Mankind should have been my business.

paraphrased from A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

THIS COLUMN WAS STARTED RIGHT AROUND Christmas, so by now I've probably seen about a dozen versions of "A Christmas Carol," one of my favorite programs. I'm finishing the column on January 2 and apparently we all survived the dread Y2K bug! I didn't stock up on water or supplies, but I did stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve -- something I almost never do -- maybe just to see if anything would actually happen.

Now that we're into the 21ST century, what are some of the critical issues that we need to address? My last two columns were on technology issues -- primarily the Internet. There's no doubt that computers will be driving just about every facet of our lives in the future. But who will be driving those computers? Staffing issues are going to be an important part of survival for any business in the 21ST century. Hiring the right people is one of the hardest things any employer has to do. Finding and keeping qualified personnel is critical.

People have many more career options and job choices today than they did 20 years ago. I think they also have a different attitude toward work. In my parents' generation, work was a "necessary evil" in order to pay the bills and lead a decent life. People started working very early in life and typically stayed at the same job for most of their adult life -- no matter how "Scrooge-like" their employer behaved -- and then retired from that job. That doesn't seem to be true today.

I currently know of only one individual who is of retirement age and has stayed with the same employer throughout his career, although not necessarily in the same position. He is currently CEO of that organization and he has been successful there for such a long time because he has changed and adapted with the changes that have occurred during that time. For example, he has embraced technology -- a hard thing for many people of his age to do. By continuing to change with the times and circumstances, his job has also remained challenging for all those years.

I think people today are looking for value in their job since they spend the majority of their time at work -- a career that is important to them, but not so important that they can't also lead a balanced life. In other words, money doesn't seem to be the driving factor of employment today.

There also doesn't seem to be the loyalty of employee to employer- and the reverse -- that existed 20 years ago. Employees are looking for interesting work, preferably close to home, at a decent wage and with good benefits. They are looking for a career in which they can grow, not necessarily a particular job. Therefore, they usually have their own best interests at heart -- their betterment, their best career move -- and not necessarily the interest of the employer. And so there is a large amount of job turnover today.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Employees are taking charge of their lives and looking for the best situation. This can also be a good thing for you. Wouldn't you rather have someone working for you that chooses to work there, rather than someone who stays because that's what people are supposed to do? The person who chooses your company is probably going to look for new challenges, new ways to do things, etc., to keep their job interesting. The other person maybe totally bored and is just "showing up."

The job turnover rate scares many employers and they're hesitant to train their employees because they might leave. But wouldn't you rather train your employees, even though they might then leave, rather than have a bunch of untrained people working for you?

I believe that employee training and education should be high on the list of priorities for the new century -- a critical factor in business management and the survival of your company. Mankind should be an important part of your business.