80% of American workers say they experience stress in the workplace, and the result is
more than $300 billion lost by U.S. companies annually from stress-related absenteeism, accidents, turnover, lower productivity and workers' compensation, as well as direct legal, medical and insurance costs.
read more | digg story
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!
Do you ever wonder what's ever become of all of those skilled workers being cut in the Construction industry as a sector (such as residential), or a geographic area slows down due to the cooling economy?
I was reading an interesting article "Tale of two construction sectors — one still booms, the other doesn't" in the Seattle Times that was discussing the shifts that have, and still are occurring in Construction -
and why, despite the seeming abundance of construction talent - that the shortage is still bad, and worsening in many areas.
It's an insightful article and will help clarify the true level of work skills transferability in the Construction industry.
Watch this space, as I'll be publishing a article (still under development) about specific things that Construction Employers can do to close the skills gap.
If you look at the general mood in the U.S. right now, it seems like "doom and gloom". Just look at the headlines: a lousy economy, foreclosures, high gas prices. Almost 80 percent of Americans in one poll recently said we're worse off today than we were five years ago, which is simply not true in most cases, or so says Gregg Easterbrook. In an op-ed on Friday's Wall Street Journal he argued that life is actually pretty good.
There are two realities in the U.S., he says. When you ask people about their own experiences, their jobs, their schools, they say things are good.
Ask about the state of the national economy or schools or health care, most Americans will say the country is on the wrong track. A recent interview published on the Brookings Institute entitled "Is the Media Making Us Feel Worse?" talks about the powerful influence that media "slants" have on the attitudes of Americans.
Shaping the attitudes of people happens all the time. Management and the marketplace have a significant role in shaping the attitudes and behavior of today's workforce.
Robert Wiseman, in a book review of “Rewarding Excellence” by Edward E. Lawler III notes “For many organizations, talented employees are the cornerstone of a competitive advantage. If the organization competes based on new ideas, outstanding customer service, or quick, accurate decisions, having excellent employees is critical.”
How does one have excellent employees? It involves many things done right, but among them, setting a positive climate for personal growth and recognition.
Unfortunately not everybody gets this critical point. Robert L. Mathis & John H. Jackson, describe in "Human Resource Management” 10th edition
“Of course, not every organization must compete on the basis of having the best employees, but even those that do not, employees are a major source of performance, problems, growth, resistance, and lawsuits.”
Thus we must acknowledge that "we reap what we sow" inasmuch as we set the right climate for our workforce. In this blog, I have discussed the importance of carefully drafting position descriptions, effective screening of new hires, communicating clear expectations of how work should be performed and training and orientation. These are the cornerstones that all organizations must first put in place in order to attract excellent workers.
But beyond this, we are responsible as employers to set the right (eg. positive) tone for our workplace. In 1948, Dr. Robert Merton first formalized “The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” This principle is based on
research showing that without our conscious knowledge, our expectations for others can actually have a measurable impact on their behavior. Also known as “The Pygmalion Effect” (remember the movie My Fair Lady?),
describes the way that people’s expectations of other people influence the actions and achievements of those other people.
Further research in recent years has also confirmed that leaders “did” specific things to help bring about the prophecies (success). For example - Teachers were better teachers to students they provided: (1) supportive climate, (2) more input, (3) more opportunity for output, and (4) more performance feedback.
The The Pygmalion Effect tells us that
As an example of how just one element of this process plays out in practice, consider the impact of the climate employers create. By climate, I'm referring to the kind of social and emotional mood we create for others.
We create a negative climate that generate poor workplace behaviors that communicate low expectations in several ways when we:
In contrast, we can create a positive climate that encourages good behaviors that communicate high expectations to workers when we
It's up to us. You need to decide whether you follow the pack and join the "sky is falling" crowd or instead taking the "let's make this happen together" road. This in my opinion is the ultimate test of leadership which will determine which organizations are able to recruit and retain the best talent.
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.
There are many variables affecting the nature and the degree of challenge of an overseas assignment. The fundamental question is: what factors, beyond technical competence, predict success in the global business environment?
In general, the global workplace requires the ability to operate comfortably and effectively within a broad spectrum of difference--human, cultural and environmental, all of which overlap naturally. While research has identified numerous attitudes, traits and skills that make up this broad ability or competence, here is a short and reasonably comprehensive list:
The successful global manager, whether expatriating, simply working
in a multicultural environment or supporting a multicultural workforce,
exhibits a complex global competence that comprises the following:
Over my years in the business, I have found that the basic "technical skills" are far and away less important than the ability to coexist and operate in an overseas post.
Increasingly, firms find that it is necessary and prudent to expose their promising talent to international assignments. Sometimes it works out fine, other times it doesn't.
