More and
more in the corporate environment the attitude of cutting costs has become
predominant. We have started treating our employees as commodities as
opposed to assets that they truly are. Employees are now interchangeable,
replaceable and discarded. They are treated like plastic water bottles.
The employees are no longer there to be treated like a human that can actually
contribute to the well-being of the company, but rather if they make a manager
uncomfortable for any reason at all, or if their questions rocks the boat, the
employer’s tendency has become to get rid of them. After all there are
plenty more where they came from right?
Organizations
not recognizing the value of their employees, turn into a revolving door.
This is not only not beneficial for the employee, but also puts the
organization in great jeopardy; especially if the employees leave without
proper hand-over. No matter how easy a job/task may look from outside,
the person that is making it look easy, has had many years of experience on the
subject matter and worked hard to get the full understanding of the matter.
Even though another person may be able to replace him/her, the amount of time
required to catch up is a loss to the company.
There are
legal ramifications and dangers in viewing employees as disposable. There
is also demoralization of the staff that remain behind and hence having a less
productive group who spend time seeking employment elsewhere instead of being
dedicated to serve the current employer. The most motivated employee, is the one
that is appreciated. I am not talking about any monetary compensations
either - even though they are always a nice surprise – the mere fact of few
words of appreciation is all that is required to keep them going. Not
fireworks, just a small thank you or pat on the back; or at the least the
support and attentiveness of the manager to the needs of staff. Managers
who appreciate talents within their teams, create the high efficiency and high
energy players who will go to lengths to please.
The most
proven employee retention strategies, have a very low cost. Here are few
to ponder:
Manager –
employee relationship: this is a biggie. This is what makes an employee look forward to going
to work or dreading it. An appreciative manager who is willing to listen and consider
ideas, is one of the most important concepts. Managers who employ the
attitude of “my way or highway” are least favoured and hence have a team of
people that do not respect them nor look forward to working with them.
Conducting
expectation exchange: a little
chat every once in a while to ascertain that there are no crossed wires in the
expectations from both sides goes a long way.
Weeding
out the incompetence: looking
into processes and employees that are not quite there yet. Re-engineering
incompetent processes and providing adequate employee training or finding out
whether the role is well-suited to their competencies.
Fun in
workplace: this is
one of the key motivators. We spend most of our lives in the workplace
rather than anywhere else. We spend around the average of 2,440 hours at
work every year and roughly 2,120 awake hours at home, this is not counting the
overtimes that creep up. Without incorporation of fun into workplace, the rate
of burn-out and lack of interest will be high.
Upward mentor: mentoring is another way of
motivating the employees. This basically brings about the hope that there
is a ladder of success to climb in the environment and there is enough care
from the employer’s side to address the employee’s career needs.
There is
a tacit understanding of the employee and employer relationship that requires
to be honoured. The failure to comply with the “expected terms” may be
viewed as a breach of contract on either side. Employers seem to forget that
this is a two way road.
The age
of “one-employer till retirement” is a gone notion. This of course means
that organizations strive to compete and need all their crew feeling valued and
rowing in the same direction. Throughout my consulting career, I have seen a
lot of good people left to sink or swim in the deep end of the leadership
pool. Their only saving grace is their most valuable “assets”, – their
people. Unfortunately in any organization where the employees are treated as
commodities, these leaders are doomed to sink. To position your organization in
heading to win the race: embrace employees as your MOST valuable assets;
develop your people to be the best they can be; and embrace learning and
growth.
It is
time for all organizations, employers and managers to understand that valuing
employees will come full circle. Your employees are your most valuable
assets in securing your future. Always check this very simple term: are we all
rowing in the same direction? If not, you can be sure that it is one of the
three: management style and values, employees as commodities, or broken
processes. Employees who feel valued will bend over backward to compete in the
race and overtake the competition and be on the medal stand for the
organization.
Regards,
EL
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