Top 5 Workplace Trends to Watch in 2011 – Part 5

Today is the final installment of this five part series on the top workplace trends to pay attention to in 2011.

Entreprenuerism

Many organizations have become bogged down in bureaucracy, in top-down, management heavy hierarchies where the most simple questions and business issues have to go up and down and all around before an answer can be delivered. In business this might involve layers of managers, and consultations with boards of directors.

In the non-profit sector, this may be the interface between the Executive Director and the elected Board.

Having worked in bureaucracies and held leadership and governance positions at local, regional, provincial and national levels in a variety of organizations, I’ve learned that many organizations become paralyzed in inertia at various points in time. They become stuck and have a difficult time moving forward, or driving innovation in their organizations, creating new products or services. All of this will eventually impact the bottom line.

A specific example I would use is the lack of diversity and the glass ceiling that most corporate and even non-profit boards still labour under. It’s really quite astonishing to many that the ceiling is still firmly in place, limiting the opportunities of women and people of diverse cultures from bringing their assets, wisdom and experience to these levels.

The statistics on the numbers of new businesses is not yet bearing out that a lot of people are jumping into entrepreneurism and moving from paid employment into their own businesses. We may see some movement in the statistics though because there really appears to be a growing interest in self-employment.

This is particularly noteworthy for women. Today’s workplace environments are not working for a growing number of individuals who simply do not want to work under the old rules. They don’t want to expose themselves to some of the toxic and unhealthy work environments so many employers create and sustain for their employees. They want the kind of work-life balance that can be had in self-employment. They want more freedom and the ability to access and use their creativity and innovation in their work. Many organizations simply do not value, or make real space for these things and they want the top-down status quo management ethos to continue to be the only game in town.

Many of the younger generations also find these traditional workplace cultures to be in opposition to the values that have been instilled in them. They are used to and comfortable with rapid change, growth and innovation of technology. Many have been socialized to provide significant input, feedback and leadership into various facets of their lives. Once in organizations that are designed in the more traditional way, they find them stifling, lack of opportunities to share and have their ideas and creativity used, or acknowledged. They find these organizations stagnating and running around in circles doing the same things over and over, whether they work or not. When told “this is the way it’s always been done” or discouraged from trying new ways of doing things, they become disheartened, bored and disconnected. They feel like their efforts and ideas have no traction and this translates to feeling like they have no place in the organization and no future. They don’t like feeling like cogs.

People believe in themselves, in their abilities to provide services and products and help others in ways that they find larger organizations cannot respond to in the same way. The idea of building their own value-driven organizations is going to become an increasingly desirable career option as mid and new career individuals realize their ability to develop their careers, change employers and “working for the man” is just not as fun, or as rewarding as being their own boss.

How can employers compete with the concept of becoming entrepreneurs? As organizations begin the important work of succession planning leaders need to start analyzing their organizational structures and mandates. Here are some questions that can guide this strategic assessment and analysis.

• Are all divisions and workers clear on the mission, mandate and purpose of the business, or organization?
• Is the current structure achieving the best results, the most profit?
• Could the organization be less top-heavy?
• Would innovation and decision-making be improved by a different structure?
• Do work groups and teams all fit together and share an interconnected understanding of being part of the greater whole of the organization and what it’s purpose is?
• How are top performers and high potential employees identified? Is there a plan to develop these employees?
• Is there a mentoring program in place?
• Is the organization engaging its’ employees in activities that encourage and reward creativity and innovation?
• Are there opportunities for employees at all levels of the organization to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities and in their careers within the organization?
• Does the organization encourage fresh ideas, goal setting and action planning and reward employees for timely resolution of problems and challenges?
• Is there a way to utilize entrepreneurial values and vision within different work teams and divisions of an organization?
• For non-profits, is there a way to become more involved in creating social enterprises opportunities within the agency and for clients?
• Is there a way to speed up decision-making and responses to immediate needs and demands?
• What are the short-term and long-term visions for the organization? Is it enough to just stay the course and keep doing what the organization does best? What are the pros and cons of this? Will this be enough to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing environment?
• Is the original vision and purpose of the organization still relevant?
• Is there a need for strategic analysis and planning for the vision going into the future?
• Is the team you have now able to carry the vision of the organization forward?

Conclusion

It is not an option for today’s businesses, or other organizations to remain treading water in one place. As we’ve seen over the last few years, survival is not a given for any organizational entity. Change is the only consistent variable most organizations are faced with in today’s world. How the leaders of today’s organizations chose to dance with change is doing to make the biggest impact for the future.