One of the reasons cited by expats that leave posts (or firms) is "career blockage", or better known as the feeling that working abroad has gotten their career sidetracked, while people back home are climbing the corporate ladder.
I used to travel abroad extensively, and would frequently run into an expat that after a few drinks would admit “the home office has forgotten about me”
It doesn't seem to matter whether you are doing your job or not, it's just a human nature response to conditions. It appears to the expat that there is a lack of collegiality and communication when working abroad, especially when surrounded by cultural natives who are in their natural setting, and receiving support and personal communications routinely.
The role of "HQ" managing this common concern is significant.
HR needs to ensure that expatriates know that an international assignment helps in terms of advancement within the firm. This also needs to be periodically reinforced by upper management. Sometimes this is hard to do, especially when there is a lot or organizational "churn" at the upper management levels with people moving to different jobs, or leaving the firm altogether. Remember that the initial expectations that may have been set, if not committed to a written agreement, may not survive if there is (as if often the case), changes in upper management.
Likewise, planning needs to take into consideration, the very real concerns that expats have about their return to their "home base." I have declined some overseas posts because the company was unwilling or unable to describe what would happen upon my return to the states.
Will the firm respect (and value) the unique new skills that I have acquired
while overseas? Will my return represent a "loss of status" (either real or perceived)? Will there be a plan for re-integrating me into the stateside business? Reverse "Culture Shock" can also be a factor, (and an adjustment period is a wise idea for the expat, as well as their family) If firms are not prepared to do these things, it can really impact on the willingness of personnel to go overseas on assignment.
It is food for thought, hmmmm?
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
Thanks to Kellye Whitney managing editor for Talent Management magazine, wrote an excellent piece "Women in Leadership Means Good Business" in early April.
She cites "One of the most compelling reasons for an organization to pay
attention to the demographic makeup of its workforce is that a diverse
employee base can have significant bottom-line impact. Yet, when
the issue is workplace gender balance and actualizing women's economic
and leadership potential, the United States trails behind less
developed countries.
This well written article also identifies what companies that want to succeed in the 21st century will have to do to realize the full potential of women and make the necessary investments to nurture their talent.
Additionally, this piece also poses the question "Why are we spending a bunch trying to understand overseas markets while ignoring the basic dynamics of the men and women in our own workforces?"
The argument made in Kellye's portrayal, backed up by sound research, is both troubling and compelling when you realize that companies which claim to be recruiting, attracting, retaining and promoting the best possible talent, in reality are recruiting and promoting 80 percent men.
Fuzzy Math, perhaps? It doesn't seem to add up to me.
What makes a city great, and relatedly, attractive for people to live and work?
That is the question posed by Joel Kotkin who has studied how many city planners today focus largely on aesthetics, the arts, and the perception of being “cool.” Academics and many economic-development experts link urban success to cities’ appeal to the “creative class” of college-educated young people.
In this calculus, the traditional practice of gauging a city’s success by studying patterns of population or employment growth, or noting the opportunities available for working-class or middle-class families to flourish, rarely registers as important.
One prominent academic, Rutgers University’s Paul Gottlieb, has even offered an elegant formula for what he calls “growth without growth”—focusing on increasing per-capita incomes without expanding either population or employment. Indeed, Gottlieb suggests that successful post-industrial cities might well do best if they actually “minimize” the influx of new people and jobs.
Kotkin, an accomplished American urbanologist, writes about the organic growth of cities as they really are, rather than as he might remake them with enough tax money and firepower, is passionate about challenging traditional beliefs about our urban culture.
Whether you are en employee or an employer, this is information that you need to be thinking about, because it will affect the size and location of today's and tomorrows workforce.
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.
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:
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...
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 I interact with small business owners, I am appalled to hear the difficulty that they are having finding workers with the most basic administrative skills. I recently spoke to a client who advertised a entry level sales position, got over 2,000 responses, and after sorting out the candidates, was left with only one (1) that demonstrated the attitude,, work ethic and technical skills that he required.
When I asked what he was looking for, he gave me his list.
It looked like this:
Note that sales experience was NOT one of his requirements. He was prepared to train the new hire in his products / services and how to sell.
Is this indicative of what the "available" workforce looks like?
I have been discussing in this blog, as well as my numerous speaking stints around the country, about how the workforce development process is changing.
A like-minded fellow, author, researcher and teacher Floyd Kemske
a really smart guy
and a voracious writer, provides some additional insights
into the way we will recruit, develop and retain our workforce.
“These numbers indicate a critical need for talent that’s forcing organizations to rethink their hiring and retention practices-or suffer the consequences,” said Steve Watson, international chairman of Stanton Chase, which has 57 offices in 35 countries and is a top 10-ranked global retained search firm.
