SOLVING your workforce CRISIS
Kent J. Wessinger, PhD
Are you fearful that younger employees will leave your company if you hold them accountable for productivity? Last month I was the keynote speaker at a manufacturing conference. I asked the attendees to raise their hand if they’re fearful to hold their younger employees accountable for productivity, all 350 leaders raised their hand! In this month’s
white-paper, we’ll focus on a model of accountability that positions you to solve your workforce crisis and achieve your growth goals.
As a business owner and People Scientist, I’ve solved the workforce crisis for companies and organizations of all sizes. The solutions have come from two primary questions, “Why? and What?” The statements that follow are real questions from frustrated leaders who continue to
reach out to me with their statements of crisis.
• Why is my healthcare company hiring 50 employees per month, and losing 20?
• Why did my technology company lose 1260 of the 1580 employees we hired last year?
• Why are my most talented employees leaving my company for a completely different career?
• Why is the largest block of the workforce (millennials) leaving my company at an unprecedented rate?
• Why am I struggling to get off the recruiting hamster wheel?
• Why are my managers becoming timid with the younger workforce?
As I answered those questions (and many more) related to the workforce crisis, I unearthed a critical discovery. Leaders are stunned when I tell them, “A lack of accountability is fueling your workforce crisis.” Without a clearly communicated and implemented accountability structure,
the foundation of your company will quickly erode.
Fear is dismantling accountability. Leaders are aware of the expense of replacing employees, seasoned leaders are fearful to hold the younger workforce accountable for productivity out of fear that they’ll leave the company. However, my proprietary research and implementation experience reveals that the younger workforce wants to be held accountable for productivity. However, their concept of productivity differs from the generations that precede them.
• What accountability structure do I implement to solve my workforce crisis?
I’ve helped hundreds of leaders solve their workforce crisis. On my initial assessment with their management team, I discovered that most of them had replaced accountability with a tag line from a LinkedIn darling, untested revelations from HR magazines, regurgitated retention methods from the glory days, or books written by people who conjured up an untested hypothetical solution. However, I also discovered that leaders are increasingly angry that the “Hail Mary’s” are falling short, while their workforce crisis continues to threaten their growth goals. It’s time to quiet the noise and implement an informed and tested accountability structure. Although seasoned leaders passionately agree with accountability, my experience reveals that very few know how or what structure of accountability to implement.
My implementation experience emphatically reveals that an informed and tested accountability structure is the essential first step to successfully attract, engage, and retain your younger workforce.
Accountability has always been viewed as hierarchal, a top-down structure. Each department of the company holds the division below them accountable for productivity, until it reaches the bottom department. Although this structure seems to be the only conceivable model of accountability, it’s the model that’s millennials are rejecting.
Think about this, a lack of accountability from management is fueling the workforce crisis, yet when the traditional model of accountability is enforced, it further exasperates the workforce crisis! This quandary is why 84% of all leaders state they don’t know how to solve their workforce crisis. It’s one of the reasons why 68% of all leaders today are “concerned” about the future of their company with the current workforce. There is an accountability crisis that’s fueling the workforce crisis!
• If not the traditional model of accountability, then “What” accountability structure do I implement to solve my workforce crisis?
When leaders reach out to me for help, my first step is to implement a thriving culture of accountability. Accountability is no longer top-down, it’s reciprocal. Leaders hold their employees accountable for productivity, while employees hold the company accountable for structures that facilitate their success.
My proprietary research reveals that top talent millennial employees rarely leave due to pay. The primary reason they leave is the absence of structures that facilitate their success. The Retention Partners team and I are focused on helping you implement and perpetuate a culture of accountability. To achieve that objective, we utilize my proprietary research and implementation experiences to help you develop structures of employee engagement and retention that facilitate success.
Kent J. Wessinger, PhD; getstarted@retentionpartners.com retentionpartners.com