In today's job market, with high unemployment, management has the upper hand and can, if it desires, disregard staff concerns.
Smart managers don't.
They know that when the market eventually turns around, those employees who got the short shrift during the "high jobless rate" times will start looking for new employment homes.
Taking with them skills they honed on the job.
Possibly taking with them information a competitor would be delighted to have.
Never mind non-disclosure agreements; they are difficult, and expensive, to enforce.
If the employee doesn't bolt, he or she can "bad mouth" the organization and destroy its reputation as an employer and, perhaps, as an organization.
The translation of all the above is that employees are a risk to the organization.
A "necessary" risk.
At the same time, a happy employee - or at least one who feels respected by management and peers - is a definite asset to the organization. While the unhappy current or past employee knocks the organization, an employee who feels he or she has the respect of management - at all levels - promotes the organization to other employees and to "the world."
It's been many years since I worked as a contractor at Lucent Technologies, but I still fondly remember the way it treated its personnel, even contractors. On the other hand, there have been some other organizations . . . .
While it is not something a risk management practitioner can control, the practitioner should be aware of the "mood" of the workforce and the practitioner should "suggest" to management that there are risks to employing unhappy staff.
Most people appreciate recognition for a job well done.
The nice thing about recognizing jobs well done is that it need not be expensive.
Most people appreciate an organization-sponsored (funded) function; like recognition, this need not be overly expensive.
The economy will pick-up - no, I do NOT know "when" - and when it does, unhappy employees will become mobile; their resumes already are up-to-date.
The risks to the organization include, "but are not limited to"
- loss of knowledge base
- cost of recruiting - advertising, interviewing, relocation
- cost of training, both job and corporate customs
- temporary slump in productivity, possibly due to resentment of the new employee
- possibly higher salary for the new hire
- risk that the new hire will leave before the organization realizes any ROI
It is not hard to mitigate the risk of disgruntled personnel.
Respect.
Acknowledgement of a job well done.
Support in the form of training.
There are many ways an employer can show respect for the troops; HR knows them all.
Longer articles at https://sites.google.com/site/johnglennmbci/
If I wrote it, you may quote it.
No comments:
Post a Comment