Employers and Employees: Partners or Enemies?

“I have long been convinced that…employers and employees are partners, not enemies: that their interests are common, not opposed: that in the long run the success of each is dependent upon the success of the other.” ~ John D. Rockefeller, Jr. This is so right on, John. I totally agree. Wake up folks! This is the Information Age. The days of treating employees as less than partners is OVER! Plus the time of leading by intimidation is FINISHED! The more you enroll your employees in your visions, the more support and success you create. The workplace has changed and no longer will employees stay in a position for 30 years just for the sake of security. This is one of the reasons that so many corporate employees are jumping ship and becoming entrepreneurs. Employees become tired of being told what to do, how to do it, and being chastised if the directions they’ve been given to follow from their employers fall short and a project fails. Guess who usually gets the blame? That’s right! The employee. Even though water usually runs downhill, when it comes to pointing the finger and assigning guilt, often it’s the employee who ends up being the scapegoat for dismal results. Today’s new breed of employees wants to know two things: they want to know they matter to you, their employer, and they want to make a worthwhile contribution to the bottom line of the company they’re working for. Statistics also show that the average professional will change jobs at least 7 times in their working life. Can your company survive constant turnovers? Believe me – it takes longer to retrain a new hire than to show your current employees that you value their worth. Your success as an employer will be tied to your ability to meet their needs, create long term relationships, and ultimately reduce your turnover rate. So how can you do that? 1. Set clear guidelines and expectations from the get go. Implement job descriptions so your employees will know what key functions they are responsible for. 2. Utilize their talents. Let them do the things they are good at, and don’t force them to do things that they’re not capable of doing and expect miracles. 3. Implement strategies that support teamwork instead of creating ‘lone rangers.’ As the old saying goes, “Two heads are better than one,” so listen to the input you get from your employees. There just might be some nuggets of gold in their words. 4. Communication is the key to success. Always be open and honest with your team, and above all, don’t be afraid to ask them for help when you need it. I imagine that some of you may be shaking your heads and saying, “But Cookie, I pay these people good money to work for me! Shouldn’t that be enough?” Not anymore. While compensation for a day’s work is still important, your employees want to know that you genuinely care for their level of contentment in your business. Feel free to use 3 little words that will go a long way to fostering good employee relations, namely ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Partnerships are successful when everyone is committed to the same agenda – the success of the team. By definition, the word partner means a cooperative relationship between people or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal. Conversely, by definition the word enemy means one that is antagonistic to another; especially one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent. Which definition best suits YOU?