I am thrilled to report that I have joined CSC’s Health Services group in the role of Resourcing Manager. I’ll be working alongside the brightest health care industry professionals in a leadership role. Around the world and across the healthcare spectrum, CSC is transforming healthcare with better information for better decisions. Our solutions revolutionize the way physicians deliver services, governments manage public health, experts conduct breakthrough medical research, and institutions provide coverage.

The time that I was in pursuit of a new career opportunity was an exciting and educational time that I made the most of while searching for that next perfect job.  I typically broke my “work” week into three main segments;

• Competency growth in technology, industry, and professional services best practices
• Networking to meet my next set of business partners and mentors
• Pursuit management for my own career

I’ve been privileged to have nurtured the many friendships at CSC, met many outstanding leaders in their respective fields, and have been provided the opportunity to assist others with their career choices and search techniques.   I’ve become an expert in using social media for career awareness, specifically mastering best practice techniques using LinkedIn to expand my circle of influence and partnerships.  I have many new valued contacts at companies that span the consulting, financial, pharmaceutical, telecom, insurance, and HR outsourcing, to name just a few.  I hope to be able to leverage some of these contacts into new business partners for CSC.

I started to list all those that provided guidance, support, and creative ideas, but this blog has a finite length and candidly, I fear most that I might omit someone’s name.  So I’ll list a few organizations that have been a great source of creative leadership for me while in transition. 

• CSC – my many friends at CSC were always close, and I am now delighted to be back as a colleague. 100′s to thank.  I’ll get to each of you over the next few weeks!
• Rutgers Career Services, Rutgers Alumni, and Rutgers Club Success Club – what a great set of people to have been around most every week. Len Garrison, you’re the best!
• Princeton Public Library – Janie Hermann makes the PPL a destination spot with 100’s of programs that bring together a diverse set of people in a multitude of venues.
• The Whine and Dine organization.  Not any whining but tons of great supportive people. Keith Bogen, thanks!
• IEEE for their many technology programs and networking opportunities

I’ll close with this gratitude for now, but please understand that this blog could have run on for many more screens.  It has been a special opportunity to meet so many new people, learn so much, and now be back with my dream company, CSC.

For my many LinkedIn connections and others, I’ll be a bit less present on the social media sites as I dig into my new role and get the chance to meet many new CSC Health Services colleagues.  Trust that once I get some traction on this, I’ll return to the blogging posts, Twitter, Google+, and whatever comes next on the social media horizon. 

If you are not familiar with CSC, click on the “We Do Amazing Things” link.  Then take a look at the attached link for CSC Health Services.  Finally, glance at the web page I tossed together for my introduction to CSC Health Services. 

In closing – many thanks to everyone, both at CSC and everywhere else, that has been a contributor to my growth and spirits.

CSC – We Do Amazing Things  http://www.csc.com/careersus/fre/36086-we_do_amazing_things_video

CSC Health Services http://www.csc.com/health_services/

My CSC Health Services Introduction   http://www.wix.com/edbeckerprincetonnj/becker-csc-healthcare

 LinkedIn QR

We celebrate Independence Day as freedom from overt government intrusion into our lives, yet gazing back over the landscape of events and behaviors in recent years, I sense that we have allowed ourselves to become more dependent. The freedom and advances we benefit from today have come at a cost of our critical thinking skills and accepting responsibility for outcomes that effect each of us, our communities, and our nation.

I’ll touch on a few that are top of mind. You’ll likely have a different set, but these are top of mind as I write this.

• Main Stream Media – Stories That Sell Advertising Revenue Instead of Objective Informing

• Prescription Drugs Abuse

Main Stream Media

We use Main Stream Media (MSM) to educate and inform us on global and national events knowing full well that each major MSM channel has its own political and commercial (revenue) agenda. You can scan the channels any evening and hear very different “news reports” depending on whether you are watching Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or your local programming. We tune to the MSM channel that best fits our belief system and then allow the flow of information to confirm and advance those beliefs. Remember that MSM is a for-profit business, and you get what you pay for, meaning MSM will follow and report on the rubbernecking story at the expense of what events here or abroad are truly shaping our future.

