CHRIS SEGAL
Associate Editor
Everyone can learn some lessons from a marketing class: Make yourself valuable to your employer. When younger and cheaper workers can do the same job, there is little reason to conduct bad business practices and retain old employees.
Three terminated employees from Circuit City have followed the new version of the American Dream and sued for age discrimination. Facing tough competition from Best Buy and low sales, the company laid off 3,400 employees, who were the highest paid and had worked with the company the longest. The chain also is closing all the stores they operate in Canada.
It is always sad to see a person lose a job but it would be even worse for those 3,400 employees to continue working at their high salary ($15 an hour to put it into perspective) if the firm goes bankrupt or closes its doors, then every employee is out of work.
Lawyers in charge of the case are seeking class-action status and therefore a potentially fat payout. The suit was filed in Los Angeles and cites California’s law prohibiting age discrimination.
If low sales and high expenses do not put Circuit City out of business, then the high fees associated with the lawsuit will. Even if the company wins the lawsuit it will still have paid lawyers millions of dollars, which could have gone to innovation or hiring new employees.
There is a big difference in why Circuit City is failing to keep up with the Best Buy brand.
The difference between Circuit Cities and Best Buy is the level of service. Best Buy hires workers who stock shelves, sell car audio equipment and run cash registers. The stores are now offering high-end services with the Magnolia television installation services. Circuit City was created in an age of high priced electronics being sold by people in ties working on commission.
These two firms are in the same industry, and one company is flourishing while the other is wisely turning to layoffs and restructuring.
This kind of restructuring is great for college students entering the job market in the next few months or years. Large firms such as Circuit City are learning to evolve, and they are seeking new ideas to compete in the marketplace.
This lawsuit also highlights a generational shift in work habits. Current college students are expected to jump jobs frequently, gain experience and share ideas when they are rehired at new firms.
The Baby Boomers are much more loyal to their companies and tend to favor the stability of their current job over the excitement of taking a serious life risk. A recent report released by a L.A.-based recruiting firm identifies that high-level executives are becoming more mobile while the lower paid employees like those at Circuit City fear the loss of their needed paychecks.
Because of loyalty, Baby Boomers are more likely to stay at jobs they do not like to support their families. Some are finding that layoffs force them to reevaluate their goals and objectives and can find better jobs.
In this transitional age, the Baby Boomers are leaving the workforce and Generation Yers are entering as graduates. The economy will prove to be ripe for creative ideas and innovation. There are two types of workers, those who do their job really well and go home at the end of the day and those that have passion for their job and ask others what else they could be doing. Obviously be the latter and attempt to exceed expectation and standards that have been established.
Two important steps in retaining a job is to have a positive attitude and be the person who others want to work with as well as losing the egos that tend to crop up after spending a couple of years living at the beach and mingling with Kelsey Grammar at the drug store.
04-05-2007