Kinsa Group Blog

If you’ve watched the news lately, or followed the markets, you’ve probably found the economic data as puzzling and disconcerting as I have.  Up one day, way down the next.  One economic analyst talks about a slow recovery, the other warns us of the next recession.  The roller coaster we’re on isn’t showing any signs of smoothing out, thus leaving companies – and employees – wondering what’s next.

The honest answer is that nobody knows.  And for the people who work in your organization, that may be the most stressful part.  Uncertainty breeds fear.  And fear breeds discontent.  When people are unsure of their futures, they fill their minds (and waste their time) with irrational fears and “what ifs.”

During hard times, companies rely on their employees to help pull them through.  But unfortunately, that’s precisely when top performers are most likely to quit.  Watching others get laid off, chronic overwork and nagging uncertainty can all drive your best people out the door.

When your staff is worried, it’s up to you to control the outcome.  Now is the time to motivate, retain and even re-recruit your top employees, using the following ideas:

• Be honest. When times are tough, there’s a natural tendency to buckle down, work harder and avoid others.  This is a deadly mistake.  Without good information from you, your employees will draw their own (possible incorrect) conclusions.  In general, it’s far better to be forthcoming – even about bad news – than to withhold information.
• Involve top performers in developing solutions. Talk about the problems facing your organization and challenge your best employees to help create the solutions.  With a vested interest in the company’s success, and control over the ways problems are tackled, your staff will be more likely to stay through difficult times.
• Invest in one-to-one management. Layoffs, customer attrition and other sources of bad news tend to create a turbulent workplace.  Calm the waters by scheduling one-on-ones with each of your key team members.  Review the improvement plans being enacted, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead.  Outline clear expectations for each employee’s performance and the outcome that will occur if that performance is achieved.  If layoffs are likely, clearly delineate the situation that will trigger the cuts and what must occur to avoid them.
• Offer market pay. While this may not be the ideal time to consider increasing personnel expenses, don’t short-change yourself by under-compensating your staff.  Evaluate your pay and benefits package to ensure it’s competitive.  While money alone typically won’t drive high performance, a compensation package that is perceived as being unfair will create resentment – and drive employees out the door.
• Actively re-recruit top performers. Your company surely invests in marketing to existing clients.  Why?  Because it costs five times more to get a new customer than to retain an existing one.  The same is true of employees.  Top performers are incredibly expensive to replace.  Rather than take chances, be proactive about keeping them satisfied.
  Ask your employees to help keep the team together, by identifying those they feel are at risk of leaving.  Tell your employees how much you value them – regularly.  Find out what frustrates your best employees and develop ways to alleviate the sources.  Help top performers define career paths within your organization.  Bottom line, do whatever you can to keep your best and brightest inspired to continue working for you.

During times of crisis and uncertainty, true leaders emerge.  Get out of your office and go invest in your biggest asset – your people.  Let them know that they are more than just survivors; they are the champions who will create your company’s future success.

Contact Kinsa today to find out how our 8-Step Recruiting Process for food & beverage executives and professionals can deliver the high performers you need to thrive in this tough economy.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges facing HR during the next decade?

This is one of the questions posed in a poll by the Society for Human Resource Management titled “Challenges Facing Organizations and HR in the Next 10 Years.” The survey responses, gathered from 449 HR professionals, show that:

Getting and Making the Most of Human Capital is a Key Priority

• Nearly half of the respondents (47 percent) cite obtaining human capital and optimizing human capital investments as the top investment challenge for businesses over the next 10 years.
• 29 percent of the respondents list obtaining financial capital and optimizing financial capital investments as the top challenge.
• Obtaining intellectual capital and optimizing intellectual capital investments comes in third at 12 percent.

To Attract, Retain and Reward the Best Talent, Organizations Should:

• Allow flexible work arrangements. According to 58 percent of HR managers surveyed, providing flexibility for employees to balance their life and work responsibilities is the most effective way to attract, reward and retain top performers.
• Cultivate a culture of trust and fairness. 47 percent of respondents say that creating an organizational culture where trust, open communications and fairness are emphasized and demonstrated by leaders is a key priority.
• Provide meaningful work opportunities. 40 percent of HR managers say that designing jobs to provide employees with meaningful work that has a clear purpose in meeting the organization’s objectives optimizes the organization’s ability to engage and keep top talent.
• Demonstrate a commitment to employee development (29 percent).
• Offer a higher total compensation and benefits package than organizations that compete for the same talent (23 percent).

While these survey results aren’t earth-shaking, they do serve to underscore an important point.  As businesses like your food & beverage organization emerge from the recession, they should get ready to compete for talent.

Kinsa Group can help you prepare.  We’ll develop and execute a proactive strategy to recruit the top professionals and senior-to-executive level management candidates – from warehouse and supply chain managers to C-suite executives – you need to succeed.  Contact Kinsa today to learn more about our recruiting and assessment services for food & beverage organizations.

At Kinsa Group, we realize how critical it is for you to stay on top of the latest trends, newest products, and most recent scientific innovations affecting the food and beverage industry. 

To make it easier for you to learn about relevant industry events, here are a few links to comprehensive 2010 calendars:

1. Meatingplace.com’s 2010 Event Calendar and 2011 Event Calendar provide links to dozens of food industry-specific conferences, expos, training workshops and forums.  Accessing these calendars requires signing up for free membership to meatingplace.com.
2. The American Beverage Association provides a directory of 2010 meetings and conferences specifically for beverage industry professionals.
3. BNP Media has several comprehensive calendars of events that include links to global trade shows, summits and expos for the food, beverage, and packaging industries:

            Master Calendar of Events

            Snackfood & Wholesale Bakery Calendar of Events

            Beverage Industry Calendar of Events

            Food & Beverage Packaging Calendar of Events

 Kinsa Group - National Recruiters for the Food & Beverage Industry

Kinsa specializes in recruiting professionals, executives and senior-level managers for the food and beverage industry.  Our promise is to deliver the talent who most optimally fit your company’s philosophy and culture.  By focusing on the best interests of both parties – and by drawing on food industry experience and assessment expertise – we are able to offer the best hiring solutions.  Contact us today.