Perfect Labor Storm 2.0

Three Human Resource Trends That Will Change Small Business

I can’t decide if it’s complacency, lack of urgency, or arrogance. But there seems to be a business-as-usual attitude running rampant among small business owners when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees.  As I’ve been forecasting for over a decade, that attitude will eventually cause great harm to the competitiveness and bottom line of formerly great businesses.

A recent report by Deloitte, "Human Capital Trends 2011: Revolution/Evolution" identifies several critical 'game changing' trends that “will sweep through the field at an accelerated pace.”

Three of the trends highlighted in the report articulated with acute clarity the impact that demographics, technology, and globalization will have on even the smallest businesses regardless of the industry or region.

1. The corporate ladder is folding: Today's workplace isn't what it used to be. (How many times have you heard me say that?) Work will be more virtual, collaborative and project-based. The workforce isn't what it used to be either. Workers' needs, expectations and definitions of success now vary widely, rendering obsolete a one-size-fits-all approach to talent management. The Corporate Lattice is emerging.
2. Next generation leadership: Meeting emerging business challenges requires new skills and different qualities - and fresh models for finding, developing and engaging the next generation leaders. Given the demands of convergence, globalization, technology and the pace of change, organizations must rethink their approaches to developing next generation leaders.
3. Talent in the upturn: Companies are struggling to move beyond recession based talent approaches and turn their attention to retention and develop. High unemployment will likely continue to coexist with critical shortages in specific talent areas. The challenge will be even greater when rates of voluntary turnover return to normal post-recession levels.

While the report admittedly speaks to large, global organizations, small businesses can benefit a great deal about hiring and retaining employees by acknowledging and understanding these trends and observing how they approach solving them.

The report identified twelve trends: six revolution and six evolution categories. Five additional trends that I believe will have the greatest impact on small business are listed below. Or you can read the complete report on Human Capital Trends here.

Revolution

• Workforce analytics: It’s about time but HR is finally being held accountable for what it does. Moving forward, HR will be asked to justify, not rationalize, important decisions.  It will be required to produce more data, more information, and fresh thinking.
• HR in the cloud: Software-as-a-Service can and will improve service levels and new ways of controlling costs. For small companies, SasS services will include applicant processing systems, online performance reviews, and pre-employment tests.

Read about the other human capital revolution trends here.

Evolution

• Chief Operating Officers for HR: The creation of a chief operating officer (COO) role for HR is an emerging approach given the scale and complexity of HR operations and programs. The HR COO is the leader who focuses on how HR services are delivered, as well as the design, development and implementation of those HR services globally.
• Contingent workforce: Companies that understand the issues associated with contractors and manage them well, can benefit from improved operational performance, lower labor costs, smarter staffing decisions and stronger HR alignment with business objectives.
• Employer health care reform: With its far-reaching effects, health reform continues to compel employers to treat health benefits as a strategic and workforce planning issue.

Read about the more human capital evolution trends here.

Why Do Employers Lie About Customer Service?

Business owners and executives continue to extol the virtues of customer service.  But when it comes to commitment, they are full of hot air.

You don’t have to go far or listen hard to hear stories of bad customer service. Everyone you speak to seems to have a customer service story that is worse than yours.   Just this past weekend, I again was jinxed by a rash of bad customer service experiences.

First I stopped by a pharmacy (a national chain) to pick up two simple items. I looked around for the friendly face of an employee but there were none to be found. To be specific, I’m not talking about a friendly face…I’m talking about any face at all!

After wondering up and down the aisles, I finally found two travel tubes of toothpaste. I then headed for the checkout line – which was empty. Most notably there was an absence of any cashiers.  I waited for a few minutes only to notice two employees standing outside – smoking.  I waved to them through the large windows….but was ignored.  I then went outside and asked, “is there anyone who can check me out?”  To which they responded, “we’ll be there in a minute.  We have to hang this sign.” Why it took two people to tape one sign to a window, I don’t know. But this obviously took precedence over my need to pay. Without even the slightest hesitation, I reached out, handed them the toothpaste, and drove away.  A few other customers remained inside, wondering around the store.  Hopefully they were honest souls because no one was watching the store – or for that matter working in it. Management at least at this company store seems to have cut back on human resources and service a bit too deep. From the lack of traffic, other customers must agree.

Later in the day we went to dinner with friends.  We had a large group so we requested separate checks.  The waitress said, “no problem” and took our orders. But apparently it was a problem for her since not one of the six couples received a check with the correct orders on it.  One of our friends motioned to her and told her the checks were wrong. To this she replied, “I’m really sorry.”  And then proceeded to ask us to “figure it out ourselves because [I’m] not really good with math.”  We did figure the checks out and decided next time we’d dine elsewhere.
While neither of these incidents was horrific, the outcomes were the same – dissatisfied customers who at the very least will do business elsewhere next time. 

Michael LeBoeuf in his book How To Win Customers and Keep Them for Life cites a survey designed to discover why customers quit doing business with a company. The survey revealed that 68% quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customer by the owner, manager or some employee. In both of the experiences I just shared, indifference was crystal clear.  When considering the life time value of a customer, studies indicate it costs roughly 300 to 700 times an hourly worker's rate. That's a lot of money that few businesses can afford to absorb but management seems complacent enough to keep paying.

The real crime is that these bad customer service experiences can be prevented if employers would take a few steps to hire employees with a positive customer service attitude and good skills. But employers continue to seek candidates who have good customer service skills and then hire any warm body who accepts the job.  When you consider the high cost of a bad hire, the ROI associated with improving employee screening and interviewing is significant. By combining a good behavioral interview with pre-employment testing, business owners can hire better, reduce turnover, improve customer retention, and save thousands of dollars.

So what will it take for companies to recruit and hire employees who have a positive customer service attitude and commitment?

Read More...

Five Lessons Learned from Bad Customer Service

Excellent Customer Service: Get the Spirit

Survey Says: Serious Gap In Leadership Effectiveness

A serious gap in leadership effectiveness exists, according to a just released survey by Aon Hewitt. 

While participants from the 1,328 employers nationwide found that leaders play a vital role in meeting business goals (56 percent), meeting profitability targets (56 percent), delivering service (56 percent) and retaining talent (44 percent), only 12 percent of respondents say their leaders are extremely effective at meeting business goals. What’s more, just 14 percent believe their leaders are extremely effective at meeting profitability targets, 17 percent say the same holds true for delivering service and 7 percent believe their leaders are extremely effective at retaining talent.

Since mismanagement and misappropriation of managers and leaders seems to be such a common event at businesses today, it seems like an opportune time to revisit the difference between managers and leaders.
 
Leadership comes with the territory when you own your own business or receive a title. But being in a leadership position does not necessarily make you a leader. Leadership experts say leaders vs. managers are two very different characters, even though most small-business owners consider them the same.

The Peter Principle states that "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence", meaning that employees tend to be promoted until they reach a position at which they cannot work competently. It was formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book The Peter Principle. The principle holds that within an organization, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Eventually they are promoted to a position, at which they are no longer competent, and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions, often times mucking things up. Although The Peter Principle is often referred to in jest, there is often truth in humor.

More often than not we see employees rising through the ranks from entry-level employee to management, then management to leadership roles. These titles are often rewards for extra effort or loyalty along with success in the current position.  But none of these achievements justifies promotion to roles that these employees are ill-equipped to undertake.

What then are the fundamental differences between leaders and managers?

According to Warren Bennis, one of my favorite authorities on leadership, “leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”  In that vein, a leader always has the full vision in his sights and inspires the organization to follow.  Leaders set the com¬pany strategy.  A leader sets the exam¬ple of how to work and live. But most importantly, an effective leader is concerned beyond the boundaries of self, and directs his or her energy to the very core of the business – its team of employees.  Bennis outlines four themes that generate empowerment, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging. They are:

1. People feel significant.
2. Learning and competence matter.
3. People feel part of the larger community.
4. Work is exciting.

An equally important characteristic according to Ken Blanchard, best-selling author of The Leader Within, is leaders “get honest, unfiltered feedback about how you are doing from the people you lead.'' He further states, ''You cannot effectively lead if you do not know your own values.''

"Managing," on the other hand, implies structure, control, rules, deadlines and efficiency, says Blanchard. A manager will dictate expectations and can some¬times push, some¬times pull and some-times a mix¬ture of both. Managers must have an understanding of the leader’s vision and share the commitment to seek it.

