Silverman (2013) is critical of entry level workers describing them as “entitled, unprofessional bunch.” The author notes that entry level workers lack professionalism and commitment to their employers which makes them incompetent at work. They do not take their work responsibilities seriously which makes them incompetent and unprofessional. This harsh assertion reveals organizations need to readjust their expectations when hiring college graduates to fill up vacant positions.
The article shows that business organizations need to adopt stringent measures to ensure new and inexperienced employees perform their duties well. It is notable that this decline in performance has been going on for the last five years. It is disappointing to see that many entry level employees have a poor work ethic due to their negative attitudes to work (Silverman, 2013). The article confirms that the current crop of entry level employees in many firms do not have desired qualities to perform assigned duties effectively.
Employees need to have respect for authority for them to perform their duties well. Therefore, managers of different firms need to use discipline and respect for authority as some of the criteria used to assess employee performance. Silverman (2013) notes that some new candidates even show their arrogance while still being interviewed.
This portrays poor social etiquette on the part of the interviewee which shows that he or she does not value being associated with the interviewing firm. Managers should not tolerate any negative behavior by new employees as this sends a wrong signal to other employees in the firm. Cases of poor performance and insubordination by employees must be dealt with firmly. This will make workers more diligent to achieve organizational objectives.
This article confirms that performance based appraisals are effective in evaluating the contribution of each individual employee to the organization. Entry level workers must be taken through a firm’s organizational culture and practices to make them understand their roles and responsibilities. This will make them understand that any form of incompetence and insubordination at the work place will not be tolerated.
Performance appraisals can be used as benchmarks to reward employees who perform well in their duties. Likewise, appraisals can also be used to encourage employees who do not perform well to improve their performance in the future. Organizations need to put in place strict measures to ensure each individual worker produces quality output (Schrage, 2011). Employees who are not able to achieve positive productivity levels due to their incompetence should be replaced.
Effective time management is a good way to assess if an employee is committed to an organization. All employees must be made aware of the need to keep time to enable the organization achieve positive output. Employees should not be allowed to report to work late as this slows down internal operations and other crucial work processes. Organizations should put in place disciplinary measures to reduce lateness by employees.
This will ensure all employees take their duties at work more seriously. Technology is a useful tool at the work place though it has some disadvantages. Some workers waste a lot of time chatting on various social media platforms. This behavior affects their productivity because their attention is diverted from crucial work duties to other unnecessary activities (Schrage, 2011).
It is necessary to supervise employees more to ensure that they perform their duties as expected. Time should be treated as a valuable resource which needs to be managed properly to ensure organizational objectives are achieved.
Entry level employees should be given mentors to make them adapt quickly to the transition between college and work. Effective mentors help young employees to understand the culture and practices observed by all stakeholders in a firm. Employees should be given mentors who are more experienced and knowledgeable in different work procedures.
Young employees need to be encouraged to enable them improve their attitudes and commitment at work (Baldoni, 2011). A good mentor helps a young and inexperienced novice learn the importance of setting goals and the way they are to be achieved. Mentors make it possible for an organization to get the best results out of talented employees who do not have a strong motivation to work. This helps a firm to nurture inexperienced employees who are talented.
Business organizations must have clear communication protocols which all employees must follow whenever they communicate with each other. This should be made part of the organization’s culture to make all employees appreciate its importance. Verbal communication, e-mails, letters and telephone calls should be the main forms of communication used by employees to send and receive messages.
Entry-level employees need to be discouraged from using smart phones and computers inappropriately. This will ensure they follow laid down communication policies and other rules (Baldoni, 2011). Therefore, they will be able to focus more on their duties at work. It is important for Business organizations to change the manner in which they treat their entry level employees. This will enable them achieve positive results in their operations.
References
Baldoni, J. (2011). Help employees listen when they don’t want to hear. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Schrage, M. (2011). The new trust vs. due diligence dilemma. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Silverman, R.E. (2013). Professionalism at work: The kids are not alright. Wall Street Journal. Web.