Paying heed to these top five workplace trends in 2011 will go a long way toward creating successful and sustainable organizations in the future.

About the Author:

Tracey Young, MSW, RSW is a Labour Relations and Forensic Social Work Consultant with Catalyst Enterprises BC, based in British Columbia. Find out more about the services we provide here: http://www.catalystbc.ca/

Top 5 Workplace Trends to Watch in 2011 – Part 4

The Fight to Recruit & Retain Top Talent

Many organizations aren’t even aware of it, but they are in the fight of their lives to recruit and retain top talent. Due to demographic shifts and the loss of the Baby Boomer cohort, employers and organizations will be kept on their toes trying to capture the interest and skills of top performers and high potential employees in all fields and industries.

The numbers of younger workers entering the workforce is not enough to fill the looming labour shortages, so employers are going to have to be strategic in identifying and capturing the attention of the best and brightest. How does an employer compete for the top talent?

Compensation, benefits and perks - I always find it funny to read these lists that put this lower than other things. People work to get paid and they will leave your organization if they aren’t getting adequate compensation and benefits for an organization that will provide them. They will feel taken advantage of and maybe even embarrassed to not get paid what they are worth.

Work-life balance – Today’s generation of workers are much different than older ones. They work to live and play. They want a better, healthier balance. More men want to spend time parenting their children and being part of their lives. Women are still primarily caring for children and their parents too. The demands are real and people want employers who offer flexible options to balance work and life. Some of these include part-time work, job sharing, telecommuting, work from home, and flexible work hours.

Workplace culture – Respect, dignity, recognition, acknowledgment, healthy work environments. Many of today’s younger employees have grown up having their opinions and ideas canvassed on everything. Everyone got a ribbon at sports day and a gold star for the most inane “achievements.” There were no “winners” and “losers.” Workers want to be employed in healthy organizations that provide them with respect, that treat them with dignity, that recognize and acknowledge their work and efforts. Those that do not create workplace cultures like this are not perceived as “employers of choice.” They are looked at as temporary stops on the path to the next better employer.

I want to also say a little something about those “Top 100 Employer” lists. When Gen X and Y go to work with these organizations that proudly proclaim their top of the employer heap and find quite the opposite, feelings of anger, betrayal and cynicism that set in. Not only does this impact organizations internally with respect to staff morale, it also leads these younger social media connectors calling B.S. and letting everyone they know that things are not so golden in these “Top” organizations. This inevitably leads to other workers passing on applying to work for you.

Once your organization loses its’ credibility and reputation good luck attracting and retaining the crucial demographics that will be necessary for succession planning because if there are two things young generations of people can’t stand it’s a phony and someone trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

Career and professional development - Since training budgets are often the first thing to be slashed under budget constraints, career and professional development opportunities often become inaccessible to employees and employers become more reluctant to approve work time to be spent in training. This means that beyond on-the-job learning, many employees will not receive opportunities to build and grow in their work, competency and develop their career potential. This is the death knell to a career in the 21st century.

This isn’t 1955 where most employees joined an employer and expected to work until retirement for that same employer. It’s been my observation that younger employees who are even quite satisfied in their current roles spend some time scrolling through the help wanted ads. The thought behind this is that there is always something better out there than where they are now.

Most of today’s employees are simply not built to stay in one job year after year. They will hold many, sometimes dozens, over the course of their lives. The other side of this, is that many workers have seen their parents, co-workers and peers pushed out the door in previous rounds of “downsizing,” layoffs, “outsourcing” overseas and cuts. One major implication of this is that there really is no such thing as company loyalty anymore. Everyone knows anyone can be grist for the mill and is dispensable when times get tough.

This is why it has never been more important for employers to identify and position their high potential employees well. Listen to them when they share their observations, thoughts and ideas. Provide ways for them to contribute to the organization. Provide them with opportunities to develop their skills, talents and abilities and careers. If you do none of these things, these top performers will leave and your organization will be worse off because of that.

When a series of employees leaves, ask why. Do exit surveys to find out why they are leaving. Their answers might bring a new understanding. High potential employees will not usually stay in organizations where they cannot develop their personal competencies, their careers and talents. They will also leave if the organization has an unhealthy and/or toxic work culture. They don’t have to stay, because other organizations will identify and recognize their potential and bring them on board and give them what they want. Smart, forward thinking employers know they will get an excellent return on the investment they make in top performers. Part of that investment is making them happy and treating them with respect.

