Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

Workers, Si! Housing, No!

Worker housing, That’s the key; Just don’t build it, Close to me.
by William A. Collins

When it comes to offering everyone a house or apartment, our state shows considerable character. We publicly worry about where our teachers, cops, firefighters, and maybe even nurses, are going to live. Not that we do anything, but at least we worry.

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Why Workforce Development is Struggling - Part 1 - American Wages and Income trends

A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute on "Whats wrong with the Economy" cites that Profits are up, but the wages and incomes of average Americans are down.

• Inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly wages are below where they were at the start of the recovery in November 2001. Yet, productivity—the growth of the economic pie—is up by 14.7%. (Figure at right)
  from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Survey. 2006
  
• Wage growth has been shortchanged because 46% of the growth of total income in the corporate sector has been distributed as corporate profits, far more than the 20% in previous periods.
  (from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2006. NIPA Table 1.14)
  
• Consequently, median household income (inflation-adjusted) has fallen five years in a row and was 4% lower in 2004 than in 1999, falling from $46,129 to $44,389.3
  from the U.S. Census Bureau. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States. 2004

Think for a moment about the current erosion in the levels of investment for workforce development.  While gains in productivity may be often attributable to technology, investment in the current and future workforce has been lagging.  What would be possible if some of the additional 26% of corporate that has been diverted into profits (read : paid out to investors), were available to ensure that our businesses have a brighter future?

What a difference a few years makes

Consider for a moment what’s happened in just the past dozen or so years. Google came out of beta in September of 1999, a scant seven years ago as of this writing, but we might as well rewrite the calendar to place it at the year 0 BG (Before Google). Ten years ago, a cell phone was a device for mobile workers and the wealthy. Most people who had a connection to the Internet had a 24k bps analog modem. But people coming into the workforce now cannot recall a time without broadband connections, color screen multifunction cell phones, 3-D video games and  MySpace.com.

That's an excerpt from Neil Raden, the founder of Hired Brains.  Neil recently published an excellent whitepaper entitled  "NextGen Software or Software for the NextGen?" A copy is available for your review.  Download nextgen_software_or_software_for_nextgen.pdf where he elaborates on the dramatic shifts not only in the advancement of technology, but the seemingly insatiable appetite for newer, faster, more complex stuff.  Poses a huge challenge for owners and managers of firms that take a conservative approach to technology.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Upcoming audiocast - "How Recognition and Non-Monetary Rewards Can Juice Employee Performance."

UPCOMING AUDIO CONFERENCE: B21 will be conducting an audio conference on employee recognition on Wednesday, January 31 entitled:  "How Recognition and Non-Monetary Rewards Can Juice Employee Performance."  Sounds like it will have some good info.

Despite what you might think - this is not a Goofy idea

Walt Disney obsessed with talent development in the 1920s and 1930s. Not only did he want to produce the best possible films like Snow White, Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies, but he knew very early on that he needed to bring in the best to help educate and train his workforce.  The article puts Workforce Development into a new (old) light

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Why Workers Lose Focus

What do the following employer-cost factors have in common?

• Work-time wasted
• Absenteeism/presenteeism
• Poor job performance
• Poor health
• Turnover

Employee money problems!  Employees with money problems in your business are like sharks swimming around the workplace taking bites out of the bottom line. 

An estimated 25-30% of the US workforce suffers from financial distress.  This amounts to approximately 30 MILLION workers!

This data comes from reputable studies and sources:

• Principal Financial (2004)
• American Express (2004)
• MetLife (2004)
• CIGNA (2004)
• Roper (2003)
• Caravan Saray (2004)
• Gallup (2004)
• ComPsych (2004)
• Putnam Investments (2004)
• Thrivent (2004)
• AARP (2004
• Garman/Porter/Kim/Joo/Bagwell/Hira/Sorhaindo (1990-2005)

Since every time someone on your work team brings his or her personal financial worries to the job, workplace productivity drops, this should be an area that the operating management (not just HR) needs to be aware of, and sensitive to.  Unlike Sarbanes-Oxley or OSHA it is not a "legal" imperative, but nonetheless, is a critical area that all managers in management and supervision need to be sensitive to.

Want to know the difference between a good (but troubled) worker and one that is excellent?  A boss that genuinely is aware of what they need.  Before you jump in and say "I Can't do that", consider this:

As employee financial well-being rises, these factors definitely change for the BETTER for many employees (and help your business too!)

