Past Five

The Best Places to Work Put Employees First

Last night, I attended the Daily Herald Business Ledger ceremony for the Best Places to Work in Illinois in 2012. LaSalle was honored in the small and medium size company category. It is a huge honor to be recognized and I am proud of every employee’s contribution to the award.

The keynote speaker, Thomas A. Klobucher, CEO of Thomas Interior Systems, explained why each company made the list using three words: putting employees first. Companies today that have the most unique culture and the most dedicated employees almost always put their staff first.

Happy employees treat customers better, subsequently improving customer service levels and sales at the organization.

Last night reinforced my belief that retaining and engaging staff is not all about monetary incentives. Almost every company that was honored offers training programs, uses recognition tools, provides regular feedback and spends quality time with employees.

They also do fun things as a company, like happy hours, baseball games, March madness parties, potlucks, sumo wrestling competitions and volunteering.

The ceremony attested to the fact that every company, regardless of its size, has the potential to be a great place to work.

Congratulations to all of my co-workers at LaSalle!

Are Job Seekers Above Receiving Training?

If you read "Help Wanted: In Unexpected Twist, Some Skilled Jobs Go Begging," in the Wall Street Journal, you know that Union Pacific is having difficulty finding workers with the necessary skill sets for their open positions. But Union Pacific isn't the only company struggling with this problem. Companies across the U.S. are willing to hire, but can't find candidates with the right level of experience.

Should these subpar candidates be hired merely to lower the unemployment rate? No. However, if companies find strong, hard working candidates, why not offer the position at a lower compensation rate for the first 6-18 months while the "A" candidates (that are lacking a few of the job requirements) are trained in the desired skills? Not only will this help the unemployment rate, but it will also eliminate the lack of qualified workers in the job market. Training is effective, builds loyalty and protects a company from turnover. And the best part is that training can be given to all employees in any division of a company.

But there's always two sides to a coin. While companies need to be willing to offer training programs to augment the desired skill set, employees and candidates need to be willing to take the pay cut and accept training. Job seekers today need to realize they don't have the skills companies are looking for. They need to realize they aren't worth the salaries they were making one, two, three years ago. They need to appreciate an opportunity to be invested in and trained. They should be the first ones in the office and the last ones to leave. If they can do this, then companies should be expected to train and develop hard working, intelligent people.

Now is the time for companies to train their own, at any level, and create their own stable of go-getters. The question is, are there people out there willing to commit themselves if this opportunity arrives?