Mediocre employees are a dime a dozen and fill many organizations. True high potential employees are rare and their talents and abilities should be nurtured because they are the future leaders of organizations that prioritize developing them. They will be the very future of the organization, because without vision, leadership and everything that high potential employees bring to the table, things will grind to a halt and the organization will become stale and lack innovation.

With the pending loss of current employees, the key organizational activity of identifying, developing and planning for the retention of high potential employees cannot be over-stated. Success in this area will be the difference between organizations that thrive and survive and those that accomplish neither of those goals.

Top 5 Workplace Trends to Watch in 2011 – Part 3

Social Media Impacts

Our world contains an almost infinite number of distractions now, many of them related to social media, which innovates, changes and introduces new products much faster than most employers can keep up with. Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and other social media and networking programs are in use by employees in workplaces everywhere.

Many employers require new employees to sign computer usage agreements. These generally stipulate employees must not use the employers’ equipment, or databases for personal use and include clauses that state that the employee understands that personal use can lead to disciplinary action all the way up to termination.

Let’s face it though - a significant portion of employees, especially those in the Gen X and Y age cohorts use employers’ equipment and databases for personal use. As a co-worker and former union representative, I’ve been rather shocked at how blasé so many people are about this and how much time they actually spend using social media, particularly Facebook, on work time. Even learning about cases where employers have investigated and fired employees for personal use of computers and time theft doesn’t seem to make much impact. Workplace culture has changed rapidly in this area.

Another confounding factor is employers providing employees with equipment, such as Blackberries for work use. This further blurs the line between work and personal time and use of employer equipment, with little guidance around this.

There is a notable lack of concern amongst many employees about the implications for privacy related to other people’s information that is shared on employers’ databases. Most employers have the capacity to keep track of employees’ computer usage.

I remember way back in my record store days when a manager pulled me into his office and gave me a mild rebuke for the frequent use of the internal messaging system with other employees. It felt unfair to me, since we were all doing it, but for some reason I was singled out. It was silly and I apologized, end of story, but it did make me aware that employers are watching what is happening with use of their systems.

To make matters even more muddy and confusing, the BC government gave their employees the go ahead to use social media, such as Facebook, to do their jobs. The seven page guidelines provided to BC public service employees “reveals a land mine of uncertainty about how the guidelines will work in practice” according to David Eby of the BC Civil Liberties Association. (Times Colonist, 2010).

One notable case from BC, which has gone viral, led to the firing of two employees for their use of Facebook outside of work hours and on their own computers. The employees’ comments about supervisors and managers were so inappropriate and egregious their firing was upheld by the B.C. Labour Relations Board. The full decision can be read here.

Another reason accessing social media is a problem in workplaces is the exposure it gives businesses to the thousands of computer viruses that are passed around randomly with the simple click on a friend’s link on their Facebook page.

Peer-to-peer file sharing programs also open up employers’ databases to corruption from malware and viruses that can impact the security and integrity of organizations networks. Malware is also designed to install itself on user’s computers and will then send out information and data, unknown to users, which creates serious risks to confidentiality of business information and possibly compromising business obligations under Freedom of Privacy and Protection of Information laws.
Here is a study that looked at Canadians use of the internet at work.

A whole other can of worms is opened up when individuals who share a workplace become “friends” on Facebook. This is something that needs to be strongly considered as this can come back to haunt people on the job. I’ve found that younger generations of job seekers and employees have a different way of conceiving of privacy that can be quite unnerving.

They are comfortable sharing information, pictures and opinions in a much more public way than other generations. Potential employers and recruiters customarily search out information on job candidates on the Internet and young people need to become more aware of how they might be perceived. I wrote an article on employment and interview tips for young job seekers that touches on their public information and encourages them to think about how things might be perceived by potential employers. The article can be viewed here.

As a former employee in the public service, non-profit and business sectors, I’m not sure why employees can’t just use social media on their own time, outside of work hours and not use their employers’ equipment, or databases. Rarely, if ever, are the social media contributions of most people of life and death proportions that can’t wait until after employers’ work is done.

Watch for more case law, media stories and arbitration decisions in one of the fastest evolving and most controversial areas involving the workplace.

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Next up - Part 4 - The Fight to Recruit & Retain Top Talent