New Economy, New Expectations
By Jeremy Lee

In the new economy the knowledge worker is the critical factor to organizational success (see article Winning in the New Economy). However, many organizations are realizing, getting the right employee is one thing retaining them is another. According to Sharon Jordan-Evans co author of “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting good people to stay” Only 54% of companies have retention strategies when 100% of them have recruitment strategies.

The age of life long employment and loyalty to an organization has become a myth; this is evident even in Japan, once the strongest advocate of such practice. For the first time, in the late 1990s, many Japanese lost their jobs, shaking the foundation of the Japanese organization mindset.

Knowledge workers today, do not remain long in an organization; they tend to move from one organization to another every few years. Some practice this for the opportunity to learn, others for the remuneration and many because they feel the company they work for is not meeting their expectations. So before we even derive our retention strategy, we need to know “What knowledge workers want?”

Leadership: They want leaders not managers. Leadership paint visions and move towards them. A manager tells others what to do without necessary doing it themselves.

Customize: Knowledge workers want the organization to accommodate their talents and expertises and not conform them to just another headcount.

Accessibility: Employees want accessibility to their employers. Employers need to show it values their feedbacks, comments and ideas and not place barriers between two way communication.

Consistency: The world is in constant motion; however sound leadership and business principles remains unchanged. The old adage: "Meaning what is said and doing what is said" remains true till this day.

WOW Companies: Knowledge workers want to work for remarkable or WOW companies. A WOW organization cares about their input, interest and feelings. They want to work for organizations that provides emotionally fulfilling meanings to their life.

Fun and more Fun: Work should be enjoyable and fun. The office should be a place to look forward to not detest.

Personal Growth: Knowledge Workers seek personal growth, individualize career plans and the development of their talents in their workplace.

Recognition and Rewards: Knowledge Workers demand recognition for their performance and they demand the appropriate rewards for their efforts. However it must be noted that rewards and recognitions does not always imply monetary units.

The next question is how are we to achieve the above? The answer to that lies within the knowledge workers, so ask them, what do they expect from the organization?

Last updated - 31 January 2004