How to deal with your staff’s New Year’s resolutions
Not many people look forward to returning to work in a new year after a long festive holiday.
To numb the pain, many come armed with New Year’s resolutions to improve focus, increase commitment and achieve new goals within their current position. Some even hope for promotion, a pay increase, a new job or even a complete career change. How you respond to these New Year’s resolutions will make or break 2014 for your business. So the first step in managing risk is to identify staff whose New Year’s resolutions look to include finding another job.
People who’ve been doing the same job for a long time could understandably be bored or fatigued. Despite the temptation to keep these people just where they are because they perform so well without supervision and demands on your management, there’s a real risk they don’t feel that their work is being recognised and have become tired of the monotony.
Staff who perform in high stress environments and face the constant onslaught of financial pressures, customer service demands, challenging timelines, safety concerns or any such stressful requirements may be worn down and incapable or unwilling to subject themselves to the strains of these situations any longer.
Employees’ New Year’s resolutions might be a last resort
Long hours, take-home work, weekend work, cancelled leave, travel commitments and other demands that steal time from family and friends put enormous pressure on staff trying to balance their work demands with their personal commitments. Often causing real problems in relationships and families, this work-life imbalance is unsustainable and despite the threats to their personal relationships, burnout is a real risk too.
If a business has recently been restructured, downsized and retrenched staff, or has shown obvious signs of strain in the current economic climate, staff may feel vulnerable and insecure. There is little doubt that they’ve considered the possibility of losing their jobs and this concern will have them looking outside your company.
Staff who have consistently performed well, achieving and exceeding targets and deliverables, may feel unrecognised and that their efforts are not being rewarded quickly enough either through remuneration or promotion. These staff are, because of their accomplishments, highly sought after and may be headhunted or approached with alternate employment opportunities.
As a manager or employer, you’re faced with the challenge that most people view career success as vertical, a quest to move higher and closer to a position in management. However, the reality is that today’s companies, although still hierarchal, are less vertically structured and there aren’t enough management positions to satisfy all your staff’s aspirations.
Employ ‘horizontal movement’ to deal with your staff’s New Year’s resolutions
‘Horizontal movement’ can be defined as staff moving across different company departments, taking on new portfolios that are usually at a similar status level and with similar responsibilities.
The concept of horizontal movement within an organisation seems to have originated from the thinking of Frank Ostroff and other management thinkers:
- Ostroff put forward the concept in his book The Horizontal Organisation published in 1999 although it seems that only now, more than a decade later, companies are adopting the thinking.
The benefits of horizontal movement for you and your employee are substantial
Although not being promoted to a position of higher status, employees who are moved horizontally within their place of employ will gather new skills, adding to their CV and making them more attractive candidates for vertical promotion. By experiencing different departments, different working environments, performing different tasks and learning different skills, employees may discover new talents and find their own niche.
You will profit from a host of benefits that horizontal movement can offer:
- Improved productivity,
- Being able to identify talent,
- Use strong skills and experience in mentorship programmes,
- Increased skills, and
- Better morale.
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Kay Vittee is the CEO of Quest Staffing Solutions and previously she worked at Absa. Kay is also a superb business leader who inspires her organisation to live the essence of superior customer service. Clients trust her judgement and will continue to include her in driving quality solutions for their businesses. |
