Richard J Anthony

1. Six Hot Button Issues that Could Cost Millions
Richard J. Anthony, Sr.
As if they didn't have enough to worry about, employers are facing six hot button
issues that could cost millions. If not addressed, these are the issues that sink
companies or stunt growth. The common denominator is PEOPLE.
As business consultants, we see many of the same insidious issues taking root in
small and midsize firms as well large companies. They sap valuable resources
out of organizations and often go unnoticed until a crisis develops, requiring even
more effort and dollars to fix the problem. The cost in hard and soft dollars is
immense; in lost opportunity, incalculable.
Issue #1 — People Do What’s Valued, Observed, Measured and Rewarded
Compensation programs fail because they no longer fit the organizations they
were designed for, assuming it was a good fit to begin with. They’re out of sync
with the behaviors that are really valued. They’re not linked to observable,
measurable behaviors and outcomes. And they don’t have the correct ratio
of fixed to variable pay. The consequences of “failure of fit” pay programs are
worse when economic pressures flat line compensation, resulting in low morale,
lower productivity and wasted financial resources.
Issue #2 — Boomers on the March
Won’t be long before the first wave of Baby Boomers vacate their jobs, taking
with them years of experience and a work ethic that wasn’t perfect, but preferable
in many cases to the workforce a generation or two behind them. Yet most
employers are doing nothing to plan for the exodus. According to a survey of 200
corporate HR professionals in the Philadelphia region, more than 85% of
respondents reported they have no retirement planning process in place and
over 90% said they have no plans to modify pay or benefits or hours of work to
accommodate the Baby Boomers who are about to transition to the next stage of
their lives.
Issue #3 — Intergenerational Conflict in the Workplace
For the first time in history, four generations of workers are sharing the
workplace. Ask any first line supervisor how difficult it is to build bridges of
understanding, tolerance and respect among the generations vying for
opportunity, recognition and reward. Respect in the workplace is no longer
limited to adherence to policies prohibiting harassment and discrimination;
productivity is up or down depending upon how well four very different
generations are able to get beyond their differences to achieve competitive
advantage. Getting there requires a different set of rules about how to manage
people and turn intergenerational variances into a competitive advantage.

2. Issue #4 — Seven Questions All Employees Have
Money might get qualified recruits in the door but it won’t necessarily keep them
in the house. Savvy employers are taking a close look at their recruitment
and retention strategies because of the increasing cost of hiring, onboarding and
training employees. Quality candidates for any job are always in a seller’s
market. They have to connect with a prospective employer and over time they
require the answers to seven questions: What’s my job? Am I valued? How am I
doing? Where are we going? How do I fit in? How can I help? What’s in it for me?
Coming up with compelling, credible answers is hard work. But necessary work
to ensure enough of the right people, doing the right things, consistently.
Issue #5 — Succession Planning in the Breach
All of the data show that most companies do not have succession plans in place.
The predictable result is that American business is facing a looming leadership
crisis, according to statistics from the US Department of Labor. In the
Philadelphia region, for example, it is estimated that more than half of privately
held companies have not planned to replace their CEOs, many of whom founded
their companies decades ago. The reasons for the lack of preparedness range
from delusions of immortality to not knowing how to plan for a transfer of power.
The most common reason is simply procrastination. Is it any wonder that most
first generation companies don’t make it past their founders?
Issue #6 — Mass Customized Communication
In a college class titled “Organizational and Leadership Communication,” I teach
that effective communication begins with establishing an environment of mutual
trust and respect. An equally important point is that in today’s digitized world,
there is no such thing as mass communication. The technology that has brought
us instantaneous, real-time access to information has enabled mass customized
communication— essentially the same message packaged differently to reach
vertical segments of large demographic groups. The Internet is the best example:
millions of websites, blogs, social networks and affinity groups that never sleep.
The rumor mill, always the bane of top management because of its speed and
accuracy, is built in to modern communication. The challenge is to fashion
communications that excite, engage and motivate the workforce to fight for and
hold on to competitive advantage.
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Richard J. Anthony, sr., is founder and managing director of The Solutions
Network, inc., a consulting firm specializing in human resource management and
performance improvement. He is the author of Organizations, People & Effective
Communication and teaches courses in organizational and leadership
communication at Villanova University. He is the founder of the Entrepreneurs

3. Network, a venue for aspiring and serial entrepreneurs and accredited angel
investors.