Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

If You Think You Have A Bad Boss, You Could Do Much Worse

A recent global survey shows that employees in the U.S. have the most positive opinions and friendliest relationships with their managers, leading them to be the least likely to disobey their supervisors’ direction compared with international workers.

Writer David R. Butcher, who published a timely article on ThomasNet, reveals to us that while there are plenty of bad bosses, that bosses as a whole in the United States too often get a bad rap — one that they simply do not deserve.

His article, "Think Your Boss is Lousy? It Could be Worse" reveals a new global survey that shows that employees in the U.S. have the most positive opinions and friendliest relationships with their managers, leading them to be the least likely to disobey their supervisors’ direction compared with international workers.

U.S. employees are also most likely to perceive their managers as competent, talented and open to feedback, according to 5,500 workers surveyed in 10 countries by European management and HR consulting firm BPI, which owns a majority interest in Chicago-based SSP-BPI Group.

The international Employees Assess Their Manager survey, conducted in October 2007, sought insights about differences in workplaces and managerial styles by asking employees to rate their relationship with their supervisors.

The key findings, released last month, determined that, overall, about two-thirds of global employees generally had a good opinion of their managers.

It's a great, well written  article, that provides a good perspective on the things that U.S. bosses are doing right!

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.

Good Grief Charley Brown ! Now We Have a Maintenance Crisis

My thanks to Joel Leonard over at PlantServices.com for taking the bull by the horns.

With American Idol returning to the television air waves, Joel was reminded of why he started his crusade for awareness for the Maintenance Crisis in the first place.

The fuss and attention being paid to crowning still another singing American Idol has gotten on his nerves again. In case you didn’t know, almost five years ago he was a guest speaker at the Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP) Conference in Nashville. That conference changed his life and started him on a crusade against the maintenance crisis.

At the time, Joel was serving as VP of the Association for Facilities Engineering and the board had been discussing the pending retirement of the boomer generation. To his surprise, that was a key concern at SMRP. Bob Baldwin, then editor of Maintenance Technology, led an open discussion about the pending crisis. He polled the audience of more than 600 engineers and maintenance pros from the biggest companies in the United States and said, “Raise your hand if you plan to retire in the next 10 years.”

More than 90% of the audience  reached for the sky. Then he asked the attendees to keep their hands raised if they felt comfortable with the next generation. Everyone dropped their hands.

Baldwin then asked why. One said,  “The kids aren’t hungry and aren’t pursuing the education needed to advance in this competitive profession.” Others chimed in, saying, “The insecurity of manufacturing is scaring the younger generation away,” and, They don’t want to get their hands dirty.” Some said that most of them don’t even know about the maintenance, reliability and facilities engineering professions. Or maintenance simply just isn’t cool.

When the group adjourned for a break, Joel and others stretched their legs outside in the 30° weather. To their surprise, around the corner they saw about 5,000 of the very people we had been looking for —16-to-28-year-olds — standing in a line outside the Nashville Coliseum. They were waiting to audition for American Idol. While we were discussing the exodus of retiring maintenance talent, whose salaries averaged more than $80,000, and wondering where the next generation was, we realized there they here at the Coliseum, hoping to sing their way to the top.

That evening, they decided that talking at maintenance conferences or writing books and articles for other engineers wouldn't fix the problem because outsiders need to be aware of the problem and the opportunities the crisis presents. After a couple of barley-infused beverages, Joel posed, “Why not write a song about the maintenance crisis?” His friends agreed that it was a good idea, but they said he couldn’t do it.

They were partly right: he couldn’t do it alone. With the help of some friends, real musicians took Joel's original lyrics and now as a result there we is not only a song, but in nine genres, with one version especially for women, and jazz, Spanish and French renditions in the works.

The songs have been played at industrial and engineering conferences worldwide. Rolls Royce Aerospace and others have made it their department’s anthem. The songs have been downloaded from Joel's Web site more than 50,000 times. Radio stations, including National Public Radio, have played it. Even a class of sixth graders knows the country version, “Find me a Maintenance Woman,” and at least three of them memorized the lyrics.

Free downloads of “Find Me a Maintenance Woman” and “The Maintenance Crisis Song” can be found at www.mpactlearning.com.

Are Construction Jobs Going Down Under?

One of my favorite sources on trends about the skilled labor shortage, is "Perfect Labor Storm 2.0" authored by Ira Wolfe, who constantly helps fill in the gaps about HOW people are coping with the worsening skills shortage.

One of Ira's latest excellent contributions is "Will U.S. construction workers flee to Australia?" where he discusses how the Australian Housing Industry Association (HIA) has called for a special visa scheme to recruit 15,000 overseas construction workers to combat the local (Australian) skills crisis. Thousands of skilled building workers could be lured from the faltering US housing industry to help ease the crisis "down under"

I'd like all of my readers in the construction space to ponder this, and carefully so.  Ask yourself what you think the economic will be to the US, when many workers choose to "relocate" their future to the other side of the globe. 

Just check out one of many sites offering Construction Jobs in Australia and you'll notice two things:

1. many companies are actively seeking qualified and skilled people to join them, and
2. these are the same types of jobs that are being cut by the implosion of the residential housing construction market in the U.S.

American construction workers may be surprised at how well they'll be received by the Australian workforce marketplace, and the incentives they'll have to come down to work.  Kind of makes you wonder when the last time their former American employers told them how valued they were?

