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It's a New Season at the BallparkPosted 8/11/2003By Mel Keiman
Other sports may command larger audiences, but baseball will always be "America's Pastime." That's because baseball crosses so many generations. With one ball, a strong stick and a few friends, anyone can start up an impromptu game. It's the same today as it was 50 years ago. And it doesn't matter if you are white, black, brown, yellow, green or purple. Baseball traverses racial, cultural, political and gender boundaries as well. Baseball doesn't discriminate against anyone. But the auto service shop can be a far different place than the baseball diamond. The world is constantly changing, and with that are changes in attitudes, perceptions and physical demographics that affect our customers and our employees. We are just a few years removed from an era of tight labor markets, creative recruitment strategies and stiff retention programs. But the employment scene has changed significantly since 2001. Today, unemployment is on the rise and economists have a difficult time gauging when the tides will change. And while the pool of the unemployed grows, so too has the overall talent pool grown as demographic segments that had previously not exhibited a strong desire to enter the work force move in that direction. They include women, teenagers and senior citizens. Women are finding they must forsake raising the family to generate secondary sources of income just to keep ahead. At the same time, teenagers are also seeking jobs as a way of acquiring spending money and work experience. And finally, our senior population continues to grow as the baby boomer generation ages. But rather than retire, more and more seniors are working to pay the bills and supplement Social Security. During the past 50 years, the total available labor market has grown by more than 70 million people. Leading this growth has been an increase in the number of women as part of the job market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were only 31.5 million women working in the United States in 1970, compared to more than 66 million today. Women are not only choosing to seek employment in greater numbers, they are also finding available job openings. Recent unemployment rates for women are comparable to those of men and other demographic groups. Unfortunately, despite unprecedented demand, women still face prejudice and discrimination. Of course, they are not the only ones. As noted earlier, white men no longer dominate the labor market. The greater diversity of our population as a whole has translated to a greater diversity in the work force. As a "melting pot" of cultures, the United States has encouraged population growth from a wide selection of ethnicities and nationalities. Where white Anglo Saxons were once a dominant majority - today's "majority" is actually comprised of the multitude of minorities. The number of African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and other workers continues to rise and has become a significant force in front of and behind the sales counter. Employers can ill afford the legal and social ramifications of not diversifying personnel. Social stigma alone can be enough to destroy a company accused of discrimination, not to mention the legal penalties that will be enacted if accusations are true. Beyond these implications though, it just does not make good business sense to exclude highly capable employees on the basis of sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or any other "classification." The goal of any employer must be to hire the best, most talented people - be they black, white, brown or any other color. Employers must be fair throughout the hiring process and this level of trust and respect should remain during the employee's tenure with the company. Make sure all managers understand the importance of diversity and acceptance. This acceptance can also be carried over to another group experiencing rapid population and labor force growth - senior citizens. The senior citizen population is growing exponentially as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and life expectancies are increasing. The average work life expectancy has increased by four to 10 years for these "active adults" who prefer to stay busy, rather than moving quietly into retirement. Despite private pension programs that penalize work beyond a certain age, these seniors still like to work. They like to stay busy and be a useful, contributing part of a greater team. Workplace discrimination and limited opportunities for professional development are among the few factors that can discourage these older workers. Nevertheless, the Census Bureau projects the senior work force will rise to 571,300 by 2008, up more than 33,000 from 1999. That equates to an additional 71 seniors a week remaining in the work force for the next seven years. And that may be a good thing. The U.S. Department of Labor projects in four years there will be 1.51 million jobs and an available work force of only 1.48 million persons. Subsequently, it is more important than ever that companies look to this willing and able group for employees. These "new" employees come with vast personal experience and a growing drive to stay active and involved. Besides positive job-related skills, seniors also generally have a more positive work ethic, are more reliable, more flexible and more willing to work. In addition, seniors also have a higher retention rate than their younger counterparts. As technology and available services minimize the need for physical strength as part of a job requirement in most positions, it is increasingly evident that senior citizens are an ideal source for talented and capable employees. Employers must overlook past stereotypes, biases and discrimination at all levels. The marketplace necessitates greater diversity and the tightening labor market requires a more open mind. With the goal of finding the best available talent, employers do themselves a disservice if they immediately disregard any potential applicant. When the manager goes to set his lineup for the game, all he wants to do is put his best players out on the field. The same should be true in business. When you assemble your team, you are more likely to field a winner when you select, hire and work with winners.
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Copyright (c) 1996-2009. Automotive Service Association®. All rights reserved.
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It's summertime; that means baseball. There is nothing quite like sitting out in right field, the sun shining down on the green grass, sharing popcorn with your grandson and watching as a rookie cracks a towering blast for a home run or a crafty veteran makes a diving stop, gets to his knee and throws a hustling base runner out at first.
