61
COMMENT
Who’s who at the
Specialized Carriers
&Rigging Association
CHAIRMAN
RonMontgomery
Intermountain Rigging & Heavy Haul
Salt Lake City, UT
PRESIDENT
AlanBarnhart
Barnhart Crane and Rigging
Memphis, TN
VICE PRESIDENT
Bruce Forster
Rigging Gear Sales
Dixon, IL
TREASURER
DelynnBurkhalter
Burkhalter
Columbus, MS
ASSISTANT TREASURER
JohnMcTyre
McTyre Trucking
Orlando, FL
ALLIED INDUSTRIESGROUP CHAIRMAN
Eddy Kitchen
, Kitchens Crane &
Equipment
Chesterfield, VA
CRANE&RIGGINGGROUP CHAIRMAN
Larry Curran
, JJ Curran Crane Company
Detroit, MI
LADIESGROUP CHAIRWOMAN
KarenWood
,Wheco
Richland,WA
TRANSPORTATIONGROUP CHAIRMAN
Jay Folladori
, Landstar
Jacksonville, FL
SC&R FOUNDATIONOFFICERS
President:
RobertMoore,
NBIS
Atlanta, GA
Vice President:
Stephanie Bragg,
Bragg Companies
Long Beach, CA
Treasurer:
Jim Sever
PSC Crane & Rigging,
Piqua, OH
A
s companies in this industry
become increasingly
dependent on the vision and
adaptabilityof their core staff, leaders
around theworld find themselves
addressing an emergent theme:What
does it take to retain top talent?
All of us, at somepoint, have likely
“lost” aquality staffmember. It happens.
Opportunities come along that, for
one reasonor another, are too good to
pass up.Or sowe convince ourselves
that suchwas the case. But here’s the
problem. Arewe truly askingourselves
why that opportunitywas somuchbetter
than the one theyhadwithus? Indeed
– someone came along and gave them a
reason to leave. Butwerewe giving them
enough reason to stay?
It’s not personal – it’s business. Ever
heard that one?Well, what about
your
business?Youknow, the one this person
wasworkingwithinbefore theywere
offered somethingmore engaging,more
profitable,more fulfilling?What about
the fact that you just lost a keypiece to
your company’s puzzle – andwho else
among your talented ranksmight now
bewatchingwith intrigue as that person
boxes up their desk?
Retaining talent
Crane, rigging and specialized transport
is nodifferent than anyother innovative
global industry in today’s competitive
marketplace. As leaders, it’s no longer
enough to simply acquire talented folks,
especially young folks, andput them
towork in thehopes that their talents
will realize great benefits to the overall
success of our ever-changingoperations.
We can’t expect that this investment,
once acquired, is secure simplyout of
respect for thename on the letterhead.
It’s a leader’s responsibility to recognize
the landscape of the industry from the
office suite to the job site. In just the
way that our industry is evolving, so
are themanyother global industries
that often intersectwith it. Skill sets in
oneplace couldbeperceived as better
served in another place. “If I cando
this here, imaginewhat I cando
there
.”
The grass is, well, we know about the
grass. But arewedoing enough to secure
our investments?Weput volumes of
thought, buckets of sweat andmillions of
dollars into equipment – tomake sure it
realizes itsworth, andbecomes a long-
term asset toour company. Arewedoing
the samewithour people?
Whenwe lose a talentedmember of the
team to another opportunity–nomatter
their positionor role –we’re facedwith a
reality check. Inmost instances, wehave
to admit aharsh truth: they’re leaving for
a reason thatwas better than the reason
to stay. It’s easy to gloss it over and
convince ourselves that “…goodpeople
come and go. Itwas bound tohappen.
You can’t take it personally– you gotta
move on.”
But it
is
a bigdeal. This industry, this
economy, thismarketplace, these times
– it’s all a labyrinthof interwoven efforts
andoutcomes, causes and effects, hopes
anddreams. And the glue that keeps it
all together in this prevailing landscape
is people – thepeoplewe’veput inplace
to take our companies andmake them
better. Youneverwant to lose the right
person for thewrong reason– and in
this case, that reasonwouldbe a lackof
understanding forwhat couldkeep this
person around. Some statistics reveal
that an estimated25%of high-talent
employees have considered leaving their
jobswithin the year.
Ask yourself this question: As a leader,
are youdoingwhat it takes tokeep your
talentwhere youneed itmost?
■
JUNE 2014
ACT
Retaining top talent at a
timewhenwe need
it most.
EXECUTIVEVICE PRESIDENT
Joel Dandrea
5870 Trinity Centre
Parkway,
Suite 200
Centreville, VA
20120
Ph: 703-698-0291
Fax: 703-698-0297
Reason
to stay
