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<b style="color: blue">Human Resource Associates</b>
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<p class="section">HR - On The Job</p>
<p class="heading">Reasons You Lose Your Best Employees, Tips on How to Keep Them</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p>In spite of the tough economy, over 36 percent of surveyed companies say they are losing or having difficulty keeping, their best employees. The survey firm, Sirota Survey Intelligence, says that while an employee who is an average performer rarely considers leaving his or her job during a difficult economic period, high performers do!</p>
<p>Eighty-nine percent of the companies surveyed also said that they think employees quit to make more money. However, in a related study of 19,700 exit interviews by the Saratoga Institute, it found that only 12 percent of employees quit to make more money. Those same exit interviews also identified the top seven reasons why those 19,700 employees did leave.</p>
<ol>
<li><b>Job not as expected:</b> This was the number one reason given for quitting. "What did I get myself into?"</li>
<li><b>Job doesn't fit talents and interests:</b> Hasty hiring and failing to make a good match. "What made them think I could do this job?"</li>
<li><b>Little or no feedback or coaching:</b> Today's employees, especially among the younger generation, want "feedback... instantly". These aren't grazing cattle, they need constant attention.</li>
<li><b>No hope for career growth:</b> The best employees want to be better next year than this year. And they want to feel that development happening. "I'm in a rut and this hole is getting deeper."</li>
<li><b>Feel devalued and unrecognized:</b> No one ever says "thanks" or listens to what employees have to say. Companies often feel that this can be overdone, but does anyone ever get too much recognition? "What we have here is a failure to communicate."</li>
<li><b>Feel overworked and stressed out:</b> A lack of respect for employees, and the assumption that everyone is a workaholic. "It's okay if some are, but I'm not."</li>
<li><b>Lack of trust in leaders:</b> Once you lose that trust you may never get it back with these employees. Leaders must understand that it's a two-way street. It's as much about serving the employee's needs as it is about serving the company's. "I never saw any signs that they cared about my welfare."</li>
</ol>
<p>In companies that see their employees as assets to be valued and developed as opposed to being costs that must be controlled and minimized, the Sirota study found the following eight steps which they recommend to taking in order to retain high potential employees without alienating the rest of the workforce:</p>
<ol>
<li><b>Don't stop focusing on their career development needs:</b> Even in tough times, high potential employees (called HIPOs) have other opportunities. Develop a retention strategy that includes a strong emphasis on career development. Give them special projects and make sure they take advantage of training and development opportunities.</li>
<li><b>Re-emphasize corporate values and ethics:</b> Employees want to believe that their company stands for something special, something distinctive. During difficult periods savvy employees want to pay close attention to their leaders to assure that the business's short term needs are balanced with their long term values. Help them do that.</li>
<li><b>Be transparent:</b> Those HIPOs are the company's future, so share as much information as possible with them. Invite them to specific briefings with the owners or top management. This shows trust and inclusiveness in plans for the future. The alternative is to leave them feeling uninvolved and more susceptible to outside offers.</li>
<li><b>Continue to reinforce their need for camaraderie:</b> HIPOs enjoy being recognized and want to work with other HIPOs. One major concern of these employees is whether or not the company is able to both attract and retain top talent, so working with like-minded employees sharpens that perception.</li>
<li><b>Do more than just cut costs:</b> High performers are keenly aware of company inefficiencies, poor strategy and failed execution. A bad economy only exacerbates these feelings. Cutting costs is an understandable tactic, but HIPOs want to be assured that the leadership is still focusing on the long-term.</li>
<li><b>Involve them in solutions:</b> HIPOs want to make a difference; they're seeking "partnership" situations where they can contribute. Put them in charge of ad hoc teams focusing on some of the more difficult problems facing the company.</li>
<li><b>Show them they are valued:</b> When economic rewards or bonuses are cut back, it becomes even more important for these employees to feel valued. Failure to treat them as such can create a feeling of exclusion or of being "out of the loop" and can contribute to resentment and cause them to be susceptible to other offers.</li>
<li><b>Address compensation concerns:</b> While these HIPOs do understand what difficult times mean, they also want to be assured that it is still in their interest to stay. Companies need to creatively re-think what these employees consider to be rewarding and to discuss that with them.</li>
</ol>
<p>To paraphrase a recent quote: "Never let a crisis go to waste". Remember, during times of economic downturn, successful companies use that crisis to find bargains, opportunities and someone else's good employee.</p>
<hr />
<p align="center"><b><i>Have an employment question?</i></b></p>
<p align="center">Send it to <a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p align="center">Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company identification will be kept confidential.</p>
<hr />
<p class="heading">Hitchhiking on the Information Highway</p>
<p><b>Dateline:</b> November 2009</p>
<p><i>(Note: Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be released.)</i></p>
<p class="section">There's No Recession in Washington</p>
<p>With the immense growth of government bureaucracies, programs, regulation and new demands on American businesses, the federal government decided it might need to hire a few new people. That "few" has now grown to 270,000 new "mission critical" employees over the next three years. That hiring is focused on economic recovery, climate change, health care and Iraq and Afghanistan. Those "mission critical" jobs are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Medical and Public Health: 54,115 new hires</li>
<li>Security and Protection: 52,077 new hires</li>
<li>Compliance and Enforcement: 31,276 new hires</li>
<li>Legal: 23,596 new hires</li>
<li>Administration and Project Management: 17,287 new hires</li>
</ul>
<p>However, these more than one-quarter million "mission critical" jobs are only one part of the overall hiring program already in motion. The total projected number of new hires is over 600,000 new employees -almost 2/3 of a million new government employees to be hired by 2012. As the government is the number one employer of union members in America and is the only segment of the American economy where unions are growing, this explosion of union employees is the largest unions have seen in decades. Part of this hiring increase is blamed on government employees taking early retirement. Is government becoming the largest employer in America? Are we becoming a government services economy?</p>
<p class="quote">"A tax loophole is something that benefits the other guy.<br />
If it benefits you, it's tax reform"<br />
- Russell B. Long</p>
<p class="section">Early Retirees Killing Social Security</p>
<p>Best-selling author and columnist Amity Schlaes reported in her Bloomberg wire that the number of people filing for Social Security retirements was scary when it was forecasted to increase 15 percent by September 2009. But everyone was stunned when it came in at 21 percent!</p>
<p>A very high percentage of these were people retiring at less than 65 years of age. There are many reasons for the early jump to retirement, the economy is poor and large companies and government employees are frequently offered bonuses and "golden parachutes" encouraging them to retire early. But some say they are also concerned that Social Security will be facing severe cuts and restrictions later as the system is scheduled for meltdown. The number of people on Social Security is becoming so much larger than the number of people who are paying into it that something has to give. Smaller pensions, withholding eligibility until age 67 and even 70, increasing the taxes paid into Social Security and even denying it to people with other forms of retirement are all being considered. There have been a few attempts to reform Social Security but no one seems interested in tackling the problem yet, certainly not retirees.</p>
