Wherever I go these days, businesses are complaining about how they can’t get people to work. We are all paying the price of businesses being short-handed: long lines and waits, confusion and chaos, bad customer service from lack of training, and actual closures or loss of services completely.
I’m constantly reading how employees get hired, but they don’t return back from lunch. No notice – nothing. Never before in my life have people showed such little respect, lack of loyalty, and zero professionalism. Yet, dare I say, we get what we give.
For decades, employers have treated employees like replaceable objects to do with as they choose. When they are done grinding them down to a nub, they toss them out with the garbage and move on to the next victim. In many cases, employees are not given any notice, and are treated like criminals upon their departure.
Oh I get it. In rare cases of employee theft, people must be harshly escorted out in order to prevent further damage. Most of the time, however, people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. If companies actually gave this out in spades, I believe they would, in return, receive it back ten-fold.
You see, how you treat your employees is the example set for their behavior. If you don’t care enough about them to communicate and handle conflict in a healthy manner, they will return the favor.
If your managers won’t take the time to give guidance and counsel along their career path and only speak to them when firing them, your employees have an adversarial relationship with your company. Why would they treat you better when they just want to get out?
For those who have only worked for you a short while before exiting, take a look at your hiring and onboarding processes. If you aren’t showing genuine care and concern for their success from the get go, you have already lost them.
We are caught in a situation of who makes the first move. Do employees display better manners so they get treated with respect or do employers show respect and dignity to employees so that they continue to work? I would hope for both.
If you are a job seeker, take the high road! Give respect, honor appointments, and for goodness sake, if you get hired, communicate! Don’t just quit without a word. Even if you feel the company deserves it, it is YOUR reputation that is ruined, not theirs. Be professional and give the proper notice.
As an employer, you should be setting the bar high for professionalism and proper conduct. Shame on you for treating employees so poorly! If you want a thriving workforce, you need to do better. Develop your leaders and train managers on communication. Evaluate your human resources approach to hiring and firing.
I am a consultant and coach who can address all these areas and more to ensure you have the right people in the right positions at the right time…and increase your retention, which saves you a ton of money, frustration, and time. If you want to get better, it’s time to give it. Give me a call.
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