That is not to say that a manager should not exhibit some leadership qualities and to learn skills that define a leader. If managers merely focus on the activities of the followers and fail to engage them in a purpose, that manager will most likely lose the interest of his followers. Loss of interest grows into loss of motivation which can lead to lower productivity.

Ultimately, the term manager typifies the more structured, controlled, analytical, orderly, and rule-oriented end of the continuum, while the term leader denotes a more experimental, visionary,  flexible, and impassioned side. Managers and leaders are not the same. They think differently internally, and behave differently externally.

Managers Don't Trust Pre Employment Tests: Why?

Would you hire a candidate if he agreed with the following statements during the interview?

• I am usually satisfied with work that is "good enough.”
• It is not necessary to do more than enough work to get by.
• My anger frightens other people.
• Sometime you have to lie a little to protect yourself.

Would it surprise you to find out that many managers do say yes. If so, you wouldn’t be alone.  Thousands of managers make that decision every day; ignoring the results of pre-employment tests and allowing their egos and gut instinct to rationalize very clear signs of employee behavior danger.

Pre employment tests enjoy a love-hate relationship with managers.  Some managers live and die by the results of a pre employment assessment test in screening out candidates.  Others despise the notion that a simple questionnaire might second guess a hiring manager’s gut feeling about how well a candidate might fit into a job.  The fact is that both approaches are flawed.

First of all, both parties must consider moderation when using pre-employment tests.  The die-hard advocates must put the results of these tests in context.  No test should be used as the sole determinant in screening out or selecting a candidate.   The best formula for hiring is one-third interview and experience, one –third reference and background checks, and one-third pre employment assessment tests.

Alternatively, ignoring employment tests as part of the employee selection process ignores a powerful ally in the search for the right fit candidate.  A validated assessment offers an objective third party view of a candidate, often exposing character flaws as well as unidentified potential.

Then we have situations where the assessment results paint a clear picture of a risky hire and the manager’s opinion is called into question.

For instance, I received a phone call just the other day from a manager questioning the results of candidate’s honesty and integrity report. A candidate revealed during the interview that he had been picked up twice during the last year for driving without a valid license.  The candidate explained this away by saying he had a mortgage to pay and a family to support. “I couldn’t afford to lose my job,” he said.

The employer interpreted that commitment to his family as a positive value. He questioned why the pre employment test would raise red flags about this individual’s character when he was such a good father and husband. He rationalized away that driving despite a suspended license was still illegal no matter what the reason.  He ignored how this candidate might respond again if he lacked the money to pay his mortgage, to put food on his family’s table, or to purchase medications for his children.  Would he resort to stealing from his employer? What lies would he be willing to tell to protect his family?  If you think I'm exaggerating, consider what lengths one employee working for a Wisconsin business went "to keep her husband happy."  (Hint: she had systematically stolen more than $600,000 from the business over five years.)

While not absolute, the pre-employment test prompts red flags in areas of conscientiousness, hostility, and honesty.  The responses on a validated assessment clearly indicate how a potential candidate like the one described above might react if given a choice between family and the law.  And yet employers choose to doubt what they read in the candidate’s report despite numerous confirming statements about questionable integrity.

Pre-employment tests can offer valuable insight into a candidate’s integrity, work attitude, and job fit. They are effective and reliable indicators of job fit and future performance.  Ignorance is not bliss when hiring employees and pre employment assessment tests can help managers hire smarter.

Learn more about how to hire employees with a positive attitude.

A Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook, and Social Media

The Internet isn't just prevalent in our lives, it is our lives. According to a 2010 Pew Research Center survey, over 93% percent of teens ages 12 to 17 go online, 75% of them own a cell phone, 66% say they text, and  72% of teens have a social networking profile (eg. Facebook).

With the growing popularity of these social networking sites and mobile cell phones, the neighborhood playground now spans the globe.  Teens, as well as adults, now have access to and are exposed to more people than ever before.  Unfortunately the world has always known evil people to find new opportunity and the Internet is no exception.  The ubiquity and popularity of the Internet is just their fertile place to lurk and be mischievous if not downright hostile.

