On Friday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the fact that Circuit City was going to begin the liquidation process for its remaining 550 stores--and, it will be putting 30,000 people out of work. About a year ago, Circuit City actually fired its experienced associates with the goal of replacing them with less expensive less experienced workers--they figured that the consumer just doesn't care who sells them a $2,500.00 television set. I wrote about it back in December, 2007.
I hate to say "I told you so" but...
From Friday's WSJ On-Line..."At one point, the company sacked thousands of veteran salespeople and replaced them with lower-paid and less-experienced workers, believing that sales wouldn't suffer as a result. They did, and the damage to revenue – and Circuit City's reputation -- was never undone."
In these lean economic times, letting go of your most important asset...your skilled, seasoned employees, could be a deadly mistake. The analysis of the benefits that seasoned workers bring to the organization must be a part of of your overall staffing strategy. See, people chose Circuit City because of the knowledgeable workforce and because many of us don't want to buy from teenagers. HR, this is where your partnership and knowledge of the line business is so critical--helping organizations understand the dire ramifications of their people decisions is our responsibility.
The cost--30,000 jobs and a great retailer.
Jay,
You will enjoy this article.
http://www.ere.net/2009/01/19/talentonomics-proving-the-economic-value-of-talent-management/#more-5748
Posted by: Kamin | January 19, 2009 at 08:33 AM