• fewer work hours spent dealing with personal financial concerns
• less personal finance/work conflict
• Presenteeism instead of Absenteeism
• increased Work life and pay satisfaction
• better Job performance ratings
• Improved Health
• less intention to quit current employer
• greater contributions to retirement savings plans
• Lower litigation risk

How could an employer NOT see these as benefits?

Flori-DUH redux - re: Florida Pay Plan Archaic, Not Pioneering

Barnett Berry's just added a new item to his excellent blog "Building the Teaching Profession" entitled - "Florida Pay Plan Archaic, Not Pioneering" which is based upon a report by CNN, points out that Florida still has not shown leadership in education, and our youth and ultimately, our employers will be the casualties.  Barnett is a pioneer and advocate in attempting to raise awareness of the mess our teaching system has become.  He is the founder and President of the Center for Teaching Quality, Inc., based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

It started a few days ago when CNN.com blared a headline that read: “Teachers union challenges Florida's pioneering bonus-pay plan.” However, a quick look at the article and one clearly can see that the plan is not pioneering at all.  He asserts, and I agree that at best it is archaic.

Nor is this issue, creating an infrastructure for quality education, limited to Florida, where as the article and study supports its teachers are grossly underpaid.  The Trust for Early Education cites that the majority of early education experiences are lacking in Quality.  Results from major studies of early education and care quality reveal that quality is poor to mediocre. This is true for children from all income levels; low income, middle income and high income, alike.

Can we first come together and agree that School Readiness is a National Problem?

How can we ever field a world-class workforce when the foundation of our educational systems appear to be in disrepair? 

Each year, about 4 million 4 and 5 year-olds enter kindergarten. Unfortunately, many children enter kindergarten without the preparation they need to succeed.

• 34 percent of children entering kindergarten cannot recognize the letters of the alphabet.  More than 50 percent of low-income and minority children cannot recognize the letters of the alphabet as they begin kindergarten.
• 18 percent of children entering kindergarten are completely unfamiliar with the conventions of print (e.g., words read left to right, top to bottom).  That figure climbs to 32 percent of low-income children and about 24 to 29 percent of minority children.
• 42 percent do not understand basic, important early mathematical concepts such as “longer/shorter.”
• Data published in 2002 by the Economic Policy Institute indicates that middle-class children enter kindergarten with reading and math skill levels closer to those of the poorest children than to those of the most affluent children.
• Teachers estimate that about 25 percent of beginning kindergartners do not seem eager to learn and do not know how to persist at tasks; and, that 34 percent do not pay attention very well.

On a practical level, here's why we have to become more actively involved in our schools as early as possible (Businesses and not just parents).  Here's what's at risk:

• Children who begin kindergarten already knowing their letters are more likely to do better in school.  These children are significantly more likely to be reading by the end of kindergarten.
• Children who begin kindergarten familiar with basic numbers and shapes are significantly more likely to begin to understand basic addition and subtraction by the end of that year.
• Children who begin kindergarten with positive approaches to learning (knowing how to pay attention and persist at tasks) are more likely to do better in reading and mathematics.
• Children who don’t have these skills are more likely to struggle and even fall behind their peers who enter kindergarten with these skills.

Isn't this a great insurance policy that we can take out on future generations to ensure that they have a brighter future?

Learning disabilities may not be the showstoppers they once were considered

    An excerpt from the article "The Abilities of Those with Reading Disabilities: Focusing on the Talents of People with Dyslexia", points out new information that success stories of several adults with Learning Disabilities such as Dyslexia paints a persuasive argument for studying those special abilities.
    In todays workplace there are many new skills needed and what may be considered a disability in the context of a traditional job definition may be a potential asset in another situation, as learning disabilities are better understood

Bosses' attitudes undermine training initiatives

Managers are obsessed with their trainers churning out future "leaders", yet at the same time are failing to turn up to courses themselves or pass on their own knowledge.  A study by Ken Blanchard Companies has found that top leaders more often than not have overly high expectations of their training managers, constantly demanding they turn out "empowered leaders".

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Are You Ready For The Next Workplace Revolution?

The New Workplace According to McKinsey offers new positive insights on job growth in developed countries. While their research confirms that many jobs have disappeared, they point out that most of these involve low-value and relatively low-paying work. Good news is that new jobs are being created. Many of them are high-value and high paying.

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When Retraining After Layoffs May Not Work

In the post on Next Generation Workplace entitled "Retraining After Layoffs - Does It Work?", the author Tony DiRomualdo, a fellow business researcher, writer and advisor, describes a new book "The Disposable American" (2006) by Louis Utichelle on layoffs and argues the necessity of government sponsored assistance for retraining.