I have been using the remote much more lately to scan between the major MSM channels in an attempt to triangulate on the information provided and then go off and coalesce those disparate reports such that I can make a more informed assessment of the information provided. When that isn’t enough, I’ll do more research to better understand the issue. I refuse to allow my belief system to be informed or altered by simple sound bites from the most polished, handsome, or politically biased newscasters. Be cautious when forming an opinion dependent solely on one news source, regardless of the stature it carries in MSM.

Prescription Drugs Abuse

This past April, the White House announced taking action to try to reverse what it characterizes as a growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse. A look at recent numbers demonstrates there is a ton of work ahead to reverse this problem.

• 33 million: Number of Americans aged 12 and older that the Food and Drug Administration estimates misused prescription drugs in 2007 alone. It represents an increase of 4 million from the 29 million who abused prescription drugs in 2002.

• $234.1 billion: Amount of money spent on prescription drugs in the United States in 2008 alone. This sum more than quadrupled the amount spent on prescribed medications in 1999.

• 48: Percentage of Americans who used at least one prescription drug per month from 2005 to 2008. This is a 4 percent increase from usage levels a decade ago.

• 90: Percentage of Americans aged 60 or older who have used a prescription drug in the past month. Most of these are a result of combating age-related diseases. Some are a result of doctors over-prescribing medicines.

• 20: Percentage of U.S. children who have used a prescription drug in the past month.

Just recently, four people were killed in a NY pharmacy by a person intent on gaining access to pain killers, one of the most insidious addictions that arise from the abuse of pain management in what are otherwise normal people. Parents run off and acquire antibiotics when their child develops a sniffle. Poor test grades? Try an ADD drug. Can’t cope with work or relationships? Pop a few benzodiazepines to get through the day.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are many medically necessary prescriptions written, though I can’t help but consider how many of these have now become the new normal when dealing with pain, minor infections, or manageable stress. I’ve tried gutting it out after knee surgery and that was clearly a mistake, pain medicine was needed. But are prescription pain pills needed for what are everyday aches and pains? Minor infections have a way of running their course instead of abusing antibiotics and creating a more drug resilient bacteria. Stress seems to be the new normal for many as more work is heaped upon a “right-sized” organization. Can benzos (like Xanax) really get more work done, or are they removing the eustress we need to accomplish more in tight time frames.

That’s my two for now. You will likely have your own top two or three and someone else will have another few. There seems to be an abundance of ways to become dependent on expedient decision-making or eluding difficult issues. I’m doing my best to better understand the issues that are framing our collective future and our ability to enhance the way we go about shaping that outcome. Our personal leadership in action can translate into community and corporate leadership. There is a huge opportunity to make a difference, if we once again declare our Independence.

 LinkedIn QR

In a previous blog, Hello, I Must be Going – Employee Engagement in a Recovering Economy, I suggested some ways that management could enhance employee engagement. That discussion was focused on retention of employees that drive the success of the firm. The short list included communicating the company’s strategy and goals, developing a sense of community, recognition, and supported development plans. Click on the link above for a more detailed discussion of these topics.

EthiCorVigilance and Integriology (ECV&I) or Ethical Corporate Vigilance and Integriology (my term – study of integrity) is the practice and processes necessary to not just retain top performers; it is the defining set of ethics and values that gains the maximum benefit from these employees. Engaged employees recommend their company to friends and family and take pride in working there. They are willing to go the extra mile for their organization, making it possible for the company to do more with less. They can be counted on to make independent decisions and take action in ways that are consistent with the company’s culture, objectives, and values. They require less supervision and direction and adapt easily to changing roles and responsibilities. Employee engagement can be linked to observation of the company’s commitment to Ethical behaviors and demonstrated processes that support Ethical conduct.

