Archive for the ‘Workforce Issues’ Category

“There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas. Zero.” – Susan Cain

Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, contends that our society’s bias against introverts is costing us dearly. The one-third to one-half of our population who are on the introversion side of the introversion-extraversion spectrum are not given enough opportunity to thrive and make their best contribution in school, at work and elsewhere. The bias towards learning and working in groups most of the time, she states, stifles the creativity of introverts. Introverts (and extraverts) need time and space for creative thinking alone. Not getting this time and space is not just a source of frustration for people who are more introverted, it is a loss to our society and economy.

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What are introversion and extraversion anyway? Some people still confuse the two with being shy vs. outgoing. The simple explanation is that extraverts get stimulation from interacting with their environment more than from an internal source. Introverts are more likely to get overwhelmed by too much external stimulation. They get their energy more from within themselves. The two groups also process information and ideas differently. Introverts, generally, need to think before they talk, while extraverts find that talking helps them think. There is no absolute introvert or extravert. We all have elements of both, along a continuum. Those near the middle of the continuum are often called “ambiverts”. I happen to be an ambivert, comfortable in both worlds, but not wanting too much of either.

Whether you are an introvert, an extravert or an ambivert, paying attention to what Susan Cain has to say can help you develop the teams and the workplace culture that enable employees to give you their best. The first link, the best place to start, is an article by Susan that appeared on the Op Ed page of the New York Times on April 29^th of this year. It’s worth the time to read the article. If you like it, watch the video.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/books/review/how-the-author-of-quiet-delivered-a-rousing-speech.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=books%23

Below is the link to Susan’s TED Talk video.

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html

What are your own experiences of introverts and extraverts working together? Please add a comment.

If you are an employer, your high quality workers are about to become more valuable, and more in demand, as the growth in our workforce slows to a stop. How will you attract new workers and how will you keep the ones you have?

The way the world economy is going, more and more work is being outsourced from North America to countries like India and China, where a skilled workforce can be paid considerably less than North American workers. That being said, many jobs will not be outsourced and skilled North American workers will be very valuable to their employers. How will you develop your workers so they provide high value to your company?

Many employers are reluctant to invest in the development of their employees (at all levels), primarily because they are concerned they will lose them to competitors who will try to lure them away. That is possible unless your company is the best place for them to work.

So, how do you create a work place that attracts and keeps the best workers that you will need in order to thrive? It’s not just about how much you are willing to pay. It is also about job satisfaction. If your company pays competitive rates and provides workers with an environment in which they thrive, you will be able to develop a highly creative, productive and collaborative workforce. And you will be able to keep them when a competitor waves a few more dollars at them.

To do this, you may need to make significant changes to the way that you lead.

When Janice and I say that we work with leaders and organizations who really do believe that their employees are very important, most people laugh. They say things like, “Let us know when you find an organization like that.” The degree of cynicism around this issue is enormous!

How many companies do you know that say something like “People are our greatest asset?” How many do you know that actually act in alignment with what they say? More important, how many organizations have employees who believe they really are valued? Do yours?

Do you really mean it when you say, “People are our greatest asset”? Do you act accordingly? That’s the hard part. Do you, for example, ask your employees their opinions and advice? Do you pay attention to what they say? Do you foster leadership skills at all levels? Do you want engagement in their work from your employees, or do you just want compliance? If you don’t engage your employees, you are wasting much of the huge resource of their talents and experience.

My business partner, Janice Calnan, and I gave a presentation two weeks ago to the Ottawa Manufacturers Network (OMN). In it, we outlined the issues I described in the last two posts. We will be working, in partnership with the OMN, to offer some solutions to the emerging problems.

Solutions boil down to one direction that companies and other organizations need to take: developing a workforce that is engaged in their work, that works collaboratively throughout the levels of the organization, and that pools its experience, skills, creativity, energy and enthusiasm so that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. That is where a company’s sustainable economic development and profitability will be rooted.

2011? My brother was born in 1946, at the leading edge of the Baby Boom. Last year he turned 60. In 2011, he will be 65. 2011, then, is time when the first Boomers reach the “retirement age”. Many, like my brother, will retire sooner. Others will continue working beyond age 65. But 2011 signifies a major change in the labour market, in North America and beyond. The Boomers have dominated and their moving on will have a big impact.

The first impact will be in sheer numbers. Projections from Statistics Canada give three scenarios for the Canadian workforce, depending on a number of different factors. The middle projection indicates that the growth of the labour force will decline significantly over the next 10 years, arriving at a no-growth level by 2016-2021. With the economy continuing to grow, the demand for skilled employees is increasing and the competition for them is heating up. How will employers handle their workforce issues? If they don’t handle them well, their companies will be in trouble.

Where will we find the workers we need? The projections indicate that in the next 5 years or more, workforce growth will come largely from immigration. At the current rate of immigration, that will not solve the problem, especially since we do a mediocre job of integrating skilled immigrants into our economy.

We can encourage older workers to stay in the workforce. The Province of Ontario, for example, has recently joined most of the other provinces by removing legislation that made retirement mandatory at age 65.

We can also encourage higher skills development and employment for socio-economic groups that have traditionally been under-represented in our skilled workforce: women, aboriginals, people with disabilities and other visible minorities.

The other very important thing we can do is focus on developing the quality of the workers that we do have and utilizing their skills, abilities, creativity and experience better than we do now.