Leading Today's Workers
The task of attracting, retaining, and motivating employees is one of the most critical skills a leader must develop, especially in a workplace where the manager is more hands-off and merely coaches his subordinates.
Workers have undergone some significant changes as well: the workplace is more diverse (gender, culture, race, age, etc.) and workers expect more than a paycheck from their employers. Another major change is that few workers expect to spend their entire career in one place, and will readily jump ship when another company offers them a better deal (which, again, is not always monetary).
Key retention factors are identified as flexible work arrangements (adaptable working hours), meaningful and challenging work, professional development, recognition, and a culture of inclusion and openness.
There is also a discussion of the implicit contract between employer and employee - each is expected to contribute something to the benefit of the other, and dissatisfaction can occur on both sides if the terms of this contract (which are vague and undocumented) are not fulfilled.
The author identifies three aspects of the contract that need to be understood by both parties:
- Performance: Employees need a clear idea of what they are to do, what resources will be at their disposal, how their performance will be evaluated, and how positive performance relates to compensation.
- Psychological: Employees want to feel satisfied in their work, expect the organization to help them achieve their personal goals, and to feel successful.
- Social: Employees want to ensure the company culture is in line with their personal values, to have a degree of freedom in decision making, to know the "real rules" for getting ahead, and the degree to which work will require sacrifices in their personal lives.
These elements were determined by examining employee exit interviews in companies with high rates of turnover.
Another list identifies five desires that motivate individuals: the desire to do meaningful work, to have a modicum of dignity, to have a sense of community in the workplace, to have input into decisions, and to have an opportunity to learn and grow.
A bulleted list of suggested strategies is provided:
- Provide career counseling to identify long-term goals
- Ensure that employees are constantly challenged to learn new skills
- Be flexible regarding work arrangements, including working hours, telecommuting, and time-off as necessary
- Be proactive in preventing employees from topping out in their career path
- Conduct exit interviews to identify areas that need improvement
- Pay for performance, and provide a clear link between performance and reward
- Encourage personal and professional development
- Determine the specific needs of employees and strive to meet them
- Deal with each employee individually - don't assume homogeneity
- Share information with employees, especially financial and operational data, to enable them to feel a partnership with the company
In the recap, there is a note that organizations began to be concerned about the changing nature of the workforce in the 1980's and are still in the process of evolving.
EN: The evolution isn't a steady trend, but reflects the attitiude comapnies take when labor is in short supply. In times when labor is abundant and workers need jobs, many firms relapse to whip-and-carrot management.