Maximizing the Human Potential

Employer of Choice

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andrew shaffer consulting employer of choiceLast week I had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion about the 2020 economic forecast. While the information presented showed a relatively good forecast there were some statistics that I think business owners should be concerned about, there are just not enough available people to fill the demand for workers! What does this mean for your company? How do you become the employer of choice for the limited supply of employees?

Employer of Choice

Last week while I was listening to an economist talk about his 2020 projections, he said something that kind of caught me off guard. I had written about economic forecasts before, but he mentioned that business are actually CLOSING because they can’t find enough workers! Most business owners prefer the problem of too much work versus not enough work, but if it puts you out of business what is the difference? In a tight labor market (for both skilled an unskilled workers) your competition will eventually try to hire YOUR employees. What are you doing to keep your best employees, and maintain your competitive edge?

Productivity

I was recently contacted by the HR director of a local company. She was looking for some help with new employee training and was looking for some resources. The turnover rate at her company was so high that she was spending most of her time recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding that she had very little time to devote to training, let alone her other job responsibilities. This isn’t a unique situation either. I know many HR consultants that are expanding their practices because many in-house HR representatives are just overloaded. Every hour that your HR department is focused on hiring and replacing staff, is an hour they aren’t focused on their other job responsibilities. Are you spending energy on unnecessary turnover?

Costs

The costs of replacing staff can also be a silent killer. There isn’t generally an expense line item that highlights costs of hiring. I just wrote about how unnecessary hiring is a time drain for your HR department, but how does it impact cost. There are studies out there that say that to replace skilled workers it could cost about 150% of their salary. I speculate that cost can grow even higher, as it is going to take longer and longer to find talented people to replace those that leave. Aside from the costs, there are lost productivity, potential damage to your reputation and customer satisfaction. What is unnecessary turnover costing your company, and how do you actively prevent it?

Some Help

This may sound like common sense, but I can tell you that it isn’t common practice: Pay attention to your employees! Without employees, your business cannot survive. Without thriving employees, your business cannot thrive. I know that in the hectic, ever changing world we live in, that taking time from your busy day to talk to your team sounds like an overwhelming burden, but I can tell you that the time investment will pay off.

Would you rather spend an hour a month developing talent, ensuring your team is motivated and loyal, or hire anther HR person for recruiting and developing talent? Do you want to keep your best performers, and even your average performers, or see them work for your competition? Spend some time understanding WHO your employees are, and developing them around their capabilities and desires, and you will become the employer of choice!

This Week’s Challenge

Make a commitment to learn more about your employees, what motivates them and what challenges them. Spending a few minutes a week talking to them about their needs will pay huge dividends. Andrew Shaffer Consulting offers a low-cost assessment to help you understand your employees and can get you on the fast track to becoming the employer of choice! Ask us how!

Evaluating Talent

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andrew shaffer consulting evaluating employees

I was coaching my 7 year old’s baseball game last week when one of the kids asked me if I was a “real” coach. When I asked him what a “real” coach was, he said someone that coaches Major League Baseball. For the record I am not a MLB level coach, but I was flattered that he thought so highly of my skills. It did get me to think about how many different seasons I have been coaching. This week I am going to share with you some of the things I’ve learned about evaluating players, their impact on the team, and how this relates to your business.

Evaluating Talent

In the more than fifteen seasons I’ve coached various sports (some as head coach others as an assistant) I have noticed there are three types of kids that play sports. We have the kids that are there because their parents want them to. These kids go through the motions of playing, but don’t really enjoy it. There are those that are there to play. These are the ones that show up to practice, do the drills, contribute in the games.

Good players only think about the sport when they are practicing or during a game. Then there are what I call the ball players. Ball players are the first ones there, last to leave. They always give it there best, and they practice between practices. They play ball outside, not on a video game. These players give any team a competitive advantage.

Businesses have the same three levels of employees.

  • Paycheck Collectors: Paycheck collectors show up just for a paycheck. They do the bare minimum, and complain about doing that.
  • Work Horses: Then there are your work horses. Work horses come in, do the work needed. They do solid work, but rarely go above and beyond.
  • Superstars: Then there are your superstars. These are the people that are there early, stay late, and get the job done no matter what.

If your company has people there just to collect a paycheck, you might want to consider why you are still employing them. This article will talk about the difference between your work horses and superstars and why developing superstars impacts your bottom line.

Level of Competition

My boys play sports, and there are basically two levels of sports. There are the recreational (rec) leagues and there are the competitive leagues (or travel teams). The rec leagues are filled with kids that play ball, and occasionally a player that is there because their parents want them to play. In rec league we can have some intense games, and decent players, but we don’t really play at a high level. Occasionally a team will have a ball player (we’ll call him/her a ringer). This is a person we consider that should be playing at a higher level of competition.

Ball players play at a higher level of competition. These players are the ones that are on travel team, all-star teams, or play in the little league world series. Ball players elevate the level of performance for the entire team, and when surrounded by other ball players, the team competes at a whole different level.