What follows are seventeen of the most shocking statistics I’ve read about a growing epidemic of online harassment and cyberbullying.  It’s a wake-up call for parents, teens, educators, politicians – just about everyone who uses the Internet or mobile phones. It is also a dramatic statement that the role of adults is to help our youth learn to use the Internet safely, not forbid its use. Because accessing the Internet is no longer a luxury or discretionary choice.  I’ll repeat my opening statement: The Internet…..is our lives.  (Keep reading too because at the end of this article, I have 2 important recommendations for parents on how to help their children use the Internet and mobile technologies safely.

1. About half of all teenagers have experienced some form of online harassment and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly (Cyberbullying Research Center).
2. Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet (i-SAFE).
3. Over half of bullying and cyberbully attacks go unreported to parents, educators, or authorities.
4. On a daily average, 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied if they attend classes.
5. Every 7 minutes, a child is bullied on a school playground, with over 85 percent of those instances occurring without any intervention.
6. 100,000 children carry guns to school in 2009 as a result of being bullied.
7. As a result of being bullied, 19,000 children are attempting suicide over the course of one year.
8. Once every half hour a child commits suicide as a direct result of being bullied (online and offline).
9. At the end of 2010, over 30 children had taken their own lives after being cyberbullied.
10. 64 percent of all teens say they do things online they don’t want their parents to know about (Lenhart, Made, and Rainie, 2006).
11. 71 percent of teens receive message online from strangers (National Center for Minind and Exploited Children).
12. 51 percent of teens have been asked for personal information online (MCAfee, Inc.).
13. 42 percent of youths ages 10 to 17 have seen porn in the past year.Two-thirds of these exposures are unwanted (University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center).
14. 26 percent of teens have been harassed by their cell phones either by voice or text (Pew Research: Lenhart, 2010).
15. Size doesn’t matter – cyberbullies don’t have to be “tough” or big.
16. 72 percent of parents say they can see their child’s full profile on social networking sites.
17. Most victims have not set up privacy and security settings.

What can a parent do? 

First, take the time to learn what Facebook is. Even if you don't have to time yourself to use it, you need to understand it. Whether it's Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any other social networking site, these sites are part of mainstream communication today.

Next, take some time and set up privacy and security settings. I can count on one hand out of the thousands of people I’ve met in workshops, seminars, and classrooms who have even glanced at the privacy settings in Facebook, the most popular of all the social networking sites.  Admittedly Facebook might be doing some squirrely things with our data but to their credit they do offer the most robust and sophisticated system of privacy settings of any social site.  Unfortunately their mission is for all people to be more social so the personal default settings are often a lot less restricted than most people might realize.  To help both adults and teens protect their privacy when using Facebook, I’ve prepared a step-by-step guide on how to “Network Safely When Using Facebook.”  It’s available now for only $5 by clicking here.

Third, it’s important that parents prepare not only their teens, but themselves as well, to combat this serious topic. The Parent’s Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in a Digital World by Shawn Edgington guides parents and teens to developing an open communication on the dangers of the internet and bullying. It’s important that both parents and teens recognize symptoms and causes of bullying and are able to report it to an adult. Learn more about The Parent’s Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media and order Shawn’s book.

Press Release: Cyberbullying Prevention Expert Reveals What Parents Should Know

As cyberbullying has become more frequent and increasingly vicious, the importance of educating parents about how to protect their kids is of paramount importance, says social media expert Ira S Wolfe. This epidemic of online bullying is what got Wolfe, managing partner/founder of Social Media Architects of Delmarva, involved with National Cyber Safety Awareness Day on May 17.

After listening to a recent radio interview about the threat and consequences of cyberbullying, Wolfe picked up the phone and called the radio guest, Shawn Edgington, America's leading cyberbullying prevention expert.  The timing was perfect because Wolfe was about to give a presentation to local high school students and their parents about the threats and risks of cyberbullying.  Edgington shared with him her just released book, The Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in a Digital World.  “I immediately became immersed in the book, Wolfe said. “I rarely sit down and read a book but Shawn's research and statistics were startling.”

