While meditating on the issue of retaining and attracting people, I realised, that every organisation in every industry is facing the similar problem in the background of this truth, that the world is fast changing, it is becoming flat, and people are exposed to so much information that knowledge can be acquired by anyone and at anytime (smart people are utilising it for good), work life cycle is decreasing, “Work Life Cycle”. In the given situation like this one, retaining and attracting people is a major challenge indeed. (We are assuming all are talented people with college education, who are evolving fast).
In the scenario where expectations are high on both sides’ i.e. prospective happy employees and prospective happy companies, how to keep balance is the question.
I will take side of the happy workers because I like them.
One way to find a solution is by asking what are the needs, wants and motivations of an employee through the various stages of his work life cycle and how can it be mapped.
Before we go ahead…an important trend we all are seeing and hearing is “People Need Work and Life” i.e. work and life balance and another trend we'll see in next 15 years, is the shift in the way people will look at work, change in the attitude. “Work Is Part Of Life”and not life.
At present we will be mostly focusing on how to balance needs and motivations with “Work & Life” through the various stages of our happy workers work life cycle. (In the scenario were working life is declining)
Chart: C1- Curve one is a 20 yrs life cycle
C2- Curve two is a 10 yrs life cycle
In stage one our happy workers look for:
Learning (initial 1-4 yrs): To acquire soft skills, people skills, technical/professional skills, mastering ones subject or chosen field, independence to think and act, developing managerial skills.
Basic motivations: Wants to acquire needed skills and then wants to implement / demonstrate them to validate the learning (unlearn and learn from mistakes).
What he wants from happy HR people: Training (not the class room type), nice and encouraging boss, opportunities to demonstrate skills, environment where mistakes are seen positively….
In stage two our happy workers look for:
Growth (3-9yrs): To acquire various challenging work experiences and greater responsibilities. They also seek respect, status, money, independence to think & act, acquiring/updating knowledge & developing leadership skills.
Basic Motivation: Wants to acquire experience in the chosen area/subject/field and validate them by learning new skills (unlearn and learn from mistakes), Better standard of living, indulgence in luxury and savings.
What he wants from happy HR people: Give me five reasons, what would he want?
In stage three our happy workers look for:
Stability (10yrs+): Sharing experiences and mentoring, Authority, Challenges (e.g: leading the company), acquiring/upgrading knowledge and developing/identifying management style.
Basic Motivation: Exploring new avenue to grow personally, sustaining the Job and standard of living.
What he wants from happy HR people: Give me five reasons, what would he want?
HR is not my area of expertise, I came across the issue of people management from HR perspective only because my client/the account i handle needs solutions on attracting and retaining talent. So, please do incorporate your views on how to make more happy workers and happy organisations.