Put yourself in the place of the laid-off or soon-to-be-laid-off construction worker.
There are a number of questions you might want to ask yourself...

• Did you feel valued at your last job? 
  
  • Was it because you were unappreciated, or was it because your work contribution was just "ordinary"?
• Do you have the skills to compete in the highly competitive Australian workforce
  • you didn't think they were looking for unskilled general labor did you?
  • (by skills, I mean the skills to survive in the marketplace, not just the technical skills to get the job)

Looking for another job, especially in another country, can be a daunting, as well as an enlightening process for US construction workers.  By entering into a job search in the other parts of the world, they will become informed of other opportunities and perhaps for the first time for most U.S. construction workers, lets them know how competitive they are in the "global" job market.  (HINT: If your skills have become outdated or job specific, you might want to consider a few training programs in order to update your skills, or develop new ones.)

American construction workers who consider the new global opportunities that are appearing, may also find that they need skills to adapt in a different culture that they never before had to consider.

Time of great risk or great opportunity?  I guess it depends on how you want to look at it.

When Location Matters

Hint - it ALWAYS matters!

When businesses go looking for an "ideal" location, you'll often hear that it's all about the quality of the workforce.  While that is always true, it's an oversimplification.

In reality, the workforce is only one of many factors that influence where to locate,, or where to expand. The major factors usually taken into consideration include:

1. Workforce
2. Taxes
3. Economic Incentives
4. Quality of Life
5. Operating Costs and
6. Real Estate

These factors provide business owners with a two level scale of "goodness of fit"

• Quantitative (Demographic, Workforce, Quality of Life) and
• Qualitative (Wages, Taxes, Utility Rates)

The elements also have differing weights, based upon the level of needs.  For example, a a foundry would be looking for a much different skillset, incentive and real estate package than a biotech firm, or a highway construction company.

Workers also look at similar elements when seeking out their future employer.  And they do so on multiple levels (Level 1 - what is important to me for the job I am considering, and Level 2 - once I am ready to change employment again, and wish to stay in the area, what other aspects of the location would compel me to stay in the area?)

Thus, each factor related to attracting and keeping a qualified workforce needs to have a similar perspective (an owners perspective) as well.  Bearing in mind that today we live in a global market for most commodities and skills, it's no longer sufficient to just try to match job titles.  Today's workers understand that they have more options available, so the employers job of "selling" the overall package must reflect these changing times.

Can You Afford The High Co$t of Turnover?

Thanks to the folks over at Chrysalis for this article, which puts the real cost of workforce turnover into a real-world dollars and sense perspective.

Case Study:The High Cost of Workforce Turnover

Les's business generated revenues of $6.6 million in 2003. Profit margins were 14%. His 2004 projected increase in revenues (an eight percent increase) is $528,000.

Last year, Les's company produced sixty-four W- 2's for 35 positions. Essentially they hired 64 new employees for twenty positions; 15 employees were employed more than 12 months.

On the surface, turnover appears to be 83 percent, less than the 92 percent industry average. Churn-over, the number of employees hired and gone in less than one-year, was a whopping 320 percent (64 attempts at hiring for 20 positions)!

At the cost of $6,000 per employee, these 64 employees cost the company $384,000. Even at the same clip this year, churn-over will eat up nearly seventy-two percent of the projected revenue gains.

What's worse - much worse - is how much revenue has to increase to sustain the 14 percent profit margin. At fourteen percent profit margin, nearly $2,743,000 in additional revenues need to be brought in just to keep pace with the lost costs of churn-over.

Increasing revenues shouldn't be Les' primary focus unless he likes to just work harder and harder with not a lot to show for it. If Les and his team would only put a plan in motion to reduce annual hourly turnover to 25%, they would find it much less painful to grow the business at the top line and the bottom line.

The cost of 16 churned employees would be $96,000, a savings of $288,000 in the human resource line item. Re-funneling a portion of the savings for wages, benefits and training back to the remaining employees would certainly be a good idea too as the return on retaining employees is clearly much greater than recruiting new ones.

Of even greater importance will be the increased profit margin from revenue growth. Although the revenues required to foot the bill for even 25 percent turnover is still over $600,000, Les's company will increase profits due to increased productivity and quality from a more experienced workforce, lower administrative and training costs for new hires, and less stress on supervisors, managers and co-workers.

Myths about Gen X in the Workforce - They don't want to grow up

The Reality:

They really don't know how.

The youngest generations in today's workforce are facing a delayed adulthood. They are getting married later, having children later and just generally facing the "real world" later. This isn't the result of a mutated maturity gene, it just is. And if we are being completely honest, Boomers had a lot to do with why it's happening.

First, as parents, Boomers had a tendency to coddle their children and use their own good fortune to make sure their children didn't experience adversity. Second, as career models, Boomers demonstrated the toll of working long hours and "paying one's dues" in a way that made their children less likely to follow in their footsteps. Millenials today look at the corporate ladder and think, "there must be another way."

My advice to you—don't waste time wishing they were different. Don't spend your energy comparing today's youth to the desires and drive you had at age 18. These employees are not a reflection of you, nor are they an earlier version of you. And again, that is okay. Your task is to take this new understanding and use it to reposition how you interact with, motivate and reward your staff.

Take attire for instance. Your 18-year-old self would have gladly donned whatever uniform was necessary to fit the company mold. Be it pressed khakis and a tie or a specific corporate uniform, fitting in was part of the package. Today's youth wants to stand out. They want their individuality to shine through even when required to provide a consistent standard of service and performance. Balancing corporate needs with individual desires takes some creative thinking.