Wolfe immediately agreed to help promote National Cyber Safety Awareness Day which coincided with a book drive for The Megan Meier Foundation.  On that day (May 17), donations of 1,000 copies of Edgington's book are being sought to help the foundation's founder,Tina Meier,educate parents about how to prevent cyberbullying. Meier created the foundation after her 13-year-old daughter committed suicide because she had been cyberbullied on a social network by a neighbor. This tragedy has been the impetus for Meier's drive to warn parents of the hazards kids face growing up in a digitally connected world.

Wolfe hopes to have more opportunities to speak with parents about how to use social media safely.  “I’ve been helping hundreds of business people who attend workshops and classes at local Chambers of Commerce and Wor-Wic Community College understand how to use social media effectively and safely. Most of the participants are also parents and grandparents which makes what I teach in class touch them personally too. Helping children navigate online safely is also a great way to give back to the community."

Book donations are 100% tax deductible and any individual or organization that donates a case of  books or more will be thanked in Edgington's next printing of her book.  Books can be purchased  at:  https://secure4.planetlink.com/shawn_edgington.

About Ira S Wolfe: Ira Wolfe is the managing partner/founder of Social Media Architects of Delmarva (www.socialmediaarchitectsofdelmarva.com).  Wolfe has been described as a “Gen Y operating in a Baby Boomer body,” a name aptly given to him after writing his book, “Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization.”  Wolfe is also president of Success Performance Solutions (www.super-solutions.com),  a pre-employment and leadership consulting firm as well as the author of several books including “The Perfect Labor Storm 2.0” and “Understanding Business Values and Motivators.” He has also been recognized by several human resources organizations as one of the most influential bloggers and is a sought after speaker at many CEO, business, and human resources association meetings.

To help both adults and teens protect their privacy when using Facebook, order a step-by-step guide on how to “Network Safely When Using Facebook.”  It’s available now for only $5 by clicking here.

About Shawn Edgington: Shawn Edgington is America's leading textpert and cyberbullying prevention expert, and the author of the newly released The Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media and Read Between the Lines: A Humorous Guide to Texting with Simplicity and Style. She is also the founder of The Cyber Safety Academy. Her mission is to raise public awareness about textual harassment, online predators, sexting, and cyberbullying prevention. Edgington has been featured in the upcoming documentary Submit:The Reality of Cyberbullying, and by Fox Business, Imus in the Morning, ABC-7's View from the Bay in San Francisco,KRON4News in SanFrancisco, CNN Radio, the San Francisco Chronicle, The San Diego Union-Tribune, CBS Radio, ESPN Radio, NPR, andThe Leslie Marshall Showamong others.

The Rapid Growth of Online Education

When the internet first started to gain popularity with the general population in the 1990s, speculation ran rampant about all of the possibilities this exciting technology could deliver. Some visionaries predicted that the internet would one day replace classrooms, allowing students to attend school from the comfort of their homes.

While traditional classrooms haven’t been replaced just yet, the growth of online education is happening at a meteoric pace. Education institutions and students alike are realizing the myriad of possibilities online learning presents. From the obvious convenience benefits of learning from home to the increased accessibility to higher education for students across the globe, the advantages of online education are sure to continue fueling its growth in the years to come.

Statistics Highlighting the Popularity of Online Learning

Just how popular have online classes become? Here are just a few of the many statistics highlighting the meteoric growth of this new education technology.

• Approximately 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009.
• 2009 saw an increase of nearly 1 million online students over 2008. This 21% rise in enrollment was the largest year-to-year increase recorded in 8 years.
• There was a 17% increase in online enrollment in 2008 compared to 2007.
• 75% of U.S. universities reported that the economic downturn has increased demand for online courses.
• Nearly 30% of all higher education students in the U.S. take at least one online course.
• By 2014, the number of students expected to be taking ALL of their classes online is 3.55 million.

Public Schools Start to Get in on the Action

When most people think of online learning, they think of higher education. To date, it has been mostly universities offer online education options, but now, many public schools in the United States are embracing this exciting technology as well.

Public schools see online classes as a tool to reach potential dropouts and to supplement normal instruction on days when classes are canceled due to weather or other factors.

In fact, some states are starting to require teachers to take special training to prepare for online teaching. K-12 schools are starting to incorporate more and more online classes into their curriculum to give students more options, teach independence, and improve the overall learning experience.

