Keeping Good People in Bad Times

With all the pink slips and changes in the economy, employee retention is more important than ever.  After all, if you’ve already trimmed payroll, then the people who remain on your team are mission critical to your business.

 

Key employees today are those in position to maintain the flow of your firm.

 

Here are some tips on retaining your team:

• Create and maintain a culture of communication and trust.  Share information through regular staff meetings, employee newsletters, and blogs.  Walk the halls and see how you can support your team.
• Treat everyone with respect and nip harassment of all types.  People at all levels who feel devalued or disrespected disengage and leave.
• Recognize and appreciate extra efforts.  Everyone is working hard.  A simple “thank you” or “job well done” goes a long way.

When you think about people who report to you, think about how you treat your clients.  You want to keep your best people happy.

 

 

Let’s Keep America Working! ™

 

 

 

Special thoughts to friends and colleagues impacted by the

Montecito, Sylmar, and Yorba Linda fires here in California.

 

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To see more of Stuart Rosen’s work: www.gurustu.com

 

The New World

The New World

Despite a tough economy, we know that many changes will come after President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn into office.

 

Economic development will certainly be a focus of the new administration.

 

As hiring manager during a tough economy, are you open to candidates who are overqualified and need training or does your position require a candidate to make a lateral move?

 

Candidates in soft job markets are very willing to accept positions below their skill sets to keep their families fed.  Candidates who may be considered “overqualified” can be great team players, happy and willing to work at lower levels, and interested in growing with a firm.  Not every candidate wants the full responsibility he or she may have had in the past.

 

In today’s world, attitude is key. Keeping a cheery demeanor and being willing to take on more can make a difference. We’re no longer expected to work just from 9 to 5.  Teams are expected to perform longer hours, and those left following a downsizing are often needed to fill in for the people the company can no longer retain. When hiring, look for employees willing to go the extra mile.

 

As a country, we can pull together.  If you have a job opening, you have a responsibility to hire.  Someone needs your job.

 

As we repeatedly hear in the news, it’s Wall Street and Main Street. We’re in this together.

 

Let’s Keep America Working! ™

 

 

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To see more of Stuart Rosen’s work: www.gurustu.com

Sticky Floors

Is it possible to be too good at your job? Have you been passed over for a promotion because your manager can’t bear the thought of training someone new?

 

Are you overwhelmed by the volume of work you need to accomplish?

 

If you’ve made yourself irreplaceable by taking on too much work and always doing more than your best, then you may have made yourself too strong to advance. This is called Sticky Floor. It applies to both men and women, as opposed to the Glass Ceiling where there is a limitation blocking upward advancement generally based on sexism or racism.

Here are some ways to advance:

• Talk to your direct manager and express your concerns
• Make sure that your lack of a promotion is not due to your work performance
• Act professional at all times
• Offer to train your replacement and provide ongoing support
• If possible, take on responsibilities at the level, or in the department, in which you’d like to work
• Find an internal mentor in your organization who can guide you through the particulars of your situation

A Sticky Floor might also be a sign that your manager would like to replace you, but may not be able to fire you for a myriad of reasons. If this is your situation, your manager may be making your work life stressful enough for you to quit.

 

Should all efforts to advance become fruitless, consider looking for a new position at another company where you have equal or greater responsibility, title and/or pay.

 

It may be time.

 

 

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To see more of Stuart Rosen’s work: www.gurustu.com