The Unfair Game

How often have you seen people move from one company to another because they're fed up being passed over?  How often have people moved because they're labeled or pigeon-holed into a specific category or task?  My guess: fairly often.

How could this be?  Ignore, for the sake of this argument, the times when the holding back or the labeling is justified.  But what about all the other times?

I blame the managers.  Threatened by competence.  Blind to potential.  Unwilling to make an investment.  Lazy.  Or just plain dumb.  Unfortunately, I can say that I have even had this happen in places where I was a manager.  So, I may have been part of the problem.  At minimum, I failed to persuade my co-workers of the foolishness of our actions.

Is there a way this behavior can be improved?  Sure.  However, effectiveness varies.  Training programs for both staff and managers.  Performance appraisals, again for BOTH staff and managers.  Third party evaluations.  But, what is the incentive that drives these programs?

Staff participates to the extent they are coerced or desire to advance.  But, they have the option of leaving when they get fed up.  (Less so, perhaps during down economies; but that is subject to change.)  Most of the time, they improve in their new setting.

Owners and managers, on the other hand, seek benefits that may be harder to measure, and harder to incent.  Less staff turn-over.  Higher productivity.  Improved marketability.

Here's a hair-brained idea: For every time a company loses a staff member who leaves out of frustration, the company has to make a donation to the mentor program of the staff member's professional association.

Would it help?  Would the game be any more fair?