Business Leadership/Career Advancement

[ultrarunner]

We use National document destruction company with weekly pickup.

No pickup for 2 weeks... all the drivers quit at the regional office.

The medical linen company has a new person every pickup or it's a manager driving... but he also left.

The old guys in the routes for years had it down... they retired this year and it's been quite the struggle... some positions take 2 to replace what one had done

We hired management from outside as none of the RN wanted to be Director of Nursing... many nurse very happy with three 12 hour shifts a week and no desire for more. The outside hires 50/50 if they will accept after extensive on boarding.

It was not all that long ago seasoned employees were criticized for not handing over the reins so others could move up...

 

[Dftodd]

It does seem upper level Government management is a revolving door... always the search to fill vacant positions... some police departments down 40% in staffing.

Being a police officer is a rough, thankless line of work. And let's face it, in most areas the pay sucks. Add in all the negative publicity and office politics, I can see why less and less people are interested in that line of work.

Heck, the bug man who treated my house and handled the annual termite inspection had 10 years with the local sherrifs department before changing careers. He got fed up with the crappy hours and the politics.

 

[ultrarunner]

Pay and benefits good but morale very low for most local departments…

 

[Snobdds]

My company is one of the few that still offers a full pension, healthcare for life, and a contribution to a 401k at 5%. Retirees live well...

We have had so much turn over in the past two years it's unbelievable. Inflation is causing this. Younger people are chasing marginal gains in salary and hourly wages while not thinking of the longer term benefits. In exit interviews, benefits are ranked the lowest benefit while a high wage was ranked 1st. So starting 1/1/2023, new hires will not get a pension, or healthcare for life. They will still get a 5% 401k match. They in turn will get a higher wage. These people are dumb and math seems to be a lost skill.

The cost of housing/rent are making people live for today and not tomorrow. It sad that old catalysts for wealth are being scrubbed from society.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Plus American biz leadership culture is horrible, micro management is demanded. Making your workforce inefficient, a good balance of work/play time is frowned upon as being lazy. Until this stigma changes, we will continue to go downhill in efficiency. The US of A has the longest working hours and lowest efficiency in the western hemisphere. I came from Norway with 37.5h work week.......we get to work, get work done. Less visiting and BS, then enjoy an earlier out.

 

[Diggin It]

I didn't understand pennies into dollars either way back then. When I was spending Uncle Sam's money in the eartly '90s, HR kept pushing me to get into what they called TSP (Thrift Savings Plan, basically a 401K type plan). I didn't understand what it did other than deduct 5% from my check which I was reluctant to give up but finally agreed to.

I put in 5%, Uncle Sam matched that plus the agency 1 or 2%, so about 11 or 12% was going in. When I left there in '96, I had the option to leave the money in TSP, which I did because it was only a few thousand. Even with the big drops in '08/'09 and '21/'22, there is now enough for me to live on for several years even if I had no other income.

 

[Herness]

Plus American biz leadership culture is horrible, micro management is demanded. Making your workforce inefficient, a good balance of work/play time is frowned upon as being lazy. Until this stigma changes, we will continue to go downhill in efficiency. The US of A has the longest working hours and lowest efficiency in the western hemisphere. I came from Norway with 37.5h work week.......we get to work, get work done. Less visiting and BS, then enjoy an earlier out.

Agree with every single word.
Just would like to add that we all need to think of importance of modern technology and how useful it is to implement those in our daily business routine. Microsoft 365 business voice sms was my biggest discovery this year.

 

[dougtrr2]

Make sure you understand the difference between leadership and management. Never forget the value of your employees, without them you have nothing.

I worked at a manufacturing company that did not have the highest level workforce. Heard one of the office ladies bad mouthing the plant workers. I very emphatically pointed out "if it wasn't for that man willing to stand in front of a punch press for 8 hours a day, we have nothing. You can shuffle paperwork all day long, but without those parts we go out of business."

Doug in SW IA

 

[Oaktree]

We have had so much turn over in the past two years it's unbelievable. Inflation is causing this. Younger people are chasing marginal gains in salary and hourly wages while not thinking of the longer term benefits. In exit interviews, benefits are ranked the lowest benefit while a high wage was ranked 1st. So starting 1/1/2023, new hires will not get a pension, or healthcare for life. They will still get a 5% 401k match. They in turn will get a higher wage. These people are dumb and math seems to be a lost skill.

But is that all that different from years past? When I was in my 20s-mid 30s long-term benefits were the furthest thing from my mind, as it was for most of my peers. We were more concerned with establishing homes, paying off college loans, etc. than with retirement 40+ years away. As you get closer, and a bit more settled your priorities change.
I don't know what business you're in, but I've never worked for a company that offered a pension or lifetime healthcare. Then again, with the exception of a supermarket chain I worked at while I was "between jobs", none of the companies I've worked for are still in business.

 

[RustyA]

After spending 40 years serving my customer's automotive needs no matter what I've noticed a dramatic societal change in the last 3 years. No matter what industry no one wants to "own the football" and go the extra mile to solve problems. Customer service is all email to a blind address that always involves a different person. It's impossible to pick up the phone and speak to a caring person who wants to help you solve your problem. The few people that want to work customer facing jobs put the minimum effort in needed to keep getting paid. Before retiring I offered my young employees the opportunity to own the business for 30% of it's value with nothing down and in 5 years they would own it outright. Within 90 days half of them had quit and two are living off the proceeds of their YouTube channel income. All have left the automotive repair business and will never return even though they were ASE master certified technicians. That's just my view from my little corner of the world. No one wants the responsibility of building a business and helping people solve their problems anymore regardless of the field. I'm very concerned that the idea of American excellence is at risk.