Through thick and thin, it's the people who matter most

We talk a lot about employee morale on this blog. We stand behind the notion that happy, engaged employees are more positive, more productive and your most important resource. So when Robert Half Management Resources posed the question, “Which one of the following is the greatest lesson you have learned from the recession?”, we were pleased that the #1 response was, “Place greater focus on maintaining employee morale.” Ding, ding, ding – employee morale gets top billing!

Participating in the survey were 1,400 chief financial officers from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. The other top responses from the CFOs:

• Take decisive measures more quickly to avoid multiple rounds of cost-cutting — 22%
• Make sure we have enough staff to maintain productivity — 22%
• Implement more detailed succession plans — 15%

But back to employee morale. How encouraging that people in high places recognize the importance of employee morale – no matter how rough the waters. And let’s hope they’re not "all talk and no action" when it comes to this belief. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Once the recession lifts, employees will remember how they were treated. Will your best employees stick around as the economy improves, or will they dust off their resumes and hit the job boards?

Happy employees are good business. “Without a motivated workforce and adequate staffing levels, companies can be ill-equipped to take advantage of improving market trends,” said Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. “They may also risk losing top employees as the job market strengthens.”

What about your business? Did you make employee morale a priority during the tough times of the recent recession? Are you confident that you treated your employees right … and will be rewarded with their continued loyalty?

Through thick and thin, it's the people who matter most

OUCH! Survey reveals that nearly one out of every two employees is unhappy at work

Do you enjoy your job? If you answered “yes,” consider yourself lucky – and in a very narrow majority. According to a survey of 5,000 households by the Conference Board research group, only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work – the lowest number ever recorded by the organization in its 22 years of studying the issue.

“It says something troubling about work in America. It is not about the business cycle or one grumpy generation,” says Linda Barrington, managing director of human capital at the Conference Board. USA Today

What is it about, then? What’s causing such discontent for so many Americans? While some of the malaise can be blamed on the worst recession since the 1930s (and the difficulty in finding rewarding and suitable jobs), there’s something more at play here. Worker dissatisfaction has been increasing for more than two decades for additional, non-recession reasons, the biggest being:

=> Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting
(Only 51% of workers currently find their jobs satisfying, compared to nearly 70% in 1987)
=> Incomes have not kept up with inflation
(Average household incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been dropping since 2000)
=> The soaring cost of health insurance has cut into worker’s
take-home pay
(The average employee contribution for single-coverage medical care benefits rose from $48 a month to $76 a month between 1999 and 2006)

Continuing the nearly 50/50 split of satisfied/dissatisfied workers, here are some of the other key findings of the survey:

=> 43% of workers feel secure in their jobs
=> 56% of workers like their coworkers
=> 56% of workers are satisfied with their commute to work
=> 51% of workers are satisfied with their boss

Add it all up and you have a trend that is not only troubling for employers, but also for the nation. Economists worry that long-term job dissatisfaction could squash innovation and damage America’s competitiveness and productivity.

When dissatisfaction hits home (or work)

Which brings us to another point: How concerned should you be about employee satisfaction in your organization – and what can you do to help reverse these numbers within your own four walls?

Obviously, this is no easy task, and a bit of a moving target. While you can’t control the recession or rising health care costs – or please all of the people all of the time, for that matter – you can take positive steps to ensure your employees are engaged and motivated. It’s a brand-new year, the perfect time to take a good, hard look at what’s working (and not) with your most valuable resource – your employees.

In a previous post on this very subject, we talked about how employee engagement is a key factor in determining the long-term success of a business, with studies indicating that engaged employees perform at much higher levels than disengaged employees. At the same time, we're assuming that engaged, high-performing employees are happier, more satisfied employees.

Great, but how do you know if your employees are committed to their work? Ask them!

This earlier post suggests you start a conversation with employees to find out how they are handling the recession and their jobs, even going so far as to conduct an informal employee survey. Not to state the obvious, but this won’t work if managers and supervisors only inquire about their employees’ well-being at review time. They have to sit down with their employees on a regular basis and give them the attention they deserve.

