Jesse Hopps finds himself in a position familiar to
many employers these days. He is running a successful business and
has ambitious plans to grow it, but finding the right people to help
him build his enterprise isn’t easy.
Hopps runs DemandMetric, a research and analytics firm with
offices in Vancouver and Toronto, and anticipates hiring
up to 15 people within the next year. Such an influx of workers
would nearly double his current team of 20. It's at this
early stage in a company's life that hiring decisions are
paramount, and Hopps knows it. He's given careful thought
to development of his organization and the types of individuals
he would like to play a part in it.
"Without a doubt, the key success factor for building
an effective team is having a clear and defined purpose for
the team. A team charter, or mandate is very effective for
building alignment between team members, setting expectations,
providing vision, and motivating your group," said the
University of Western-Ontario graduate. "Additionally,
a good understanding of team dynamics and personalities is
very important. Having a solid mix of leaders, drivers, risk
takers, methodical thinkers, doers, and documenters will
ensure your team stays on the right track for success."
Peter Drucker, the author and educator best known for his
invention of modern management techniques, urged corporations
to develop teams and to spread responsibility throughout
the workforce. Drucker was a staunch advocate of integrating
employees into the decision-making process because, "No
organization can do better than the people it has." Before
his death in 2005, Drucker felt corporations had mixed results
in applying the practices he promoted. Perhaps as a result,
employees have learned to look out for themselves and that
makes designing a terrific team harder and harder to accomplish.
Plus, there are fewer workers to go around. According to
a study published in "Careers" magazine, the pool
of talent in the United States will be short 14 million workers
by 2020, mostly because of retirement by the Baby Boomers.
Canada, Great Britain and other countries dependent on a
skilled and educated workforce are also experiencing labor
shortfalls. On top of that problem is the growing phenomenon
of job-hopping.
As a recent report on "60 Minutes" revealed, employees — particularly
young ones — are quick to move from company to company
in search of the ideal situation. Such changeover can slow
down an organization as it goes through the processes of
constantly hiring and training new recruits. To help alleviate
the migration of their workers, many companies have incorporated
the strategy of employer branding. By promoting the benefits
of their workplace, they hope to build better relationships
with their employees.
"Your staff must be closely linked to your company.
If your employees identify with the company's mission, you
can be sure that the company will be successful," Carlos
Torrecilla, a professor of marketing in Spain, told Exduco.net
last month. Spain expects to have a shortage of 800,000 workers
by 2010, according to the website.
Business owner Gus Klemos understands the difficulty of
getting and retaining good people. He runs SkilledWorkers.com,
which markets globally to laborers in the construction, mining,
and oil and gas industries. Like Hopps, Klemos is experiencing
the effects of a tight job market.
"Gone are the days of the loyal employee who spends
25 years at a company, receiving full benefits for him or
her and any family members, to be followed by a full pension
in retirement. Although those days are gone for many reasons,
it is primarily due to the death of a company's loyalty to
their employees," said Klemos, who expects to make 20
new hires in 2008. "When you prove to an employee that
you are a truly loyal employer who is willing to invest in
them, you then have provided the motivational tools necessary
to drive them to work harder, smarter and better."
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