ABSTRACT
This is a reflection on my part, but I often wonder about the strategic placement of articles in newspapers for effect. For example, this morning, there was one story in the paper citing how a nationwide survey of employees indicated that nearly 50% of the employees surveyed would leave their organization in a heartbeat, if a better opportunity came along. Next to that story was an article about how Cisco was paying one third of employee salaries for a year to work in a not-for-profit agency instead of laying them off outright. During the year, they could retain their benefits and be vested in Cisco stock. After that year, they would be considered again as a potential new hire. The national survey showed that compared to 1999, at the peak of the economy’s long-term growth and now, the loyalty people have to their organization, was the same. Yet, the second article showed that, with some slight adaptations in your thinking, you cannot only do some good for the community, you may also signal employees that even when things are bad, you try to employ them as best you can. There is no data on how this will all work, just merely an observation and reflection.
