There's a certain point in your business life
where buzzwords become a nonentity. You've heard them all a million times.
They soon mean nothing and actually become an annoyance. The list is endless ... quality,
empowerment, walk-the-talk, open-book management, win-win, Y2K, out-of-the-box, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Growing tired of a buzzword certainly doesn't demean the actual concept,
program, or movement described by the buzzword. In fact, it originally gained
prominence by virtue of the value it provided to the masses.
Why even discuss buzzwords? There's a new one on the horizon that, by all
appearances, will impact the workplace for quite some time to come. It will
attract talented employees eagerly to your doorstep or send them directly
to your competition, costing you time, effort, and dollars which simply can't
be measured.
The new buzzword is simply "Employer of Choice" (EOC) and job-seekers across
the nation are hearing it often from schools, counselors, and placement agencies.
Newspapers, magazines, and book publishers are jumping on the band-wagon and
cutting-edge organizations are striving to meet the ever-increasing requirements
to become an "Employer of Choice" (EOC).
However, it is sad to report that many organizations fail to recognize
the importance of this effort or simply choose to ignore it. Many others clearly
have no idea what it means.
Simply defined, "Employer of Choice" is a term used to designate an organization
that, because of its status and reputation, is always the first choice (or
at least on the short list) of world-class candidates.
It essentially means being able to provide employees with the most enjoyable
and fulfilling working environment as possible and balancing this with their
home and personal life. This may sound simple enough to achieve, but upon
more scrutiny, it actually requires a dedicated effort on the part of leadership
to establish the proper criteria.
We are currently working with several clients to identify and implement
the required elements to achieve this status. It is indeed more than just
a buzzword; it is representative of a whole new design of corporate culture.
It means that people will choose to work for you. It means that people will
choose to really dedicate themselves to your success. It means that people
will choose to stay with you, even when they are being courted by recruiters
from other employers.
A recent report, titled "The War for Talent" stated that over the next
20 years, employee talent will be what differentiates successful companies
and those going bust. Will your organization be ready?
Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker
and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a firm
specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting
services. Harry has appeared all over North America addressing topics such as
change, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting,
leadership, stress management, teamwork and time management for a number of industries,
including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and
manufacturing. He can be reached at 800-886-2MAX or by visiting
http://www.AchieveMax.com.
Publication Date: Winter 2001
