Convergence by Jeff Brown

Recently three events came together in a convergence that I feel portends a further evolution of work in the United States.  First the United States  Department of Labor reported 308,000 new jobs were created in March and revised upwards January and February numbers resulting in a total of almost 500,000 new jobs created in the first three months of 2004.  Secondly, in a April 12, 2004 USA Today article, Alan Webber, founding editor of Fast Company, wrote an article entitled Firms Will Pay When Workers Make Escape.  He quoted a Spherion study that reported, 51% of the 3,000 people interviewed wanted to leave their jobs.  Finally Thomas Malone, Professor of Business at MIT, just released a book entitled The Future of Work ; how the new order of business will shape your organization, your management style and your life.  He follows trends which indicate letting people use more of their talents and as managers making sure they have the right information and incentive will get far better results than traditional methods.  Further, they can work more independently and at remote locations more than before.

First, the percentage of people working in traditional hierarchies and at company locations will continue to decline.  Technology, low cost communications, and alternatives such as auctioning projects on the web and peoples inclinations make this so.  The results are quality improves, cost goes down and turnover of the remaining employees is lower. 

Second, decisions will involve more people including buyers and sellers. Wouldn’t most rather be involved in making decisions versus being directed by decisions somebody else made?  Don’t you believe the motivation to carry out the decisions is greater in such a situation?  Malone calls this a paradox of power.

Third, these trends call for managers to be more into coordinating and cultivating versus the traditional demand and control.

Finally,   according to C200, an organization of female entrepreneurs, woman in particular are tiring of traditional organizations.  This study says the current pace of change means it will take another 15 years for woman to achieve equality with men.  Fact or misinterpreted statistics we do know that woman are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men and now own almost half of all privately held companies which employ 52% of the private sector work place.  Also, there are fewer women enrolling in the top MBA schools. 

I recommended the following: 

1. Examine all your functions. Are they part of your core competency? Can outsourcing deliver a better service/product at lower costs? What other ways can you lessen your dependency on employees (see our Employee Alternatives at www.comp-search.com ). Can you bid projects on the web?
    

2. Are you involving your employees in decision making? If not, why not realize all that is to be gained by doing such with so little downside?
    

3. Somewhat tied to #2 is the need to access you and your managers style to determine if you/they are command and control types. If so it may be necessary to bring in a facilitator to help change and to train on how to be cultivators and coordinators. This is not an easy transition for some. Some may have to be demoted or let go if they can not or will not make such a change.
    

In summary assuming the economy continues to produce job creation growth, failure to manage in light of the trends above will definitely accelerate the pent up desire to work in a more enlightened work environment.

Turnover is exceedingly costly. Some studies estimate it costs 1.5 times his/her annual salary to replace someone. This includes severance, recruiting and training costs and loss of productivity. Further, the best employees are generally the first to leave so those promoted aren’t as good and they are replaced by . . . You see the picture.

2004 is different from 2003 and much different than 1990. 2005 and going forward will only see an acceleration of these trends. Adjust now or continue/start your demise.