Dear Attendees,
It was a pleasure to have you join Unbound Ideas and Howard Morgan for Beverly Kaye’s October 20 webinar, “Developing the Kept-On Workforce.” Thank you for being part of the discussion and providing feedback on the event.
Dr. Beverly Kaye
We’d like to remind you that your registration fee included the opportunity to listen to Bev’s earlier presentation, “Engaging the Kept-On Workforce.” If you’ve lost your access password, just let us know. Together, the two discussions provide a master class on getting the most out of your workforce in difficult times.
Engagement, as Bev noted, is a major word in the human resources and management fields. Bev defined engagement as a persistent state of workforce fulfillment that translates into enthusiasm, passion, focus and results. As opposed to previous eras, however, development is no longer all about career progression, but about “growth in place.”
The Kept-on Workforce is Bev’s preferred term for the “survivors” of downsizing, right-sizing, and sometimes capsizing that organizations have been experiencing recently. She broke that group up into three segments. First, there are those that have been let go, not for individual or organizational performance issues but because the economic downturn has been relentless in its pressure. The good news about this group, according to Bev’s research is that they are almost always better off, a year later. Second, there are those members of the workforce who are staying on board but keeping their options open. For them, the trauma of layoffs and cutbacks has put them under deep stress, and they are uncertain about the future, and their future with the company. Finally, there are those in the organization who remain on staff but are cynical and critical of the organization in a harmful way.
According to Bev, the job of the organization is to help the first group, revive the third group, and realign the second group.
Despite all the change and stress organizations are experiencing, there is some good news. The workforce wants what organizations need them to want – namely they have a desire to learn, grow, and contribute. It’s the job of employers to provide those opportunities in line with business needs.
The solution is to encourage people to have self-powered careers. Managers don’t always have the skill to make this possible, however. The organization must make sure managers can have the conversations the workforce needs to experience.
In her closing comments, Bev strongly advised organizations not to hunker down during this recession, but to do everything possible to develop the talent that is in place. Those organizations that fail to do so will miss an opportunity to be competitive as the economy turns.
While you await your copy of Bev’s book, we recommend the attached article, entitled Leaders With ESP for Tough Times.
We also appreciate Bev making access available to us of her podcast interview with T+D Magazine, which is where this article recently appeared. The streaming file is below. Simply hit play to listen! We also encourage you to let us know how you are using this information and what challenges you are facing today. Use the comments box below and we’ll ask Bev to review them and be back in touch where appropriate.
On behalf of Beverly Kaye and Howard Morgan, we thank you again for joining us, and look forward to the next occasion.
Warm Regards,
Unbound Ideas
