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Management what needs to be done – we must get very specific about what the job functions are and what the expectations are for each job within the job function. We need to define and describe every task that has to be performed and what the standard levels of performance are for those tasks. Employee Development and Your Customers So with defined tasks, job functions and a skill set inventory we now can move to employee development programs. In the book "Employee Development: Big Business Results on a Small Business Budget," the nine contributing authors affirm that, "an investment in the professional development of employees increases employee satisfaction and retention. As organizations grow increasingly more complex, it has become even more important that they retain the knowledge and experience that the best employees have spent years acquiring. It has also been demonstrated that professional development enhances employee satisfaction." If you read my columns you have seen "The Service Profit Chain," which shows a direct correlation between employee satisfaction/retention and customer satisfaction/retention. Employee development comes in many shapes and sizes: mentoring, cross training, self-study, local schools and tuition reimbursement, industry-specific classroom learning, webinars, and Internet-based learning systems, to mention a few. In other words, there is a wide variety of options for everyone to choose from for their business. But dealers must choose to invest in the development of their employees. In the excellent book, "Future Jobs – Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis" Edward E. Gordon lists the hardest jobs to fill in the United States. They are as follows: 1. Skilled Trades 2. Engineers 3. IT Staff 4. Sales Representatives 5. Accounting * Finance Staff 6. Drivers 7. Mechanics 8. Nurses 9. Machinists/Machine Operators 10. Teachers We need employees in eight out of the 10 hardest jobs to fill, not just mechanics. We simply cannot continue to approach the business and employee development as we always have. Employee Development is not an expense that gives the employee assets that they can take elsewhere. It is a necessity for your business to be able to succeed. I believe that the evidence is very clear. Not having the correct number of employees with the right skills is currently inhibiting each and every dealership in their growth right now – today. So, the conclusion that I have come to, and many others have as well, is that you must develop your own employees. You can no longer rely on your ability to hire someone with the skills you need when you need them. Finding Your Leaders For management and supervision this becomes even more on point. Your leaders will all be subject matter experts. They will have related experience in specific job functions relating to their field of expertise. They will have earned the respect and trust of their followers through their actions in previous work. Today, however, you must start the search for employees who are a "good fit" for your company much earlier in the lives of the potential employee. In some cases this is as early as middle school, if not the end of elementary school. To work with high school guidance counselors, while important, is now almost too late. This means building relationships with your local schools. It also means that you must start to work with and understand the value of "career assessment." Career assessments will help you identify personal strengths and preferences and match them to potential career and job opportunities. By now it should be clear why we need to have job function definitions and descriptions down to the level of personal attributes of successful candidates. Harvard University psychologist Howard Gartner stated 'The single most important contribution education can make to a child's development is to help him toward a field where his talents best suit him, where he will be satisfied and competent." This is very significant and quite different than the goals that the education system operates within today. To assist the potential employee, employer and student there is a job tool available at Career Outlook (http://www.careeroutlook.us) called the "Interest Profiler," which will help you understand this process and the ultimate solutions for each student and potential employee. This tool helps individuals find out what their interests are and how they relate to specific occupations. I hope I am leading you to the conclusion that the selection of a supervisor or manager is not a hit or miss proposition but is a well calibrated process that matches the employees' interests and competencies with the needs of the job. When I was working at Hewitt Equipment and also Finning Tractor & Equipment, the companies had a program where they hired what I will call interns. These young men and women were between their last two years in college studying engineering, science or business. The dealership would employ these people and use the summer period as a time to screen them for their interests and personal attributes. In those days, the scientific evaluation tools were not available. These potential employees would start in the warehouse picking and receiving parts, and this job function would screen out nearly half of the candidates. It was a job function much below their self-image and interest. One of the most important attributes that we need in our leaders (continued on next page) November 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 41