Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post is coming to you courtesy of Dustin Henderson, CEO of MeritBuilder and one of the people that puts up with me on a daily basis.
Welcome to the company you will retire with. No, it is not GM, Boeing, or for that matter any of those companies your parents begged you to submit your resume to. The company I am speaking of is a little smaller. It is the company of You or You Inc.
I know there have been several books written on this topic so we don’t need to go into this too deeply. You can find their glossy covered hardbacks sitting on the shelf at your local Barnes & Noble. I’m not here to cover that which has been covered so well, I want to try shed some light on how this has impacted the employee/employer social contract. You, Inc. changes everything!
The old social contract defines a “great” job as:
- Providing long-term steady employment
- With a company whose brand could see them through tough times
- Providing great advancement opportunities
- Providing great health care & retirement benefits
- A team you can get to know and form relationships with
At its worst, any job described like the one above is a complete lie. At its best, it is a fantasy that the employer would really like to believe in. The reality is much different. Everyone knows this except the CEO who still thinks the old social contract attracts top talent.
Luckily for American businesses, top talent has embraced the new social contract. This contract can be extremely beneficial if understood and properly implemented. That contract says: “I am here to do my best and all I ask is that you take good care of me while I take good care of you.”
“Taking care” means:
- Shifting from “future” benefits to “instant” benefits (free sodas are still popular)
- Adding career building skills and experiences to their toolbox
- Give them a good reference (fire your lawyer and see the bigger picture here)
- Allowing them to participate in a short-term (first) & long-term (second) vision they can believe in
- Provide a support network (both on the job and after the job)
- Allow them to take their job home with them and bring their life to work
- Skip the politics (if they are a five on their review mark it a five and don’t tell them it has to be a four so they have somewhere to go next year).
- Honesty is the best policy. They cannot help if they do not know & they want to help!
Since employee engagement is the Holy Grail and inherently linked to the social contract, the contrast between the first and second list should change the way we think about engagement. If we want engaged employee we must start with a different conversation and leverage a different set of tools.
Please don’t mourn the passing of the old contract. American business needs the new contract. They need to quickly build teams and just as quickly tear them back down. They need to be able to go to a team in San Francisco for design, a team in Chicago for product development and a team in China for manufacturing. They need to be able to flex and bend quickly.
Flexibility cannot be accomplished if we have sold the entire workforce on the old contract. Embrace the Gig Economy. Make a promise to fill the toolbox of your staff while they are on the team. Recognize that them leaving the company, is the cheapest training you can buy. Maintain a relationship so they can bring their new skills back.
Basically understand that Cradle-to-Grave care for your employee (or the Humans that you work with) is no longer an optional strategy! Top talent does not have to work for you. They are in demand in any economy and they will pick your competitor. Tremendous competitive advantage can be gained by embracing the new social contract. Fear not, our best days are in front of us. Change is not bad – fighting it is.
{ 2 trackbacks }