research indicates that leaders understand that organizational change starts with developing a flexible and resilient workforce. A culture of mobility is important for having an adaptive and resilient workforce, and when it comes to your programs, you have to know when to rebuild from the ground up rather than fix up the old one.
Reflect on changes that your organization has gone through in the last five years – generation shifts, hybrid or remote work, and technology. Perhaps your company has created new products, undergone a merger, or adapted to a new industry. Likewise, mobility trends have shifted with shorter assignments, higher renter-to-home sale patterns, and integrated business travel.
If the landscape and the business are changing, why are companies still using outdated policies and metrics?
What worked for your mobility program five years ago probably isn’t the most effective or efficient option today. Traditional benchmarks can be based on outdated statistics, assume that one size fits all, and don’t take outliers into account, avoiding emerging trends.
Consider three critical aspects of mobility: the workforce, the mobility program, and its role within the organization. Achieving success in these areas requires meaningful data that aligns with your objectives. Collaborating with a mobility partner who utilizes real-time data rather than historical benchmarks can effectively guide you toward optimal mobility strategies and lead to improved outcomes. In short, don’t be afraid of change – it’s a precursor to growth!
Mobility Issue: Changes to a mobility program won’t take hold until your stakeholders are on board (no matter how much you spend on a flashy Superbowl ad).
Business units and employees who relocated under the former program may revert to old habits and workarounds when faced with new programs or technology.
On average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become a habit. Similarly, it’s advised to wait for the celebratory Gatorade shower until six months after implementing a new program, or maybe longer.
Particularly when your workforce is widespread, retraining stakeholders and communicating regularly is crucial, especially during times of transition. With advancements in technology and strategic support from Weichert’s Advisory Services team, you can unveil engaging tools that enable your employees to make informed decisions and support Talent Acquisition in their offers to mobility candidates.
Unfortunately, RadioShack didn’t have time to rebound and, within a few weeks, announced a wave of store closures. Within months, the stock fell below $1, sales plummeted, and losses increased, depleting most of their cash reserves. The electronics giant filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and again in 2017. Despite this, we have valuable lessons we can leverage. And an incredible commercial we can re-watch again and again.
For your viewing pleasure: