Speaker: Bruce Tulgan, president, Rainmaker Thinking
Conference notes prepared by: Gretchen Kirby, editor-in-chief, Publishing & Production Executive magazine
According to Bruce Tulgan, globally, corporate turnover is on the rise, and it's dynamics are changing. This is happening largely because of the labor market's changing culture. It's a problem, he stresses, that won't solve itself, so in order to survive, companies must adapt.
When Tulgan talks about changing culture, he speaks of the proverbial "generation gap," between the Baby Boomers and GenXers who are attempting to coexist in the business place. "We see Generation X as a vanguard of free agents, but that's just one small part of the staffing problem we have," Tulgan predicts.
Tulgan defines Generation Xers as those with birthdates falling between 1963 and 1977 and notes that this demographic has a very different definition of employer loyalty than their boomer predecessors. "Some [GenXers] will build their career at one employer, but they don't expect to," he explains. "They go wherever opportunity arises. . In effect, they practice 'just-in-time' loyalty. Loyalty is measured day by day, week by week."
"One of the problems with bringing in young, skilled talent," he remarks, "is that the best people are the ones most likely to leave."
But talent is what will separate the winners from the losers in business today. "A competitive advantage will come from keeping your employees motivated and trained," Tulgan adds. "And that presents a catch 22, whereby in a free market, there will be casualties, because the best people have the best negotiating power. In a free market, you get what you can negotiate."
Negotiation-which traditionally begins when an employee turns in notice of resignation-presents a new, less passive opportunity for management. "Managers need to start negotiating back," Tulgan emphasizes, for it's too late to save a good employee when they walk through your door to tell you that they've accepted a job elsewhere.
To better understand GenX's dynamics, wants and needs, is to be better equipped to develop strong, mutually beneficial relationships with these potential employees. Tulgan offers several practical pieces of advice for managers who are struggling with turnover issues:
1. Staff the work, not the job. Capitalize on the short-term resources of temps, part-timers and telecommuters.
2. Unbundle the project from the tasks and responsibilities. Treat each goal individually, and staff accordingly.
3. Train for the mission and not the long haul.
4. Train aggressively, one mission at a time.
5. Develop a boot camp that brings all new employees up to speed only on the immediate tasks you've placed before them.
6. Pay for performance and nothing less, i.e., If you don't deliver, you don't get paid.
7. Create bonus opportunities/incentives that are accomplishment driven. And make these incentives attractive and higher than what your employees have grown to expect in annual salary increases.
8. Turn managers into coaches who offer their team fast feedback, who communicate frequently about the specific, narrow challenges they expect each employee to solve.
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