Companies that cut seasoned employees without considering the wisdom and knowledge lost are making an expensive, if not disastrous, mistake, according to a recent article in Business Week.

In the deluge of head count slashing and budget cuts, companies may be making critical mistakes in shedding a vital asset: mature workers. The current economic climate is prompting organizations to reexamine priorities and jobs.

When considering cutbacks, be sure to carefully examine not just positions but also individuals’ backgrounds so that the organization’s most valued wisdom doesn’t wind up walking out the door. It is essential to focus on future strategic growth areas as well as the core business so the talent you need for both is not lost in a tide of downsizing.

Cutting staff is always a challenge - here are some things to consider when faced with this difficult task:

• Make strategic staff reductions that preserve the core business while you invest in the future.
• Rethink how you train leaders. Teach them how to develop and support workers of all generations. If the Gen Xer in charge isn’t figuring out how to learn the most from both Baby Boomers and Millennials, the business is suffering.
• Create a “Corporate Wisdom Team” made up of contributors to the organization that have helped guide the business over time through multiple challenges and changes.
• Solve the problem of organizational wisdom transfer.

What strategies do you use when faced with the task of cutting staff?

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A quick survey of employers will reveal that they are of two minds when it comes to online  information they find about potential candidates; some take it with a grain of salt while others take it into consideration during the hiring process.

Seth Godin reminds us that everything that you put up ends up as your permanent record and could impact your success in being hired.

A friend of his advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper and then Googled the names of the top three candidates. One included binge drinking under hobbies, a second made a blog entry indicating she was looking for a menial job and would leave as she sold some of her paintings and the third had been arrested for shop lifting.

The bottom line - Google never forgets.

Seth’ s advice - you don’t have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you’re on Candid Camera, because you are.

Regardless of what emphasis employers put on this information, it remains there for those who want to find it.

What does your personal brand tell employers about you?

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There are elements beyond your control can impact your job search success. Yet, there are many factors over which you have complete control. Rather than focusing on what you cannot change, why not focus on what you can. Here are some reasons that you may not be getting the results you want in your current job search:

You’ve already convinced yourself there aren’t any jobs available.
Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” Attitude and confidence play a large role in success—whether you’re an athlete, businesswoman, or job hunter.

You have no clear plan.
Can you imagine a sports team entering a game without a game plan? From little league to the pros there is always a game plan in place. You study the opposition. Study the field of play. You play to your strengths while exploiting the opposer’s weaknesses. As a job hunter, you must take the same approach.

You shy away from high-risk, high-reward job search techniques.
It isn’t uncommon for a frustrated job hunter to reveal that they spend countless hours on their job search each day. The majority—if not all—of that time is spent in passive job search activities like surfing online job boards and combing through newspaper ads. These activities are convenient and feel safe. However, they are not the most effective strategies for landing your next job.

70% of all jobs are found through networking. If you are currently involved in a job hunt, networking should be an integral part of your strategic plan. Learn how to network effectively.

What can you change in your job search to improve your chances of success?

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Landing the right job hinges on old-world skills according to Mark Jewell of the Associated Press

If there’s any small solace when starting a job search in this recession, it’s the proliferation of digital technology to help you re-enter the working world.

Web sites like Indeed.com and LinkedIn.com have multiplied the number of job openings you can track and the professional contacts you can make. E-mail and
smartphones make it easier to pitch yourself and set up appointments.

But in the end, landing the right job hinges on old-world skills.

“The electronic piece usually just gets your foot in the door,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, a tech industry recruiting division of Menlo Park staffing consultant Robert Half International. “You still have to present yourself well face-to-face in an interview, and you have to have good references,” he said.

A word of caution from a New York career counseling company, job seekers frequently misuse electronic gadgets and the Web and run roughshod over professional etiquette. Some of their advice: Observe boundaries (even if you have personal contact information), network the smart way (identify your reasons for
connecting on social networking sites) and manage your digital footprint carefully.

Are you working to hone your “old world “skills?

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As organizations look for strategies to deal with the economic downturn, there is yet another research report that found now is not the time to halt employee development

A new research report published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found that, despite the downturn, the war to keep top talent remains a priority for most organizations.

In light of the downturn, talent strategies have been revisited, reworked and streamlined to improve their cost effectiveness, with organizations looking for internal options to retain talent. The most popular positive practices include developing more talent in-house (55 percent) and focusing on essential development (45 percent).

“It is essential that organizations avoid knee-jerk reactions and cost-cutting in the very areas that will make the biggest difference,” said Claire McCartney. “Now is not the time to halt employee development nor is it the time to postpone or scale back talent management strategies. However, more cost effective solutions need to be found as return on investment will come under greater scrutiny.

“Managing, developing and motivating talented employees is even more important because it is the one thing that can differentiate organizations and ensure that they not only survive the short-term but thrive in the long term.”

Dealing with current economic conditions require new talent strategies and the short term savings recovered by cutting back on staff development will prove to be very costly in the long term.

