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You And Your Workforce: The Future Is Now

By Don Phin

A recent article in The Economist on the future of the corporation concluded that to survive, businesses must be lean, flexible, reputable, and talented. To see what the future holds for you and your company, let’s examine how the characteristics needed for survival relate to workforce management.

Leanness. Middle management is defunct. Ditto for micro-management. Today, communication within organizations runs from junior to senior, student to mentor, and network to network. If you still think of your business as a hierarchy, think again.

Flexibility. Lifetime job security has given way to uncertainty for workers and managers alike. The need for flexibility requires loosening the reins of control while improving communication. Be open to input from your entire workforce, not just upper management. Think proactively, not reactively. Realize that your career is due for a change, whether planned or not.

Reputation. Customers and clients need to trust in who you are, not just what you do. Your reputation will depend on how you treat employees and in turn, how they deal with customers and clients, not to mention the impact of your civic activities in the local community.

Talent. This might well be the most important survival factor. Your ability to find and keep quality workers who can thrive in a lean and flexible environment will be critical.

Test for “talent workers” with the skills and character to be competent and trustworthy employees.

One of the greatest challenges to survival will be managing the cost of government regulation, estimated as high as $1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) per year in the U.S. alone. Take a proactive approach toward such regulatory issues as safety, retirement, discrimination, and family leave. Provide the highest level of employee benefits your profits will allow, and you’ll enjoy ample dividends in attracting, satisfying, and retaining customers and clients.

Ask yourself and your company, “Are we lean (doing more with less), flexible, reputable, and talented?” Instead of bemoaning regulation, ask, “How can we focus on these survival factors by caring for our workers, customers, and clients above and beyond what the law requires?” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Phin is an attorney who for more than 16 years, has specialized in the litigation of employment and business cases. He has represented hundreds of employees, partners and companies in that time. Don has litigated wrongful termination, race and age discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle-blower, trade-secret theft, fraud, partnership dissolution and many other cases to a successful conclusion. In 1995, Don obtained the status of a Certified Professional Consultant to Management (CPCM). Since then, he spends a large part of his time consulting, writing, speaking and coaching.

Don’s seminars, workshops and reports have been delivered to such groups as the International Risk Management Institute, Insurance Marketing and Management Services, The Executive Committee, The CEO Club, The Society for Human Resource Management, Foundation of Enterprise Development, The National Human Resource Association and The National Association of Professional Consultants to Management.

Risk management is about possibilities and probabilities. It’s about assessing the 80/20 of exposure and then committing the strategies and tools needed to protect yourself. I hope these insights will help those of you battling on the front lines. If you have any questions regarding the trials and tribulations of managing in today’s high-risk environment, e-mail or give me a call at 800-234-3304.

riskVue | The webzine for risk management professionals
March 2002