Home Depot is one company that has addressed this dilemma at a very basic level—company uniforms. They simply require that all employees wear a standard Home Depot apron. Be yourself underneath (within reason) and show the customer that you are on the Home Depot team with this bright orange apron. Is there a standard that you can adopt to accommodate individual preferences? Something to think about.

Thanks to Cam Marsten for research cited in this article

Boomers Defy Traditional Retirement Through 'Re-careering'

Although the demand for talent continues to escalate as millions of Baby Boomers reach retirement age, a growing number of these professionals are "re-careering," or changing professions mid to late in their careers, according to more than 270 international recruiters surveyed by Korn Ferry

read more | digg story

The "Perfect Labor Storm" and Why It Isn't Going Away

Among the top experts in the discussion of the "Perfect Labor Storm" is Ira Wolfe, who authored the book by the same title.

The book discusses why the aging workers, retiring baby boomers, rising health care costs, shortages of skilled workers, generational gaps, work ethics (just a few of the workforce demographic and socio-economic events that I discuss on this blog) are colliding to produce the biggest shortage of skilled workers in the United States and many other developed countries.

It's a good read, and worth the time, especially if you're an employer or policy maker.

Here's a synopsis of what you'll find...

Many managers and business owners and even economists and strategists are hoping for a break in the socio-economic "climate" and praying this storm too will pass. Human resource professionals, executives, and managers alike wrongly believe they are the isolated targets of some insidious plot to abscond with their workers or else are just magnets for under-skilled workers with poor work ethics. And not unlike the Andrea Gail which was sucked under by the colossal waves even two days before the full force of the storm hit, their businesses too will sink with this short-sighted, wait-and-see attitude.

All workforce trends indicate future employee shortages will not blow over for decades. Many solutions such as retaining older workers longer are flawed. Since health care and retirement costs explode for workers over age 55, how will businesses afford to insure these workers....and without health care and retirement benefits, why will they work? Even worse the full force of the storm won't hit until the end of this decade.

The Perfect Labor Storm has no industry or geographic boundaries. From plumbers to dental hygienists to teachers to border patrol to radiologists, virtually every industry at nearly every skill and position level is affected by shortages of workers with the right skills and attitudes to do all the jobs.

Is this starting to get you attention?  It should!  Besides Dr Wolfe's book, check out the other parts of this blog to get a better understanding of why this is an issue, and most importantly, what you can do about it.

Factors Shaping Our Future Workforce - Part 3 - Many Generations of Co-Workers

At the risk of repeating much of what I've covered in previous posts regarding the multi-generational workforce, we are looking at a shortfall of approximately 10 million workers by 2012-2015 considering the pending retirement of the baby-boomer workforce. 

Much of this "body of knowledge" as we already know will be supplanted by the the Gen-X and Gen-y (millennial) generations of workers.  The current management challenge is getting these generations to interact productively with the existing baby boomer and traditionalists in the workforce.

But, remember that this is a moving target.  The baby boomers and traditionalists will continue to retire and by 2050 in the USA we will have four different or even five generations that will be working together in the work force.

Thus, having a PROCESS for facilitating productive workforce interaction, is a necessity!  If you think that a short-term "patch" will get you over the problem, you aren't being realistic.

Finding and keeping the best and the brightest from all the generations will continue to be THE challenge of the future.  Communication, management, training, remuneration and time scheduling will all be affected by the multi-generational workforce. 

As the human resource gets increasingly scarce, you can expect that like any precious commodity, it will become the domain of "asset managers" who know how to acquire, cultivate and preserve these assets at their maximum value.

Will you be one of these "asset managers?"

Companies May Lose Older Workers with Shortsighted Policies

A recent survey by Manpower revealed that only 21 percent have implemented retention strategies to keep them participating in the workforce.  Since senior employees are not enticed solely by money, using personality assessment and progressive retention strategies are part of a successful formula for retaining skilled talents. 

read more | digg story

The Dirty Little Secret in the Offshore Oil Patch

The poaching of personnel is becoming a significant source of aggravation, especially since oil companies have in the past been quick to downsize their geoscientific resources whenever the going gets tough.

And it's likely go get worse before it gets better.

An recent article entitled "The Trouble with People" appearing in Oil Online describes the antics that have been looked upon as a "standard practice" in the past, but which take on new significance in light of what the industry is characterizing as the ‘Great Crew Change’ the gap between the generation that is retiring and the generation that is to replace it.

Unfortunately, the Oil Industry, like many other industries have failed to attract the quantity of graduates and technically based talent that is now needed to capitalize on the growth potential that is prevalent.

In many cases there is a significant shortfall of candidates in the 15-25 year experience range which in essence can be described as a generation gap.

Many are concerned that while people are being promoted and given responsibility that is within their potential, it is being given too soon and beyond the true experience levels that would be needed in industries where there is no substitute for experience.

Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) in a recent industry report cites the popular finding that 55% of E&P (Oil Exploration And Production);staff are in the 40-50 age bracket (probably on the higher side if the truth be known) and that half the current workforce is likely to retire in the next 10 years (the exercise of early retirement/lifestyle change options may make this prediction conservative).

The BAH report indicates that barely 15% of the E&P workforce are recruits in their early 20s to mid 30s. At the same time graduate recruitment into the industry from established western universities and business schools has been in steep decline.

