Employee retention important; stressed during times of economic turmoil 

Featured in the Collin County Business Press
Written by: Stewart James
March 25, 2009

The success of a professional organization is directly linked to its ability to retain and attract high-quality employees.

In the midst of economic turmoil, the ability to do so is even more important.

While market conditions might indicate that fewer opportunities means employees are happy to stay put, participants in a study conducted by AchieveGlobal, indicated the opposite to be true.

“They [employees] generalize this disillusionment in terms of where the state of the world and where the state of the economy is,” said Tad McIntosh, president & CEO, HumCap.

SHW Group seeks three professional qualities in a new hire that the architectural firm believes will further its position as one of the top firms in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. They are professional expertise, a desire to make the world better through architecture and the ability to work collaboratively. “We believe in finding a ‘good fit’ in a potential new hire and it takes a special talent to work in our firm’s open, transparent environment,” said Mark Gerner, managing principal for SHW Group’s Plano studio. “We are very stringent in our screening process to ensure that we are hiring the very best candidates in their respective fields.”
“Attracting and retaining high-quality employees are long-term strategies for SHW Group,” Gerner said.

Gerner believes the best architects and engineers are primarily seeking two attributes in a firm — interesting client projects and a great work culture.
“The variety of educational building types that SHW designs provides many interesting professional challenges and unique design opportunities,” Gerner said. “We are also dedicated to providing a work culture that rewards personal innovation and achievement and that supports each employee as an individual.”

Just as importantly, SHW involves its prospects in a rigorous interviewing process to ensure that the job opportunity is a great fit for both parties, Gerner said.
“I’m not sure attracting employees is the issue, but attracting the right employees is the issue,” McIntosh said. “Because there are plenty of people out there that are looking for work right now.”

It is not just these times; we have a free agent nation that people are going to move through more jobs than what used to be the case 20 years ago., McIntosh said.

“We’re observing more competition for jobs in the local architecture and engineering sectors,” Gerner said. “However, we are also seeing clients who are firm in their resolve for securing expertise in our particular educational building types. Developing a design expertise in learning environments and the unique needs of North Texas school districts takes years to develop so it’s not an easy market entry for our competitors.”

What they should be doing is communicating where they want to go as a company because it is not about getting a body in the seat, it is about getting right person on board that can be making an impact in the business in what is a difficult time. That is probably the biggest challenge. Making an impact in a difficult economy.

Down economy clouds employee minds
Employees perceive the state of the economy and associate it with their jobs.

It is where they go everyday from nine to five, McIntosh said.

“They look at the global issue, the national issues, the economic issues and then the company issues. And they just get disillusioned with it,” McIntosh said.

A significant number of workers, 23 percent, expect to leave their existing positions within the year, leaving no doubt that without active talent retention strategies in place attrition continues to be a significant threat, according to the study conducted by AchieveGlobal.

“A lot of people believe that if they change what happens from nine to five then they are changing their situation,” McIntosh said. “It might not be correct in doing so. In other words, there are a lot of unhappy employees out there based partially on the big picture situation and then partially on the little picture meaning what is going on at company ABC.”

Walking around the office, talking to employees and having a genuine interest in as well as talking about business is really the most important thing a manager can do right now, according to Yvonne Able, executive director of client services, Delta Dallas.

“When a company is going through a lot of change people might expect that they are going to get laid off and therefore they try to be proactive and look for a job that is more secure,” Able said.

The main reasons why employees consider leaving their jobs are: lack of growth development, lack of respect and lack of adequate compensation.

“In terms of the big picture one thing, in this market, is to explain how they are going to thrive and survive, in other words help employees see the vision of where the company or the entity is going,” McIntosh said.