Jason Cohen: Boosting business may mean replacing long-term loyal employees with unproven new hires.

Jason Cohen column.

Date published: 9/22/2009

By JASON COHEN

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the Fredericksburg region is 6 percent. What has to be taken into account is that this is the percentage of employable people and people actively seeking gainful employment.

The job markets work much like the real estate markets in that it is either a buyer’s or seller’s market. In the career world, it’s either employer or employee driven and it’s all based on supply and demand. Like real estate, there is too much supply (people available to work) and not enough demand (jobs).

Fortunately, my industry has not been adversely affected by the economic downturn, and it has been a great opportunity for me to hire some really talented people. This has come at the expense of letting some long-term employees go. It sounds harsh to replace long-term, loyal employees with unproven new hires, but my decision-making process was methodical and in the best interest of the company. (I’ll discuss hiring practices in a future column.)

My strategy for long-term survival of my business requires that I load the deck with the best possible people. Give them the best possible training and tools, and then get out of their way.

Learned the hard way, here are some of the practices that I follow that apply to both employees and employers.

The employee serves the business owner and the customer. When making decisions, the employee should weigh what’s best for the business owner and the customers. When employees put their needs ahead of the customers and owners, the employee may win in the short term, but the customer loses. And if the customer loses, the business owner will lose and thus starts the snowball. The business owner serves the customer and the employee. If the customer wins, then the business should win. If the employees are treated well, they in turn should treat the customer well. Sort of a win-win-win.

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Date published: 9/22/2009