1iIPDAD ~ ceded eae Oy Fatiwl li im You can bet the lady in your office is already feeling restless. Take her to lunch, tell her about the next big deal, buy her a drink. The results:‘may surprise you. scoffed at either. Both boss and employee understand that an “‘assistant”’ is entitled to reap a share of the increased profits. But Mrs, Davis must also help men fill jobs that really are repetitive and unpromotable. And she does find women who are not after much more than answering phones and typing letters. She makes it clear, however, that un- ambitious people — and that goes for men as well as women — are not big on corporate loyalty, They are not going to be the ones who stick around for the gold watch, But how do you tell? It’s not very efficient to wait until she storms out to realize that you have missed something good. And there’s no point in taking on someone with management potential to run the switchboard; within two weeks she’d be falling asleep, Ray Cattell, a psychologist working at the University of Illinois, has made a career out of judging personalities. He points out some of the characteristics to look for when interviewing new prospects, People who spend a lot of time reading are generally interested in improving their lot in life. (Those “‘what do you do in your spare time” questions can tell you more than you think.) “How’s life treating you these days?” is more than a passing phrase. Submissive people feel that their life is working out pretty well — their expectations are low — while the dominant types feel that they’re not achieving nearly enough. Keep your eyes open; dependent people who need constant direction tend to be scrupulously correct. The relaxed in- dividual who doesn’t jump up and down every time you make a move is likely to have enough confidence to want to tackle problems on her own. And these days, you'll be running into more and more women who seem pretty damn relaxed, Challenge and fulfillment. These are the things that are going to entice women to stick around and be more productive. And that’s what managers are going to have to make certain they offer. It’s the most efficient way to run a business. But it’s not always that simple. Two years ago, the personnel department of a large Canadian retail store identified 50 female employees who had management potential. Female Affirmative Action Planning — the kind of commitment that the U.S. government is now demanding from major corporations and that provincial governments in Canada are beginning to consider. The managers of the retail firm here in Canada figured that if Affirmative Action legislation is in the wind, they’d better get a head start; they employ hundreds of women in low-level posi- tions. They also thought that these 50 women would jump at the opportunity for advancement. A number of them didn’t. They weren’t interested in the added responsibility. Or thought they couldn’t handle it. Announcing to 50 women one fine day that they were management material was not the route to follow. ‘‘Many of these women had been in subordinate positions for so long that the idea of being in charge was, at first, a bit scary,” explained the firm’s personnel director. ‘“‘Promotable men in the firm had been nurtured, so to speak, from day one. We had put them into situa- tions that demanded growth. Now we are embarking on the same route with the women we hire, We have organized group discussions with professional consultants for the women with un- realized potential. And we are sending women on management training courses whereas we used to send only men. We are taking risks before the government gets on our back and we are finding that they’re paying off. In the long run it costs less to upgrade people already in the company than to hire new staff from outside. Female turnover has also decreased now that women feel they can benefit by being loyal.” Bell Canada has been involved in con- centrated Affirmative Action Planning for women for several years. The motivation behind these programs was not merely altruism or fear of legislation that will impose quotas for women in management, Les Bailey, assistant vice president of personnel for Bell's western region puts it this way: ““Not developing and capitalizing on the total human resources available simply does not make sense from a hard-nosed business viewpoint.” Bell too has found that internal promotion works better than bringing in experts from the outside. In ’74, the company came up with a list of 1,464 non-management employees who were management material. Forty- two percent were women. Bell is also striving to change tradi- tional male/female roles within the com- pany. So far, they have 100 women in crafts and sales and 950 men in clerical and operator jobs. These numbers are small and Bell isn’t sure why. “It could be a function of preference or lack of skill on our part in attracting people into non-traditional jobs,” says Les Bailey. But one thing is for certain; the faster women move out of dead-end female jobs, the sooner Bell can make use of their potential. In a company with 25,000 female employees, that can’t be soon enough. Altogether, Ma Bell employs more than 46,000 people. Eleven thousand are in management positions. Realistically speaking, not everyone can aspire to the higher ranks. So Bell is working to improve lower-level jobs to ensure that their employees are more satisfied and therefore more productive. Once again, increased responsibility. seems to work best. Operators are encouraged to handle problems with customers that they used to take to supervisors. They no longer have to run for approval signatures on every slip of paper. By 1985, half of Canada’s labor force will be female. These women will wield a lot of weight. Large firms like Bell Canada that sense the changing climate are not waiting for the holocaust; they are starting to put their closets in order right now. You'll fare best by doing the same thing. Like today. You can bet that the lady in your office has already begun to feel restless. Whether she stays or goes is up to you. Take her to lunch. Tell her about your next big deal. Buy her a drink. But only one; when she gets back to the office she’ll have a hell of a lot of work to get done.m How are things where you work? We'll be publishing a selection of letters—from men and women so write to: The Editor, Quest Magazine, 2300 Yonge Street, Toronto M4P 1E4.