If you go the route of a written survey, here are some of the statements you can ask employees to rate, which will provide a clear snapshot of where you stand in building satisfied employees:

1. Management is providing good leadership and guidance during difficult economic conditions.
2. My job is mentally stimulating
3. I understand how my work contributes to the company’s performance.
4. There are future opportunities for growth at my company.
5. My company affords me the opportunity to develop my skills.
6. I receive recognition and reward for my contributions.
7. There is open and honest communication between employees and managers.
8. I see professional growth and career development opportunities for myself in this organization.
9. I know how I fit into the organization’s future plans.
10. Considering the value I bring to the organization, I feel I am paid fairly.

Once you’ve asked the tough questions, you’ll want to spend time with upper management and other decision-makers to review the results and figure out ways to fill in the gaps. From training and mentoring employees - to recognizing and rewarding your workforce for their contributions – make 2010 a year for turning those frowns upside down! Your employees will be happier, and your business will be more successful as a result.

OUCH! Survey reveals that nearly one out of every two employees is unhappy at work

Needed: Marketing manager who does computer programming, outbound sales and the tango

I’m used to seeing all the sobering statistics concerning our country’s dismal unemployment rate (just over 10 percent now!), but this headline caught my eye, “State’s jobless rate lets employers ask more from potential hires”.

While the article pertained to Washington, I’m sure the situation applies everywhere. It seems that the lingering recession and extreme competition for jobs have created a whole host of picky employers. The days of simple, streamlined job listings are over, as employers demand more and more from potential hires.

The Seattle Times article shares these examples:

=> Health-care clinic seeks someone who has both marketing experience and knowledge of computer-networking software

=> Environment nonprofit looking for someone to troubleshoot Apple computers, lift up to 50 pounds, work long hours and travel up to seven days at a stretch

=> Catering company needs an event planner who knows basic HTML and is willing to do “personal assistant tasks” for the owner

With companies having to stretch their resources thinner than ever and only cautiously bringing in new hires, this may be the new “normal.”

“Companies of all sizes are advertising such ‘hybrid jobs’ in an effort to save
money,” said Lanell Flint, Northwest vice president for Ajilon Professional
Staffing. "Everyone is trying to do more with less.”

The article states another possible reason for job listings demanding extensive (and sometimes random) job requirements and work experience: less time or money for on-the-job training. In lieu of training to fill in gaps or weaknesses for an otherwise qualified individual, employers want candidates who can “hit the ground running” on all counts.

This employment pickiness often makes for a longer, more drawn-out hiring process, too. It’s not unusual for employers to leave positions open for longer or bring people in for multiple interviews.

What about your company? How has your hiring process changed during the continuing recession? Have you revisited your job descriptions and what you need from new hires? And with more candidates to choose from, are you getting pickier with your selections?

Needed: Marketing manager who does computer programming, outbound sales and the tango

Recession is lifting - competition for jobs isn't

While most economists believe the recession is over and recovery has begun, unemployment rates remain alarmingly high. As a result, the number of U.S. job seekers competing for a single opening has reached the highest point since the recession began.

“There are about 6.3 unemployed workers competing, on average, for each job
opening, a Labor Department report shows. That's the most since the department
began tracking job openings nine years ago, and up from only 1.7 workers when
the recession began in December 2007.” (msnbc.mns.com)

The msnbc article states that the employment crisis will most likely get worse as companies remain sluggish to hire. In fact, many economists expect a “jobless recovery,” which will lead to added pressure on President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to stimulate job creation.

"Fewer people are facing job loss," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at Economic Policy Institute in Washington, "but once you have lost your job, you are in serious trouble.”

Shierholz says the economy faces a "jobs gap" of almost 10 million — the 7.2 million jobs lost plus the roughly 125,000 per month that would have been needed since the recession began just to keep up with population growth.

To close that gap and get back to pre-recession levels in two years would require more than 500,000 new jobs per month, a pace of job creation that hasn't been seen since 1950-51, Shierholz adds.

What about your business? How much of your workforce did you have to cut during the recessionary downturn? And are you feeling enough of an economic boost to start replenishing those positions – or even adding new positions? Or are you sitting tight and not hiring until the recovery is more robust?

Recession is lifting - competition for jobs isn't