Why Online Education Continues to Grow

What is it about online education that’s so attractive to students? Online learning offers a range of undeniable benefits.

• Convenience
• Lower costs
• More choices. Students can attend school anywhere in the world from home.
• Improved interaction between student and instructor
• Teaches independence
• Diversity of opinion and knowledge

This list could go on and on, but as you can see from the statistics, the simple truth is that students and institutions love what online learning has to offer.

How Popular Will Online Education Become?

Each year, more and more students enroll in online classes. Universities and public schools continue to offer more online course options for students, and the rise in popularity of distance education just doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

As technology like electronic books and podcasts continues to become more prominent in mainstream culture, these tools will help to further the possibilities of online education.

Will online education ever completely make the traditional classroom obsolete? Maybe not. However, it will continue to increase the public’s access to quality, affordable education.

Related Articles:

The State of Education

Virtual Classrooms: Panacea for Online Education?

 

Guest Blogger: Vern Marker writes on behalf of a forensic psychology degree program and frequently blogs about industry careers.  You can follow him on Twitter@VernMarker.

 

Is Your Email Address Sabotaging Your Career?

When it comes to hiring, employers and candidates insist that first impressions still matter.  But apparently the brain hasn’t gotten the message when the lips are moving and fingers are typing.  Quite a few candidates are doing some pretty stupid things these days regarding finding a job.

Let’s start with what is the possibly the very first point of contact between a candidate and a company – the email address. The just released HR Magazine (May 2011) included an interesting article about how a cutesy, clever, or freaky email address might create a bad first impression with the employer.  For example, a few of my favorite inappropriate email addresses submitted by candidates applying for jobs at my clients included “[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ... and that’s just scratching the surface.  With high unemployment and employers practicing very selective hiring practices, turning an employer off with a provocative email address might not be the best way to get the hiring manager’s attention.

A recent study took this one step further.  Researchers rated the email addresses of30,000  job seekers applying for entry-level, non management jobs in the U.S. What they found was a potential link between crazy sounding email addresses and low scores on pre-employment tests.

For example:

• Cutesy and inspirational addresses and those with a money them scored slightly lower on pre employments assessment tests.
• Candidates whose addresses were rated inappropriate  scored lower.
• Candidates with appropriate email addresses scored higher in conscientiousness, professionalism, and work-rated experience.

I’m not suggesting – nor did the article – that employers should use email addresses as a screening tool.  But when combined with a pre-employment test assessing a candidate’s honesty, integrity, and work attitudes, the email might trigger greater scrutiny during the interview and subsequent background checks.

The study should prompt candidates to think twice about the email address they attach to the resume  they attach to the job application.

Gen X: All Grown Up and Ready to Spread Their Wings

Nearly 3 years ago, I wrote about Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) butting up against a Gray Ceiling, an artificial gate standing in between today’s job and a promotion.  That article of course occurred in the depths of the recession and many employers could care less. If a 30-something was unhappy, employers said, “don’t let the door hit your backside on the way out.”

For companies that are thinking long term, that nonchalant attitude about succession planning is coming back to bite employers.

According to new findings from consulting firm Deloitte, only 28% of Gen Xers plan to stay in their current jobs. That’s serious stuff because bosses who aren't focused on how to keep Gen Xers happy will inevitably find that somebody else is. The risk of losing these experienced 30 to 45 year olds is huge. Hiring is picking up and eventually the aging boomer will retire.  When the coach turns to his bench for replacement workers, it might be empty.  

Gen Xers aren’t the only workers looking for greener pastures.  Thirty-five percent of Baby Boomers expect to remain in their jobs, around the same as Millennials (age 31 and under), at 37%.

The point of the survey was to give some guidance to employers who care about retaining valued workers. The top advice bullet point: Lay out a clear career path for workers. Across generations, 57% of employees think their bosses do a poor job at presenting a ladder for career advancement and offering job challenges.  That’s exactly the same percentage of business executives in 2009 who said their leadership pipeline was the same or weaker than it was two years prior. 

Retaining these ready-for-prime-time workers won’t be easy either – at least not with the same tactics employed to keep Baby Boomers hanging around for a few more years.  According to the survey, half the boomers rated a promotion as the most effective way to get them to stay put. But that’s a catch-22.  By promoting the Baby Boomers, the Gray Ceiling is only fortified, prompting Gen Xers to look even harder for new opportunities. Forty-three percent of Boomers could be kept happy with a little support and appreciation from their supervisors. 