What are your long term talent management strategies?

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Even in a recession, employment branding is still counts according to a recent post on ere.net. During times of instability where employee trust and loyalty are eroded through short-term cost cutting and job shedding, employee engagement plummets.

A quality employment brand strategy proactively and appropriately manages expectations, reputation, and image, all toward what you’re trying to do — attract and engage a skilled and productive workforce, which is the most critical driver of business success. Even in today’s environment, “A” players will exercise careful choices about where they come to work and what they want out of the employment relationship.

In evaluating your organization’s employment brand strength, consider these four primary objectives:

• Authenticity. Employment branding is an inside-out strategy, and an ultimate reflection of the day-to-day work experience inside the organization.

• Differentiation. To successfully attract the highest quality, critical skills in a market space and sustain high employee engagement, it has to be clear what gives your organization a competitive advantage.

• Compelling. The differentiation must be compelling enough to command attention, motivate change, and drive loyalty.

• Consistency. To deliver a consistent, quality brand experience, you’ve got to test out different things and measure how they’re working.

Are you working to improve your employer brand?

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A recent survey in the US validates what we have seen in the workplace, adoption of social media is soaring with one third (35%) of American adult internet users having created a profile on an online social network. This is four times as many as three years ago. The results break out by age in the following manner:
• 75% of online adults 18-24 have a profile on a social network
• 57% of online adults 25-34 have a profile on a social network
• 30% of online adults 35-44 have one
• 19% of online 45 to 54 year olds have a profile
• 10% of online 55 to 64 year olds have a profile
• 7% of online adults 65 and older have a profile

Now consider when these social networking tools were introduced and their number of registered users to date:
Facebook
2004
150 million active users

LinkedIn
2003
30 million registered users

How are you using social media in your recruitment campaign?

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It’s a fast-paced, tech-savvy environment, where politicians sign up for Facebook accounts, companies create blogs and discussion forums to communicate with customers, and employees are learning on-the-job from resources such as Wikipedia.

In this new age, social media tools are no longer just social applications. It’s evident they have a place in the world of business according to Lindsay Wickman of Chief Learning Officer.

“Social media tools are here to stay,” We have to realize that technology is the way learning is being conducted, the way relationships are being established and developed, and the way global commerce is being conducted. Adapting to it just a requisite; it must be done.” says Kristin Tillquist, author of Capitalizing on Kindness: Why 21st Century Professionals Need to Be Nice.

“I think that’s our challenge right now at this particular junction: How do we make sure technology is a tool that doesn’t fall over into being a trap?” Tillquist said.

To avoid this, she believes organizations need to have realistic policies and expectations in place and communicate them to employees.

“It’s something that every major corporation is considering,” Tillquist said. “Because of the economic recessionary times, it’s being looked at more and more as a way to not only be mobile and modern and connect with Millennials, but also as a way to save resources and maximize learning opportunities within an organization.”

Are you changing with the times?

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Jeffrey Gitomer’s advice about customer relationship wellness applies to member relationship and service wellness in the club industry. Here again are customer relationship and service guidelines adapted from Gitomer

Evaluate your service strengths and weaknesses. Make a plan for improving service gaps that has a deadline and measurable results.

Identify your competitive advantages (what makes you remarkable). Play to those as often as possible. To identify them, ask members.

Stay in front of your members. Develop tools that aid that process (newsletters, faxes, articles, gifts, tickets).

Train everyone to serve exceptionally and memorably every time a customer is encountered. Treat every member and guest as though they were a celebrity.

Surprise your customers as often as you can. Exceed their expectations in a memorable way. You know what it feels like when you are surprised — do it to someone else. Get people talking about you.

Decide you are willing to go the extra mile. Sometimes extra effort is required to make service happen. You have to have a willingness to go the extra mile to achieve it.

What are your doing to make your service remarkable and memorable?

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Jeffrey Gitomer is a high energy sales trainer who has written numerous books on establishing and maintaining relationships. Much of his advice about customer relationship wellness applies to member relationship and service wellness in the club industry. The following guidelines have been adapted from Gitomer

Establish benchmarks for service. Minimum acceptable standards, methods of response, decision parameters, a list of every customer complaint, a list of every customer expectation, and a documented “best response” to each of those situations.

Empower employees with specific actions to decide based on your benchmarks. Empower everyone to say yes as a first response. Only empower senior management to say no.

Train everyone in your business. Start with a Yes! Attitude and teach your staff to develop fundamental skills in achieving goals, understand themselves and their co-workers, develop pride, accept responsibility, listen to understand, communicate effectively, embrace change, make decisions, provide memorable service, and work as a team.

Develop a standardized “gripe response” formula. Train everyone in your organization to execute it perfectly.

Ask your members to help you serve them better. Listen to discover your customer’s most important characteristics in a relationship with you. Ask them where you can improve. Find out their perceptions; modify or change your characteristics and perceptions to meet theirs.

What are you doing to maintain healthy service relationships with your members?

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