WHY CORPORATES SHOULD BE WORRIED RIGHT NOW…

Reading news has become a fearful morning routine. Countries in distress, political agendas going awry, more and more companies letting go of staff. With the leaps & bounds of technological advancements in this age, with software and systems replacing jobs, employees are feeling the heat. How long can I stay relevant? How long will I be able to keep my job? What happens if I’m let go?

Then there’s the world of entrepreneurs and business coaches who encourage you to start something for and by yourself. “Don’t spend your life working on someone else’s dream, build your own.” Heard that one before?

Finally, the market today has opened up innumerable avenues to start your own business. Online businesses are absolutely BOOMING, whether for marketing, consultancy or social media. Heck, you can make millions off just YouTube.

So what’s the added incentive of working for a company?

Gone are the days when people needed to rely on 9-5 jobs to earn a living. Today they can earn a decent living sitting behind a computer at home or starting a small time business, deciding their own hours, free from hierarchy. People don’t want to be forced in uncomfortable situations with colleagues and bosses who admonish or disrespect them. And the nail on the coffin- even the biggest companies in the world are letting go of staff in huge numbers. That’s a shaky experience. Company takeovers, profits not meeting targets, technology replacing jobs- if you think about it, organizations are becoming smaller with time.

And that’s why corporates should be worried. How are you going to retain your staff with everything going on right now?

What many don’t realize though, is we NEED the big corporates. The world can’t function without them. Imagine if everyone turned into an entrepreneur, how would things go? Urban infrastructure, tools, technology, markets, commodities aren’t made by small-businesses alone, but technical experience and skills coming together and working on a massive scale towards common goals. As long as organizations keep their employees, the modern world survives.

But employees aren’t robots with technical skills. And we can’t treat them as a goal-delivering machine. That’s a sure shot way to kiss them goodbye. So here’s a solution: Invest In Your Employees. Make them feel valued, respected and motivated on a personal level. Give them the support to grow personally in their professional life. Whether it is through workshops on communication skills, personal branding, storytelling, leadership, feedback… make them feel like they have an identity and a place in your company and that YOU CARE about them, not just their job. Organize regular social occassions for employees to interact and enjoy time together outside work. Make sure managers and supervisors organize regular private meetings with the employees, whether teleconference or in person, to give a safe space to discuss issues at work for performance or inter-personal conflicts. And most importantly, teach your leaders the right communication skills so they can discuss sensitive issues with your employees respectfully. I’ve lost count on how many employees complain about feeling disrespected by their higher-ups in the company, one of the biggest reasons for people quitting their jobs.

Today, we need our employees more than they need us. Only when we treat them as a part of the family, will the family stay together.

Sangbreeta Moitra is an award winning public speaker & trainer and Corporate Storyteller based in The Netherlands. She works with with top corporates and universities to help professionals find value, confidence and a powerful speaker within themselves. Alongside, she functions in a leadership role as a Global Manager in the pharmaceutical industry. Follow her blog here, LinkedIn here and contact her at SangbreetaMoitra.com