A Management Mistake During Tight Labor Periods

It's no surprise to anyone who has tried to hire someone in the past year that the labor market is incredibly tight.  The unemployment rate (percentage of people who are unemployed and looking for work) is historically low.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, voluntary turnover in 2021 was 25% and that trend has extended into 2022. That means one of every four workers is changing jobs each year!

Managers and small business owners in all industries are scrambling to find and keep workers. There is one unintended consequence of this panic that managers should be cautious of. That is the tendency for supervisors and managers to tolerate behaviors and performance that they would not tolerate during periods when the labor market is not so challenging.  Some individuals who were C players even before the pandemic have responded to their new power position by becoming C- players. They used to come in late once per week.  Now they're late virtually every day.  They used to make a few mistakes per week, now they make a bunch.

The problem for managers who tolerate this lower level of performance from their most disengaged employees is that the more engaged workers see this and are demotivated by it. Too much of this can result in the A and B players leaving the organization.

The question managers should ask themselves is, "would I prefer to be short-handed with my best, most productive workers or be short-handed with only my least productive workers." The answer is obvious. Managers should not tolerate behaviors and performance during a tight labor market that they wouldn't in more "normal" times. They should address performance issues with those whose performance is slipping, encourage them to improved, and if they remain defiant, invite them to exit the organization. It'll hurt in the short-term, but they are more likely to keep their best talent in the long-term.

Best Boss I Ever Had

“Tell me about the best boss you ever had.”  This is a favorite interview question of mine as well as a conversation starter I use in training classes.  Since a lot of my training classes are with construction, trades and manufacturing front line supervisors, I often hear some version of this story:

 

My best boss was Bob.  He cussed me every day.  He would throw tools at us if we weren’t doing what he thought we should be doing...

 

I enjoy hearing their stories because I had a Bob or two in my early life as well.  When teaching new supervisors how to be remembered by their team members as the best boss they ever had, I dive more into what made Bob a great boss.  If my training is successful, they begin to understand that it wasn't the cursing or tantrums that made Bob a great boss, it was that he cared.  

Bob wouldn't be remembered as a great boss if his behavior was associated with selfish motivations - like making his own bonus or getting off of work early. They knew Bob yelled at them because he cared.  He cared about the quality of the product or service. He cared about the customer.  He cared about meeting deadlines. He would take time to teach them skills.  He genuinely wanted them to grow professionally.

Bob's behavior is no longer acceptable in the modern workplace (though it still exists).  The modern foreman or supervisor needs to remind him or herself that it wasn't the cursing that made Bob a great boss, it was the caring. The modern supervisor is challenged to hold workers to high standards of performance and coach them in their career development without using Bob's techniques.  The answer is learning how to have adult conversations with workers, even when they aren't acting like adults.