In a 2009 National Business Ethics Survey from the Ethics Resource Center and the Hay Group, a key finding showed that “positive perceptions of an organization’s ethical culture are associated with higher levels of engagement. Furthermore, management’s commitment to ethics is particularly important for employee engagement”. Their key takeaway was “given the profound connection between a com¬pany’s ethical culture and employee engage¬ment, managers should work actively to demonstrate a commitment to ethics, foster open communication, promote ethical role modeling, and encourage accountability.”

Ethics are central to situations where “the right thing to do” is in question, and the outcome of the decision affects many people including employees and customers. Identifying the “right thing” is often a complex challenge that in¬volves identifying conflicting responsibilities to a wide range of stakeholders. Challenging every employee to act as ethicists and keep the company’s core values in sight provides an opportunity for each employee to see their contribution in the larger picture of the company’s public profile and brand in the marketplace. As each person experiences their unique contribution to building the company brand through ethical and value driven behaviors, employee engagement is amplified.

Some questions that every organization should grapple with are

1. Can every employee identify one or more key executives who have proven to uphold the company values?

2. Does the company have the right values in place to guide them in a difficult situation or crisis?

3. Will the company be proud of their core values if exposed to a critical public, government agency, or customer segment?

4. Which values will the extended stakeholders of the company expect in challenging or crisis situations?

It’s not enough to talk about “company culture” when a firm says that their culture is a defining competitive advantage. The company must come forth with their value statements, articulated by senior executives and board members. It must be instilled in every manager and employee through training and measurement of adherence to ethical and value driven behaviors. The growing power of social media, which provides a platform for employees to share their perspective with a wide audience, greatly amplifies employ¬ees’ impact in the marketplace, and creates both opportunity and risk. It is imperative that every employee experiences ethics and values through the consistent behaviors, decisions, and actions of every member of the leadership team.

EthiCorVigilance and Integriology (ECV&I) must be the overarching and sustainable practice for enhancing brand awareness and creating proud and passionate employees wanting nothing short of amassing competitive market success creating strong career opportunities and growth. Done well, ECV&I will create an ethical culture that indeed creates a unique competitive advantage.

 LinkedIn QR

While celebration and enjoyment are the focus, I will take time to keep a special thought for all of our military serving in the face of imminent danger.   They serve at the command of our government and though I may not agree with every decision made by our president and congress, the soldiers are there and each one deserves our thoughts and prayers.  I can hope that sometime soon, we will not need to have so many of our country’s brave woman and men in harm’s way many miles away from the families and friends back home that will be thinking of them each time a firework explodes high in the sky a safe distance away.

Enjoy the time ahead.  Time with family and friends is precious.  Be safe, healthy, and safe this weekend!

 LinkedIn QR

What does the musical 42nd Street have to do with a business blog about career moves?  Everything!  As a quick primer, 42nd Street the Musical is based on a movie of the same name from 1933.  It’s a play within a play in that all the casting and rehearsals are the scenes of a fictional 1932 Broadway play called Pretty Girl.  Recall that 1932 was the beginning of the depression and here we are in 2011 still oscillating with our current recession.

Though the economic times are similar, that is merely the backdrop of why I am blending the musical with business.  I recently attended a local community theatre opening night performance of 42nd Street.  I was utterly amassed that they could find 29 local actors that could tap dance, since almost all of the numbers involve serious tap dancing.  I leaned over and whispered this to my wife and she said that most of them likely learned to tap for the show.  This is at least true of one of the male leads who credits the choreographer with teaching him to tap. The frequent cheers and applause during the show, and the standing ovation at the end, was well-earned by the energy, passion, and outstanding singing, acting, and dancing.

So how did the producer and casting director pick the actors during the auditions?  Was it because they could tap dance?  Not likely.  It must have been their theatrical accomplishments, competencies, and passion for the role.  The choreographer/producer made the assumption she could teach them to tap if they brought forth the core talent to perform. Because of the casting choices and excellent directing and training, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the singing, acting, and tap dancing of every cast member and their collective ensemble stage presence. 