The issue at hand is that, lacking qualified people at all levels, a fall-off in the E&P;industry’s enviable record for research and innovation could result in an impact on the ability of the industry to respond to the country;s growing energy requirements.

Despite growing employer demand and increased overall numbers in the university population, falling enrollments for geophysics have meant courses being discontinued by universities constantly under performance and economic pressures. The number of MSc courses in geophysics has been reduced from five to one, attributable to the fall in geophysics Masters graduates wanting to embark on exploration and environmental careers.

To reverse this kind of trend presents a huge challenge. as the study points out that the root of the problem stems from what goes on in schools. Geophysics is unlikely to appear on the student’s radar at all and this is part of a more deep-seated resistance to engage in maths and physics, which are regarded as difficult subjects. The result is that geophysics has effectively been structured out of the curriculum, and MSc courses no longer offer a safety net for those students who come across geophysics at university and change direction.

Like other industries suffering with a workforce crisis, it is imperative that the industries that have been considered "unattractive" in the past, must change their image to students.  The trend of students avoiding these fields of study, because they do not have an appreciation of its potential,  at the same time industry needs an increasingly technical workforce, is a recipe for disaster.

The E&P industry is working hard to change their image, but other industries like the design and construction industries have also worked toward this end for years, and still are not close to turning around the problem.   

In my opinion, the problem needs to be addressed at a much earlier stage, educating the youth in K-12, and introducing the teaching faculty and guidance counselors to the many dimensions of the industry, such that these youth will have a re-framed view of these essential industries.

To Have A Good Workforce, You Need To Have Good Leadership Skills

You'd be surprised at how much good talent flees from bad bosses each year.  Did you ever wonder if there is a "scale" (other than gut feel) to determine just how good - or bad, a boss is? 

in order, if you are looking at retaining top talent, and seeking to retain the talent you have, in addition to running the business or department responsibly, you need to be a boss that employees are thankful for

John McKee (Founder and President of BusinessSuccessCoach.net, is the author of "Career Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success") offers this quick quiz to help you find out if your management style is helping or hurting employee perceptions:

Simply answer yes or no to each item below. (scoring provided at end)

QUESTIONS
1. All employees generally dislike work.
2. The best motivator for your team is money; it's what brings them back every day.
3. Keeping emotions out of the management process has served the operation well.
4. Your staff prefers to work as a team so that individual accountability is lessened.
5. As much as I would like to, I just don’t have the time to spend talking in-person to my subordinates.
6. I encourage feedback from a suggestion box or other anonymous method.
7. I live for the weekends (this job is a paycheck to support my "real" life).
8. I don't believe outsourcing can happen to my company.
9. Regular team meetings are not justifiable as they take too much time, which lessens productivity.
10. My current management position isn't very influential, but when I move up the ladder a bit I can make a "real" contribution to the company.

SCORE CARD:
Give yourself 1 point for every time you said "No:"

10 = Excellent!! You'll be running the show in no time!
9 = Brilliant. You obviously see your employees as an asset.
8 = Solid. You have the right attitude, and the team will see that.
7 = Well done. You know people and their needs.
6 = Good. You recognize the power of your role.
5 = Fair. May be time to rethink your management strategy.
4 = It's definitely time for an attitude adjustment.
3 = Change or die (metaphorically). Things aren't good, but it's not too late to make impactful changes.
2 = Do something significant that will be viewed in a positive light or your employees will leave.
1 = It's time to consider a new job where you do not manage people.
0 = Ever consider a job as a bounty hunter?

Factors Shaping Our Future Workforce - Part 1 - Impact of an Aging Population

Aging of the population is currently the single most important trend affecting the workforce in the USA.

Personal lifestyle changes and medical advances are keeping people viable and active longer.

Additionally, financial pressure and personal desire are keeping them working beyond traditional retirement age.  This is evidenced by the projection that by 2025, workers aged 55 and older will be more than 20% of the work force in the USA

The concept of "old" and "senior" are also changing.  By 2050, individuals aged 75 – 78 will be considered to be "middle age."  Mortality tables are being changed to reflect this: maximum life expectancy is increasing from 99 (tables created in 1980) to 120.5 years (new tables published in 2003)

Finally, we are and will continue to experience a lack of younger replacement workers due to a "baby bust" which started with Generation X

One of the most anticipated workplace trends of the 21st Century is the huge retirement wave that will hit most industrialized countries, including the United States, in the next few years. But surveys consistently report that most companies are unprepared to respond to the seismic shifts that are expected to appear in the workforce.

What implications does this have?

Searching for the Silver Bullet: Leading Edge Solutions for Leveraging an Aging Workforce, the latest study from the MetLife Mature Market Institute, which was developed in collaboration with David DeLong & Associates, explores what proactive organizations are doing to creatively meet the challenges posed by an aging workforce.

The study includes in-depth case studies about four companies that have successfully implemented programs to address the changing workforce demographics: Boston Scientific, First Horizon Corporation, The Aerospace Corporation and Weyerhaeuser.

Drawing on the experiences of employers that have put innovative initiatives in place to address the changing demographics, the study provides insights for HR managers on such topics as: implementing effective flexible work arrangements, helping older workers successfully transfer knowledge and devising creative solutions for rehiring retirees.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that between 2004 and 2014 the growth in the percentage of older workers will far outpace that of younger workers.

In that period, the percentage of individuals in the workforce ages 55-64 is expected to grow 42%, compared to a 5% increase in workers age 45-54 and an 8% decline in workers age 35-44. At the same time, the percentage of workers 65+ is expected to grow 74%.

