Welcome to the November 2007 issue of Rise & Shine
Your Leadership Solutions and Resource Newsletter!
Bright Lights (Tips/Solutions)
Over the next two months, the Bright Lights section of Rise & Shine will continue to present various tips and suggestions from the Rising Sun model of Positive Productivity™:
As stated in last two month's issues, traditional thought around employee productivity has included approaches that address employee knowledge, skills and attitude (KSA). More recently, however, a few authors have also begun to talk about the importance of morals and values to employee productivity. The Rising Sun Model of Positive Productivity™ has taken the study of productivity one step further by examining the relationship (i.e., integration) of these components: knowledge and skills (Competency), attitude (Commitment), and morals and values (Character).
At Rising Sun Consultants, we use the term "Commitment" to refer to the level of loyalty or engagement which is demonstrated by an employee. Unfortunately, research on Employee Engagement shows a rather bleak picture. According to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), 66% of workers do not identify with or feel motivated to drive their employer's business goals and objectives. What's more, according to the Gallup Organization, 71% of workers in the United States rate themselves as either "Not Engaged" or "Actively Disengaged." In addition, according to Leigh Branham, 89% of managers believe employees leave for more money, while 88% of employees actually leave for reasons having to do with the job, the culture, the manager or the work environment.
According to Branham, 70% of the reason employees leave their jobs are related to factors that are controllable by the direct supervisor. According to the Gallup Organization, the number one reason employees leave their jobs is a poor relationship with their immediate supervisor.
Applying Rising Sun's 10 Keys of Effective Supervision™, in order to enhance employee engagement, supervision in this area should focus on, but should not be limited to: providing support for employees personal, as well as professional development; being both available and accessible to employees; providing praise and encouragement to employees; developing an atmosphere of hope and confidence; and creating an creating multiple opportunity for employees to contribute and share in successes.
World Views (In the News)
The Coming Crisis In Employee Turnover
Most companies take it as an article of faith that they've done right by their employees. Each year performance reviews are given, promotions granted and, in a number of cases, raises and bonuses are handed out. No need, then, for managers to worry about their staffing plan, much less about which leaders and employees will stay, which will leave and what you should do about both scenarios. They're covered. Right?
In today's competitive work environment, managers should think again. Such complacency is based on an illusion, making it unwarranted. Leaders and managers are fielding increased recruiter calls, and employees are seeing a swell in help wanted ads. Employees at all levels are taking note of the job market.
So beware of the turning tides. the "quit rate"--employees leaving jobs without being fired, laid off or otherwise forced out--will soar this year, especially with the U.S. economy robust and unemployment at its lowest since 2001. Employee turnover is already threatening to mushroom into a national workplace crisis. And all levels of employees are vulnerable.
Deepening job dissatisfaction, together with the potential shortage of "knowledge" workers and management talent, makes for an explosive combination, a perfect storm that could spur further waves of voluntary job moves and heighten employee turnover. Furthermore, it is very important to highlight a major cultural shift. The stigma long associated with jumping frequently from job to job has diminished dramatically and is all but gone. As recently as 10 years ago, recruiters would have balked at representing a candidate with three jobs in the last five years.
Now no one blinks. A typical American holds more than eight different jobs between the ages of 18 and 32 alone. Recent research shows that 85% of American workers expect to be employed by a new company within 12 months. Such statistics weigh on the minds of employers everywhere.
Companies are bound to suffer dire consequences. As staff leave, retraining is necessary. This strains company resources and hinders growth. Replacing a full-time, private-sector worker costs, at a bare minimum, 25% of his or her total annual compensation, estimates the Employment Policy Foundation. Productivity nosedives, ultimately cutting into profitability. Short-term turnover, generally defined as leaving a job within a year of being hired, incurs the highest costs. Less tangibly, high turnover fosters a sense of discontinuity in the workplace, unsettling managers and employees. The all-important customer becomes neglected.
Corporate America can win the war against employee turnover, and averting this crisis is imperative to the U.S. economy. Companies with a long-term strategy for talent acquisition and retention will have a significant competitive advantage in the decade ahead. The incentives to create a pre-emptive, realistic staffing plan that both accurately reflects and ensures future growth should be irresistible. Guess how much a company of 40,000 full-time employees is likely to save by slashing its annual turnover from 40% to 15%? Roughly $140 million per year.
Make retention a top priority
The reason why most people quit a job, the real reason, often has little to do with logic and less to do with anything as quantifiable as salary and how much vacation time or dental coverage is available. Employees leave because they feel slighted. Nobody made these employees feel like they were part of something bigger than themselves, much less what role they should play. That's my theory anyway, formed by working closely with hiring managers and job seekers over the past two decades.
Provide your leaders with help on how to lead
Every year, employees bail out of jobs because they've listened to enough doubletalk. The decision to leave is almost invariably a raw emotional one. In looking for a place where the grass is greener, your average employee is basically searching for a boss who will treat them fairly.
Make your workplace the best that you can
Employees understand market strategy, and they know if the competition is doing better than your business. The "boomers" and the "Gen Y" employees both want flexible work hours, challenging assignments and opportunities to grow. In today's workplace, employees leave because they can.
If the only service you really give your employees now is lip service, you've got to resolve to do better. Treat your employees as you would your own stockholders. Take no one for granted, least of all your most valued people. Recognize excellence. Level with your employees about your decisions--explain to them why with straight talk. Show a little heart. Above all, remember that just as workers leave for emotional reasons, it is also why they stay.
(Adapted from Bernadette Kenny. Forbes.com)
New Horizons
Afraid to let go of that problem employee?
It's OK to Say...
"You're Fired"
Give us a day and we'll give you:
Signs of a healthy vs. unhealthy organization
How to deal with employees who "quit and stay"
How employee turnover affects organizational culture
What you need to know about the termination process
What you need to do
How you need to do it
What’s the worst that could happen?
January 9, 2008
Harrisburg Hilton and Towers
Registration and Continental Breakfast 7:30am
Session (including lunch) 8:00am - 4:30pm
Early bird registration: $189 ($209 at the door)
www.risingsunconsultants.com/html/events/010908.htm
Sponsored by:
Rays of Hope (Stories/Parables)
The Retiring Carpenter Story
Author Unknown
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. He would get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you." The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back. You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitude and the choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow.
Build wisely! |
Thank You
On behalf of all of us at Rising Sun Consultants, we want to thank you for reviewing the November edition of our Rise & Shine Newsletter. As always, we invite you to visit our website (www.risingsunconsultants.com) and encourage you to submit a question for a future addition of Rise & Shine.
Until next month: Always Keep Your Eyes on the New Horizon! |
