Welcome to the September 20, 2006 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1.   1. Disengaged Workers Aren’t Born That Way

Employers who think their people leave for more money: 89%
Employees who actually do leave for more money: 12%

What a disconnect! That’s the results of 19,700 interviews completed by the Saratoga Institute. Maybe it is easier for managers to think that money is the real issue, rather than hear that there are things that need to be fixed. But, the truth is, there are things that can be done to keep employees happy and productive, and on the job.

The ten most frequently mentioned issues that employees say companies do poorly are:

1. Poor management—uncaring and unprofessional managers; overworking staff; no respect, not listening, putting people in wrong jobs; speed over quality; poor manager selection processes.

2. Lack of career growth and advancement opportunities: no perceivable career paths; not posting job openings or filling from within; favoritism or unfair promotions.

3. Poor communication: problems communicating top-down and between departments; after mergers; between facilities.

4. Pay: paid under-market or less than contributions warrant; pay inequities; slow raises; favoritism for bonuses/raises; ineffective appraisals.

5. Lack of recognition: that says it all.

6. Poor senior leadership: not listening, asking, or investing in employees; unresponsiveness and isolation; mixed messages.

7. Lack of training: nonexistent or superficial training; nothing for new hires, managers, or to move up.

8. Excessive workload: doing more with less; sacrificing quality and customer service for numbers.

9. Lack of tools and resources: insufficient, malfunctioning, outdated, equipment/supplies; overwork without relief.

10. Lack of teamwork—poor coworker cooperation/commitment; lack of interdepartmental coordination.

The result is an increasing number of American workers are disengaged from their jobs.

Disengaged employees aren’t born that way. They’re created by ineffective, badly trained managers and lack of strong human resource management within corporations. It’s costing businesses a fortune in lost productivity and revenue. Much of the blame is being placed on the shoulders of ineffectual human resources management and managers.

Many managers themselves do not know what it takes to succeed in a particular role nor do they have an incentive to care. More often than not, the focus and emphasis of the H/R department is “putting out fires.”

For the average manager, the bulk of a workday is spent working with employees who are negative, completely disengaged and should be terminated because they shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.

Instead of matching the right employee to the right position for long-term success, most companies and H/R departments put the emphasis on simply filling the position as quickly as possible. As a result, American businesses are losing money as fast as they’re losing employees. Each staff turnover cuts into the bottom line.

The statistics on workforce engagement are shocking. The Gallup Management Journal's semi-annual Employee Engagement Index reports that 54% of employees are not engaged, and 17% are actively disengaged at work and only 29% are actively engaged.

What does this mean to American businesses?

The impact of employee disengagement is a bottom line issue. Gallup statistics show that unhappy workers cost the American business economy up to $350 billion annually in lost productivity!

In today’s aggressive business environment remaining competitive is “top of mind” for most executives. To remain competitive, you have to hire truly talented people and then you have to keep them. Turnover is not only costly in terms of replacement expense; it’s not productive, and it’s demoralizing to other team members when they see good people leaving the organization.

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 574 to 575

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Just Released! Listen to "Trends That Will Change The Way You Do Business" - FREE Download.

Fact #474: The United States will have more than 1 million centenarians in 2050, up from 71,000 today. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Fact #475: Medicare has four workers paying taxes for every senior getting medical coverage. In 25 years, the ratio will be 2.4 workers for every beneficiary. That is assuming the system does not pay for a single new medical treatment. Workers and retirees in the system will take out an estimated $12.7 trillion more than they contributed. (Source: Social Security and USA Today, October 25, 2005)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3. Employee Engagement Surveys

Employee Engagement is the level of commitment an employee has towards the organization. The primary behaviors of engaged employees are: speaking positively about the organization to coworkers, potential employees and customers, having a strong desire to be a member of the organization, and exerting extra effort to contribute to the organization’s success.

Our employee engagement survey system allows you to survey the opinions of your staff in three easy steps, all while targeting the management topics most important to your organization.

For more information about surveying your employees, contact us and request a consultation and online demo.

4.  Get Clues 24/7

Our new Clues store is open 24/7. You can now order Clues reports around the clock. Need to create a new account? Our Clues store allows you to create a new account in minutes. Get ready to test candidates or employees in minutes. Order as few as 5 reports or purchase an annual license. To learn more about Clues and the Clues Store, go to:

Order Job Clues and Candid Clues here.

5.   Quotes from Hire Authorities

Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.
Aldous Huxley, writer

6.    CriteriaOne Certification Workshop

"Light years ahead of the competition" says one CriteriaOne participant.

"A must for anyone interested in lowering turnover and improving productivity," says another.

Don't miss the final certification workshop in 2006.

Build a selection and performance management system to align employees with the right skills to meet the competitive demands of your business.

More about CriteriaOne Certification, the whole person approach to selecting and managing employees.

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission