Thank you for the interest shown in the launching of this newsletter. If you know anyone else who might like to read it, then please feel free to pass it on to them.
After the first newsletter was sent out, I received some disturbing news that certain local agencies are using CRS’s name to convince people that they are genuine about finding them overseas jobs for a fee. Please scroll down to the next section “Tell Us What You Think” to read my comment on this.
Retaining Technical Staff
It’s common knowledge that it’s an employee’s market in the Energy industry worldwide. Here in Trinidad, there are not enough skilled and suitably experienced people working in the industry and they are being desperately sought after by several companies, often bidding for the same work. So how does an employer try to keep their in-demand staff?
From my own experience, there are 3 main elements that will affect whether an employee is happy or not – the job itself, the office environment and commutation concerns. If all 3 are good, then this employee is very happy and will not leave. If only 2 are good, then this employee may be content but would be open to better offers. If only 1 is good, then this person will be looking for another job.
If none are present, then you have a seriously unhappy individual who is desperate to leave. Clearly, this is a simplistic view and people will have different emphases on which elements are important to them.
1) The Job
Job interest is particularly important to technical people who thrive in a challenging role. If the job becomes too much the same, day in and day out, then they will get bored and look for something more stimulating. Development and training in new skills is important for an I.T. professional to maintain their marketability.
Often, the nature of the work is more important to an individual than the salary, though an underpaid person will probably feel discontented. A highly paid individual is unlikely to be more happy just because of their salary. Nevertheless, people may be tempted to move jobs simply to earn very high salaries, presumably because they (or their families) can enjoy luxuries because of it.
Working long hours for a long period of time is extremely stressful and can lead to ‘burn out’, so why do people do it? Often, staff are motivated to make whatever personal sacrifices are necessary to complete a project by a deadline imposed by their employer. But afterwards, the ‘down’ after the ‘high’ of the adrenaline of team effort can lead to depression and demotivation.
2) The Office Environment
By office environment, I mean the building, the office arrangement and the people the employee has to work with. If the office is shabby or the desks are too close together or otherwise unpleasant to work in, then this is bound to affect the people who work there.
In addition, office politics can have seriously debilitating effects on a person’s psyche, whereas being part of a cheerful and supportive team is very uplifting to most people. How well employees relate to their boss and how well respected they are in their jobs are also major factors in how happy they are at work.
3) Commutation Concerns
Commuting to work can be very stressful and occupies a great deal of unproductive time if it involves travelling for over an hour in slow moving traffic. Some people get round this by changing their hours of work to come in either before or after the morning rush hour, but this still means having much less personal time at home. ‘Telecommuting’ or working from home is becoming more popular because of the increased difficulty in getting to work in a reasonable time.
All I can advise is that companies who want to retain their staff should listen to the concerns of their employees, and be prepared to change those elements that are within their power to change in order to maintain a happy working environment for everyone. The reward is a contented and productive team and a low turn-over of hard-to-replace staff.
Tell Us What You Think
(Referring to our last newsletter “Job Scams”)
It has been brought to my attention that there are companies who advertise in the Classifieds section of the local newspapers and offer overseas job-finding services for a fee. This fee is “refundable” should they not find you a job. Please note that Caribbean Resourcing Solutions (CRS) is not associated in any way with any agency or company purporting to find overseas jobs for individuals.
The following website has some interesting comments about one of these companies, Caledonian Offshore: http://www.oilcareers.com/content/community/board/view.asp?
mode=viewtopic&topicID=634
This is a common scam. Please be very wary and investigate the company name on the Internet before handing over any money to an employment agency for foreign jobs.
We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.