“As the wave of baby boomers approach retirement, companies are searching for a silver bullet – a one size fits all approach for addressing the needs of an aging workforce,” said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “However, what we learned from this new study is that there is no panacea for addressing the needs of a mature workforce.

What’s needed, instead, is a portfolio of strategies and solutions that balance the need to retain older workers while also transferring knowledge to younger workers, so that business performance can be sustained.”

“By learning from others and putting practices in place now, employers will be better able to navigate the dramatic changes coming in the workforce,” added Timmermann. “Organizations that haven’t prepared properly will have fewer options to minimize the impact of retiring baby boomers in order to sustain business performance.”

Valuable lessons learned from the study include:

• The need to think of phased retirement or flexible work options as a program, not a policy;
• How to create effective knowledge sharing relationships between older mentors and younger workers;
• How company-sponsored benefits and retirement planning workshops that focus on the economic consequences of leaving the workforce will encourage some employees to remain in the workforce past age 65;
• The need to make knowledge transfer an explicit part of any job when rehiring a retiree; and
• Why companies must stop searching for the “silver bullet” and recognize that there is no quick fix to these workforce challenges. The solution is a portfolio of integrated programs that will accommodate the changing labor market.

The study also provides specific tips to help employers:

1. Create and leverage a network of former employees;
2. Rehire retirees indirectly on a project basis when pension restrictions prevent direct re-employment;
3. Hire retirees with special expertise to innovate on critical projects; and
4. Tap the expanding pool of older people seeking employment.

“When it comes to solving the problems of an aging workforce, the glass is both half empty and half full,” said Dr. David DeLong, president of David DeLong & Associates, Inc. “Organizations can focus on the barriers or the opportunities. Most executives today recognize that their workforce is going to change dramatically in the next decade. They can maximize the contributions of employees and the assets they bring to the workplace.”

The MetLife Aging Workforce study was conducted during the first half of 2007. While this research focuses on four specific case studies, more than 75 interviews were conducted with managers in 28 organizations identified as leading edge in dealing with the changing workforce. To enhance the findings, more than a dozen experts on aging workforce issues were also interviewed.

Why Management is Fearful of Developing their Workforce

Recently, I was reading one of the great articles published by AmCheck (the Payroll Services, HR Solutions, and Employee Benefits people), that discussed the characteristics of a successful company.

One might think workforce development is an obvious characteristic of all successful companies and their managers. 

But Lominger Limited Inc. - a leadership development think tank and consultancy - reports that managers and employees ranked "developing direct reports" dead last out of all 67 competencies in its bi-annual study of leadership skills. That's right—managers are viewed and view themselves "worst" at developing their direct reports compared to all other skills in their toolbox.

What's your fear level?  Is it paralyzing you to the point where you may become a casualty to "inaction?"

Fears and hollow excuses are usually what prevents managers from developing their people. You may not be actively developing your reports job because you fear:

• Losing power. If you develop your people, you may not be the technical expert of your area anymore. (In reality, you agreed to not be the expert any more when you took a leadership position)
               
• Losing your good people. As people develop, they may want to grow further beyond the function of your department. Be aware, however, that if you are seen as a "people hoarder," your career will be severely diminished.
               
• Being "leap-frogged." Someone you develop may eventually get a job you want. You may even have to report to one of your previous direct reports. (Let's hope you developed them well.) If you use this excuse, you're revealing a basic insecurity about your own abilities.
               
• Creating a rival. Worse than the fear of being leap-frogged may be the fear that a former direct report could become an arch rival in your organization. This excuse is another indication of personal insecurity.

Or you may not be developing other leaders because it takes time or you want to avoid the responsibility. But what else are you doing with your time that is more important? Here are six reasons why you should can the excuses and work on your workforce-development skills:

• To improve productivity and effectiveness. While developing a direct report may cause some temporary reduction in productivity, it will pay dividends in your department, team or division in the long run
               
• To maximize long-term potential. Developing direct reports improves the long-run success of your entire company.
               
• To keep your sanity. Good people developers usually go home on time. Developing your people not only improves their capacity to perform, but it improves your capacity to delegate.
               
• To attract talent. When the word gets out that you are a people developer, the up-and-comers in your company line up to work in your department, team, shop or division.
               
• To "plant" good people. When people leave your area, they know your department's function, your methods and your needs, and can help you be successful from their new position
               
• To get promoted. Being a great people developer differentiates you from the pack. People say good things about you. People realize you are a more complete leader, not the usual, one-commodity manager.

No one becomes a great people developer overnight, and there's no one right way to do it. You should cater to your strengths and to your style. Here are some general tips for improvement:

• Be the motivator, not the "mom." Convince your employees that they are responsible for their own development. Each must have a written development plan, including both short- and long-term development goals. Remind employees that capitalism is "creative destruction" and that their jobs may dissolve without notice. Corporate maternalism breeds unhealthy dependence on the company and minimizes self-reliance.
               
• Incorporate their need to have a personal development plan into your performance-management process.
               
• Recognize that development is more than going to training. While training courses are an important aspect of development, so are rotations, special tasks, complex projects, reading assignments, informal "brown-bag discussions" and even successful staff meetings.
               
• Coach with a passion. Most people can remember a coach, teacher or mentor who dared to confront behavior when it was less than optimal. People developers constructively confront-in a private and professional way-when needed       
               
• Delegate incessantly, and make assignments with development in mind.
               
• Know your people, particularly their career aspirations.               
               
• When interviewing potential hires for your department, discuss an estimated time for them to move on (assuming this fits their career aspirations), usually by the end of three years. Make moving on a goal, and promise that you will help them find their next position within the company when they have developed to your expectations and performed in their current job for a reasonable period of time.
• Creatively reward people who actively develop themselves. Money is not always the right answer. Know your people and reward them with a motivating intangible.

Lose that fear!  You will pay a dear price for not developing your available talent in the next few years.  Remember, this is one of those thinngs you pay for, whether you do it or not.

Shouldn't that Christmas Feeling Last the Entire Year?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY LOYAL READERS!

PEACE TO YOU AT THIS SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR, and throughout the year

Wouldn't it be nice if the feelings of appreciation that are expressed between friends and colleagues continued throughout the year?

That is the genesis of the question that our friends over at AZCentral.com raises in their recent article entitled "Show worker appreciation every day"

This timely article discusses the benefits of "showing the love" to the people that are important to us - every day.

Because isn't it a good feeling to know you're appreciated?

A Perfect Hiring Storm: Scarce talent and Bad Press

Over at the Offshore Recruitment Outsourcing blog I always find perspecfives of value.  In early December, they published a great piece entitled A Perfect Hiring Storm: Scarce talent and Bad Press

In this article, they discuss another recent article appearing on Careermag.com contributed by Debbie Benami-Rahm, whose research I have found to be top shelf.

One of the key elements of this discussion is the following:

The way your organization handles the interview and hiring process either brings you the talent you want or scares your talent away.

Couldn't agree more.  It's increasingly a binary choice.  Many organizations with whom I have consulted over the years have not changed their tactics and methods, despite the fact that entire workforce "value proposition" has changed.  Further, many are completely clueless, and still do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome.

A few years back, I also put some specific metrics on the true cost of employee attrition when I wrote "The Death of Employee Loyalty"

The situation is changing, and the companies that refuse to change will be relegated with higher costs, lower customer satisfaction and lower profits until they come to the realization that the workforce recruitment and retention process IS their business.

Does Workplace Loyalty Cut Both Ways?

I suspect that one of the main reasons why so many people put up with long hours, constant demands to increase output, and even Hamburger Management is simply loyalty: loyalty to colleagues and friends, loyalty to a workplace, even corporate loyalty.

Not familiar with Hamburger Management? A relatively new term, coined by the folks over at Slow Leadership, refers to the process of doing everything as quickly and cheaply as possible. When everything has to be done yesterday, there can be no time for debate or questioning. Blind obedience is required because that is the only response that fits the constant demands for going faster and doing more with fewer and fewer resources. Blaming others? Hamburger Management is like every other type of cheap, shoddy goods. It doesn’t work very well. So those who use it must constantly find excuses to avoid the truth being seen: that they are incompetent because of the methods they are using.

I recently was introduced to an excellent piece entitled: Workplace Loyalty Cuts Both Ways, authored by Carmine Coyote. a brand of Adrian Savage a noted marketing guru, Englishman and a retired business executive who lives in Tucson, Arizona. You can read his serious thoughts most days at Slow Leadership, the site for anyone who wants to bring back the taste, zest and satisfaction to leadership; and his crazier ones at The Coyote Within..   It's really a good article.

The trouble is that organizations don’t appear to have the same sense of loyalty in return. That puts a huge strain on employees. Do you pitch in and help out your colleagues, who are struggling with the latest batch of unreasoning demands from on high? Or do you start polishing your resume and get ready to walk out the door as quickly as possible? Do you stay with your belief that the job you’re doing is both worthwhile and valuable—even if it’s poorly paid, as so many jobs in teaching, nursing, and other public services tend to be?

Or do you decide to follow the money into a different career—or even consider leaving to work overseas—and let go of your loyalty to an ideal?

You owe it to yourself to read Workplace Loyalty Cuts Both Ways
check it out for the full coverage.

We All Want To Work for A Company That Supports Us, Don't We?

I wanted to share this with you my readers.  I received this message from a close friend of ours, who also like myself is a vet.

My cousin sent this to me and I thought you all would like to know about it.  Happy holiday shopping!
Shannon

I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and they haven't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year? How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.

I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves. Pass it on.

Decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department: I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, th e Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.

This is their answer to my e-mail:
Dear Customer: Thank you for contacting Sears.The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback. Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.
Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com
1-800-349-4358

Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!

It's Verified ! By Snopes.com at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp (shows the entire article)
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/sears.htm

Not bad for a McJob

One high profile example of a corporation tackling their employer brand head-on is McDonalds, who rely on a steady supply of Human Capital to give their business and their brand life.

After the term 'McJob' appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary, being described as having low pay and poor prospects, McDonalds responded in 2006 with the challenging 'Not bad for a McJob' campaign.

The McDonalds fight-back campaign featured posters including examples of health policies, flexible working hours and prospects for promotion, with the objective of improving their public image as an employer of choice and ensuring their employees felt 'McRespected' and 'McValued'.

McDonalds represents an extreme example, but other companies across the world dedicate much time and resource to winning coveted places in top employer listings, such as the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in the UK and the 100 Best Employers to work for in Canada. And, according to Sheffield University, its a case of 'Who Cares Wins' in todays job market.

Performance Appraisal and Feedback - What are Today's Management Expectations?

