As we work our way through the year 2008, I thought it would be interesting to assess the maturing and shrinking labor pool. More specifically, what is new in the War for Talent that is being waged by organizations across the globe? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2010 there should be 10 million more jobs than workers to fill them. Other metrics confirm the shrinking workforce (there are 15% fewer Gen X-ers - born between 1965 and 1985 - than the Baby Boomers that began hitting retirement age in the last few years). Occupations requiring post-secondary training or a college degree will reach 42% by 2010 while only 38% of the American workforce has a two-year degree or higher. Given this data, the War for Talent is clearly well underway.
In order to compete for the best talent, the topic of Employee Engagement has taken center stage. Research is increasingly helping organizations understand that in order to prosper financially, they need to focus on their most precious resourcetheir employees. Management guru and best-selling author Stephen Covey once said, "Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. The reason is simple: as resources and technology close the gap between the haves and the have-nots in business, what differentiates companies are their leadership and people.
In 2007, we went deeper into the concept of Employee Engagement due to our pioneering research on the relationship between Diversity and Employee Engagement. In February, I had the good fortune of speaking at the Multicultural Forum for Workplace Diversity in Minneapolis, MN, about the positive correlation between satisfaction with diverse employees/customers being treated fairly and Overall Job Satisfaction. This relationship became apparent to us through work with clients such as The Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Ms. Terri Dorsey, Director of Organizational Development for BGCA is a firm believer in the linkage saying, "While we are not where we want to be yet, we were pleased to see that on our last employee satisfaction survey, we scored in the 92nd percentile. I believe our diversity efforts, focused on creating that positive environment for everyone, have much to do with our current success. In June, our newly-formed relationship with The Institute for Diversity in Healthcare, fortified our belief in the importance of Diversity when considering Engagement.
In November, HR Solutions was asked to present our Exit Survey capabilities to the American Hospital Association (AHA) as they evaluated the marketplace on behalf of their member organizations who sought to know the reasons why employees left organizations. This opportunity highlighted the two exit survey philosophies from which organizations can choose: A) organizations can focus on retention (how do you hold on to people) or B) organizations can put their energy towards re-recruiting existing top performers (how do you make your organization worth holding onto). With either philosophy, the end result is clear; organizations must guard against taking top performers for granted. In December, the AHA made it official; HR Solutions proudly was named the preferred provider for Exit surveys as well as Employee Engagement services.
Healthcare is a great field in which to study the War for Talent. The Nursing shortage which has been front page news for over two decades demonstrated the lengths to which organizations were forced to attract (signing bonus) and retain (retention bonus) people in fields experiencing a critical skills shortage. Over the years, through work with the Critical Skills Shortage Initiative and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, we have experienced first hand how organizations have had to adapt in order to compete for talent (e.g., developing loan forgiveness programs or paying for advanced education in exchange for a few years of service).
First and foremost, engaged employees want to feel they are developing, learning, and "getting something out of their work experience. Organizations which successfully re-recruit their top-performers do so by placing an emphasis on continuing education and making development opportunities possible with a financial commitment and adequate staffing, allowing their staff to seize available opportunities without crippling those left behind.
Secondly, human beings are nurtured by the small groups of which they are a part. Yet, when we look at industries such as healthcare, where a shortage of staff for some functions is epidemic, we often see the use of temporary workers and the "floating of nurses to account for the staff shortages. These behaviors disrupt the cohesion of small workgroups and, not surprisingly, are often met with disdain by the existing staff.
The challenges of engaging a workforce are even greater in the Gaming Industry, where the average turnover rate is over 50% and can be as high as 80%. In Gaming, job skills are very portable and properties are often geographically centralized, thus, making it tempting for employees to jump between organizations.
Through the course of employee focus groups with all staff levels, I personally have spoken with hundreds, if not thousands, of employees across all fields that were working at a company they had left years ago to explore those greener pastures. What brings them back? Oftentimes, it is the culture of the organization, close relationships with coworkers, or the realization that the grass is not always greener.
What can your organization do to hold on to those employees whose eyes may be straying?
1. Culture: Create a brand at your organization that will make your people proud. Continuously reinforce how each role ties into the organization's mission. People want to do work that is worthwhile. Ensure that trust and transparency are organizational cornerstones. Creating a workplace that values diversity, in all its forms, can only benefit the culture.
2. Foster small workgroups: These relationships can be the ties that bind people to an organization. Encourage coworker cohesion and fun.
3. Provide continuous learning opportunities (e.g. tuition reimbursement, seminars, conferences, cross-training, etc.): Nothing stifles high performers like the prospect that they are spinning on their "career development wheels.
4. Flexible work schedules: Hold on to those Baby Boomers who increasingly want a phased retirement, part-time consulting, or contract work. Help that employee needing to care for an aging parent or a young family. Work schedule flexibility and time off are increasingly important to the generations succeeding the Baby Boomers.
5. Recognize people for doing excellent work. It doesn't have to be a bonus check every time (although that never hurts). You have to customize the reward to the individual. Remember, public recognition that one employee craves will terrify another. In order to help our clients with this important aspect, HR Solutions has partnered with Michael C. Finathe leading provider of worldwide employee reward and recognition solutions.
6. Competitive pay: Today people look to compensation as a measure of recognition and fairness. Our Exit Survey findings reveal that pay is one of the top two reasons employees had recently considered resigning; don't make the mistake of not investing in your talent here. What you save today will be a fraction of what you could spend tomorrow, as evidenced by the chart below1.
7. Leadership: Coach with passion. Have leaders in place that inspire, position employees to succeed, and treat staff with trust and respect.
The War for Talent is not a passing fad, as proven by the projections of the Bureau of Labor Statistics; it only promises to become more intense as the American Workforce matures and shrinks in the years ahead. Prepare your organization for the human capital challenges ahead by making it a fertile ground for the best and brightest.
