~ Work / Life Success
The Challenge for Employers
"Profit is a by-product of work; happiness is its chief product."
- Henry Ford.
The emergent challenge for Australian organizations is to develop the capability to attract, motivate and retain a highly skilled, productive and flexible workforce to contribute to satisfying successful outcomes for their business. Leigh Branham, in his book “The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave”, suggests that employees leave for the following reasons:
- Unmet expectations or needs
- Mismatch of skills
- Lack of coaching and feedback
- Limited growth opportunities
- Feeling unrecognized or devalued
- Overworked
- Loss of confidence in senior leaders
Your workforce is a strategic asset that has the potential to differentiate your organization from your competitors. This is achieved by understanding the importance of fostering satisfying success in the workplace and implementing programs aligned to this philosophy.
In the working world a new concept has emerged which is attracting some interest – that of ‘employer of choice’. In fact, some organisations have been labelled as employers of choice and their main goal is to attract and retain the best talent. Employers of choice are beginning to understand the value of respecting their employees’ need to develop as people and as performers through their careers.
Conversely the best talented people are seeking employers of choice because they know that such employers will fulfill their needs and foster their personal and professional growth.
Those companies that are perceived to care about the ‘people’ aspect of business are attracting and retaining the best talent. When you consider the thousands of baby boomers who are starting to retire and the new attitudes of Generation Y taking over the workplace, we need to start thinking about creating organizations which cater to the needs of the new generation.
Generation Y employees want more from their employers in terms of personal and professional development and they want engaging relationships with colleagues at all levels of an organization. Generation Y would not be content with a list of achievements – they want to not only accumulate successes; they want to FEEL successful and they want to work for quality organizations.
A workforce based on satisfying successful achievements flows right through to the bottom line – the message that employees get in these companies is a clear one: the employer ‘cares’ about their personal and professional lives. A person who is happy and successful at work and at home is a lot more productive.
There is solid Australian evidence from the Institute for International Research that organizations that invest in the wellbeing of their employees do produce clear cost benefits. Employees are more satisfied, less often absent, less likely to leave for another job, more likely to return after maternity leave and are more productive.
If organisations have employees who are stressed, can’t get motivated, procrastinate, make mistakes, are frequently absent and are not performing to standards, then it’s costing them money. Companies that want to attract and talent are increasingly recognising that it is a good business decision to help employees feel successful and happy in all areas of their lives.
Organisations that surround themselves with great people have a great company.
