Job Recovery Rewards Companies That Engaged Employees

I hate to say I told you so – but the job market is definitely on the uptick and employers who didn’t engage and invest in their employees are worrying about it.  No, not about having too many resumes to wade through.  Au contraire, an article in this past Sunday’s New York Times, confirmed my prediction eight months ago in “Advice for Employers on Labor Day: Keep up the Employee Communications” that companies investing in their employees and communicating with them regularly will be best positioned to grow once the recession abates.

According to the Times story, the economic recovery coupled with the continuing retirements of Baby Boomers, will result in a worker shortage.  The article quoted Tammy Erickson,a consultant whose recent work has focused on the changing workforce, as saying some companies “have no idea what’s going to hit them.”

As I warned in my blog, “By keeping tight control over hiring, the pool of skilled workers at every level – from the shop floor to the executive suite will diminish as employees fall behind technically or leave their fields…. smart companies will understand how important internal communications is…. companies need to be investing in their employees to keep them sharp and motivated…. ratcheting up their efforts in communicating with employees – through intranets, newsletters, webinars and personal get-togethers.”

Employee engagement isn’t just for the good times – keeping employees motivated and happy in order to retain them as competitors try to poach them away.  No, smart companies understand that employee engagement is 24/7 through the good times and bad.   Now with the economy improving and job boards beginning to buzz once again, it won’t only be those out of work seeking new opportunities.  It will be the employees working for companies who took the you-should-be-happy-to-have-a-job attitude.

As Barbara Safani,a career consultant quoted in the article said, “Employers want to be cognizant of how they’re engaging their current employees.”  They need to reward their workers, monetarily or otherwise, she said, or risk seeing them walk out the door.

If you enjoyed this blog post, click below:
Subscribe and receive my blog posts in your email box.
Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Leave a comment