Images Magazine Digital Edition October 2018

TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.images-magazine.com 32 images OCTOBER 2018 resume can upgrade their employment status easily. So this means that the person you’ve been counting on for all of these years may suddenly skip out on you. Something better just opened up, and loyalty is out the window. This leaves many shop owners feeling extremely exposed and frustrated. Avoiding conversation The ghosting trend is also driven by the modern way in which most people now communicate. People don’t want a face- to-face conversation anymore when a text will do. For better or worse, we’ve grown used to that. So, in the case of ghosting, the employee has taken that one step further. In their minds, avoiding the drama and any sense of a confrontation is the reason they aren’t giving you any clues. That one month‘s notice that has been the standard forever in business? Out the window when it comes to ghosting. You probably didn’t even call their previous employers or check their references anyway. In their mind, the next employer won’t either. And in fact, they may already have a new position working somewhere else. I’m not defending the churn, just trying to explain it. These days, people want to avoid H as your shop ever been the victim of employee ghosting? This is when one person, for whatever reason, simply doesn’t come back to work. One minute they are there. The next? Poof! It’s confusing and frustrating. And, like it or not, it seems to be a growing trend in the workplace. Why? For starters, currently, we’re in an employee market. Have you had to replace a production manager, embroidery operator, screen printing press operator or artist lately? It’s tough. And it is getting tougher. So now is a good time to start considering why employees are ‘ghosting‘ and what you can do about it. Reasons for ghosting Let’s take a look at where this behaviour originates. As I mentioned, it is a tight job market these days. The unemployment rate is at the lowest point it’s been in about 40 years. As I’m sure you have noticed, even if you have a job opening it is taking longer than in previous years to find good candidates. Sometimes, the really good ones don’t even apply. With more open jobs than trained and skilled workers in this industry, anyone with a strong background and a decent looking you in the eye and saying that they are moving on. Not everyone, mind you. How strong are your relationships? When it comes down to it, a business is a people-centric organisation. Your shop is no different. So, on the subject of ghosting, how strong are your employee relationships? What’s the culture like in your shop? More importantly, how good a job are you doing building a solid foundation of support and respect for your employees? If you don’t want someone from your crew to suddenly vanish from your workforce, how are you going about establishing concrete connections? If you are like most shop owners or managers, you circle the floor a few times a day like a shark. Having meaningful conversations isn’t usually part of the trip. Barking orders, pointing fingers and dropping ‘you are doing it wrong‘ bombs happen more than any sort of positive encouragement usually. Is that building a bridge of trust? Strategies to avoid ghosting Here are a few ideas that I’d like you Marshall Atkinson examines the reasons why employees suddenly stop turning up to work, and how to prevent it Employee ghosting