Is high touch finally here? (In the Trenches).

Here's a switch. Recruiters reported surprise at the end of the spring recruiting season because, unlike last year's candidates, this year's crop asked about a nurturing work environment in which people mattered, before they talked call schedules and salary. They're not alone. When pressed for reasons in exit interviews, people leaving jobs often mention the organizational coldness they'd experienced. One young physician told the exit interviewer that he "doubted my boss will know I'm gone," even though he'd just been promoted and given a 20 percent increase by that same boss.

I'm hearing squawks from employees up and down the organizational chart that despite the booming economy, there's been no let up in work demands, no less anxiety about layoffs, and continued concern about the overall health of the organization. Words such as caring and "nurturing" are being used by managers and workers alike, not to mean emotional involvement but attention, Workers wonder if anyone knows they're there.

Paradoxically, younger workers who announce to all that they have other commitments in life besides work and complain that "if we had fewer interruptions (a.k.a. co-worker interactions), we could finish this and leave sooner," still want attention and nurturing. Older workers, however, openly value the people contacts in their jobs and may see them as a potential source of friendship. So what's an overburdened manager to do? Can anyone single-handedly create a caring environment without adding hours to his or her work week? As turnover continues to rise, it's worth considering. Here are some techniques managers tell me have worked for them.

1. Monitor workloads

Don't assume that just because everyone is getting the work done to an acceptable standard and no one's complaining that the troops are happy. The MO of younger workers is not to complain, but flee. They may be seething in the back room, printing resumes after hours. If questioned during an exit interview about their lack of complaints, they'll say, "The boss didn't care or he or she would have known what was going on." If possible, make workloads more equitable. If not, at least commiserate. Workers believe that bosses should know who's working too hard or too long and who's in neutral, It's important to them, even if no help is possible--empathy can be very comforting. The boss who says. "I know how hard you're working and I appreciate it," at least gets credit for acknowledging effort.

2. Celebrate successes

Put some of the budget reserved for holiday parties and family summer outings into workplace-based celebrations. No matter what people say, even the Xers appreciate gatherings during which achievements are acknowledged by everyone--not just the boss. Keep these events short, simple, frequent, (biweekly or monthly) and in the office. Coffee and cookies to celebrate a group accomplishment works better than more elaborate after work events which people balk at attending anyway.

Recognize the star contributors, then ask volunteers to recount their successes and those they've observed. For example. "I saw Mary lower the hackles of two angry patients within 10 minutes. She was wonderful." Do not wait for accomplishments of building-leaping quality. Those will be duly commemorated by the system. What generates an ongoing glow is celebration of the small things. Managers in high-pressure departments swear that 10 to 15 minutes of group grope every two weeks makes a difference in performance and job satisfaction.

3. Make niceness an expectation

I don't know when it ceased to be a primary value--perhaps a casualty of downsizing--but it has. Perhaps the mean-minded were simply waiting for the economic downturn of the early 90s to exhibit their least attractive qualities. I see abruptness, outright rudeness, and dismissive attitudes everywhere. A young man told me that when he asked his boss questions about how a piece of work was to be done the boss said, "Your problem Is that you're high maintenance. Figure it out yourself." That's not behavior likely to enhance retention or raise morale.

4. Mentor

If you remember the 70s, mentoring was a hot topic, especially among women. It's back, but with a twist. Mentoring no longer means finding a godfather who can make things happen and protect you from predators. Today's mentor dispenses background information and supplies the rationale for decisions to people who eschew organizational politics-as most 20- and 30-somethings do.

Mentor one or two new hires for your benefit as well as theirs. Insist your supervisors do the same. Teaching is always a learning experience. Hospital recruiters on college campuses report that a powerful recruiting phrase with new grads is the promise by a manager that, "I will mentor you. And when I ask job hunters what they found most beneficial in previous jobs, mentoring leads the list. The lack of mentoring is a compelling reason to move on and is cited more often than lack of advancement opportunities or below-market pay.

5. Offer training as often as possible

Training is no longer a perk. It's needed by everyone, expected by many, and often promised to new recruits as an enticement to sign-on. New hires believe caring organizations keep their promises. Don't renege on it, no matter how rugged the work schedule. Anyone who's worked with more than one organization will tell you that when everyone is in a learning mode, change is less painful and provokes much less resistance. When part of the organization's expectation is that everyone will remain state-of-the-art, internal transfers, job rotation, and training classes become routine. Make continuing education a shared responsibility. Bosses who are still using WordPerfect 5.2 will find this uphill work, but ongoing training is definitely part of both high tech and high touch.

6. Stamp out problems before they go public

This is where the grapevine is particularly useful. Why make an employee with a grievance schedule a face-to-face with you? Why must a valid complaint be discussed? Just do it, Fix whatever you can as soon as you hear grumblings. For example, a complaint that a promise hasn't been kept: "I was promised I could telecommute one day a week and nothing's happened," or "The department secretary won't photocopy my reports." Petty? Maybe, but a word from the manager illustrates attention and caring. Once it's known that you miss nothing, not even a nuance, people will come and tell you what's on their minds. Even if you're sure half your direct reports never listen to anything spread by stealth, use the grapevine to compliment individuals as well as to address problems. Your responsiveness may also encourage the abdicrats to spend a few more moments communicating with coworkers

7. Consider offering flexible hours and extended leaves for all

Can't medical records be transcribed between midnight and 4:00 a.m.? What would happen if paperwork, especially reports and all kinds of analysis, was done at night? After mentoring, employees across the age spectrum wanted flexible hours most. As many 40-somethings as 20-somethings would love to telecommute one or two days a week. They see a boss who allows that as trusting, a key component of the caring organization

Extended leave is also a sign of caring and trust, but not if employees have to lie to get it or forgo it because they're not needy enough. Why must someone be sick or have a sick Family member to get more than three weeks off without pay? Why can't an employee get ahead in his or her work and take unpaid leave without any explanation? For many employees, time has replaced money as the preferred perk. Recruiters tell me that when they explain about a vacation policy of one week the first year, candidates visibly fold their tents. Even a new graduate expects three weeks. This is a long-term trend.

8. Introduce yeast to keep people stimulated

How many managers would consider stimulation a form of caring? Employees see it that way. Consider the occasional use of temporary workers as leaven for the regular crew. Encourage new hires to talk about other groups or companies they've worked with. What did they do differently? This is what I call Feeble-minded research. It costs nothing and may spark new ways of thinking within your organization. This is especially valuable if you haven't added new employees in the past three years. Insist that everyone attend one conference or seminar each year, even if it's local or conducted internally.

Conclusion

Will these strategies--all of which may not work for you--fatten your bonus this year? Probably not, unless top management is monitoring retention and doing occasional exit interviews. However, one of the byproducts I've seen from these approaches is that employees don't stop with each other. They begin to treat patients better, something neither bribery nor threats may produce.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy Is Managing Partner, Career Strategies, Inc., Wilmette, Illinois, and a long-time member of the ACPE faculty She can be reached at 1150 Wilmette Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091, 847/251-1661, or via fax at 847/251-5191. She can be reached by calling 847/251-1661, via fax at 847/251-5191, and via email at [e-mail].