Are you driving employees to the point of no return?

TOUGH times are when the mettle of a company is tested.

The purse strings draw tighter and the resources few. And everyone is stretched to snapping point.

Employers are pushed to the wall, and face the dismal prospect of incredible attrition. While this is common during recession, it's happening at `normal' times too.

In competitive environments, working fast is not working successfully. It's more to do with working harder, smarter and faster. So there is virtually no personal time, except late evenings when people trudge home wearily only to return in a few hours.

And then - they resign! It has assumed the proportions of a nightmare from which employers just don't seem able to wake!

Order from Chaos?

De-competing

Competition is fast changing the way employment conditions are defined. Employers are increasingly holding employees at gunpoint to extend work hours beyond acceptable hours. The cracks show in the form of spiralling attrition.

Some employers, however, seem to have come up with some innovative solutions by employing temporary or contractual staff till the completion of the assignment.

These temps act as the auxiliary support system to permanent, retainable employees. This reduces the burden and the rate of burnout.

Perky Review

Like other companies, yours could be offering expensive perks to your staff. But ever wondered if the motive behind the `perk- offering' makes a difference? Surprisingly, it does. Are your perks designed for the long haul or as instant gratification?

For instance, perks like a bonus for a job well done keep the spirits alive for a longer time. Long term perks like salary hikes help the employee stay committed and focussed. To arrive at a jackpot solution, marry the two!

The hidden epidemic

Discontentment is an increasingly common reason for people to jump jobs and careers. Difficult as it is to uncover this kill- joy, it's the first thing to which the management must pay attention.

It's never a waste to have discreet intra-organisational employee-satisfaction surveys (preferably one that gives the employee the security of anonymity).

These surveys must be used judiciously to unearth problematic issues than people. Of course, proactive/ remedial action is the only recourse to stem the rot of discontentment.

Boosting productivity

Many employers foolishly nurture the misconception that productivity is the result of pushing employees hard, of driving them the edge of exhaustion and forcing them to meet unrealistic deadlines.

But often it is a matter of working smart. To boost retention, employers must provide employees the freedom to pattern an individual work style (but one that doesn't alter or adversely affect team motivation and objectives).

Some `learning' organisations have even experimented with flexitime and tele-working, which proved successful in retaining key employees.

Work vs family

This is one of those eternal dilemmas that have no custom-made solutions. An employee who feels `bound' to the organisation is the one who will soon feel bound to leave.

An intelligent employer is one who can help his team balance their priorities. They offer support, morale and work wise to help the employee cope with any serious familial health or other problems.

n fact a dotcom that survived the bust had a counselling cell where employees aired their problems, grievances even and were offered the necessary support or intervention.

Needless to say the company posts healthy profits and has a loyal staff that has stayed with them through thick and thin.

For the people...

A workplace run democratically will more often than not turn out to be the best managed organisation.

Democracy in idea generation and sharing, reporting and cross- functional learning are some `fundamental rights' that if neglected will leave a workplace soul-less.

So dig into your bag of creativity and come up with some innovative and `humane' ideas to stay in top gear.

SAMYUKTA KODA

samyukta.hyd@cnkonline.com