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Capitalizing
on Today's Chaos The last several years of unparalleled economic expansion optimism have created an extreme shortage of workers, especially in two diversive areas. We have heard a great deal about the high-tech worker shortage and companies giving BMW's to keep employees. What has been just as severe, but received much less publicity, is the shortage of workers at entry-level and customer service positions. The worker shortage has caused an escalating wage scale and in some cases a decreasing level of capability of individual hired for positions. Last March the economic conditions began to change. It now appears we are in a strong downturn and no one knows when it will turn up. We need to take advantage of the bad economic news and lower consumer confidence by re-staffing or upgrading staffing in our organizations. No one knows when the market will rally and confidence will rebound making staffing more difficult. Traditionally it has been thought that when unemployment eases and applicants become more plentiful, the quality applicant also goes up. However, this probably will not be the case this time because of the strength of the demand and lack of workers entering the labor force. Even after the initial drop last March, the demand for workers in high-tech environments still remained strong. They simply moved from one dot.com to another on the premise that their business model was valid and the company that laid them off was just a poor implementer or didn't understand the new economy. Now many have moved again because they found the opportunity wasn't as great as they thought or the company's business model wasn't viable. This week the chairman of Sony Corporation in the US said, "with all the dot.com's hiring, last year at this time we couldn't hire. NOW we are hiring!" Stock options and instant millionaires have only panned out in a few cases and now much of that has evaporated. High-tech talent is migrating back to more traditional companies to build the technology and systems that will power this communications medium and integrate it into our everyday lives. Many of these dot.com ex-patriots are helping traditional brick and mortar companies maximize the capabilities of this chaotic time. What about the other end of the spectrum? The entry-level service worker or unskilled laborer is still very much in demand, but there has been no real increase in the entry level labor pool. The birth rate of 18 years ago is the biggest factor in availability of 18-year-old workers. With many jobs unfilled and the strong demand for food service employees, hospitality employees and service employees still strong, the economic downturn has not pushed a wealth of new applicants in the job market nor has it eased the critical need for employees. More and more innovative companies are developing full-time marketing campaigns to attract employees to their company. Currently the fastest growing advertising agency in the country is AdMasters Advertising, which specializes in recruitment advertising. The popularity of using the Internet to find candidates is evidenced by the high-rate of dot com survivors in the business of posting jobs on the Internet. Currently, two websites are receiving prominence because of their new adaptation or approach to recruiting. Careerrewards.com and referralnetworks.com are capitalizing on the approach we have used for years and universalizing it, but also applying it beyond company boundaries. Carrerrewards.com pays $500 to those who refer an employee and from $750-$7500 for candidate referrals that get placed. Referralnetworks.com automates your companies employee referral program by creating a employee referralstation and providing easy ways to administer it. We have known for years that a company's best source of high-quality applicants is its own satisfied employees. Consistently when I do workshops and research for keynote presentations across the country, we find employee referral is consistently one of the top three sources of candidates, regardless of industry. It is getting so competitive today that the employee referral process must be highly organized and structured to produce the best benefits. These two dot.com referral networks have taken the employee referral concept to a dot.com level. In this instance, they offer a referral fee to whoever refers another individual to fill a position. In essence they want to make everyone, even the employees in your company, a headhunter. This is possible because, while we hear every night in the news about the economy cooling off, the demand for workers is not. UPGRADE THE STAFF. You are probably asking what you can do to take advantage of the changes that are occurring. This is the time to "upgrade the competence" of your staff. Ensure the positions, especially those you have had difficulty filling with talented motivated employees, match the needs. Don't just fill positions; make sure you match requirements of the position to the "real need." In a rush to fill positions, managers sometimes hire marginal workers. These marginal workers cause greater effort to be expended to manage them, are less productive and deliver a lower quality of customer service. Take the opportunity to improve staff quality as a strategy to enable the organization to be more competitive. If the downturn continues or when it turns around, try to capture more of the opportunity. Ensure the staff is solid and productive. ASSESS THE BUSINESS NEEDS. Determine the "real" needs of each position. Skill sets and capabilities required for success always shift over time. However, we have had several years of change at a blinding speed. Many positions are required to do different things and even use different tools. Evaluate what is really needed for an individual to be successful. Take the time to update your hiring criteria-the attributes a person must possess to be successful-and make sure they reflect the needs for today and the future. You can't hire an employee based on yesterday's needs and expect them to thrive tomorrow. ASSESS THE PERSONNEL. Evaluate how well each person is doing. If the job has become more difficult and requires new skills, determine what training is needed. In down or slack time, most successful companies build the skills and knowledge needed when times are busy. Use this time to train and develop individuals to their capacity. Evaluate if the person can or wants to do the job. If you determine a person can't or doesn't want to do the job, or do the job at the level the company needs for it to excel, look at replacing the individual with one who does. Obviously, you would use a corrective action process to give the employee a chance to improve, but raise the standards and insist he or she achieve them. Meeting and exceeding higher expectations and standards will be good for the company and ultimately good for the employee. HIRE PEOPLE WITH GREATER CAPABILITIES. As the complexity of the work increases and the demand for customer service escalates, find those who can and will be extremely successful. Hire talented people who can fuel the growth of an organization or use them to replace poor performers who fail to meet the higher standards. Don't just hire new individuals and train existing employees, set challenging goals for the team and group and build an effective team to achieve them. It is easy to simply keep pressing forward or doing what you are accustomed to, but now is an excellent time to ensure each individual is effective, as well as the entire team. Schedule team building activities to build a trust. Relationships are necessary for productive and effective teamwork. When it gets busy or a difficult situation occurs, there will be relationships to build on Economic
cycles occur much like a pendulum swings. What goes up must come
down and what comes down must eventually go up, at least that's
what those of us with our retirement in the market hope is true.
Based on that assumption use this period to raise the level of expectations,
increase capabilities and improve the performance of the entire
organization. Whether it is correcting mistakes of the past or building
a foundation for future success, now is the time to focus on improving
the capabilities of individuals and the organization.
For more information on how to book Wayne for your next event contact us - Click Here Outlaw Group, Inc. 900 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. Suite 115 •Charleston, SC 29464 • 800.347.9361 • fax 843.881.1758 • info@outlawgroup.com www.outlawgroup.com ~ www.wayneoutlaw.com ~ www.smartstaffing.net |
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