Now contrast this with the current methodology many companies are using today as they seek to audition a candidate for employment.  The job requirement often lists 10 things the candidate must have and if a candidate doesn’t possess all of the requirements, they are often excluded from moving forward in the hiring process.  In the pre-recession days of scarce resources, those 10 requirements would have been divided into Must-Have’s and Nice-to-Have’s with about a 50/50 split.  With an abundance of people in the job market, some recruiters and hiring managers are insisting on all 10 without applying weighting factors.  Are they seeking to hire the best overall employee for the company or one that can identify with the current needed skill?

Imagine if the choreographer chose only those that could tap dance.  Would that have produced the excitement and passion that thrilled me the other night?  Is tap that popular these days?  Or did she pick the best actors that had proven they could sing and had dance talent and then assume that a few weeks of intense tap dance training would create an outstanding cast?  Would I have enjoyed great tap dancing at the expense of stage presence, singing strength, or acting ability?

How many candidates possess that stage presence, functional strengths, a progressive record of outstanding accomplishments, and core professional competencies, but are minus one learnable skill?  If the one learnable skill was absent from the requirement, would these same candidates be much better employees in the long run and bring sustained success to the company. Are these companies hiring for that one next assignment or hiring people for a career that will provide year over year value to customers and increase shareholder value?

I have been spending more time networking recently and have met many intelligent and motivated people who are seeking a new career opportunity.  They often talk about the one thing that excluded them from becoming an employee of their targeted company.  I can’t help but wonder if the person chosen over them was really a better addition to the people equity of that firm. Over a cup of coffee, I had the privilege to experience tremendous strengths and passion they could have used to make a difference in value creation for that company.  Would the company acquire a more loyal employee by taking the risk and investing a small amount of time for that person to “hit the ground running” a few weeks out?  Or have they hired the sub-optimal candidate that can “hit the ground running”, but then head in the wrong direction really quick?

The challenge to acquire that next employee in this recession recovery period is the responsibility of both candidates and employers.  The candidates need to prove they are active learners and can demonstrate this with recent skill acquisition and demonstrated active learner behaviors.  The employers need to evaluate the accomplishments and competencies of the candidates and assume that a missing skill is one training event away.  Given these assumptions, every employer has a golden opportunity to hire proven, accomplished, and talented people who will leverage new skill training into success for their customers and shareholders.

Candidates – step up to the challenge to prove you are an agile and active learner.  Employers – step up to the challenge to hire your best next employee.  After all, you will end up spending more time with them during the work week than you will with your family or friends! 

“Come and meet those dancing feet on the avenue I’m taking you to… 42nd Street.”

 LinkedIn QR

Cyclist Wouter Weylandt died after a crash on a mountain decent in Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia.  I imagine that many reading this blog will wonder why this is the lead paragraph in an otherwise business blog.  What happened next in the Giro should be what we expect from our corporate behaviors.  Allow me to set the stage for our collective reflection with a few important facts about the event.

• The Giro d’Italia is one of three Grand Tours of cycling. 
• There are 21 stages over 23 days totaling 2189 miles.
• This year is the 94^th year of competition and coincides with the 150^th anniversary of Italian unification. 
• The event is contested by 23 professional teams each consisting of 9 members for a total peloton of 207 riders at the beginning of the race. 

Professional cycling is big business and the Giro is a major international event, so lots of revenue and operating expense are at stake. Given that, take a moment and recall how your company responded to the tragic death of one of their key employees.  Was it to mention the event at the beginning of a meeting, ask for thoughts for the family, and then move onto to the agenda for the day?

Weylandt’s death was tragic and had a profound impact on all of the cyclists.  It’s what happened on the next stage that sets a challenge for all of us in our highly competitive corporate world, where winning is everything, and damn those that would slow our pace towards that victory.  Weyland’s parents and finance flew in and met with his Leopard Trek team the evening of the crash.  The team then met with each of the 22 competing teams and collectively changed the following stage into a funeral cortege instead of the planned competitive race.  In effect, the race was neutralized for this stage with no team or rider gaining or losing any advantage.