Performance Appraisal and Feedback is an important part of the talent management process.  However, the "equation" is different today than it has been in the past.

I'd like to share with you some ideas on current thinking about:

• Supervisors’ Accountability For Employee Performance
• The Supervisor As Coach
• What Does The Company Need From The Employment Relationship?
• What Do Employees Really Want From The Employment Relationship?

The Supervisors’ Accountability For Employee Performance

Traditionally, management has meant performing the functions of:
Planning

• Define Goals for Future Performance
• Determine Tasks Needed to Meet Goals
• Determine Available Resources

Organizing

• Assign Identified Tasks
• Allocate Needed Resources

Leading

• Inspire Employees to Achieve Goals

Controlling

• Monitor Employee Activities to Assure Progress

Over time, this role has transformed to include an awareness of :

• Decentralized Decision Making
• Flexible, Skilled & Involved Workforce
• Increased Sensitivity in Work Relationships

The Supervisors’ Job Description has thus evolved as a Supervisor of the Work of Other Employees to include :

• Setting Objectives
• Hiring Employees
• Training Employees
• Assigning Tasks to Employees (Delegation)
• Measuring Performance of Employees
• Rewarding/Disciplining Employees

Accordingly, the Supervisor is accountable to the business to

• Meet Their Own Performance Objectives
• Maintain Accurate and Timely Records of Employee Performance Throughout the Appraisal Period
• Complete the Forms Used in Appraising Employees and Return Them to HR on time
• Maintain Their Knowledge and Understanding of the Performance Appraisal Process,, and
• Review Appraisals Together With Employees

In other words, from the Company's perspective, they are looking for the Performance Appraisal and Feedback process to help

• Maximize Employee Productivity
• Employees Focus on Organization’s Objectives
• Employees Take On Responsibility for Their Performance
• Management Understand How to Manage Performance Effectively
• Facilitate Coaching, Counseling and/or Discipline for Poor Performers
• Provide protection From Legal Liability
• Establish an Objective Basis for Development, Compensation and Rewards

The Supervisor As Coach

Management is so 20th Century!  This "old" view of things looks at Management as a often one-way process whereas coaching is two-way, with the coach and the employee constantly giving and receiving feedback.

Coaching then, instead of “Managing” or “Supervising” is a key concept for achieving top organizational performance.  Supervisors become coaches when they use feedback on a continuous basis to reinforce positive behavior or counsel employees to correct actions that do not further the organization’s goals.

What does Coaching involve?

• Being there for them
• Giving them what they really want
• Rewarding them with "ownership" of their part of the business

According to a study conducted by Mercer management Consulting for the Council of Communications Management, 75% of respondents in a study of employee communications indicated that internal communication has a positive influence on employee performance.

The supervisor is the critical link between top management and employees.  Keeping employee communications “up front” and honest helps to build employee morale, contribute to company loyalty, and increase productivity.   

What kinds of things are important for your employees to be aware of?

What Does The Company Need From The Employment Relationship?

Employee engagement is more important today than ever.  Business leaders need to encourage activities that make employees feel more participative in the business.   You also need to reward people who learn more about their jobs, new trends, solve problems, and are willing to make changes.  Employees who feel empowered are far less likely to become chronically absent or quit.

What Do Employees Really Want From The Employment Relationship?

According to a 2001 Randstad North American Employee Review study looking at how employees define success in the workplace, the following dimensions were most frequently cited:

• Being trusted to get the job done
• Opportunity to do the type of work i want
• Power to make decisions that affect their own work
• Finding a company where i want to work a long time
• Getting raises
• Having flexibility
• Many different job options & opportunities
• Getting promotions
• Getting praise & recognition
• Managing (leading) other people
• Gaining seniority

But it gets even more interesting.

• Mature workers (aged 61-75) workers view themselves as "contributors," while viewing their employers as a "benevolent master." Their greatest psychological need is "respect" and their overriding workplace characteristic is "dedication." Having power to make decisions that affect the whole organization is important to them.
• Baby Boomers (now aged 42-60) are "adaptable" and in need of "appreciation." They view employers as "partners" while striving to be "recognized employees.”
• Gen X'ers (new age 27-42) are "realists" in need of "security." The volatile nature of the new economy drives them to perceive employers as "terminators," while they view themselves as "employees with a future."
• And Gen Y (26 and younger) see themselves as "entrepreneurs" and their employers as "providers." They are in need of "attention" while remaining "cautiously optimistic" about the future.

But for all employees, the most important corporate value cited was TRUST…even more than money or title.  A well thought out Performance Review and Feedback system can be a unique experience that can help

• Make employees feel like members of the “Club”
• Facilitate their ideas, suggestions for problem-solving
• Challenge them with new tasks, assignments, projects
• Involve them in setting performance criteria
• Encourage self-evaluation of their performance
• Work together to set performance objectives

Why then, does the Performance Appraisal process often evoke discomfort versus a sense of discovery?  Perhaps that's because often the program is representative of

• Inadequately defined standards of performance
• Sketchy or ambiguous performance documentation
• Inadequate time allotment for the discussion
• Supervisor bias in judging performance
• Reliance on gut feelings; lack of objectivity
• Lack of timeliness of performance reviews
• Lack of employee involvement

So are they still relevant?  YOU BET !   