Two-thirds of the firms are concerned . . . and another two-third are at least partially prepared for it.
However, according to the survey, 36 percent of employers are taking the bury head in sand route. That’s always productive.
A while back, through my colleague and friend Dave Boggs, of Syberworks, I was asked to participate in a couple of podcast sessions on issues in today's workforce
I agreed and the podcast, which was published on Syberworks' website as
"Episode 17: Is There Really a Workforce Shortage?" is provided here for your listening pleasure.
As always, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
Lee Iwan, a perennial favorite of mine, has published "Our future depends on education"
OK, Before you reply with a big DUH, consider what's really at
stake. Read the article, and I promise you, you will have a different point of view.
read more | digg story
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:
These factors provide business owners with a two level scale of "goodness of fit"
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.
Mark Schoeff Jr. over at Workforce Management published a
brief entitled Skills Of
Recent U.S. High School Graduates Leave Employers Cold that references
previous posts in this blog about the report, “Are They Really Ready to Work?”
What's interesting about Mark's update is what has happened since this
report was published. Workforce
advocates came to in late March to
get the attention of Congress on what they call an urgent problem with the labor
market: High school graduates are deficient and those with a college education
only adequate in key skills employers are demanding to cope with global
economic competition.
In a March 28 Capitol Hill
briefing, the groups presented findings from their poll of about 400 companies
showing that new entrants to the U.S. workforce generally disappoint those who
would like to give them their first job. High school-educated workers lack the
level of ability employers seek in everything from writing and work ethic to
oral communication. Twenty-three percent to 27 percent of respondents said
college graduates were weak in writing and leadership.
These are critical
deficiencies that need to be addressed, and need to receive the funding
priority to make the needed changes in our education and training
infrastructure. Left in it's current state, we'll be in a heck of a mess,
increasingly unable to meet the most basic needs of our society.
Julie Martin Trenor, Director of Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Retention at the Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston is one of the most significant voices advocating the Engineering profession for women. I pay close attention to anything from her that crosses my desk.
She recently cited some excellent research into WHY women are drawn to engineering,
that I wanted to share with you. She cites studies by Goodman & Cunningham in 2002, Seymour & Hewitt, in 1997, Grose in 2006 and the American Society for Engineering Education in 2006 that document the "drivers" of interest in Engineering for women. These studies provide a good "roadmap" for profiling women who might take to the Engineering field:
The talent shortage will not relent, even in a recessionary cycle, and it is imperative that women continue to ascribe to the engineering profession. Unfortunately, just as there are incentives, Dr. Trenor also points out that there are still many barriers for women. Among them she cites:
There need to be more engineers period, and there are many opportunities for women to excel in this profession. Watch this blog for more updates on Dr Trenor's important work in this area.
It's happening all over the country where affordable housing is dwindling, and the workers needed to sustain the local economy are unable to find inexpensive lodging.
For these communities, you might as well tell workers, keep clear - we're unaffordable places to work in...
Add high fuel costs, and ever increasing costs of living, many communities are finding that the "weak link" in their economies is the shortage of workers, not shortage of consumers. Unless a fix is found, these communities are in for a rough road ahead.
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The country is not suffering for astrophysicists and neurosurgeons.
Rather, a majority of the "hardest-to-fill jobs" are done by blue collar
workers, according to a survey by Manpower Inc.
The jobs most likely to go wanting are:
To compile the results, Manpower surveyed more than 2,400 employers nationwide.
"With the variety of positions employers are struggling to fill, it seems like job seekers should have little trouble finding work," said Jonas Prising, president of Manpower North America, an employment services company. "Yet on a daily basis, we hear from clients who can't find the right people for open positions and candidates who are struggling to get hired. ... The talent crunch is more complex than a shortage of people."
In 2007, 41 percent of employers said that they had difficulty filling jobs, down from 44 percent in 2006. Sales representatives were also the hardest jobs to fill in 2006, though engineers and nurses were then second and third.
I really enjoy being in the area of helping people develop their potential.
But I sometimes wonder what motivates students beyond simple knowledge acquisition toward continuous strengthening of specific skills and abilities known to be vital in the workplace and life.
Much of what I observe is individuals completing education because it is in their annual
"professional development plan" or because it is required for them to have a certain number of "continuing education credits" to maintain a license or certification.
Is that all there is? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this matter....
To what extent do you (or your organization), utilize continuing education to:
It’s
a bigger problem than you might think—jerks and bullies in the
workplace. Research shows that they not only hinder recruiting and
retention but also raise levels of client churn, damage reputations,
and diminish the confidence of investors.
Companies that harbor jerks may also suffer from reduced levels of creativity and innovation, as well as impaired or dysfunctional cooperation, within and outside the organization. That is no small matter in an increasingly networked world.
