Hedley Lawson

From a market perspective, recruiting and retaining talent will continue to offer challenges to business owners in 2008. The latest statistics are compelling: Three out of every 10 workers in your business will retire over the next 10 years. Of those same 10 people, three others are seeking new jobs at this moment. If you replace transitioning workers with “twenty-something’s,” you can expect them to stay no longer than 18 months, on average. And worse yet, when you have to replace a retiring employee, not only will you likely face the loss of corporate knowledge, but a lack of many basic skills you require and need are often not evident in a newer employee.

As you begin your human capital planning program for 2008, consider these key business strategies:
 
Improve Your Hiring Practices
One key element of the continued success of your business rests on how well you source, identify, qualify and hire talent. Motivated and engaged employees deliver the best products and services, and are critical to customer care and satisfaction. Employee surveys confirm that employees are happiest when job realities meet expectations, they are a part of and feel like they are in a family environment, are given the authority to do their jobs, and feel appreciated. It is the responsibility of management to continuously seek to develop and motivate the entire workforce and give people an opportunity to achieve their goals and be successful in their jobs. All these issues work best when there is a good job fit.

There are innumerable resources available to employers to scan and survey the workforce, as well as skills to improve job fit. Companies that are focused on continuing to improve their value proposition and competitive position will need to revisit and revitalize their human capital strategies in 2008 and beyond.

Engage Management in the Team
Employee motivation continuously changes and evolves. It is especially challenging to understand and develop meaningful changes that will continually motivate employees. “Millennials” have different goals and objectives and most often view the world and their career differently than previous generations.
 
“Baby Boomers,” like myself, have a very different orientation toward work and are focused on being a part of a team, contributing to the growth and success of the business, and to a lesser extent, building a career. “Millennials” more often look at work as “something to do between weekends.” While money is a key motivator for this younger set, time-off, benefits and flexibility have greater appeal and value than their predecessors’ generations.

Flexibility and Work/Life Balance
Organizations need to look for opportunities to capture and inspire emerging leaders in ways different from past generations of employees. For example, adapting practices that promote flexibility and work/life balance with time off, flexible work schedules, and work from home (telecommuting) are elements that offer greater appeal to employees whose jobs lend themselves to such practices. Developing new and more appealing benefits in the workplace will continue to challenge management as recruiting and retaining great talent continues to be a top business priority.



Hedley Lawson, Jr. is the managing partner of Aligned Growth Partners, LLC, a strategic, operational and organizational consulting and executive search firm www.alignedgrowth.com.