But to complicate retention efforts, neither members of Generation X or Millennials rated appreciation by higher-ups as top reasons to stay in a job. When it comes to ranking the top turnover triggers, surveyed Baby Boomers rated “lack of trust in leadership” at the top of their list at 32%, while both Generation X and Millennial employees placed “lack of career progress” first at 38% and 30% respectively.
The findings also revealed that surveyed men rate “lack of compensation increases” at the top of their top turnover trigger list at 27% (compared to 14% of women), while women placed  excessive workload” first at 31% (compared to 15% of men).

This survey once again confirms how little effort companies have committed to building a talent pipeline and succession plan. Only 6% of employees surveyed rate their companies’overall HR and talent efforts as “world-class,” while more than four in ten (43%) called them “fair” or “poor.” Not surprisingly, employees who describe their companies’ talent programs as “world-class” or “very good” are nearly twice (42% to 23%) as committed to remaining at their jobs than employees who work at companies with “fair” or “poor” talent efforts.

View the Deloitte survey results Talent Edge 2020.

Related Reading:

Employers Warned, Young Workers Ready to Fly The Job Coop

Virtual Office Opens Door To Qualified Workers

Despite continued high unemployment, local businesses are still struggling to find qualified workers. Fortunately, thanks to technology, hiring employees to work from a remote location may solve the troubling skills gap. 

Even when the right candidate applies, relocation can be an impassable roadblock between candidacy and employment.

 

Obviously there are some jobs too, especially in healthcare, hospitality and construction, that just can’t be done “long-distance.”  But many jobs can be performed completely or to a significant degree from an offsite or remote location.

Most interoffice communications are already handled via phone, email, and text messaging.  Meetings, trainings or seminars can be conducted remotely via the internet using meeting software as long as attendees have an internet connection and a phone.  With the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets, attending a web-based meeting has also never been easier. For those companies with deeper pockets and more complex requirements, video conferencing is also an option.

Documents and data can all be stored and accessed “in the cloud” – a workspace accessible via the internet, which allows for project collaboration by co-workers and a centralized repository for frequently accessed information including documents and schedules.  Google Apps and Microsoft Sharepoint are just too efficient but inexpensive solutions for small business.

There are also a number of advantages to the employer and the employee.   

• The employer might avoid leasing a larger workspace to accommodate a growing workforce. Some businesses might even be able downsize.  (Success Performance Solutions is a perfect example of how a small business can go virtual.)
• Utility and other overhead costs may also be reduced.  In addition to eliminating our lease costs, our phone costs were cut by one-third. Electric and heating costs went to zero.
• Storing and sending documents and memos in electronic versions only can reduce office supply costs.   
• If the employer provides paid parking or reimburses for using public transportation, they may be able to cut back on the number of spaces they supply. 
• Time previously lost in long commutes to and from the office, traffic, or bad weather can be used for work increasing efficiency, or for employees to enjoy a little more balance in their lives.

Going virtual however isn’t without its problems. There are a few logistical items to consider:

• Will the employer need to provide equipment to the remote employees or reimburse them for phone, utility, and internet services?
• Will the employer provide insurance to cover that equipment since it is not located at the brick-and-mortar office? 
• Virtual employees don’t excuse an employer from paying taxes. In fact, there is another layer of complexity added if the employee is a resident of a state different from that of the employer.   Workers Compensation policies and Business Operating Policies may need to be secured for each state where the employee resides.  
• Income taxes differ from state to state and reconciling the taxes at the end of the year for more than one state can be a daunting task even for the accounting-minded.  Using a knowledgeable accounting or bookkeeping service to handle payroll can save employers a lot of trouble and minimize risk.
• Health insurance may also be affected if the employees are residents of another state.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention hiring the right people. Working virtually requires discipline, trust, accountability, ability to work independently, and a strong work ethic. The candidate or current employee must have the right personality to work offsite, unsupervised, and with limited contact to other people.

For some positions, for some employees, and for some companies, the virtual office is a viable solution to hiring the right people with the right skills.