The pageantry normally preceding the start of the stage was canceled.  Weylandt’s Leopard Trek team bus was brought to the starting line and each of the 9 members of the 22 competitor teams rode by single file to pay respect to Weylandt and his team. His team then lined up side by side at the starting line with black arm bands while taps was played and the procession started.  Each team took turns pacing the peloton for 10 kilometers, and then rotated to the back of the peloton to allow the next team it’s turn at the front, for the entire 200 kilometer stage. On a day when competition would have been intense, the peloton stayed together as one single body through the corridor of muted applause that greeted them along the way. 3km from the finish line, race leader David Millar finished his team’s pace-setting, and he waved Weylandt’s Leopard Trek teammates to the front and together they rode 10 meters ahead of the rest of the peloton. In a touching moment, Weylandt’s close friend Tyler Farrar was invited to join the Leopard Trek riders as they crossed the finish line arm in arm with tears in their eyes.

Where else could this happen?  I’m trying to think of a different sporting event suspending competition and working together in remembrance of one of their sport.  Now try to think about this happening in our corporate landscape. Imagine a bidder’s conference where all the competing firms agreed to suspend their pursuit efforts for one or more days, instead replacing it with a conference that all the firms attend.  Possible topics could be employee wellness or engagement.  Maybe because I’m writing this on Memorial Day with all the imagery of the day forefront in my mind is this creating such a challenge for me?  I know my CSC colleagues would stand arm in arm if such a tragic death happened to one of our corporate teammates, but I sense this behavior is becoming extinct in the recession induced management style that treats employees as transactional and fungible assets of the corporation.   

There are many examples where corporations compete in friendly events such as the Wall Street Walk/Run, Susan B Komen Run, and the MS Rides to name a few.  These are excellent examples of corporations competing for fun and charity.  But can that spirit move back inside the board room and create a compassionate corporate competition? Recall the scene from Miracle of 34^thStreet when the Santa Claus at Macy’s sends a customer to Gimbels, their arch rival in NY.  As the press picks up on this, two arch rivals compete for which brand cares more about their customers than short-term seasonal profits, with the Macy’s customers telling Macy’s management of their future loyalty for such an unselfish act during the holiday season. Fairy tale Compassionate Competition? Maybe, but who reading this blog doesn’t recall that scene and wonder what if….? 

Imagine any new RFP containing a requirement that the bidding company would need to demonstrate and commit to Corporate Social Consciousness as a weighting factor in the selection criteria.  Imagine a company that requires Corporate Social Consciousness as a key measurement for their employee’s performance management process and backs this up with time away from normal job responsibilities.   

If you could make a difference in your company’s culture and enable your firm to compete on the hypothetical Corporate Social Consciousness requirement of a future RFP, how much more business could be won?  How would this create a market pull for the best of the best future employees?  What members of your business or social community would benefit? How proud would you be of being a member of a successful and compassionate company?  Commit to be a Compassionate Competitor and stand steadfast in that resolve to brand your company with the leadership that comes not only from industry success but also from proactive responses to tragic events and enabling Social Consciousness in the lives of those on your team and those with which you compete.   

Universal Sports was thoughtful enough to make a brief 3 minute YouTube available for you to experience this first hand. The power of this video clip comes at the end, please watch all the way through.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkJw1s0vvek.  

Please come back at me with comments on this blog since I fully recognize it suggests corporate behaviors and commitments that vary widely from the norm.

    LinkedIn QR 

As we enter this weekend, I’ll be thinking about the armed forces members that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, as well as those that have made it back home but have continuing health concerns or disabilities from their service to our country.

This is also a time that I reflect on family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues that were present in my life and are now recalled through remembrance of the many ways they were influential and have contributed to making me what I am today. 

