Is having a concentration of long-term employees at your company a strength or a weakness?
I’ve posed that question to many executives and managers, and most of the time the response I get is very diplomatic “It’s a little of both.”
Long-term employees are well-versed in the company’s history and culture. They know how to get things done within the current system. They know where all the bodies are buried. All of which can be a source of strength during stable times.
The flip side is they may be reluctant to change their ways. They’ve likely grown comfortable with the consistency and predictability of their jobs and may resist new approaches to doing things. Their skills – particularly all-important technical skills – may be seriously outdated. This can be a huge problem when the company is trying to navigate a world of rapid change.
The times we live in are far from ‘stable’, and survival for many companies is going to hinge on making transformative changes. Banks and credit unions are increasingly competing against young, tech-savvy financial technology companies that are able to respond quickly to changes in the market because they are not constrained by legacy thinking, processes, and systems.
This morning I read an article titled The Amazon Customers Don’t See, which briefly recaps a New York Times investigation into how Amazon addresses the issue of long-term employees in their fulfillment centers. Amazon’s approach is to actively encourage employee turnover, believing that having an entrenched workforce represents a “march to mediocrity”. The approach they take to achieve this makes for some pretty appalling reading.
But given that change is essential to survival and long-term employees can be an obstacle to change, how do you address the problem?
I don’t claim to have any magic answers. But here are some thoughts from my past experience:
- Make sure your employees understand today’s challenges. They need to know that change is not an option. The survival of the company (and hence their jobs) depends on it, and it needs to be approached with a sense of urgency.
- Involve them in decision-making project teams, alongside co-workers, newcomers, and external consultants. Seek out their wisdom and council. Encourage them to share their ideas. Recognize and reward them when they do.
- Invest in meaningful training programs to help your employees improve their technical and other relevant skills. Allow them some ‘company time’ to do this. And create career paths so they can progress internally with their newly-acquired skills.
- Create cross-training programs where people can spend time working in other areas. This can help break down fixed mindsets, and their perspectives on workflows in a different department may prove to be valuable.
- Finally, there will always be some people who simply will not wish to change. Depending on their age and circumstances, the selective use of early retirement incentives may be appropriate.
It’s a balancing act to retain the value of long-term employees while at the same time injecting the new energy and ideas into the company that’s needed to create and sustain change. Successfully blending existing wisdom and experience with new ideas and approaches can create the strength and maturity needed to remain competitive in your market.
I would be very interested to hear your comments regarding what you have found to be successful in dealing with this issue in your company!
