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.
Best to
you all;
EL
