The Impending War For Talent
2010 marks the beginning of not just a new year, but hopefully of a promising new decade. Recent reports have suggested that there are fresh signs of an economic recovery taking shape but employers are still facing one of the greatest management challenges of the last two decades – employee engagement.
A new Conference Board survey recently found that 55% of all employees are unhappy with their jobs. This is the lowest level researchers have seen in 22 years. No doubt some of the dissatisfaction can be traced in part to the challenging economic conditions of the past year. But upon digging deeper the Conference Board noted that: The greatest level of dissatisfaction was found among workers under the age of 25, who are members of Generation Y. (Source: “I Can’t Get No … Job Satisfaction, That Is: America’s Unhappy Workers,” Research Report #1459-09-RR, The Conference Board, 1/5/2010. http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=3820.
The fact that Millennial employees are expressing very high levels of frustration doesn’t bode well for employers, particularly as the recession may be easing. After all, 80 million well-educated, tech-savvy Millennials represent the future of most organizations, both as prospective employees and potential customers. But a workforce riddled with frustrated Millennials could lead to a loss of productivity, resulting in workplace dissension and costly turnover. Worse, as the economy gains strength these younger employees could be the first to jump ship looking for more satisfying employment.
But as the battle to attract, hire or retain talented, promotable Millennials begins to heat up, many employers could find themselves unarmed!
It’s always important to have the right tools to do the job, and every employer’s arsenal should include tested and validated assessments to guide hiring, training and promotion decisions. Armed with these instruments, leaders will be able to:
* Hire the right person for the right job
* Build and lead effective teams
* Improve the performance of every employee
* Develop effective strategies for managing talent
These decisions and strategies can’t be left to chance, either. Only proven assessments can yield the sort of deep insights into human nature that can guide critical choices successfully. This may prove particularly valuable to supervisors with Millennial employees, who can often seem like a mystery and challenge.
Dr. Jan Ferri-Reed is President of KEYGroup, a speaking, training and assessment firm that provides guidance to leaders who want a more engaged, productive and profitable workforce. As a consultant and speaker, Jan provides support to organizations including GlaxoSmithKline, U.S. Steel Corporation, Pitney Bowes and MTV Networks. She is also co-author of the best-selling book, “Keeping the Millennials: Why Companies Are Losing Billions in Turnover to This Generation and What to Do About It.” www.KeepingTheMillennials.com.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment