Have courage and change

Change.

One word that often conveys fear, discomfort and concern to many individuals.

When dealing with workforce issues, change is often a word management does not want to hear.

After all, they are the decision makers and any change will be decided by their structure and not foisted on them by outside forces or issues.

For most of 2005, I have worked with business leaders and managers and tried to help them understand the generational differences in today's workforce.

I presented ways to incorporate change into hiring and retention methods.

I discussed the need to adapt in order to have a successful workforce that would meet the goals of the organization.

And I presented the harsh facts of the labor shortages in the United States and what could happen to companies that did not embrace change as a natural event in the work place.

The most enlightened organizations have managers who understood the message and sought to incorporate change immediately rather than in some nebulous future time.

These workforce managers reviewed their needs and made accommodations with job applicants so the end result would be a strong win-win for all involved.

Less successful organizations have managers who merely vented frustration, anger and discomfort.

"Why should I have to change, I'm creating the jobs!" "It won't matter if I change, they're unfit for the job!" "I don't have to change, give me what I want."

The reaction to change is a very simple formula.

Those organizations with the least resistance to change and which are managed by individuals willing to be innovative tend to have the fewest workforce problems.

Turnover rates are relatively low, employee loyalty is high and labor costs are more contained.

Those organizations most resistant to change often have managers who want clones of themselves, and those clones do not exist.

They tend to have high turnover, employees are very critical of management, loyalty is missing and labor costs continue to spiral ever higher.

These organizations tend to have the most workforce problems.

Flexibility in dealing with today's workers is a must.

We are in an era where the number of openings for employees is often far greater than the available resources.

This is a fact of work life throughout the United States and it is especially acute in northern Nevada.

Our good fortune lies in the fact that this area is blessed with a strong work ethic and the individuals who comprise our workforce are above average in their desire to perform well for an employer on their terms! And that is the rub for many managers.

So how to convince executives that the various generations now competing for jobs are worth hiring? They should try something different.

Here are two recent examples.

A Nevadaworks board member owns two companies in a rural town and suffered through the frustration of having more business than could be handled by his current workforce as job openings were going unfilled.

He decided to try something I had suggested to see if it would really work.

He placed a new job ad targeted towards retired individuals who were interested in part-time work and extra income.

To his surprise, several very qualified individuals applied and he hired three of them.

An unintended consequence of this exercise is that one individual has become a mentor to younger workers who are learning better work skills while respecting his vast work experience.

My second example involves a young person who is a waiter in an area restaurant.

I was very impressed with his attitude, sense of humor and knowledge of the restaurant's menu and serving presentations.

He easily scored at the top of my list of outstanding waiters and I so informed the matre' d.

After thanking me, the matre' d explained that in order to earn that position, the individual had to learn the culture of the restaurant, learn and understand the extensive wine list, comprehend the menu in all details and successfully pass a rigorous testing process not often achieved by one so unseasoned.

He did all of this and more and is now a rising star in an arena that will bring him many rewards.

These two examples are at generational opposites and they exist side by side.

They exist throughout our work area and successful managers have learned that through accepting change they are able to garner excellent workers in increasing numbers.

Long term, our educational system must change the manner in which individuals learn to acquire the skills the workplace demands.

Life is a learning process that never ends and proper education provides the strong foundation upon which that process will grow and succeed.

Short term, business leaders must make changes that accommodate their needs with the reality of the current educational structure and generational differences.

Businesses must accept the necessity of continuously training workers while coordinating changes in the educational system.

Business leaders must also continue to develop heretofore-untapped resources such as ex-convicts, limited English speaking minorities, retired individuals and those with disabilities as sources of new workers.

The good old days probably were not as good as we remember, so wishing our current workforce was like those of the good old days is a waste of time.And as we continue to understand the new millennial workforce, they probably are not as bad as we fear.

Solutions to our workforce concerns do exist.

However, we all have to work at finding those solutions.

Nevadaworks exists to share information in a value added manner to employers throughout this region.

Let us help wherever possible.

Our no-charge services through the JobConnect System were designed with the employer in mind.

Change your thinking and utilize the System's resources.

Remember, change is good.

When looking at your labor needs, try change.You'll like it!

Tom Fitzgerald is chief executive officer of Nevadaworks.