Employee Centered Organizations
There is one guarantee in life; things change. It is a certainty that nothing ever remains the same. This is especially true in business. Consider how different the business world is when compared to 30 years ago. Computers were virtually nonexistent with the exception of the largest corporations. Now everything we do is tied to the computer and the Internet. One only needs to lose the Internet for a few days to realize how dependent we are upon it. It is a tool that completely revolutionized the business environment.
Much like technology other changes also impact businesses. One area that is becoming more apparent is the changing of the workforce. The baby boomers are about to hit retirement age. Thus tens of millions of people will be exiting the employment pool over the next ten years. Conservative estimates put that number somewhere around 50 million people. Naturally this will create an imbalance that favors the personnel still in the workplace.
The 1970s saw the end to the company tilted work relationships. Everything action was taken with the focus on the benefit to the company. Customers were not valued. In fact they were taken for granted. Companies churned them with regularity knowing that for each that left there was another one to bring in. The 80s saw a changing in this trend to companies being customer friendly. Increased competition forced companies to value their customers. Also the advent of the Internet has made the buying public much smarter. Today people have access to the information to make informed decisions. It is difficult to pull the wool over peoples eyes in this era.
While the shift with the customers was occurring the exact opposite took place with employees. The 70s saw the end to the lifetime employment. Companies that historically employed people for their entire careers suddenly started laying people off in large numbers. Delta is an example. Once known as one of the most employee friendly companies it began letting people go in increments of 5000. This began the trend which continued for the last couple of decades.
Today times are changing again. Many companies are operating under the presumption that customers are the most important thing. Watch these institutions perish over the next decade. Unless they make a shift in their focus they are destined to become extinct like the dinosaur. The demographics of the workplace are necessitating a major shift.
There are plenty of customers available. Markets are opening up everyday. Technology allows us to sell goods and services to people who were inaccessible in the past. That is not to claim that we need to return to the days where we were churning customers. Someone who chooses to spend money with you needs to be valued and cherished. However they are not the most important aspect of your business.
Many businesses are finding that when they can replace a lost customer in a reasonable period of time. However these same companies are finding it difficult to make up for lost employees. From this point moving forward employees are the most important aspect of any company. If you are to be successful your organization needs to be employee focused.
There average worker has many choices. This is only going to increase. By the end of the next decade it is estimated there will be a shortage of over 10 million workers. It is believed that there will be 140 million people available to fill 150 million jobs. Where will your company match up in this market? Companies are accustomed to facing competition. However in this era it is not so much fighting over business but rather personnel. The successful companies will be sure to cater to the people who work there.
If you want to be the most successful company in your industry aim to become the most employee friendly. This will ensure that you are able to attract the necessary people to foster success. Spend your time working on programs that will increase their level of satisfaction. People want more than just a paycheck. If that is all you are offering you will find yourself losing them to the competition. Making your company a fun and inspiring place to work is the new goal. Effective leaders need to spend time devising programs to benefit their people. Factors such as benefits pay employee growth and work flexibility all should be considered. These are some of the things which future employment decisions will be based.
Why should a company go through this process? The answer is because you do not have a choice. If they are not already doing so the competition will soon be looking at these same factors. The fact that there are more people exiting the workforce than entering it is an indisputable fact. Are you going to find yourself part of the crowd that has 10 million jobs yet no prospects to fill those vacancies? You will if you continue to operate under the old premise that your customers are the most important aspect of the business. It is time to wake up and realize that without happy employees you are finished.
You will find the second part to this article located under the Free Downloads section at http://www.yourrichlifeinc.com.
About the writer: Dennis Harting is the Head Coach at Your Rich Life. He is an acclaimed speaker trainer and bestselling author. His international best selling books include Your Easiest Million and The Ultimate Procrastination Handbook. He also has had thousands of articles published worldwide. His programs and more information can be found at http://www.yourrichlifeinc.com.
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