Employers; Workers do not like the job. We gave them all their legal rights, what else can we do? He came, he could only last 3 days. Was it like this in the past? Everyone wants to be a Manager right away. What do we earn, what can we give them?
Employees; Is there any decent work? What difference does it make if we work, we don't get what we deserve. That's not the kind of work I want to do. I'm looking for a desk job. I need to become a manager in a few years.
We've heard a lot about these in the last few years, haven't we? So what is the main reason for this problem? If we were to describe it in one word, we would say this; Mismatch
The reality of the employment market and the expectations of the new social mass do not match. So what should we do if we were to approach this problem with our employer hat?
First, I would like us to look at some facts and create a perspective for ourselves.
According to a study by RightNow Technologies, 73% of customers complain about bad attitudes from their employees. leaving a company. In other words, no matter how good your other resources are, if your human resources are not good, you cannot be a "good business". It's very, very difficult. For example, you have a vehicle that can do 300 km. You have a suitable track to use it and you have enough fuel. But you don't have a good pilot or even a co-pilot to drive this vehicle. Probably They will cause an accident before your vehicle has seen 200 km.
So we need to find talented and happy employees and retain them.
But according to ManpowerGroup’s 2023 Talent Shortage Survey, 77% of employers globally are struggling to find talent – the highest level in 17 years. So congratulations; we have another paradox. We need talent, but it is very hard to find this talent.
If you want, let's first take a look at the reasons for these impasses and then talk about what we can do to overcome them.
The changing employee profile can be considered as the biggest reason for this.. We are living in the first era where several generations are in the business world at the same time. Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (Millennials) and Generation Z. Each generation has its own characteristics, values and business approaches. When we go back 20 years ago, only 2 generations (baby boomers and generation x) were in the business world. And yes, it was much easier to manage, to be sure.
If we touch on another reason, we can say that the fact that information is spreading much more easily has changed the expectations of employees from business life.. Human perception always focuses on the better than themselves. And their enviable lives are now before our eyes at all times, and this changes expectations in both social and business life. The employee who comes across the acceptance of “What’s wrong, he is 25 years old and has become a manager” on social media naturally clings to it.
Lack of Communication can be considered one of the easiest and most inexpensive obstacles to overcome. But unfortunately it is a very serious problem. There is inadequate communication between employers and employees. Expectations, needs and feedback are not clearly shared.
And of course economic conditions. Factors such as inflation, unemployment and economic uncertainty affect the expectations of both employers and employees. While employers try to reduce costs, employees seek higher wages and security.
Okay, now let's get to the point. What will we do to combat these problems?
Alignment: The Magic Key to Business
One of the biggest problems in today’s business world is the gap between employers’ expectations and employees’ expectations. We are stuck between employers who say, “They don’t like the job,” and employees who say, “There are no good jobs to work at.” The only way to break this vicious circle is through “alignment.” When we manage to align people with jobs and jobs with people, we can open the doors to productivity and satisfaction.
The first step of this adaptation starts with job analysis.. We must clearly define the duties, responsibilities, skills and competencies required for each position. Then, we must conduct a job evaluation to determine the importance and value of different positions within the company. As a result of these analyses, we must create job descriptions that clearly set out expectations for each position. This way, both the employer knows what to expect and the employee knows what to do.
Getting the right talent for the right job is another important part of this equation. If you give a person a job that they can easily do and that matches their interests, they will be happy and productive. We should now put aside subjective statements such as “I can tell a candidate by looking at their eyes” or “they used to know a chickpea without saying a word”. We are not in the world of 20 years ago; we are now faced with a much more diverse employee base. We should accurately determine the candidate’s skills and suitability for the job with objective assessment methods (competency-based interviews, tests, etc.).
We must also direct our education budgets correctly. First of all, we should focus on providing “hard skills” (technical skills). It is much less costly to measure “soft skills” such as communication, time management, and human relations during the recruitment process. However, if we still want to develop these skills, we can provide mentoring to our current talented employees. However, when establishing the mentoring system, we should clearly define our expectations and adopt a systematic approach.
The era of universal rules is now over. Every business should create rules that suit their own employee profile and culture, and should not be afraid to be innovative. While it was almost impossible for male employees to grow beards 10 years ago, today it is difficult to even talk about this rule. We have to keep up with changing social norms and employee expectations.
We know that these things we have mentioned are not easy. However, we have no other choice to save our future. We must develop a new perspective for ourselves and take action immediately from today. Let's start the change with these three sentences; Don't command, persuade. Don't impose, involve. Listen, understand and manage.
Erhan Coban
mezzeMarin Human Resources and Process Management Manager