Employee Satisfaction

The Rolling Stones of course had a great song with "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." Speaking of such, that is just the findings of a new report from the Conference Board and summed up on Human Resources Executive Online. The nitty gritty:

• The Kids are restless: 36% of employees under the age of 25 are expressing job satisfaction instead of 56% in 1987.

• Even the Older Folks are unhappy: 43% of those 65 and over expressed job satisfaction vs. 71% in 1987.

• In the meantime, we Gen X'ers are down to 47% from 60%

What does this mean? Chances are, your team are looking to run when things "improve." Chances are your smartest people have already started networking and your junior people are beefing up their resumes, their LinkedIn profiles and preparing a plan. What do you do?

Work with HR to try and engage your employees to get to the heart of the matter. Some situations are more complex than others, but you need to start somewhere. As a Manager, start communicating with them and get to know what's on their minds- maybe some things are simple fixes. Somethings will not be so easy. Some action is better than nothing. Let them know that you are looking out for them.

Either way, don't sit and wait for the inevitable. Furthermore, you will reduce the impression that most places don't give a damn.

For more Information:

Conference Board Webcast here.

Conference Board Report here.

Three Common Management Errors

I will leave little comment on this one except ask the question- are any of us guilty of some (or all) of these management errors? In regards to the third, I am often reminded of an episode of Family Guy where Stewie provides Brian a "Compliment Sandwich" for his sales efforts at "CashScam." I will have more on that later....

Three Common Management Mistakes (Selling Power)

Mindset Makes All the Difference

Today on ERE.net, Kevin Wheeler speaks about the mindset many recruiters have when thinking of their talent pool. Many complain that there is a huge lack of talent at all levels, in some cases, they're right, in others, all they need to do is look around and rethink their training, positions and what type of person they need. Can American companies retrain the workforce for the positions they need?The American military did this in WW2 and helped to train soldiers for roles they were not "qualified" for. Now, let's think of media...

Everyone cites very specific qualifications for a variety of roles. Yes, some need true experience while others could probably be handled through the following:

Mentoring Programs- How tough is it to match a new person with someone already there to learn the trade?

Basic Training- Not a book thrown at you on your first day, but a real basic training of what specific tasks need to be learned by the candidate. Not sink or swim.

At one of my previous employers, the training program for a junior sales rep. was more than two weeks of near constant training. The end result? By the end of their two weeks they were comfortable on the phone, making calls, had clear expectations, had their numbers and were fully amalgamated on the global team. It required a huge time investment on the Manager (moi) and had a three page living timeline of things to cover, but it worked wonders at the end.

Think about it as a recruiter or hiring manager. Although that candidate you are speaking with may not have a specific skill set think to yourself- do they have the potential? Can the skill be trained? Can they learn this? As I mentioned before, some skills cannot be taught on the job, that's a given, but I am sure there are some that can.

All it takes is some time.....

PB

Hello To One and All

Hello One and All- Here it is- a View into the Looking Glass. What is that Glass? It is a take on new and traditional media, sales and human resource issues- all brought together in to one fine mix. With an international perspective and a load of humour, this Blog is my foray in to the digital world. Sit back Alice, have a cup of tea, enjoy the musings and focus on the Looking Glass....

PB