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Minding our own business for August 20, 2005 As I meet with area businesses, several are poised on the edge of expansion. If these businesses, mostly in the manufacturing area, all start hiring at the same time, we may be in for a hit on our workforce like we saw in 1999-2000. These hirings will not only produce the positive result of putting to work new graduates and those who might be on layoff, but will also result in more turnover than anticipated for those in all industries who are on the lower end of the wage scale. Since turnover among employees with less than one year of service is the most expensive, this may represent a “double whammy” for some. The productivity lost when high performers or experienced workers leave will also have a multiple impacts on their employers. This, then, is a good time for all employers to take a look at their retention efforts as well as their hiring procedures. Some “tip of the iceberg” questions to ask yourself: • Do we have a formal plan for recognizing good employees? • Do we just assume employees are productive, on time and present, or do we have drawings, celebrations, surprise snacks or lunches etc to remind them that we appreciate these qualities? • Do we have opportunities for our workforce to have fun together? • Do our employees, no matter what level, realize that we appreciate them or do they more often hear what should be improved? • Are we regularly including employee input in decision making processes? • Do we share information so employees understand our decision making processes and/or decisions that affect them? • Are we actually doing employee reviews on time and in a productive manner? • Have we considered making employment reviews independent of salary reviews? I have been reading more and more in futurist publications that there is a much stronger undercurrent of dissatisfaction among workers at all levels than most companies realize. Many companies are feeling “blind-sided” when key performers, including management, “all of a sudden” announce they are leaving for another position. This decision, however, was not sudden from the employee’s perspective. Most of the employers, unfortunately, had come to expect superior performance from these people and therefore never or rarely recognized it to that employee. For those who have no practices in place for recognizing and rewarding employees, the EDA can provide some ideas upon which to build. For existing businesses, we also have a nice handout “Are You Tired of Hiring Other People’s Rejects?” detailing the 12 most common hiring mistakes Rick Weaver of MaxImpact has found. For new businesses, we have several handouts about what kinds of registrations and reporting are needed when hiring employees. We can all agree that hiring can be the best or the worst choice an employer can make, and in either case, the results are long-lasting. No matter how “at risk” a business may feel, this may be the perfect time for initiating or stepping up retention practices in order to keep good employees. Learn More About It: There’s an SBA publication available online called “Employees: How to Find and Pay Them” and “Managing Employee Benefits” in the Professional Management Series (http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs.html). The State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has a new E-Registration system for new businesses: www.michigan.gov/uia-ereg. "Come Grow with Us in Delta County" Linda Hirvonen, Executive Director Delta County Economic Development Alliance |
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