Beware of Your Employees Being Poached!

With the rising need for qualified contractors, many companies tend to set their sights on their competitors’ rosters for finding experienced contract employees. This “poaching” of contract employees can often leave a company without needed talent and in turn, lead to increased hiring costs. Due to growing concerns regarding the impending talent cliff, employee poaching is a rising threat for many energy sector employers.

Growth in the natural gas and oil industry is projected to boom throughout the duration of 2013, both domestically as well as globally. While this is great news for creating new jobs and decreasing the national unemployment rate, it is also a double-edged sword as concerns begin to grow over a prospective shortage of needed talent to sustain this continuous growth in years to come. Despite mostly positive outlooks on global growth, an industry-wide deficit of skilled oil and gas professionals is now predicted to be the number one barrier of sector growth in 2013. Because of this, many savvy energy industry companies are looking for methods to prevent contract employee poaching.

While there is no magical solution to keep all of your contract employees working for your company, there are methods to minimize your risk of losing your top performers to the competition. Consider implementing the following strategies to avoid having your contract employees wooed away by other companies:

• Engage your employees and nurture relationships. One way you can help your valued contract employees resist temptation from your competitors is to show them that you are invested in their future with the company. Give them management time, discuss their professional goals, and share your vision for the continued growth of your company and their role in it.
• Be conscious of what you are promising and follow through. As an employer, you need to earn the loyalty and trust of your employees. Your employees are critical to your company’s success, and strong leadership will lead to agile employees who are resilient to change. Essentially, be the kind of boss you would want to have.
• Reward a job well done. As simple as it sounds, rewarding a job well done is one of the most effective ways to boost morale and build employee loyalty. Most people thrive on feeling appreciated and needed. Rewards can be a simple praise or acknowledgement for great work or presented with a token of gratitude, such as a gift card or small bonus. One of the most fatal mistakes an employer can make is to only interact with employees when there is problem; be sure to show your employees your appreciation for their work.

Although contract employee poaching is a threat, your company does not have to fall victim to it. FootBridge Energy is dedicated to the well-being of its clients and job seekers spanning the wide variety of facets in the energy sector. If you are looking for additional energy industry resources to harness a strong culture of company loyalty, contact FootBridge Energy today!