In my experience, retraining has to take into consideration that there is a fundamental difference between the worker who has worked for many years in a somewhat isolated "assembly line" environment and one that works in a constantly changing environment.  Putting a worker from one domain into another may not work, even with retraining.

Example - in a construction jobsite environment, where everything changes all the time, workers must be constantly aware of the changing environment - their awareness and actions are essential for their safety and those around them.   Putting a laid-off textile, retail or autoworker on this type of jobsite may not be appropriate.

Similarly, the productivity of a worker is impacted by their "connection" to the work - as an example - the same construction worker that experiences a good deal of variety in their work is likely to become bored (and ultimately less productive) in a job where little changes.

There are countless other illustrations I could paint, but you get the idea.

Correlating Competencies: To Each Industry Its Own

When managers do employee evaluations, they measure worker performance based on a specific set of skills related to a given job role. For each company, these standards are different, meaning that individuals doing the same job across organizations are often assessed using different, company-specific standards.

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What would happen if you asked first?

    When it comes to getting the learning outcome you want, what would happen if you were to ask the learner what was important to them?  There is an increasing number of tools available on the web that help do this, many of them free.  One of these, "Solomon and Felder's Index of Learning Styles" is a 44-item questionnaire which can be completed online. Learning style results are returned immediately in four categories: active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal and sequential/global.  Try this link - it'll give you new insight into which learning style is best for the way you want to learn.
    After completing the test, read the article, "Learning Styles and Strategies" to learn about your style and how you can make the most of it.

What Happens When Google Develops the Elusive Talent Algorithm?

New Equities is a progressive collection of thinkers that always challenge and inspire me.  Recently their blog New Equities posted an interesting and thought provoking article "Google's quest for the elusive talent algorithm", that articulates Google's efforts at creating a tool for assessing the "fit" of a person for a particular job.

Call me old fashioned if you will, but this is a bit too Orwellian for me.  I do not doubt that getting data on a persons beliefs and behaviors can be useful in fitting to a particular situation, but there's still nothing like the experience and "gut" of a trained interviewer looking you in the eye, and the non-tactile sense that you get about a candidate.  Call it chemistry or whatever, I question how such a tool would be used in practice. 

Attention, please. Distracted workers often fail to produce

The average employee’s attention span is, at most, 12 minutes. The average worker switches to a different task every three minutes and gets interrupted every two minutes, says Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California-Irvine who studies the effects of multitasking on workers. She reported her findings to Ergonomics Today.

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Can anybody be taught to manage people?

Are there people who could never, under any circumstances, manage people?  Who should (or can) be a manager?  Join this discussion to delve into the dimensions of what attributes determine management potential.

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Don't Overlook Seniors in the "War for Talent"

It has always been assumed that hiring older workers would be more costly, what with more medical problems and missed workdays. More and more companies are realizing that that is not the case.

• Training, recruitment costs and time spent learning are much lower for older workers;

• Older workers are more prone to staying with a company—not quitting after a few years;

• Turnover rate for workers over 50 is just one tenth that of those under 30;

• Older people these days, especially baby boomers, realize the importance of keeping their minds active and alert

Obviously, you have to be careful about ensuring that they are physically up to the job, but many still have a lot of good brain-matter to put to use...

 

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In order to motivate your employees - stop de-motivating them

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation—but sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration.  The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees' morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward.  That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004.
There is much more in a recent Harvard Working Knowledge whitepaper on how managers can avoid the common mistakes that drive employees crazy and often into the arms of new employers.

Giving Employees What They Want: The Returns Are Huge

David Sirota, co-author of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want, believes far too many managers stifle employee enthusiasm across the board by using bureaucratic or punitive techniques that should be reserved for a troublesome few, yet firms where employee morale is high, outperform competitors.

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More than Job Demands or Personality, Lack of Organizational Respect Fuels Employee Burnout

One of the biggest complaints employees have is they are not sufficiently recognized by their organizations for the work that they do. Respect is a component of recognition. When employees don't feel that the organization respects and values them, they tend to experience higher levels of burnout.


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Plateauing: Redefining Success at Work

A number of men and women in middle management are increasingly reluctant to take the next step in their careers because the corporate ladder is not as appealing as it used to be, and the price to climb it is too high.

