How to – Identify Your Bias about Employees Prejudice comes in all forms and shapes, and it can be found living well in the management suites. If you want to change the biased way you think, examine how it might be affecting decisions about your employees:

• The biggest bias is the easiest to understand. When you think that you know what your employees want, you are making an assumption based on history not data. You may think that money is the prime motivator for employee retention, or that a certain type of service is a key for attracting customers. While no one can deny that money is one factor in why people stay with their employers (or that a particular style of service is critical to attracting customers), the shelf life of knowledge is shrinking. Things shift and people change. Without accurate and up-to date information, you may see people leaving their jobs in spite of the money you offer, or customers leaving product loyalty regardless of the service they receive.

• Another prejudice occurs when you believe that you know what they know. The days when the boss knew how to do every job in the firm is a thing of the past. There is simply too much information and it changes too fast for any one person to be knowledgeable about every discreet aspect. Employees usually know more in their specific area than the boss does. The manager who doesn’t realize this is missing a huge piece of critical information!

• If you ever find yourself thinking that employees complain and don’t appreciate that they have a job, you are probably guilty of that predisposition that most people are selfish. People are not loyal to firms; they are loyal to other people. Today, employees are interested in “What’s In It For Me”; and the boss should understand that in today’s world of lay-offs, RIF’s and mergers, employees need to look out for themselves and their career development. That’s not selfish – it’s smart business. Keeping your employees happy is smart business. Thinking that people should be happy to have a job won’t motivate people who have a job – it’s motivating to people who don’t have a job!

• Today’s business currency is knowledge. If you think good employees are “a dime a dozen” you are sadly mistaken. To stay competitive, you need knowledgeable employees. People are not dispensable commodities; they give your firm the “added value” that separates you from your competitors.

Departing employees communicate with their feet; and if too many are departing your employ, it may be because your bias about them is all too clear. If you think your prejudice about employees might be part of a turnover problem, examine some of your ideas about people. A change in your thinking may be the best first step in retaining talent.  11:06 AM •