The past few months have provided me with many opportunities to meet new people that have invested time with me as I search to provide value to my next employer.   Many of you have helped by reading my blogs or listening to the podcasts.  To my old and new friends, thank you for the help and support you have provided through your time, recommendations, coaching and feedback.

Be safe, healthy, and enjoy the weekend with those most precious to you. 

    LinkedIn QR

 

In a previous blog, I challenged you to “extend Trust to others” as an intentional action instead of waiting for enough experiences and behaviors to accumulate to allow that person into your trust circle.  Extending Trust requires Intentional Courage, and all too often that doesn’t happen since the risk of moving out of our comfort zone demands more than we are willing to commit. We gravitate to media accounts of people displaying extraordinary courage, often as a result of a catastrophic event or on the field of combat.  These Reactive Courage behaviors enable that person to achieve what might have seemed to be improbable results, and we stand in awe.

Courage Makes Your Leadership Visible

In the business world, we gravitate to leaders that display confidence and self-assurance.  My sense is that their success has resulted from a series of Intentional Courage actions, but these leaders are the exception to the rule.  In a Gallup Management Journal study on Overcoming Barriers to Success, fear was the first barrier cited, and the one most difficult to overcome.  We face fear when giving a presentation to a senior executive or key customer, informing a customer about a mistake or delay in schedule, or delegating an important task to a more junior person instead of doing it ourselves.  In each instance, the action needs to happen, and approaching it with Intentional Courage instead of fear can create dramatic differences in outcomes for all parties.

Business leaders face tough decisions frequently. Most of the time, they face a decision between an easy but poor choice versus the difficult but good choice. Those who succeed and become better and more assured leaders are those who can reach deep down inside and consistently act on the hard but right decision. They display courage that is highly visible to the organization.  Those behaviors in turn create an environment where courage is rewarded and pulls along others in the organization, creating an organizational competitive advantage.

We live in a business world where change is the norm.  Yet needed change of direction can be inhibited by the fear of changing course from the comfort of the current.  Strong leaders look forward, see where they need to go, make their plans, communicate with their teams and execute.  Intentional Courage illustrated.

I’ve started to access specific actions I have taken during the week that demanded Intentional Courage instead of just going with the status quo.  These daily and weekly scorecards create a set of metrics that guide me in what I must do to change outcomes, absorbing the risk of change to gain the benefit of greater success. Intentional Courage in business is a necessary behavior to achieve dramatic results, and can be good practice area for the larger and more demanding domain of Moral Courage that envelops all of the roles that we inhabit during our lifetime.  I’ll conclude with an extract from Robert Kennedy’s 1966 address to the University of Capetown.

“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change the world which yields most painfully to change.”

Through each of our intentional actions, we can change outcomes in our business, our personal lives, and possibility the world around us.  It’s our choice to make.  Make it with Intentional Courage.

Twitter         http://twitter.com/#!/ebecker

    LinkedIn QR

 

When exactly did it become fashionable to Oversimplify and Under-Think important political, industry, financial, or education decisions?  More importantly, when did we as consumers of these poorly constructed solutions accept this as the new norm from what are alleged to be leaders in their respective fields? Whether your interests are the current political climate, corporate decisions on products and social responsibility, Wall Street’s influence on our economic health, or government policies on education, there are ample examples of decisions that don’t meet the standards of being well thought through or deal with the complexity of the problem.

As I’ve started to explore Social Media in greater depth the past few months, I’m trying to discern whether these new communication forums are adding to our collective knowledge base or eroding the discipline necessary for focused research and critical thinking.  Traditional academic or vocational training requires a laser focus and a lengthy time commitment to instill and remember the key points and lessons.  Social media can be as simple as a Retweet or a Like button. 

Social Media has enormous potential to bring many people together for group think on an important topic, but all too often it seems to have been to Oversimplify the topic and Under-Think the communication.  If you are active on Twitter, count the number of non-annotated Retweets you receive from someone you follow versus how many are original thoughts or media references.  The ones I value most are those that are original thought or make an introductory remark about a referenced URL they include.  This implies they have read and understand the material and believe their followers would find it valuable.  Blindly retweeting something tends to Oversimplify the communication. 