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What is implied by "How to decide where to live"

Penelope Trunk is a columnist at the Boston Globe. Her syndicated column has run in more than 100 publications including the Wall St. Journal’s Career Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Penelope’s blog, Brazen Careerist, has been featured in publications such as TIME magazine and the London Guardian.  The author of the forthcoming book is Brazen Careerist: New Rules for Success (Warner Books, May 2007), shared "How to decide where to live", an article that discusses how the new generation of workers are deciding what are important factors in a place to reside.

About : Technophobe Young Architects and Chicken Parmesan

Richard Korman, an editor for ENR published a great piece just before the holidays entitled :  "Technophobe Young Architects and Chicken Parmesan".

Here's the synopsis of this piece:

At a party before the holidays he engaged in discussion with aretired architect was talking about getting BIM in place at his firm.  Korman asked about its progress and acceptance in the profession. "I had been pushing for it and trying to get the staff interested," a necessary step before making a substantial investment, the architect said.

I expected him to say next that it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Instead, he said, "I wanted it and always thought architects needed to stay out front as far as technology. But I couldn't get the young people on the staff interested."

That got my attention. The young architects? Not interested?

It's a compelling article - and may make you think twice before jumping to the conclusion that certain groups are pro-technology and others against it.  Then let me know what you think...

Why "The Three Challenges of Successful Workforce Measurement and Management" are the key elements

The book "Three Challenges of Successful Workforce Measurement and Management" written by
by Mark A. Huselid, Brian E. Becker, and Richard W. Beatty, sets three critical components for establishing the important role that the workforce plays out in executing organizational strategy.

The Perspective Challenge	Do all managers understand how workforce capabilities and behaviors drive strategy execution?
The Metrics Challenge	Have we identified (and collected) the right measures of workforce successes, leadership, and workforce behaviors; workforce competencies; and workforce culture and mind-set?
The Execution Challenge	Do our managers have the access, capability, and motivation to use these data to communicate strategic intent and monitor our progress toward strategy execution?

Be nimble and creative to grow a career in “the conceptual age”

This is a great read. Certainly the right attitude to have in today's changing business climate. There's no room for excuses - it's time to grow up, improve yourself and create. This is how you compete with outsourcing.

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Study: Bad Bosses Abound in U.S.

No matter how much effort you put into recruiting skilled workers, if you don't have trustworthy people managing them, you'll never achieve a productive and stable workforce. 

It's like trying to stay afloat when you have a large hole in the bottom of your boat.  You have to fix this problem first, or you'll never get on top of the talent problem in your company.

Nearly two of five bosses don't keep their word and more than a fourth bad mouth those they supervise to co-workers, the Florida State University study shows. And those all-too-common poor managers create plenty of problems for companies as well, leading to poor morale, less production and higher turnover.

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Will our liesurely tendancies be our undoing?

Previously, I introduced Jørgen Mortensen, Senior Research Fellow, at the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels is a brilliant fellow. He has been involved in looking at issues that affect the societal structures of our world, including those that impact our current and future workforce.

Mr Mortensen has addressed the challenge he cites for public policy in the developed world, due to two contemporary and puzzling enigmas: (i) that the total fertility in a number of   countries has declined to totally unsustainable levels, and (ii)   that the average effective duration of working life has not   increased in line with the rise in the life expectancy.

  The second enigma is the increasing work phobia in a   number of developed countries, again especially in Europe. The   1994 book on The End of Work by Jeremy Rifkin may have   done some damage by derailing the debate from the real issues.   However, it possibly only reflected a general tendency towards   "work sharing", already apparent in Europe during the   1970s, following the rise in unemployment after the first oil   shock. In addition, the emergence of the "leisure"   culture is also an important achievement, allowing human beings   to significantly reduce the share of their lifecycle devoted to   work (a long term trend underlined by Robert Fogel). And that the   culture of "work sharing" over the last thirty years   led to a reduction of the effective retirement age in a number of   countries has only added to this tendency. The puzzling fact is,   nevertheless, that European politics appear to have stimulated   rather than halted this trend toward increasing work phobia.   Moreover, work phobia does not seem to be accompanied by a   lowering of expectations in terms of income.

What effect do you readers see in the continuing evolution to greater periods of leisure in our society?  What consequences of this shift do you experience?

Yacht Industry Faces Global Labor Shortage With More Than 6,000 Yacht Crew

Yacht crew positions abound. There are currently 17.5 miles of luxury yachts under construction, which will require about 6,993 new crew members. The labor shortage of skilled workers means that there is high demand for people who are looking for an exciting new career.

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