Wharton - Chapter 18

Dr. Jason McDonald told our marketing class something that I will never forget: "Today's employees are more concerned with lifetime employ-ability rather than lifetime employment". This is the central theme of this final chapter of the Wharton book. This chapter explains that a steady paycheck and a promise of future employment are not what today's minds are looking for in a job. People are looking for a job that will accommodate their lifestyle and allow them to have input and a voice in company decisions. Today's successful company must create an adaptable workplace where they not only provide the hygiene factors of employment such as salary, benefits, and an enjoyable environment, but employers must also provide the motivators of employment that people seek out that will give them true satisfaction in the position. Some people will value on-site daycare or flexible working hours, and these "outside the norm" factors may be imperative to recruiting the best minds for the job. Company's must also realize that employees are going to come and go, and the lifetime commitment to an employer that their father's had no longer exists in today's competitive workforce. Human capital is the most valuable asset a company can have, and can be the hardest to replace. The successful companies of tomorrow will recognize this and find ways to extract the most benefit from it.