I know that some of you reading this blog are thinking that I have Over-Thought this Social Media issue. The prevailing belief is that Social Media is meant to be a stream of thoughts, and let the reader triage through all the Smart Phone hits or TweetDeck updates.  We have a real opportunity with Social Media that may not be realized if we don’t think through how we push information out to our followers.  

With Social Media, we can transform the traditional push model of learning into a pull model. Pull models treat people as networked innovators who are uniquely positioned to transform a problem into an opportunity. Pull models can be designed to accelerate knowledge building by participants, helping them to learn as well as innovate.  But that success is directly proportional to how much effort and thoughtfulness we put into the content that becomes pull available.  I’ve found this to be a delicate balancing act, since the instant gratification part of me wants to respond to each tweet or Facebook update, the structured part of me wants undivided time to itself to Think through the topic before pushing this content. 

Writing this blog is my self-imposed method of taking the Think approach, creating content that can be pulled by my followers.  They can then aggregate my thinking with others and produce a higher value content from which we can all learn and benefit.  As for my tweets, every so often I allow an Oversimplified and Under-Thought retweet loose on my followers.  Sorry about that. 

Try this approach yourself if you dare. You have the capacity to produce valuable content that can be pulled and leveraged to advance our collective learning. Then the promise of Social Media will be realized and we can all innovate the next frontier of communication and learning. 

Comments are welcome on this topic, as long as they are Thoughtful.

To learn more about Ed Becker, visit  http://www.linkedin.com/in/edbeckerprincetonnj

That humorous scene from Animal Crackers (circa 1930) started me thinking this could soon be the outcome for some employers.  Employees will return from an arduous project or assignment, and because they have not felt engaged with their company, will quickly decide that they cannot stay and “must be going”, likely to a competitor.  For those too young to recall this scene (that ultimately become Groucho’s theme song), here’s a short YouTube version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6yLRmo7CjU

The past two plus years of economic troubles have created a perception that companies needn’t worry about employee turnover and retention. The current thinking in some companies suggests that because of layoffs and downsizing all around, employees have stepped up, absorbed additional duties, and are satisfied with just having a job.  Recent articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal suggest that within the general employed population, there exists a desire to find other employment. These reports are reinforced with a survey by the human resource consulting firm Hewitt, which reported 50 percent of the U.S. workforce will “consider” or “actively look for” other employment as soon as the economy improves.  I’ve been on other webinars that suggest the number is far north of 50%. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.  I believe that enlightened corporate leaders emerge in times of economic distress.  Any corporate manager (note that I didn’t use the term leader) that believes that their employees are fungible assets and neglects the chance to engage them as the fabric of client satisfaction and revenue realization in tough times is short-sighted and creates an opportunity for a competitor with better employee engagement practices to leap-frog them in their industry.  

There are many things that an enlightened corporate leader can do to continue to engage their staff that has little corporate investment and here is a short list of a few

• Communicating the company’s strategy and goals and providing a monthly dashboard for general distribution is a good first step. 
• A sense of community makes a difference. Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablunski, and Erez found that employees stay at jobs when they feel a sense of fit and connection with their coworkers, job, organization, and community.
• Recognition for work and results well done is an opportunity to celebrate with the entire team and others not on the team for them to see what success looks like and create a yearning to be the next team recognized.
• Development plans with teeth that support learning and development that can be leveraged for both greater client billings and individual career growth 

Employee engagement in times of economic uncertainty can demonstrate the company’s commitment to treat their employees as individuals and not simply fungible assets.  The marginal added cost of training and the no-cost communication from leadership teams can help to maintain the company’s most precious resource, their people.

Absent this behavior, some employers might be soon hearing…” Hello, I Must be Going” sometime soon. 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/edbeckerprincetonnj