Chamber Notes Archives

January 2008

Business success seldom happens by accident

The Team Pennsylvania Foundation and its business partners released the annual list of the “50 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania” in early December and four of our member-businesses – Home Nursing Agency, Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, Sheetz and S&T Bank – were among the designees in the Large Business category.

All four businesses have been on the list in the past. So have a few others with similar reputations locally. We have come to understand and accept that there is a core of businesses within our county that place a high priority on organizational excellence and never deviate very far from that standard. We tip our cap to them and reference them with pride when talking to people from outside our region about notable landmarks and sources of accomplishment.

We just have no idea how difficult it is to reach the level of performance that these businesses have reached and how incredibly difficult it is to remain there. The issue of employee satisfaction speaks to one key aspect of that challenge.

An article by Joyce Gannon in the December 17 th issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about the difficulties that many businesses experience in attempting to blend the talents – and expectations – of older and younger workers in an environment not always conducive to harmonious interaction.

To have a high degree of employee satisfaction in the workplace, Gannon espoused, is the exception rather than the norm under ordinary circumstances. Age dynamics diminish the satisfaction level even more.

Gannon pointed to a study by Leadership IQ, a Washington, D.C. firm that trains companies on how to motivate employees. The study results indicate that only about 30% of workers in the 21-30 age group would recommend their organizations as good places to work. Forty-seven percent of workers in the 61-70 age group would approve such a designation.

Those figures aren’t at all surprising to Chamber-member Ray Overdorff of Overdorff Associates in Hollidaysburg. A consultant in individual and organizational effectiveness, Overdorff and three colleagues founded the “True Advantage Group” in 2006. The Cranberry-based business helps employers to better understand the needs of the people who function within the workplace and the consequences of letting that environment exist without some degree of calculated intervention.

“It’s truly a generational dilemma and one that demands situational leadership,” Overdorff explained. “You’re dealing with traditionalists who are survivors of the Great Depression and are loyal and thankful to have any job. Then come the baby boomers who are extremely competitive and thrive on recognition.

“The Generation X-ers, born between 1965 and 1985, must be enticed to work, want flexible hours, extra vacations and want to work from home. They are very distrustful of big business.

“Lastly are the Millenials (1985-2005). They’ve grown up with the constant threat of terrorism so personal safety is a great concern. They’re very rooted to the family so personal time off the job is very important.”

When all these diverse groups must be brought together in a work environment, chaos can erupt. Overdorff has seldom seen it happen first-hand but has often been the person contacted to clean up the mess.

“While much of our business is preventative, we run into many employers who just don’t understand the importance of engagement and ultimately the situation gets out of control,” he stated. “Once that happens, it’s hard to pull it all back together in a meaningful way and usually a lot of money is left on the table. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

Overdorff has great respect for the businesses like Hoss’s, Home Nursing Agency, Sheetz and S&T Bank who work diligently to get it right.

“It’s not an accident that these businesses are successful,” he noted. “They make the effort to understand what people want and they build an environment around it. They create ‘points of connection’ with employees. Without those, you can’t expect desired outcomes.”

Doing things right will always be a challenge to businesses large and small. So many times that challenge comes down to something very simple. Something like: How do you treat your employees?

It’s a question that rates the highest of priorities.

Chamber Notes Archives