<p class="quote">"Some people try to turn back their odometers.<br />
Not me, I want people to know why I look this way.<br />
I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved"
- Will Rogers</p>
<p class="section">Who's Your Daddy?</p>
<p><b>More Americans Fathering Canadian Children?</b></p>
<p>Canadian television (CTV) recently reported an astonishing statistic that in the whole of Canada there are only 33 sperm donors. For a nation of 30 million people, that's just three per province plus one per territory. Hardly seems enough but Canadians are calling for action. What is this all about?</p>
<p>The Canadian government has determined that it is the duty of the government to provide the nation's health care and that includes women seeking artificial insemination. Therefore, private industry may not interfere with that service for a profit. <i>For a profit</i> means that the government still wants sperm donors but they cannot be paid for their services. Sperm donations have dried up. Canadian males don't wish to provide such services for nothing so they don't provide them at all.</p>
<p>As a result, 80 percent of Canadian womanhood seeking to conceive through sperm donations are getting it from the United States mainly from men in Georgia and northern Florida. Canada's future is now in American hands.</p>
<p class="quote">"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence.<br />
To know how to do something well is to enjoy it"<br />
- Pearl Buck</p>
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<p style="text-align: center"><sub>� William J. Cook</sub></p>
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<span class="section">Labor Stats</span>
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<b>Federal Minimum Wage</b>
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<p align="center">
<b>$7.25</b>/hour<br />
</p>
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<b>Average Income</b>
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<p align="center">
<u>Hourly</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>October 2009</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$18.72</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>October 2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$18.28</b></span><br />
</p>
<p align="center">
<u>Weekly</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>October 2009</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$616.76</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>October 2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$612.38</b></span><br />
</p>
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<b>Federal Povery Level</b>
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<p>
<span style="float: left"><i>one person</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$10,830</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>family of four</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$22,050</b></span><br />
</p>
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<b>IRS Mileage Allowance</b>
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<p align="center">
As of <b>January 1, 2009</b><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>business</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>55</b> cents/mile</span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>medical or moving</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>24</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>charitable</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>14</b></span><br />
</p>
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<b>Postage</b>
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<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>1 oz</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>44</b> cents</span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>postcard</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>28</b></span><br />
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<b>Population</b>
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<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>world</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.8 billion</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>U.S.</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>307.8 million</b></span><br />
<i>one birth every </i><b>7</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
<i>one death every </i><b>13</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
<i>one new immigrant every </i><b>35</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
net gain: <i>one person every </i><b>11</b><i> seconds.</i>
</p>
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<b>U.S. Civilian Workforce</b>
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<p align="center">
<u>October 2009</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Total</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>153,975,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Employed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>138,275,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>15,702,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Want A Job</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>5,995,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployment Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>10.2%</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Absentee Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.1%</b></span><br />
<span style="float:left"><i>- Female</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>4.2%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>- Male</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.3%</b></span><br />
</p>
<p align="center">
<u>October 2008</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Total</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>154,878,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Employed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>144,675,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>10,221,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Want A Job</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>5,065,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployment Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.6%</b></span><br />
</p>
<br /><hr />
<b>U.S. Workforce Productivity</b><br />
<sub><i>(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours it took to produce it)</i></sub>
<hr />
<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>1992</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1993</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.5%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1994</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1995</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1996</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.5%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1997</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.0%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1998</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.6%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1999</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2000</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.4%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2001</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2002</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>4.6%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2003</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2004</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.8%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2005</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2006</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2007</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.8%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 1st quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 2nd quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 3rd quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>9.5%</b></span><br />
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