Finding a job with benefits that include weekly hiking trips,paid time off for community service and 100 percent medical coverageused to be the daydream of the fry-cook and the financial consultantalike.
But now, in the tightest peacetime job market since the 1950s,workers are increasingly likely to find the utopian job of theirdreams with as little effort as it takes to, say, flip a burger.
With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering near 4 percent, managersmust offer employees a variety of incentives and benefits, help thembalance their work and personal lives and take an interest in theirphysical and spiritual well-being. Otherwise, good workers will justgo elsewhere.
"Employees want to be treated like adults and be managed bypeople who know how to manage," said Jeff Collins, a managing partnerof the consulting company Human Resources and Management Solutions."With the market as it is, if employees don't get that, they canleave and find another job."
Because they can easily find work, employees have begun jumpingbetween jobs like day traders move between stocks. The expandinginformation technology industry, coupled with hundreds of newInternet start-ups and a booming economy, has created a wealth of newemployment opportunities.
"Generally speaking, employers are getting pretty inventive withthe benefits they're giving," Collins said. "Pay isn't the retentiondevice that it once was. It is certainly a requirement, but it's notwhat keeps people around anymore."
Employees want longer vacations, more opportunities foradvancement, strong managers and respect.
Nearly 90 percent of workers say the balance between work andtheir personal life, respect from management and career opportunitiesdetermine whether they stay with or leave a company, according to asurvey of 500 professionals by MasteryWorks Inc., an Annandale, Va.-based human resource consulting firm. Once the top tool to attractand keep employees, salary ranked near the bottom of the list.
"We've found out that the same motives cause people to leave aswell as stay," said Caela Farren, the chief executive officer ofMasteryWorks. "Respect, trust and a good relationship with one'smanager have become critical factors."
With so many options, employees are beginning to call the shots.What one employer won't provide, another almost certainly will. As aresult, businesses are starting to erase the once-solid line betweenemployees' personal and work lives.
That means anything from providing on-site child care to allowingworkers to telecommute.
"Employees now enjoy a bargaining power that I haven't seenbefore," Collins said. "My sense is that it's been evolving away fromemployer bias to an employee bias ... It's a pretty doggone good timeto be an employee."
Steve Foss certainly knows how to retain employees.
He treats all of his workers at Foss Industries Inc., as if theyare senior executives.
They receive the best in benefits - 100 percent medical anddental coverage, yearly money management seminars and bonueses basedon company profits.
But Foss doesn't stop there. He not only listens to their ideas,but also requests their input on critical decisions.
He offers them a chance for upward mobility and buys them lunchweekly. He even gives them paid time off for community service.
"In most positions we don't have much turnover," said Foss of hiscompany, which maintains semiconductor equipment. "Focusing onemployees is key if you don't want them to leave."
While all industries have been hit hard, the information technology industry faces perhaps the most acute shortages ofqualified workers.
"I would say that in our market it's real tight," said LaddieBlaskowski, president of Innovative Network Inc., which providesnetwork management services for small businesses. "It's probably oneof the worst markets."
Informantion technology workers want career advancement. Theywant promotions and to keep up with current technology, said VinaiThummalapally, plant manager of Mitsui Advanced Media, a Japanesecompany that makes recordable compact discs in the Springs.
Technology employers have responded by offering employees stockoptions, providing them with continual training and wideningadvancement opportunities.
"Our philosophy here is to get the employee involved," Thummalapally said. "We also give them an opportunity to gain skillsand get bumped up one, two, even three notches in the company."
Mitsui's plan seems to be working. Turnover has dropped from 57percent in 1997 to 24 percent last year.
"Retention involves a lot - good working conditions, compensationand benefits and an opportunity to increase their skill and move up,"Thummalapally said. "
Other technology employers focus on recruiting. AgilentTechnologies Inc., spun off from Hewlett-Packard Co., markets itselfas an employee-friendly place to work.
The recruiting competition is especially intense for collegegraduates.
"We've had to be more proactive, in the past we just let themcome to us," said Bill Smith, a communications and public affairsofficer with Agilent.
Some employers are finding creative methods to keep workers.
FutureCall Telemarketing Inc., a telemarketing firm, offers a$10,000 contest for employees who have maintained perfect attendanceover a given period of time.
"It's good motivator," said Sandra Alexa, FutureCall's seniorvice president. "We're implementing new ideas and new strategies andtrying to do a lot of different things."
The retailing industry has been hit the hardest by the tight jobmarket. Retailers traditionally have fought high turnover, andintensifying competition for workers has made keeping employees evenmore challenging.
"This is a huge issue for the retail industry; it's one of thebiggest problems we have," said Robin Lanier, senior vice presidentof the International Mass Retail Association.
"It's more difficult for us than any other industry in Americabecause the service industry doesn't have a good reputation for payand benefits," Lanier said. "When we go to college campuses, we'recompeting with companies like Microsoft, manufacturing companies andindustries with a good reputation."
Even if the economy slows and the job market loosens, employeesare likely to retain much of the leverage they have gained in the jobmarket.
"I think it's impossible to go backwards," Farren said. "Once youoffer it it's hard to take it back. I think it's a win-win situationfor both (employers and employees). The more you give to people themore loyal they are."
- Chris Walsh may be reached at 636-0162 or chrisw@gazette.com. Edited and headline by Wayne Heilman
What employees want
With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering just above 4 percent,employers nationwide are struggling to find and retain qualifiedtalent. Businesses have been forced to offer a variety of benefitsand incentives to retain valued employees.
A study by Virginia-based MasteryWorks Inc. of 500 professionalsfound the percentage of employees value:
More than 90 percent
Respect by manager
Integrity of manager
Work/life balance
Career opportunities
70-90 percent
Personal values aligned with organization values
Flexible work hours
Learning opportunities
Challenging work
30-60 percent
Teamwork
Comparable pay
Passion for the organization's mission
Autonomy
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