Tammy Erickson Associates Building Intelligent Organizations

I have written about the evolution of loyalty between employees and their respective corporations.  In one of my blogs at Harvard Business Review, I look at this loyalty question. I call it trust.

Here’s the equation I believe will form the basis of trust between corporations and workers for the decades ahead: The organization will provide interesting and challenging work. The individual will invest discretionary effort in the task and produce relevant results. When one or both sides of this equation are no longer possible (for whatever reasons) the relationship will end. So if the organization no longer has interesting or challenging work for the individual to do, or if the individual is no longer willing or able to engage in the work — to invest the levels of discretionary effort required for excellent results — it is in everyone’s best interest to part ways.

The implications to this new way of working together will clearly change business talent management practices. It will require strengthening engagement and the quality of the immediate opportunities within the organization.

Related Reading:

The Shifting Definition of Worker Loyalty

Filed under: Surviving in Today's Economy | Published: 10/27/11

Hi Jim,

Thanks very much for sharing your perspective.  I do agree that the recovery period will be long, in large part because we are working our way through a structural change in the economy.  I don’t think manufacturing jobs will return in significant numbers—and opportunities for individuals without a college education will remain limited.  I am optimistic, however, for a growing demand for individuals with relevant knowledge and expertise.

Best,

Tammy

Filed under: Surviving in Today's Economy | Published: 01/15/11

I’m quite certain that there will be a shortage of Gen Y knowledge workers as the economy rebounds over the next several years.  In fact, even now, with over 13 million people out of work in the United States, there are 3 million open jobs that organizations are struggling to fill.  Most of these are knowledge jobs—in health care, education, professional services and other fields that require specialized skills.  The gap will widen over the upcoming years.

The economy has, in fact, changed forever.  The percentage of knowledge jobs continues to increase, while the percentage of manufacturing jobs, declines.  One of the implications of this shift is that many of the jobs that are and will become available cannot be filled by everyone who would like to participate in the workforce.  Unlike a manufacturing economy that is able to absorb almost all skills levels, knowledge jobs carry many more prerequisites.

There’s no question that this has been a difficult year for everyone—including members of Generation Y.  However, I’m confident that Y’s will have many positive career opportunities ahead.

Filed under: Surviving in Today's Economy | Published: 05/10/09

Dear Dengjing,

Thank you for reading my blog and writing from China.

It is a harder time for even Gen Y’s to find jobs than we’ve seen for many years.  Here is some advice:
If the Gen Y has some financial flexibility (that is, does not have large loans or family support responsibilities), they might look for jobs that are interesting and challenging, but pay less than the salaries older workers may need.  Even if the jobs are not posted, Y’s should still approach companies or organizations that they admire and propose a way they could contribute to the company, at a modest compensation.  Remember to express your proposal in the language of financial returns, as I suggest in Plugged In.  For example, you might propose that for a fee of “X” you would produce results with a value of “Y” for the company.
Alternatively, if the Gen Y has significant financial flexibility, this may be an excellent time to go back to school, perhaps to obtain a masters degree, or to travel, or to do charitable work—in other words, recognize that the next several years are likely to be difficult, and spend them doing things now that you were planning to do at some later point.

Best,

Tammy

Filed under: Surviving in Today's Economy | Published: 12/05/08

Dear King,

I’m delighted to hear that you love your work.  Coming to the U.S. to work can only further your capabilities.  Consulting firms in general are terrific career stepping stones because you have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects across many industries.  You get to see which approaches are most effective in various environments.

First, recognize that there are many consulting firms—of all sizes and specialties.  McKinsey is a wonderful firm, but if you are not able to get a job there, there are many other options.  Think hard about the type of work you’d like to do—lots of data analysis, lots of interviewing or focus group facilitation, teaching, writing—each firm will require a slightly different mix of skills from its new associates. 

Two sources of additional information on the types of firms out there are:

The Association of Management Consulting Firms:  http://www.amcf.org/
The Vault:  http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings

Be sure to do the background research that will allow you to approach each firm with enthusiasm specifically for their type of work.  Provide examples of things you’ve done in the past that are relevant to their type of work.

And enjoy the experience!

Tammy

Filed under: Surviving in Today's Economy | Published: 12/04/08