Anthony Ricci, President
Advanced Driving & Security Inc.
1/29/00

In the business world the customer is most important, for without them there would be no business. However, as society ventures into the new millennium there is another quickly growing and very important factor that business must deal with. Businesses planning to be successful in today's market have to please yet another customer, the internal one. Many companies are having trouble keeping loyal employees with good work ethic. With the increase of downsizing and restructuring, employees feel forgotten and unappreciated. They are constantly dealing with extra workloads and longer work hours. Instead of being rewarded, one good employee might have to pick up the slack for somebody who was just laid off.

The employee of today has very different characteristics and attitudes when compared to the employee of the past. Instead of putting the blinders on and doing what they are told, hoping for the boss to notice, people have become more professional and business oriented. This change is not so apparent externally, to the client, however it has become very apparent internally. The employees of the new millennium have forced themselves to be more aware of the internal structure of the organization. They are on the top of their game always striving for the next step. When the company moves they move with it. The employee of today relays on one thing to make them a success, themselves. Make certain the phase "lack of loyalty" does not enter into this employee change. People are seeing their organization change and they are just adapting to the fast pace environment. The word that will definitely describe employees of today is opportunistic. Workers no longer want to go unnoticed. They want to be rewarded for their efforts and they are hungrier than ever to succeed.

From the CEO to the maintenance staff, people are seeing huge changes in business practices. Never before could a small business compete in a global market and manage marketing costs under budget. With the huge explosion in technology, global changes are taken place at an intractable pace. Businesses are competing worse than ever before, they will do anything to succeed and more importantly survive. Thus, the reason employees are better educating themselves and becoming anything the company needs. Most people are not doing this for the company, so much as for themselves. They want recognition and incentives for what they are doing for the company. If a person has good credentials it is to easy for them to get a job with the competition. Employees may not constantly look for a job change, but their ears are always open.

Companies who want to keep their good workers have had to start changing their internal management structure, as well as finding ways to satisfy and compensate their employees. The good news is that many studies show there is an upward trend in job tenure compared to just five years ago. So the next time you are looking for employment, ask the question what's in it for me?