Your employee base is filled with those that play ball (work horses) or ball players (superstars). Identifying potential ball players on your staff, and developing them to their highest potential will give you a competitive advantage. Even if you are not the business owner, and work for someone else, learning to become a ball player, and elevating your level of play will take your career to the next level.

Retention

In most little league organizations, the older the kids get the less kids that actually come out and play. For example, in my local organization, when my oldest started there were eight teams in his age group. Today there are three teams. That means roughly 60% of the kids that played a few years ago have stopped playing. Now, the competitive teams, the travel teams, are generally still intact. They might lose a player here and there, but they don’t have the 60% turnover that the rec leagues experience.

Employee retention is expensive for companies. Studies show that to replace talented employees can cost 150% of their salary. Not to mention the impacts of lost production and morale on your team. Developing your talent to ball player status, and creating a company that plays competitive ball, will help you improve retention and avoid unnecessary costs associated with losing good people.

Productivity

When a rec team has a ball player on the roster, the other teams take notice, and quickly. Why? Because they are more productive than anyone else on the field/court. This is the basketball player that scores more than your entire team combined or the baseball player that always hits the ball to the fence and pitches harder than anyone in the league. This is the kid that is faster and kicks harder than any other soccer player. They give you a competitive advantage because they produce more.

I read a statistic the other day that high performers produce 400% more than their mediocre counterparts. Wow! That means if that person left your company, it would take four people just to get the same level of production that you were getting for one! Let me ask you, how would your company benefit from having someone that was that productive? Maybe two or three people like that? These are your ball players. They come to work and produce. They are engaged, motivated, and energetic about their work.

This Week’s Challenge

Take a look at your company and the competitive landscape. Are you playing rec league, or are you playing competitive? Do you have employees that are there to play ball, or even worse employees that are collecting a paycheck, or does your team develop and attract ball players?

If you want to get real results, you must be playing competitive ball, AND must identify and develop your talent to maximize their potential.  Next week, I’ll talk about how to retain and attract ball players to your company, and it’s more than just a hefty salary!

If you would like to discuss more ways to help your business grow or if you feel you have a specific problem that needs to be addressed, please reach out to me.

What were they thinking?

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andrew shaffer consulting what were they thinking employee moraleOccasionally, I hear a story that just makes me stop dead in my tracks, and say, “Really? What were they thinking?” These stories come in different varieties, from not watching market trends to see new technologies, allowing complacency in the workplace drive them to be obsolete, or not investing in employees because they might leave. This week I am going to share one of these stories with you.

What were they thinking?

I had a meeting with someone that was referred to me for some advice. He explained that at his company they just survived a major crisis. In the middle of the crisis his boss quit, leaving him to pull the pieces together. After several weeks of long days with no breaks, they resolved the crisis. It was a tremendous learning experience with the most important lesson that he didn’t want to do that again. He was seeking advice on what he could do to make sure he, and the company, didn’t have to go through that again.

My advice was to take some training to learn how to recognize and prevent a crisis like this from happening again. He wasn’t sure if his company would be able or willing to pay for the training, so he decided he’d cover the training if his company would give him the flexibility to make up his hours for the time he was missing. Essentially, he wasn’t asking for the company to invest any money, just some flexibility. They refused to give him the flexibility because they were afraid if he learned more, and became more valuable, he’d leave. That response never works, and here are a few of the impacts of this type of thinking.

Morale

That kind of response is a morale killer. Morale in the workplace has a bigger impact on profitability than you might think. Low morale kills creativity and problem-solving thinking. In cultures where morale is low, people are willing to accept the status quo, and think they can’t affect the outcome and just try to survive. This is what happened at the company I described. Low morale causes management to think only about surviving, and they can’t see the benefit of avoiding problems in the future. Create a culture with high morale, and you’ll no longer be facing the same problems. Your company will switch from survival mode to thriving mode.

Productivity

What do you think happens when you tell an employee that they don’t matter? How does that impact productivity? It kills it! At different points in my career, I had felt that my efforts were unappreciated, even if I’d go above and beyond to achieve a significant accomplishment. As a result, I withdrew. I lost all motivation and my productivity plummeted. I did enough to stay out of trouble, but when it was 5:00, I was out the door. Therefore, I have observed top producers quickly turn into mediocre performers when they are not appreciated. On the other hand, according to Gallup, companies with high morale (highly engaged) were 17% more productive than companies with low engagement.

Retention

Loss of productivity and low morale are probably the best scenarios you can hope for. High turnover is extremely expensive to a company. It’s no secret that in today’s economy highly skilled workers are in high demand. There are more jobs available than people to fill them. Also, according to that same Gallup Report, 51% of the American workforce is looking for a new job! According to a paper written by the Center for American Progress, replacing skilled workers could cost up to 216% of an employee salary. And in every case, where I have observed low morale, there is an issue with employee turnover!

This Week’s Challenge

It is no secret that the secret to growing your company is by growing your people.  Invest in your people and you’ll create a loyal, productive, and profitable team.

If you would like to discuss more ways to help your business grow or if you feel you have a specific problem that needs to be addressed, please reach out to me.