The Loyalty Question - Part 2 - Wage Compression

 

"I've worked hard here for three years and the new hires are making the same wages as I am. I am job hunting."

Real quote from a frustrated worker.

The last three years have been difficult for employers and employees alike, and some employees who remained loyal and did not leave are feeling put upon.

How do you adjust to the current labor market and not leave loyal employees behind?

Regular evaluations and regular pay adjustments are a valuable approach.

What if you just cannot afford to pay more?

Silence is not a high value management strategy. If the news is bad tell the loyal employees and let them decide their own fate. Look for other means of compensation, such as increased paid time off. Try something.

Silence does not work out well.

Why Does Your CPA Look Frazzled and Why Are the Fees Going Up?

 

The public accounting sector is hitting the perfect storm.

        many CPAs are at or near retirement age

            fewer young people are enrolling in college accounting  programs

            there is more work

            the IRS code (and state tax codes) are becoming more complex

            costs are going up

            technology demands are greater, and costs are going up

This will cause higher fees, and your accountant may "fire" you from the client roster, due to the above factors.

The Loyalty Question

Business leaders are in a dither about the loyalty question.

Why so little loyalty from employees?

We will explore this question and the answer will not be pretty.

So for starters - loyalty has largely been a one way street for forty years, the Reagan era started  a change in employer-employee relationships that persists to this day.

Employees owe loyalty to employers, but not the other way around.  This is no longer working.

The pandemic period changed everything, plus the demographics of retiring baby boomers and low birth rates.

Stay tuned for a longer discussion.

Quick Hits #3

 

If you are going to terminate or layoff an employee who has key knowledge of your computer security and/or operational systems, you might want to do this carefully.

Six months from now the former employee might have a very poor memory or be hard to contact.

A severance agreement with a cooperation clause might be worth the cost.

Tell the Turth to Job Candidates

 Telling lies to job candidates is not a healthy practice.

As employers look to expand and restaff following the pandemic, another pandemic seems to be mushrooming - misleading job candidates about work practices and rules, especially work-from-home (WFH) practices and expected work hours.

If WFH is discouraged or not allowed, say so. If employees are expected to work 10-12 hours a day, or work on weekends, say so.

Tell.....the....Truth

Loyalty is a Two Way Street

The start of the pandemic was almost exactly 40 years after there was a major shift in US economics and in the treatment of workers.

The new wave changed the level of bargaining power, away from workers and toward employers. The dramatic reduction in private sector union activity was one reflection of this trend.

Good for employers!

Other changes, including the globalization of many activities and the rise of the service economy, further diminished worker bargaining power.

And then, the pandemic blew up ther labor market, and employees started to rebuild bargaining power (aided by the retirement of 3 million baby boomers).

Employers must recognize and respond to this change.

Grumbling about the "good old days" does not make the problem go away.

So the presumption of one way loyalty is gone and over.

Quick Hits #2

 If you use a voice mail system, return the calls. Sooner rather than later.