Employee Retention - Recognizing the Changing Workplace - Part 1       

   You are the Chairman of the Board and your senior  management will soon be retiring. Have you got your apprentices? You may want to say, “You’re Fired!” But, are you even going to have that luxury? Do you know what is in store for future employers? Twenty years ago hiring good people was not a problem. Management had the pick of the litter. Even today, you can find good people, although the majority will be retiring or slowing down and not able to handle the same workload. What then?

    You will have to call on the up and coming Generations X and Y, the 20 and 30 year olds. They are the generation that is 40 percent smaller than the current workforce. They will not be able to fill all the available positions. By the year 2008 there will be an estimated 161 million jobs for 155 million workers (US figures, Barbara Glanz Communications Inc.). What systems do you have in place to retain your key people? What will stop workers from switching companies?

    Not so long ago, when hiring, a company would go through a pile of resumes and pick out potential employees. That is soon to change. In the near future, meaning the next five years, employers will have to be creative in how they go about getting resumes submitted to them. They will have to sell the advantages of their company to prospects. They will no longer be in the driver’s seat. The luring of employees will be an art form. Some employers don’t seem to understand this. They appear to be of the mentality that employees should be happy that they have a job.

    The employer who sees how the employee is an asset to their organization will prosper. These are the employers and companies that invest back into the employees and are constantly moving forward with the changing times. These companies will prosper because they have employee retention strategies.

    Sharon Jordan-Evans, the co-author of Love’em or Lose’Em: Getting Good People to Stay says, “People don’t quit companies. They quit bosses.” As the manager, are you hearing your employees? Have you recently asked your employees what it is they like or dislike about their job? Write three things right now that one of your employees has told you they like about their job. Notice, I didn’t ask you to tell me what you think they like about their job. If you weren’t able to come up with something, you’re not alone. Most executives aren’t really listening to their staff. Companies don’t have processes to accept suggestions and if they do, many don’t act on the suggestions. Part of what is needed in the workplace is a better understanding of employees’ outside activities and interests. Are they married, do they have any pets, etc.

    Viewpoints from management and employees differ. Statistics show that 63% of workers say their supervisors don’t know what motivates them to do their best (Barbara Glanz Communications Inc.). Are you one of them? There is help for you. You can willingly learn to fundamentally value your employees. If one voice in your corporation were to start making this change, it would revolutionize your corporate family. Many areas of your business would change. Retaining your employees feeds other components of your business. Customer satisfaction increases, health care costs go down, morale is boosted. The list goes on and on. All of these ultimately affect the bottom line. When you start to focus on employee retention, it works like dominoes. Badabing baadaboom! The worst-case scenario is you will have happy employees. Of the top three responses, besides being trusted and doing meaningful work, feeling appreciated was most popular by 88% of the votes (Barbara Glanz Communications Inc.). You can start to work on this now. Recognizing that your company needs help is the first step. Bravo to you if you can see what might be amiss! Second, you need to educate yourself and your company; and third, you need to implement some changes, big or small.

    In the July/August issue, we’ll start on the education process. They are so simplistic, you will be surprised at what little needs to be done to make a world of difference.

    Employee retention can be a challenge for companies. As an employee retention expert, Peg Lund shows you tools to bring results. Email: powerfulpeg@shaw.ca