Let the Battle for Talent Begin.....
Financial experts predict October 2009 to be the bottom point of this recession. Many companies have taken this in confidence and have lifted their hiring freeze. This means you will have an opportunity to interview a plethora of top talent and said talent will have several options for employment. Your companies Outstanding Leadership, Product Innovation and Commitment to Employee Appreciation will win the hiring battle....then what?
Many companies focus on training to ramp up new hire expertise. Training is usually accompanied by some sort of On-Boarding: fruit basket, 30 day reviews....The issue with most on-boarding programs:
* One Touch - Thanks for joining us....you're on your own now.
* Employee Performance Analysis without focus on how the Company Can Improve.
* Programs that silo Line Managers from Corporate Vision.
* Welcome gifts that have no Long Term Value.
Studies show that Generation Y will have 13 different jobs by the age of 40. They have been held down for a while and are ready to start hopping again.
You need an On-Boarding program that will:
* Engage the new employee as a Valued and Critical Asset from Day One.
* Extend 'welcome basket appreciation' for their entire first year of employment.
* Reward Employee Feedback as opposed to continually analyzing their progress against your training plan.
* Provide a Source of Interaction above and beyond an employee handbook.
* Hold Middle Managers Accountable for keeping employees on track. Leadership is the primary influencer of Early Performance.
A few suggestions:
* Give new employees a gift every 90 days
* Ask for Employee Feedback every 90 days (corporate to employee)
* Manage Performance Expectations through Line Managers (not the new employee)
* Reward a gift at their First Year Anniversary
The great news: it's time to expand our workforce again!
The challenge: to be better by being different!
This recession has taught employees to be savvy...to do more with less. Employees have done self reflection and returned to the simple things. The need for monumental salaries has been replaced by an enhanced work/life balance. Tomorrow's talent is focused on Giving Back to the Community, Persevering Mother Earth & Working Together (not in internal competition). They are looking for an Organized Professional Community not a Corporation. It is time to live your core values and bring them into the trenches. We are all in this together and the power is soon to be dispersed.
The best way to avoid obscurity is to utilize downtime by planning for the future.
Don't Forget to Remember!
- Dave
References:
http://www.earlyengagement.com/
Questions:
dkovacovich@mcfina.com
David,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good reminder to managers that hiring a new employee is like dating; if you want to bring out the best in an employee give them recognition up front, and don't wait to praise them until after you see results. Treat all your employees this way and you won't have to manage so hard. They will be engaged and wanting to achieve the results you set out for them during a performance review.