Employee commitment to company success is not a one-way street. The days of loyalty and long service are gone, and companies must do a far better job of gaining employee commitment and decreasing the trust gap with their workforce. Organizations need to rethink how they view employees. If employees are perceived as costs, then they can, of course, be cut. If, on the other hand, employees are treated as assets, then perhaps the mindset will change to finding ways to increase the return on these assets.
Companies have to make empowerment more than a buzz word.
Most of today's employees operate in a high discretion workplace. Employees need to be encouraged to use their discretionary work time to the Company's advantage and not be held back by their lack of decision-making authority. Companies have to invest significantly more than they do today in educating and training the workforce. Skills that are in high demand today will be obsolete tomorrow. And the education has to include business and financial training.