Human Resources Issues for Senior Management
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/605961
24/CANADIAN HR STRATEGY to quit their job if they were being bullied by colleagues or management; 11 per cent of respondents reported they previously left a position because they were suffering from psychological harassment. Other respondents reported issues of work-life balance, boredom and limited chance for advancement as reasons they would consider leaving an organization. Amazon's turnover rate is reportedly sky- high — a 2013 survey by salary analysis rm PayScale put the median employee tenure at one year. Employers looking to mimic Amazon's success would likely bene t more from increased attention to their recruitment policies than an overhaul of their manage- ment style, according to Rowan O'Grady, president of the Toronto-based recruitment agency Hays Canada. "Companies have to understand their own culture," he says. "They have to be very honest with themselves and very objective." The biggest mistake employers make, and one that consistently contributes to turnover, is the issue of " t," says O'Grady. Employers generally seek a generically good candidate, rather than searching out an employee who ts with their man- agement style and workplace culture. "There are these generic ideas about what a good candidate is. And if that idea is correct for every organization, then every candidate would be a t into every role. But that isn't the case. It doesn't take into account how good a t there is between the individual and the organization," he says. "If you're going to look at something like work ethic, it's not about an organization nding the candidate with the strongest work ethic, it's about nding a candidate with a work ethic that matches the company." Along with worth ethic, the major elements of t include social behaviour, conformity versus innovation, and teamwork versus individual work. "We're entering a different kind of economic period that's overlapping with a different type of demographic." Employees don't expect to spend more than a few years with the same organization, let alone a lifetime, and that will lead to increasing activity in the employment market even if the num- ber of employees remains relatively steady, says Williamson, "So that velocity, if you like, means that more and more dis- criminating employees are going to look at culture and it's go- ing to play — and has already been playing — a bigger and bigger part." Recent research from PsychTests in Montreal found 42 per cent of respondents would leave their job if they found them- selves dealing with a "toxic work environment" involving of- ce politics, while another 42 per cent would feel compelled "It's about fi nding a candidate with a work ethic that matches the company." PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK