"Managment + Workers" OR "Managment vs Workers""

My previous post was on scarce Skilled workforce. In this one, I'll focus on the treatment of employees in Organizations and the phenomenon of attrition.
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It was sometime back in the late 80s. The Industrial Czars in the west found a golden goose. Access to Cheap Workforce in third world countries.

Western Corporate Giants perceived they had found the everlasting solution to all problems - Outsourcing and Offshoring. They thought that the likes of China would exist till eternity where labor was few cents an hour. And there was India Of Course for the white collar back office jobs. Companies were hoping they wouldn't have to worry about human resources at all. But the honeymoon seems to be over.

Everyone and everything is growing all around us. Standards of living have risen exponentially across the board. And demand outstrips supply by a substantial margin. So, where are we heading?

Talent is getting expensive. The worth of a good resource in Market is increasing. So much for the CHEAP labor....Corporations are determined to keep labor costs under control, so they're reaching deeper into their bag of tricks. Some are doing more in-house training so they don't have to recruit pricey talent on the open market. Some are lowering their standards for new hires or moving operations to virgin territories other outsourcers haven't discovered. Cost-conscious employers around the world are fighting to hold the line on labor. Businesses are going with other gambits, such as hiring temps full-time, increasing mechanization, offshoring work, and rehiring retirees.
Networks of vocational schools are spreading with Corporate approved curriculum. Students enter it with a dealership already committed to hiring them.

ENOUGH OF THIS CRYING, DEAR CEOs

Well, I think the Economists view of the situation is far more convincing. Economists tell there's no such thing as a labor shortage. See it from a worker's viewpoint; many so-called shortages could quickly be solved if employers were to offer more money. How can the fact be ignored that worldwide, millions of people still can't find jobs. The strongest evidence that there's no general shortage today is that overall worker pay has barely outpaced inflation. With so many people newly available for work in China, India, Latin America and the former Soviet Union, the only thing that could cause a real shortage would be a Nuclear War or a Global epidemic. .

Then why are the Corporate Honkos crying foul? Can't they see that its their inability to adapt to new realities that has brought them to this crossroad. Its high time they realize that their workforce strategies, developed for a period of surplus labor, don't fit the new realities. The challenge now is finding people who can do the jobs on offer. For eg, Manufacturers in Japan are suffering a lack of skilled workers because of the country's aging population as well as downsizing during the 1990s.

The earlier crisis was somewhat countered as HR departments knew they could always hire someone from outside for a meager raise. But stealing scarce talent from rivals isn't a strategy for the long run.

How do they expect us to sympathies with them? They are churning out record profits, quarter after quarter, and still are whining about how hard it is to find the right employees! And if the trouble is real, the solution is simple. Pay more and you will get them. Sacrifice some of your damn corporate profit. It’s the employees who make it possible in the first place.
They say attrition is a huge problem...Think about it; who the hell wants to move from a satisfying stable life? If only they treat employees like human beings and not like easily replaceable cogs, they will find it easier to hire and keep good people. Corporations have spent the last 20 odd years paying people below the rate of inflation. The ever rising Standard of living and rising cost of maintaining a family means that both 'Mom and Dad' HAVE to work...its a compulsion, not an option anymore. And thus the Corporates are aiding in fragmented families, troubled teenagers, unhealthy lifestyles...mounting the Nation with Social and Health costs.

Another big problem in all of this is employer's major focus on "what an employee has done." A far more productive focus would be on "What an Employee can do" - Potential vs Output. Employers shy away from "transferable experience" within employees because they don't want to pay for it. They hire young people with no experience so they can "mould them" the way they want, while paying less because they "don't have experience." And be clear on one thing – there is a sea difference between “Moulding” and “Career development”. It is like "do what you are being told to do" and "don't use your head". This produces an incompetent marionette. The young person "moves on" because he / she is ruined at that organization. “Its for your good”, they tell the employee. Then the employer cries that there is no qualified people, while repeating the same mistakes they made before.

The PSUs have a different trouble. They are loosing highly experienced and skilled personnel to Private competition. They aren't lucrative for fresh graduates, and they can't keep the Old ones.

Some say it is a moral crisis staff loyalty. Look at the lack of employee loyalty to gauge a sense of what's going on. If people are treated poorly, not just financially, but a lack of respect, trust and basic dignity then you will get back what you give out. Its like dealing with retail customers...if they feel while shopping that they are really wanted, they'll end up buying more....similarly employees will work better if they feel they are wanted. Rather,” company loyalty" has become an oxymoron. Managers keep cutting labor, and then wonder why finding smart, dedicated people are so hard?

The onus lies as much on our education system. Nowadays, kids are graded on regurgitation; the biggest chunks equate to the highest grades. Critical thought and personal responsibility for one's thoughts and actions are not part of the curricula anymore. No vision, or entrepreneurship or Leadership gets reflected in grades. And the Corporates hire those with the best grades... and then wonder why finding smart, dedicated people are so hard?

To quote from the movie “Rocky Balboa”, the only kind of respect that matters in this world is self-respect. Give that to the employees, and all troubles would be over.