Where Have Our Employees Gone?

Recent events shown in the news media concerning state budgets and public sector union employees, coupled with my visits to several companies the past few weeks, has triggered a lot of thoughts about the relationship organizations have with their people. People who they rely on to carry out tasks important for growth and profit.

When I look at the anger, hostility, lack of interest and disengagement, it makes me wonder where have our employees gone? Our country has become increasingly polarized in many sectors. People are joining "sides" regardless if it makes sense or not. The "I want mine" at any cost insistence, along with our morale and ethical decay, will be the major contributor to this countries down fall.

> In business we have become lazy in communicating and working with our people. The phenomenon of "out sourcing" our employment practices is proving to be more costly than most companies imagine. When I talk with workers who are classified as "temp" employees and I ask them who they work for they never tell me they work for the company who's name is on the building. They respond by saying "Workforce, Manpower, Staffmart or any number of temp agencies around the country. It's easy for businesses to hire workers thru temp agencies. It's fast and they don't have to be bothered much with interviewing and selection and the people are easy to get rid of if they don't work out. Employers don't have a stake in the person's success because they handed off the relationship to a third party, and the employees don't really think they work for a firm. They think they work for a temp agency. The HR department has become more adept with vendor relations rather than employee relations. They are the purchasing department of people. There is MUCH more I could say about the "temp mentality" both from an employers stand point and the employees but will save it for another time. But the bottom line is, it has a huge negative impact on the bottom line. Much more than what most companies think.

>Unions around the country are feeling a renewed burst of power, primarily through the news media and the most anti business president and administration in the history of our country. The news media has demonized big business, people who make money and reinforce it with stupid reality TV programs like "Undercover Boss" which depict out of touch CEO's. The events in WI, OH, TN, etc. will do more for unions than what they had hoped "card check" laws would have done for them. The re-established and vocal WE/THEY rhetoric will do a lot for the "business" of organized labor, but not for the business of creating jobs and growing the economy. Rather, it will contribute to organizations moving more jobs off shore out of the U.S.


> People want to identify with something bigger than themselves and they want to belong. We have lost loyalty for the good and have embraced "blind" loyalty to a ideology. Here are a few examples. People have abandoned common sense, kindness and sense of decency during demonstrations in State Capitol buildings. I have wonderful African-American friends who have forfeited their values and religious faith beliefs to support a president just because he's black. I know hard working family people who are willing to shut down the organization they are working for to make a point. Look at the NFL. Who will win in this deal?


As an executive and business coach, I pretty much tell it like I see it when dealing with my clients. I do that for several reasons.
1.) It's my value system and who I am, i.e. being a man of integrity and honesty.
2.) It's a waste of time not to.
3.) My clients don't pay me to play games.
4.) I work hard at building and maintaining healthy relationships.
5.) It's the quickest path to making improvements and solving problems.


We all should be doing the same thing. Stand on principle.


Lou Holtz told his teams there are 3 things you must do. #1.) Do what's right. #2.) Do the best you can. #3.) Treat others the way you want to be treated. He goes on to explain that these three actions will answer three questions every person has.
1.) Can I trust you?
2.) Do you care about me?
3.) Are you committed to excellence?


We must be able to answer those 3 questions for our employees if we want to get them back.