You look after your people, don't you?
Of course you do, although you will be the first to admit that you haven't perfected it.
So just how far from perfection are you?
You might be surprised. It could be even further than you think.
You are probably all too well aware that real incomes are falling. The economic downturn and its legacy of government cost cutting and rising inflation due to commodity and raw material price increases, fuelled by the price of oil, means that pressure on pay will continue. So for the fourth year in a row real incomes in the UK are predicted to shrink. And that, apparently, is the worst run since the 1870s.
It is hardly surprising then that, according to the spring Employee Outlook survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 37% of staff believe that their living standards are declining. However, what is surprising is that the survey reveals that 24% of staff admitted that they are looking to jump ship to another employer. And I am sure that the experience in other countries cannot be all that different.
So you have to ask yourself why that is? Clearly it is not a ringing endorsement of your efforts to be a good employer. However, it is not all bad news. Presumably the people surveyed did not all work in the same place. That is good news because it means you are not alone.
You also have to wonder what they expect to be different as a result of a move. Whatever it is, the situation suggests that they are doomed to be disappointed. And that too is good news, because it means that, if you can find a way to differentiate yourself, you will have people falling over themselves to work with you.
However, that will be where the good news ends unless you find a way to lift yourself above the rest. Certainly the prospect of losing 25% of your people is not doing you any favours. Even if they don't all walk out the door, it is not good for your business to have people who are vital to your success so uncommitted that they may go at any time. It is essential therefore that you find a way to increase employee engagement and get the employee commitment you need. But with everyone else thinking along the same lines you need to be thinking radically differently.
Of course the most radical way to overcome your peoples' inclination to leave is to make them owners of the business! When you do that, you change the dynamics completely because they are now no longer working for you, but working for themselves. Employee ownership is the most powerful employee engagement tool there is. That is because, paradoxically, it takes the employee out while cementing the engagement.
And the best news of all is that the new Zealise employee ownership model can help you do this. There is simply no other model that offers you universal employee ownership that will engage all your employees with little or no cost to you and without the administrative burden or legal issues associated with equity. Can you really afford not to at least consider it?