The author of the article "Building the Civilized Workplace", available at the McKinsey Quarterly (registration required) argues that companies can take specific and interrelated steps to root out jerks and bullies and build a more civilized workplace.
Many thanks to my colleague, Bronwyn Mauldin over at Workforce Developments who also found a link to another site that offers this article (with no registration required)
Bullies are a problem, beginning in the K-12 school system, and continues into the workforce. Knowing what the problem is, its symptoms, types of bullies and how they operate, will make the workforce more productive, and less risky for employees and employers alike.
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
The American Association of University Professors, states 68% percent of all jobs in
higher education are part-time, temporary, or both, and are often paid no more than $1,600 to $2,400 a course, without benefits of any sort, much less contracts extending beyond the current term.
At a time when serious questions exist about the quality of education in the U.S. you'll find this article a painful insight how the university "system" is putting finances ahead of quality education.
Do we really expect to turn out top talent from our schools, when we are shortchanging the teaching staff?
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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
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.
Pat Galloway publishes one of the top blogs in the AEC space and being a PE, and CEO
of a esteemed professional services firm, she understands very well, the issues associated with shortages in the current and upcoming workforce. So when she recently published "Industry in Crisis--We Need an ACE in the Hole" discussing the myriad issues in the AEC market, I feel she really has hit the nail on the head.
(not to mention that she sees the market the same as I do....)
You'll want to read the full article, but she leads with a sobering and unfortunately all-too-true situation assessment:
"The construction industry is the second largest sector of our economy. However, many projects are on hold or have simply been canceled because there are not enough resources to build them. America’s infrastructure is not only crumbling, it is not keeping pace with our growth and the consequences are serious.
At the current rate of training, we may be able to produce an additional 20,000 trades people by 2009. However, we are experiencing a 260,000-person shortfall each year. If America’s economic growth is to continue, we will need over 1 million more architects, engineers and trades people by 2012."
There you have it. Read the article to get the details and learn what our options are.
Recently, I witnessed the retirement of a fellow, who I'll call "old Chariey" who after many decades as a player in a large construction firm, stepped down, in order to "pursue other interests"
A veteran of the business, he had built up a stunning legacy of successfully completed projects, had served on dozens of committees and industry boards, was well known in the construction market, and when he walked out the door, took much of this knowledge with him.
We live in interesting times, indeed.
There is a general recognition that many industries, including construction, can benefit from the extensive skills of existing older workers. And trend data indicates more older workers want to remain on the job longer. Unfortunately, they often are forced to decide between their social security benefits and a paycheck.
Older workers possessing a broad array of building, supervision and management skills are often discouraged from working past retirement because they can lose some of their social security income if they earn more than the limits.
In calendar year 2005, for example, until recipients turn 65 (currently the normal retirement age) they can earn up to $31,800 without penalty; seniors earning more than that amount lose $1 of benefits for every $3 of earnings above the limit. There is no limit once past 65 years old.
Beneficiaries under the age of 65 are penalized by a reduction in benefits of $1 for every $2 of earnings above $12,000 in 2005.
Smart firms are starting to realize that they need to make better use of older workers talent, relationships and experiences. These are people proud of their accomplishments, who want to contribute and share in a meaningful way, and it puts organizational leadership into the position of "thinking outside the box" to figure out how to leverage these assets in a meaningful "win-win" way.
Removing the social security earnings test would encourage more skilled workers to remain in the building trades - where their knowledge, connections and experience are still needed, and valued.
Looking for work in Japan? Shigeo Hirano says you may have an edge if you are older than 60. Hirano, president of staffing agency Mystar 60 Corp., says so-called "silver" workers are in growing demand as Japan's population ages.
"Japan's
best engineers and technicians are leaving factories and offices
for
retirement," said Hirano, who heads the employment company which
specializes in finding jobs for those aged 60 and over. "Companies
are realizing that hiring the elderly is the only way to retain high
levels of skills and expertise," added Hirano, himself a sprightly 63.
A decline in young workers globally is exacerbating the concern as the population ages at an unprecedented pace. The proportion of people over the age of 65 to total population is already the world's highest at 20 percent of Japan's population of 127 million people. The figure is forecast to hit 40 percent by 2055.
This and other information characterizing the worsening labor crunch were chronicled in a Reuters article published in the Boston Globe entitled "Greying workers wanted for hire in aging Japan"
Recruitment of "silver workers" is projected to play an increasing role in the quest for competent, experienced staff. It is just one of many strategies to ensure the workforce needed for the 21st century.
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?"
The poaching of personnel is becoming a significant source of aggravation, especially since oil companies have in the past been quick to downsi
