The San Diego Workforce Partnership works with human resources professionals around San Diego to assess and relate ways that employees can be more successful in these uncertain times. I’m pleased to share this post by my associate, Tim Brouillette, Director of Human Resources at Gafcon and SharePoint360. - Rebecca Smith, Vice President, San Diego Workforce Partnership
How to Keep a Job - Tim Brouillette, Director of Human Resources, Gafcon and SharePoint360
Just as the economy goes through cycles of growth and contraction, so do individual companies and industries. In order to better survive this roller coaster ride, companies are taking a hard look at their workforce and making decisions about who to retain and/or recruit based on the following key factors:
- Flexibility
- Self-Motivation
- Positive Attitude
- Continual Learning
- Accountability
Flexibility
As the Greek philosopher Heraclites stated, “Nothing is constant except change.” Accordingly, if we are to survive, we must learn to adapt to the world around us. If we remain too rigid and inflexible, we are sure to snap. Only by learning to bend and adjust can we succeed.
Cheryl Hassan, Human Resources Manager with Lionel Henderson and Co., reported, “As my employer in San Francisco was going through a third round of layoffs, the decision of whom to keep got tougher and tougher. Ultimately, we kept the employees who were flexible enough and able to wear multiple hats and do what needed to get done.”
Self Motivation
Life continues to move at an ever-faster pace, and along with this reality comes the need to do more with less. Some employees are either so motivated by fear, or not motivated at all, that they spend more time waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
Not surprisingly, employers are looking for people to join their teams who neither want nor need to have their hand held. Employers seek people who can be told the final destination and the parameters in which they can operate, and then seize the opportunities to reach that goal on their own.
Positive Attitude
We can choose to be victims of our environments and/or situations, or we can choose how we respond to them. We will never have complete control over everything that happens to us, but we can and do have control over how we choose to see and respond to any given situation.
Many employers, such as Southwest Airlines, place a high emphasis on hiring for the right attitude.
Ginger Hardage, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, comments on the Southwest Airlines website that her company embraces the philosophy - Hire for attitude and train for skills. Skills can be taught, but attitudes are tougher to change.
According to Calista Davis, Vice President of Human Resources, YMCA of San Diego County, “Employees who are passionate about their work and embrace a positive attitude, coupled with the desire and ability to embrace change, will keep their organizations relevant and productive.”
Continual Learning
As previously indicated, life is continually changing whether we want it to or not. We must be prepared to adapt, or we will be left behind. If we fail to stay ahead of the curve, we become a liability to our employer, not an asset.
Rest assured that there is someone else who is more than willing to seize the opportunity that you are choosing to pass up.
Accountability
Nothing can be more frustrating to a supervisor than an employee who refuses to take responsibility for his/her actions or the outcome of any given situation.
Some employees take a defensive position and claim, “No one ever told me I had to do (fill in the blank).” While that excuse may buy you some time, this strategy will not work over the long run. The employee who thinks about the repercussions of his/her actions and proactively identifies opportunities to streamline processes, improve efficiencies, and approaches a supervisor with these ideas, will ultimately be deemed as a superstar at work.
These professional qualities may seem obviously desirable. However, to the employees struggling to keep his/her heads above water, these qualities are sometimes forgotten. It is our responsibility as managers and employers to inform employees and candidates of these factors to support their success.
Tags: calista davis, career, cheryl hassan, employment, gafcon, ginger hardage, human resource, jobs, life skills, San Diego at Work Blog, San Diego Workforce Partnership, SDNN, sharepoint 360, southwest airlines, Tim Brouillette
