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When Late-Career Workers Won’t Share
| What about when late-career workers will not share their knowledge with the experientially-challenged? We have seen in previous posts how this can be very advantageous to early-career workers who want to learn quickly and appreciate higher-level contacts in their company. It can improve performance and retention.
One of the standard strategies to handle a difficult employee is to first initiate a conversation where you find out what is exactly the problem. In the case of a late-career worker who does not want to share expertise, you might not get a straight answer. Why would she tell you she is afraid of becoming obsolete? Why would he tell you he wants to keep his professional advantage of having this special expertise?
So let’s say that your organization has done all it can to create an environment supportive of the late-career worker, but you still have such workers who are non-cooperative in helping early-career workers. What do you do? You probably will have to assume the problem is the fear of losing prestige from giving up critical knowledge and intervene appropriately.
The experienced employees need guarantees that they will not be terminated. Explain that they are needed to coach the less experienced workers for years to come. If you cannot make these guarantees, then find someone more appropriate who can. If nobody can, then find other late-career workers who are not concerned with providing their expertise. And check into this worrisome issue of what the plans are for late-career workers in your organization! |
Posted on: May 25, 2007 02:11 PM
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Offshore Off Track?
| Well, perhaps we should not be surprised that the Senate has taken notice of the practice of offshoring. With all the worry about foreign workers taking American jobs, it was only a matter of time before the use of temporary work visas (H-1Bs) was investigated. It appears that someone suspects that foreign workers are being brought in, trained, and then sent back home to do the work on the cheap! Or they are brought in to work more cheaply here when American workers are available! Indian firms seem to be unusually aggressive in obtaining temporary work visas.
Legislation has been introduced to make changes, so if you use offshore teams, you better monitor this issue. And take a hard look at your practices (and how they might be construed). We’ll keep you updated.
Oh, and remember, loss of job to outsourcing/offshoring is the single greatest fear of American IT workers. They will move from your project to where they feel more secure. |
Posted on: May 23, 2007 10:43 PM
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How is Your Company Like a Southern Debutante?
| Its reputation matters. The Towers Perrin study (pdf) that has been the topic of the last few posts touts a fifth factor related to maximizing employee engagement. I didn’t count it in the original four items because it is actually a result of those four: your company’s reputation as an employer. This turns out to be a consistent driver of employee engagement, and in some countries, even retention.
So attention by your company to all the previously mentioned factors is “doubly” important. But we looked at those and found that there is not good attention paid to those four factors. So your project finds it difficult to attract great employees who can make your project successful. Even if you hired them, they would more than likely look for other, better-appearing projects.
There is only one thing for you to do. Get involved in creating a more engaged workforce today. Talk with those who control these factors in your company and convince them to act! It’s only going to get worse in the coming years. |
Posted on: May 22, 2007 04:32 PM
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Fourth and Final Disappointment
| The fourth factor necessary for maximum employee engagement is “dedicated emphasis on learning, skill enhancement and career development.” According to the study we have been commenting on, this is the one step you would take if you could only take one step. Wow.
So how are IT organizations doing in this area? Few have all three parts together: emphasis on learning plus skill development plus career development. When all the parts are together and aligned, employees see that they have at least one possible career path in the organization, and they know what expertise is needed and have easy access to the corresponding training. I just don’t think this is very common. The reality is that if there is adequate training available, employees or trainers/coaches are too busy to get it done. Even if there are career paths written down somewhere, there is no clear and organized way to develop your specific career in the organization.
You might be in a large organization where all three parts are functioning in an exemplary manner, and, if so, count yourself lucky. But this the fourth factor needed for full employee engagement that we have found to be lacking in IT organizations. Now that is just a pitiful state of affairs, which must be changed in order for project managers to obtain the resources they need and keep them. |
Posted on: May 19, 2007 05:43 PM
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Ill-Fitting Rewards
| Another tidbit from the employee engagement study. It’s time for the third factor necessary for maximum employee engagement – “a well-thought-out reward strategy that’s appropriately customized to different segments of the workforce and effectively implemented and communicated.” There are many reward programs out there, but how many programs really meet the priority needs of early-career workers, mid-career workers, late-career workers? These are just three critical demographic groups highlighted in previous posts.
What happens is this:
We are three for three now. So far, no organizational factors needed for maximum employee engagement are common. Project managers may be doomed from the start. |
Posted on: May 16, 2007 10:19 PM
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