by this time next year unless you proactively change some dynamics in your organization. What can you do to avoid having to hire and train so many people?
1. Is the message that you communicate about your firm congruent with what the new employee will find when they join?
Imagine going to an expensive restaurant and getting fast food and fast food service? Would you be happy with that? Of course, you wouldn't. But go to a fast food restaurant and the same treatment is OK. Why?
Because your expectations are in alignment with what you will receive.
Too often, companies set completely different expectations to what they deliver. The employee recognizes this and, because their goals are not being met by the reality of the job, don't perform as well as is expected and, eventually leaves to join an organization that will meet them.
Fix this.
2. Identify your top performers and overpay them Years ago, a large utility was an early adopter of a particular data base technology and started to become a target for other firms to hire people. Their solution was to give their staff a 40% increase. The result was that they lost no one for the next 4 years, only gave modest raises after that and, by the time that the rest of the market caught up with them, the salaries they were paying was in alignment with the market, they were able to achieve goals and were able to manage change in ways that were sensible for them.
A large raise send a message that your company rewards excellence and becomes something that people compete for.
3. Create career pathing. Where can your best people go next? If you can't answer that, then they can't answer it and they are susceptable to making a change.
4. If you can't pay them, at least tell them that you see them and that they are important to you. Don't you feel great when someone tells you that you've done something great? Employees often get a good feeling by being told that they are loved, too.
5. Create a mentoring program. A big brother or big sister who can teach and guide and support, someone who is successful in your culture will help someone persevere during the hard times.
Creating programs that allow you to target great
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Keeping Older Workers is Essential AND . . .
When I started in the search business in the early 1970's, it didn't take long for me to notice that there were very few people in their 40's who were working in technology (my focal point at the time). I remember asking myself, "What happens when people turn 40 in this business?"
Today, this is no longer an issue as firms have discovered that in the age of labor shortages, older workers are essential to firms achieving success. But a new problem has been created that few firms are addressing.
By aggressively doing things to hold on to the baby boomer generation, Gen-X workers are roadblocked and becoming increasingly frustrated with their increasingly limited advancement options.
And when companies hire people, companies often make the mistake of focusing on the boomer issue of needing to earn more when they could be adding the Gen-X issue--What's my advancement opportunities with your company. After all, one of the issues they have is being squeezed by the enormous generation of Boomers who won't quit or retire yet and the up and coming explosion referred to as Gen-Y.
What happens to this smart. self-reliant group of Gen-X adults?
So, as you look at your staff, what are you doing to create advancement options for your staff in their 30's? What are you doing to cultivate their skills.
And, as you look to hire someone in their 30's, speak to the upside that will exist for them and not just the money.
Today, this is no longer an issue as firms have discovered that in the age of labor shortages, older workers are essential to firms achieving success. But a new problem has been created that few firms are addressing.
By aggressively doing things to hold on to the baby boomer generation, Gen-X workers are roadblocked and becoming increasingly frustrated with their increasingly limited advancement options.
And when companies hire people, companies often make the mistake of focusing on the boomer issue of needing to earn more when they could be adding the Gen-X issue--What's my advancement opportunities with your company. After all, one of the issues they have is being squeezed by the enormous generation of Boomers who won't quit or retire yet and the up and coming explosion referred to as Gen-Y.
What happens to this smart. self-reliant group of Gen-X adults?
So, as you look at your staff, what are you doing to create advancement options for your staff in their 30's? What are you doing to cultivate their skills.
And, as you look to hire someone in their 30's, speak to the upside that will exist for them and not just the money.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2006 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To subscribe to Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, go to www.headhuntyournextjob.com. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you or search for openings, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com. For information about personal search services, go to www.vippersonalsearch.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Workplace Diversity: It's Not Just the Law but a Necessity to Success
It just takes opening your eyes to see that both the global and domestic US labor market is 'less white" than it once was. As a matter of act, if yours is a global firm, according to a study conducted by Columbia University's Center for Work-Life Balance, white males represent just 17 percent of the global talent pool of individuals with graduate education.
What a surprise (I hope you have noticed the sarcasm)!
For women in almost all areas, their is the reality of coming up against "biological" issues/decisions and career. With that comes the challenge of returning to the workforce. Although almost all want to, most find it extremeely difficult to do so after a few years.
Suddenly, these achievers have taken "memory lapse pills" that make their desirabillity as employees minimal. yes, for many who work in industries where revolutionary change occurs regularly like technology, returning to the workforce may mean that much of their previous expreience is less valuable.
But how do they lose their business knowledge or their ability to manage staff or lead? How does a CPA suddenly lose their abillity to perform?
How does your organization support a diverse population? Does it make re-entry programs available to female employees to return after several years of parenting? Are their training programs for foreign born employees at relatively junior levels to improve speech and writing skills necessary for professional success.
Do you expect a fully finished product when you hire are you willing to make a small investment?
And while we're at it, why does certain kinds of work need to be scheduled on Saturdays when it excludes certain workers? Can't Sundays be viable when non-religious Christians are impacted less than religious Jews?
What a surprise (I hope you have noticed the sarcasm)!
For women in almost all areas, their is the reality of coming up against "biological" issues/decisions and career. With that comes the challenge of returning to the workforce. Although almost all want to, most find it extremeely difficult to do so after a few years.
Suddenly, these achievers have taken "memory lapse pills" that make their desirabillity as employees minimal. yes, for many who work in industries where revolutionary change occurs regularly like technology, returning to the workforce may mean that much of their previous expreience is less valuable.
But how do they lose their business knowledge or their ability to manage staff or lead? How does a CPA suddenly lose their abillity to perform?
How does your organization support a diverse population? Does it make re-entry programs available to female employees to return after several years of parenting? Are their training programs for foreign born employees at relatively junior levels to improve speech and writing skills necessary for professional success.
Do you expect a fully finished product when you hire are you willing to make a small investment?
And while we're at it, why does certain kinds of work need to be scheduled on Saturdays when it excludes certain workers? Can't Sundays be viable when non-religious Christians are impacted less than religious Jews?
Organizations that look at the future and creatively explore alternative career pathing and aiding their employees in skills development will thrive during the next decade. How you persuade management to make investment in human capital will be paramount to success.
How you change what has become second nature (like the Saturday work schedule) will go a long way toward helping you attract the excellent workforce you want.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2006 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To subscribe to Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, go to www.headhuntyournextjob.com. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you or search for openings, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com. For information about personal search services, go to www.vippersonalsearch.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
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