Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

Creating a More Democratic Work Environment

A bright fellow named Stephen Simon has set out to "democratize" the process of employer selection for interns and young architects.

As a young professional he looked at the marketplace for Architects and made a keen observation: "As interns and young architects we usually think of ourselves as sellers, hawking our skills to the best firm that will have us. What if we instead consider ourselves as buyers, investing our skills in the best firm we can find? We are the consumers of architectural employment. Unfortunately, we consumers have very little information about the enterprises that we're investing in"

He has set about to create a community where interns and young architects in the huge AEC marketplace can share their experiences and perspectives with others. 

He has correctly determined that there is a sizable "information gap" as relates to the ability to identify firm characteristics and workplace styles.  So he created a unique website called InsideArch.org to enable young design professionals to share information that will enable them and others to make smarter employment choices.

The site produces a "Firm Report" which provides a set of metrics which recap the survey data gathered by the young professionals who have been exposed to the firm. 

In addition to an overall firm score (on a scale from 1-25) for each firm, the InsideArch Firm Reports contain scores in 9 different sub categories called 'Key Metrics' (on a scale from 1-5).

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• EMPLOYEE CALIBER
• WORK ENVIRONMENT
• OVERALL EXPERIENCE
• MANAGEMENT SKILL
• DESIGN QUALITY
• WORK HOURS
• COMPENSATION
• ATTITUDE TOWARD INTERNS

The majority of architecture firms are small firms. They don't receive a lot of press and may not have a website. Those few firms that do the 'coolest' and most publicized work are inundated with unsolicited resumes, regardless of the quality of the experience for the intern. Lesser-known firms place 'help wanted' ads that offer only cursory descriptions of the firm and its work and often don't even mention the firm's name.

Mr Simon's site enables interns and young architects to evaluate, in a subjective manner, the quality of the firm work experience. Things that are of interest to young A&E professionals include:

• How much will we learn?
• How much opportunity will we have?
• Which firm's work will most interest us?
• Where will our contribution be most respected?

WI th additional information Simon feels that these young professionals can make more intelligent decisions about which firm to invest their time and talent in.

It also seems to have a benefit for top employers.

By letting evaluations expose which Architecture firms are providing high-quality experiences to their employees, those firms would attract a larger pool of candidates, they could be more selective in their hiring, and ultimately produce better work.

(This however puts those firms that let their interns stagnate in a cube in the corner with piles of redlines on their desks would see their applicant pools dry up, the skill levels of their applicants decrease and they would either have to offer higher salaries to compensate or offer a more challenging work experience)

Simon's site seems to provide a community where conceivably everyone wins.  Wonder what the workplace would become if there were more sites of this caliber?

What are the pros and cons about telecommuting?

I have a blog I read with some frequency entitled HR Clean-up (Because HR is a Dirty Business), that recently published a great article entitled "Telecommuting"

It is written from the perspective of the current astronomical fuel prices we're seeing. The gist of the article follows:

There was an article, not a big one, in Sunday's Boston Globe that stated "4-day weeks, telecommuting look better to employers now".  Since I actually teach Virtual HR and I've been a proponent for flexible work arrangements for a long time, I read with interest. Traffic It turns out that soaring commuting costs are finally forcing employers to help employees out.  And, given that so many of us have moved away from work to find cheaper housing, employees are buckling under the increased expenses.  On top of employee costs, employer costs are also skyrocketing.  Companies are starting to figure out that office space isn't cheap--so if an employee is ok with heating and cooling themselves, why not? The other really big change is on the legal front.  Finally, there seems to be some movement to get a bit more flexible. As organizations start to embrace telecommuting, it will be critical for HR to be at the decision making table--along with IT, Building Services, and everyone else who makes the organization tick.  HR has an amazing opportunity to push the traditional boundaries of "butt in seat" and get companies to start measuring what counts--work output. It is going to be a long hot Summer and fuel costs are going to continue to escalate.

However, there are many faces beyond this article, that factor into the telecommuting discussion:

An article "Telecommuting not so great for those left in office" that was published in January 2008 by Kristina Cooke over at Reuters looks at how those that telecommute have less stress and a higher morale compared to those that are left to come into an office everyday. She mentions that “their co-workers tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer emotional ties to co-workers and generally feel less obligated to the organization.

The beginning of the article states "Telecommuting may boost morale, and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study"

The author cites how telecommuting has been a growing trend in the United States since about 2000. About 37 percent of U.S.-based and international companies now offer flexible work arrangements, with the number of those programs growing at a rate of 11 percent per year, according to the Society of Human Resource Management. but then goes on to explain how

The author cites research of Timothy Golden, a management professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that claims that when a number of their co-workers toil away from the office by using computers, cell-phones or other electronic equipment, those who do not telecommute are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and leave the company.

I'm a bit skeptical about this inference.

In the late 1990's I worked with IBA, an early pioneer in telecommuting, and participated in the establishment of the first "telework" centers around Washington DC.  Others have since sprung up, adding credence to the ideas of telecommuting in various "flavors".  In 2006, The Telework Coalition, conducted a Telework Benchmarking study of 13 large organizations with mature telework programs.

This study asked about the attitudes of those employees who did not telework. Both our study and two previously conducted studies by other organizations in which there were multiple participants showed that the non teleworking coworkers were both enthusiastically supportive and felt teleworking was good for the organization, or at the least, the situation was a non issue.

I believe that this area is ripe for investigation and action by management and HR practitioners.  Since each organizations' DNA is different, it may not be the right solution for every situation, but there are viable telecommuting approaches that will and do help organizations attract and retain talent in todays increasingly complex market.

Engaged Employees = Whistleblowers?

A costly scandal at a bank recently has observers wondering why workers didn't report suspicious activity. Some are saying the scandal highlights one of the most important challenges employers face today: poor employee engagement.  Now, these other employees didn't necessarily do anything wrong, but they also didn't go beyond what was expected of them may point to a larger issue of employee engagement.

This article discusses impact of engagement and how engagement varies widely across different global cultures.  A must read

read more | digg story