Developing and engaged culture, attracting a knowledge workforce top priorities
Midlands Business Journal, November 25, 2011
Attracting and retaining the right people in an environment
with no shortage of openings for those with highly technical or
specified sill sets is overwhelmingly the biggest challenge
facing those in employment and staffing circles, according to
local professionals. “Companies that attract and retain the
right people create a compelling offering for their customers,”
said Chris Carlson, regional manager of Aureus Group. “The
organizations who strive to be a preferred employer are
increasing their market share. Although some turnover is good,
its expensive, so getting the right people on the bus in the
right role producing the right results is essential.” She also
said the so-called “soft” elements – such as engaged associates
– has become hard. “Data clearly shows highly trusted companies
attract more employees and have better employee engagement and
retention,” Carlson said. “This soft stuff results in hard
dollars.” Carlson indicated one need only look to the list of
Fortune 100 Best Companies to work for list, featuring the likes
of Zappos, Google, and Microsoft. “The primary criteria to make
the cut in Fortune’s list of 100 companies measures the level of
trust that employees have in the company and in senior
management,” she said. “The Great Place to Work Institute
developed this measure; it makes great sense: Trust is a measure
of the quality of a relationship.” “When we trust a person,
group, or organization we feel confident that they will do what
is right, consider our interests in a fair manner; we tend to
feel good about such stewards, especially when times are
uncertain or risky.” Another hard fact: the knowledge workforce
is in demand, according to Carlson, who referred to a specific
need for auditors at all levels in both private and public
practice, as well as tax professionals and .NET and Java
developers.