Your workforce wants to do the right thing, BUT

• They may not know the rules
• They may not have clear goals
• They may lack confidence
• They may have limited ability
• They may be poorly trained
• They may not have the right equipment
• They may have limited communication
• They may be distracted by personal problems

Today more than ever, a well conceived and properly executed program can be used

• To let employees know where they stand and to give them feedback
• As A basis for compensation and rewards
• As A basis for individual training and performance improvement
• As A basis for career planning
• As A basis for business planning
• To document HR decisions, placement,promotions and discipline

Is this your experience?  How about sharing your "success" stories as well as "horror" stories with our readers.

Do you Understand Older Workers Priorities & Work Life Balance Concerns?

Older workers are one of the keys to the "War for Talent", but many employers do not understand these workers.   There are many different types of workers in this age group, and each one requires a different key to unlocking their potential.

Older members of the workforce who have extensive experience and skill, also have a significantly different "point of view" when it comes to what is important to them.  Firms and organizations alike need to recognize these  personal priorities, which include the important "work-life balance" element

Consider the many varied "situations" you'll discover when you examine a "cross-section" of these workers in almost every business and organization:

1. Those that are stable and settled:
   (and may have no further career aspirations)
   
2. The workers who are motivated by reputation,
   (they're seeking status and have a need for achievement that is still growing)
3. Workers who feel vulnerability
   (may feel that their "value" is diminished through reduced capability or feel that their skills are no longer up to date)
4. Those who are more engaged or feel their work more is important than in past periods of intermittent or part-time working. 
   (many women re-entering the workforce with grown families fit into this category)
5. People who are more confident, and ready for new challenges
   (ready for anything new, or are ready to try self employment)
6. and workers who are anxious about being displaced by younger colleagues

As you can see, each of these "categories" of workers are looking at employment from quite different points of view.  Keep checking back, as I'll be expanding on some ideas that you'll find useful in reaching out to each.

Emerging Health Care Trends 2007 Survey Results

Today, employers appear to be making a "choice of roads" decision when it comes to providing healthcare for their employees.  The choice taken can have significant effect for the employer as it impacts their ability to retain existing employees as well as colors the attractiveness of the organization when seen through the eye of certain classes of job-seekers.

There are two distinct types of employers, and their beliefs and behaviors are dramatically different in how they view the value of Healthcare benefits according to Hewitt Associates in a recent survey report.
Download emerging_health_care_trends_2007_survey_results.pdf  

There are the “Stop Light-to-Stop Light” employers who find they are primarily focused on managing trends.  They have substantial resistance to cutting benefits because they view health care benefits as an attraction and retention tool and are in a competitive market for talent. At the same time, however, they do not tend to see health and productivity as a business issue.

Then there are the respondents indicate they will become much more involved in health and health care benefits, referred to as the "Superhighway" companies

Employers from both roads ranked managing cost and competitive positioning as their top two business issues related to health care. However, the next most important business issue for Superhighway employers is a leadership mandate to address health care, whereas Stop Light-to-Stop Light employers are worried about profitability. Similarly, employers from both roads ranked employee satisfaction and protection from catastrophic loss as the top two employee issues related to health benefits. Superhighway employers ranked improving productivity next, while Stop Light-to-Stop Light employers are worried about turnover.

Small employers have been exiting from health care, dropping sponsorship of their plans entirely.  However, for most large employers, this approach would create significant difficulties for many of their employees. If an employee or dependent currently had a serious medical condition, for example, he or she may be denied coverage entirely in the individual marketplace. While costs continue to escalate, very few large employers are currently considering dropping sponsorship of health care
plans.

The Hewitt survey validates this trend—no respondents believe their organization will be less involved in health care benefits over the next three to five years than they are today.  What remains to be see is how each group reconciles the cost of quality healthcare to the demands of an increasingly tighter labor market.

A Halloween Treat for You from the Evil HR Lady

I'm a fan of the "Evil HR Lady", who publicly claims to be "an HR professional in a Fortune 500 Company. I've hired, fired, managed pay and analyzed the numbers. I've even tried to cooperate with Finance, but, well you can guess how that turned out."

She operates a great blog by the same name (Evil HR Lady) with a high volume of feedback that confirms that she is on the right track.

She recently published a great article called "The Coming Talent Shortage" that provided a response to the YouTube video about workforce demographic changes. 

Michael Moore (the lawyer, not the other Michael Moore) posted a link to this video about the upcoming labor shortage.

This article is a "MUST READ" for people concerned about where our future experienced talent will come from.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Motivating Workers By Giving Them a Vote

Our friend and colleague, David Wessel, of the Wall Street Journal's Washington Bureau, a brilliant scholar, and writer has once again hit the nail on the head.

In a recent article entitled "Motivating Workers By Giving Them a Vote" he examines a novel approach to self-governance, citing examples where  a large firm Schlumberger Ltd  allows its employee communities to govern themselves and choose their own leaders, often in contested elections.

This is not for the faint of heart, and not right for many firms.  This article shows however what CAN be done, even in a large multi-national firm that one might not expect to be nimble and progressive.

Want to be rocked out of complacency?  Read the article and tell me what you think?

Want to Understand Peoples Motivations ? Then Understand their Desires !

Incentive Intelligence is one of our favorite blogs.  One reason why is a recent article they published called "Maximize Overlapping Desires..." that does an excellent job of describing how fundamental the changes are in the way todays generations look at employment versus the generations that preceded it.

Wonder why the workforce doesn't "love" the things that the previous generations used to respond to?  Read the article - it's very well done, as are all of the articles at this interesting blog!