Monday, October 4, 2010.

The Employees Won't be There!

A few years ago I wrote an H.R. Report titled "Leading in 2011"  It described how baby boomers by 2012 will be retiring faster than the young ones are coming in and the young ones are not keen on doing business the way companies traditionally do business.  The point is, in order for business to grow we all need to invent ways to find people to do what needs to be done.  Well the recession has now made the target date "2013."  Forget 2013, it seems that every company I know is losing its' key executives to retirement, NOW.  Some are seeing as much as 35- 45% of their total staff retiring over the next 4 - 5 years.  I am facing it with my firm. Succession planning should be at least in the top two or three priorities for every business.  Two or three years ago my accountant, Robin Wrydryk of S.B. Partners, asked me to go through a succession planning dialogue.  Initially I was bored until I went back and interviewed my key people and asked what their plans were for retirement.  I woke up in a hurry when I realized some of my senior people were already making plans.  Our succession plan began then and we are now doing many things to insure that we are facing up to the big 'baby boomer and young'en' challenge so our firm can continue to prosper with the capacity to perform and compete.  Here are a few wake-up strategies we and many other firms are doing.  Hope it helps orit's at least as a reminder of what can be done. It is going to be more expensive to hire people because there will be more demand - so hire more part timers.  A lot of boomers want to stay in touch with their challenging work and friends so hire them for 2 or 3 days a week to work on really important stuff that they are good at.  It is a great strategy for many of them, and you get to tap into their experience to grow the business.  Also, offer more flexible schedules to younger people coming in. Accept the productivity challenge and begin to operate with fewer, but better people. If you are in manufacturing or processing it could mean more automation and process improvement.  Whether you are or not, all your processes should result in better meeting the needs of customers.  Old and inefficient systems add to the customers bills.  Engage a team to take a snapshot of your business.  Analyze it from order to delivery.  You will see the processes that need to be redesigned.  Put it on paper or a whiteboard. Is each step necessary?  Does it do what we want for the customer?  Will it help us find more of them?  Put another redesigned system on the board and have the team plan out your process improvement. Use your key staff for their knowledge and competencies and then outsource anything they are not good at or that doesn't need high value work.  A lot of businesses use a combination of both local and offshore outsourcing which produces great, inexpensive results for their customers.  Make sure your key people are doing high value work and you reward them financially, give them responsibility and keep them engaged.  Outsource the rest. Another possibility is to consider hiring people to just handle special or one-time projects. Train and coach your people in what your business needs.  This is the cheapest way to improve productivity and increase the capacity of your business.    Actions This Fall: A)  If you haven't done this already, ask people about their retirement plans and what they want.  Together, build a succession plan. B)  Consider hiring them back part time on high value jobs. C)  Engage a team and take a snapshot of your business.  "How to find and keep customers and make money."  Look for processes that don't work or don't add value then re-design them. D) Consider outsourcing low value work and/or what you are not good at. Have a great week. Kevin D. Crone CEO Dale Carnegie Business Group BusinessNext Inc. Offering Dale Carnegie Throughout Canada kevin@businessnext.ca (905) 826-7300 / 1-800-361-2032 ext. 223 www.dalecarnegie.ca www.businessnext.ca An old business friend called and asked if a few of his key people could attend a "Wake Up Your Business" workshop soon.  He had been reading and sharing the Monday Morning Mentor with them and would like to get a couple of years worth put into a condensed, most important things dialogue or workshop. So I promised I would conduct one (90 minutes) at my Mississauga office one morning for a small group of like minded business people.  So I'm inviting you to join him. No cost, just register below, show up and we will buy coffee. Here we go Alan.  Let's see who wants to join you.  Wake Up Your Business Workshop and the 8 Strategies required: Thursday, October 28th, 2010 8:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (coffee and pastries) No Charge (first 20 registrations) Clcik Here to register Dale Carnegie Business Group 2121 Argentia Road, Suite 104 Missisauga, Ontario Register now and tune up your business and career. Kevin D. Crone CEO Dale Carnegie Business Group BusinessNext Inc. Offering Dale Carnegie Throughout Canada kevin@businessnext.ca (905) 826-7300 / 1-800-361-2032 ext. 223 www.dalecarnegie.ca www.businessnext.ca PS:  Over the last six months I have been getting many nice complaints that some people have not been receiving the Monday Morning Mentor.  While examining the causes one that popped out is that many companies have automatic systems that block repetitive e-mails.  One of the simplest solutions is for you to enroll with your personal email address.  If you want this weekly business mentoring, then re-subscribe or white list the existing subscription.   A 3 - 5 minute a week read on actions to take your business and career forward is available.  It is up to you.  Make sure you keep getting it.

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Email you stories to: krcrone@dalecarnegie.ca