A plea for more humanity
Shortage of skilled workers? Quiet Quitting? The current situation is an opportunity for more humanity.- 3 min reading time
An article by Verena Mayer - Founder & Managing Director
We're all talking about crisis, about the shortage of skilled workers, about the highest staff turnover in years. At the same time, there is also a huge gift in front of us. We just have to recognize it. Recognize the person who works with us. And understand why they want to work for us in the first place. This insight is so valuable and often overlooked. After all, new employees always start out motivated and full of energy. I see the essential task of management is to not demotivate them.
Times change - just like the needs of our employees
There will always be employees who switch - in these times - in order to especially develop financially. And of course we all have to move with the times and adjust salaries to inflation. Just as we adjust our fees for inflation. Likewise, we no longer need to talk about mobile work models - they're simply assumed and that's a good thing. None of this will be enough to keep employees long-term. Because these are basic requirements that simply have to be met. If agencies promise their employees great things that never happen, they will only be successful in the short term. In the long term, it can lead to resignation or quiet quitting.
"A value-driven agency model, where values are not just posted on a wall but modeled in all directions, creates an environment where people feel a sense of purpose and direction."
Founder & Managing Director
The key: Humanity
There lies a huge gift in humanity, to position us well for the future. This is only possible with values that are lived deep within. Rooted and sustainable. That wont happen over night. And it only works if we live our values. In all directions, also to customers, to partners, to service providers - humanity on all levels. A value-driven agency model, where values are not just posted on a wall but modeled in all directions, creates an environment where people feel a sense of purpose and direction. In which they are seen and get the feeling that they can also make a difference.
Not a theory, but practice: Practiced value orientation
What we have been practicing since our founding at VON HELDEN UND GESTALTEN is a culture, in which people feel so comfortable, they stay. Thus, we have many exchange formats in which in which we come together , listen to each other and come together. In our monthly Value Round Tables, we exchange ideas in small teams about what these values mean to us personally and what we can do as a team to continue living these values. The special thing about this format is how personal and close we become. This creates deep solidarity and strengthens motivation. I am convinced that value-oriented leadership makes us successful in the long term and that it allows us to attract and retain people.
