Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

The Job They Want May Not Be The One You're Offering

Todays younger generation, and the current Baby Boomers are looking at the job market quite differently than you might imagine.

Observed from two ends of the career spectrum, a signifcant percentage of young adults entering the workforce are looking at how they can make a difference in peoples lives and the community.  Not surprisingly, many Baby Boomers are feeling the same way, after many long and arduous years, asking the question "Is this all there is?"

There are two factors that guide most career decisions: salary and personal satisfaction. At the end of the day, you have to bring home a paycheck big enough to pay the bills and put food on the table. But most young people also want a work environment that satisfies them on a personal level. For some people, that kind of job satisfaction comes from collaborating with like-minded coworkers, or creating a quality product.

Sometimes that can be found in the commercial or governmental workforce, often it cannot.

For those that are self-directed, have a strong work ethic and a passion for making a positive difference in peoples lives, working in a non-profit setting can be a perfect setting for career growth, contribution to society and self-expression.

I have been working with non-profits for over 30 years job in a variety of worker and leader capacities and am surrounded by happy people who describe job satisfaction meaning going home after a long and often challenging day knowing your work has helped improve someone else's quality of life.

My experience with non-profits has also shown me young professional who are willing to atartt at the bottom and give it your all. If you are smart, work hard and honestly care, you will rise to the top very quickly. There are lots of opportunities for advancement for the right individuals.  These workers tell me that they find great satisfaction from engaging with all levels of the organization, and often in a relatively short time can be working shoulder to shoulder with the CEO, attending board meetings, and interact with other agencies, boards, as well as clients.  

Unfortunately more and more workers are being thrown out like yesterday's trash, and the loyal customers, once viewed as the cornerstone of any company, are being silenced by the short-term -- and often shortsighted -- financial demands of the bottom line.

The cost of these savings, however, come at the expense of dedicated workers who once loved their jobs and enjoyed making their businesses successful.  

Baby Boomers nearing retirement express a desire to make a difference.  So it is not surprising to find that an increasing number are saying "thanks but no thanks" when being encouraged to stick around past retirement, take on new assignments, or come back from retirement to backfill a knowledge or skillset shortage.  Several of these Boomers are finding that a non-profit gig is very personally rewarding.

It's not all rosy of course.  Non-profits struggle to attract and maintain a quality workforce to staff programs, usuually because of the low wages offered for such demanding work.  Additionally bureaucracy often associated with government, or private funding agencies and programs can be a bit stifling at times. Paperwork, paperwork, and paperwork never seems to go away. For some it often can feel meaningless, but keeping it at bay allows non-profit workers to maintain the real "bottom line": providing quality support to your clients.

What Does It Take to be an "Employer of Choice"?

Joyce L. Gioia and the late Roger E. Herman wrote the groundbreaking book "How to Become an Employer of Choice" back in 2000.  It has become the foundation for several subsequent works assisting organizations who aspire to this distinction.

One of them was published by Sandy Asch, author of Excellence at Work--The Six Keys to Inspire Passion in the Workplace, who has addressed how employers can transform and reward employee performance and offered six things employers can do to become an employer of choice.

Asch identified a number of questions companies can ask themselves to determine if their employees view them as an employer of choice.

• Do your employees love to work for your company?
• Are employees deeply engaged?
• Are employees' full potential being realized?
• Are employees planning on staying with your company?
• Are communications open, honest, positive and future-focused?
• Are people proactive and see, own, and act on problems quickly and efficiently?
• Are truth telling and risk taking encouraged and rewarded?
• Is there a high level of cooperation and collaboration?
• Are people respectful and seek to bring out the best in each other?
• Is there a healthy work-life balance?
• Do employees have energy and passion?
• Do employees trust and respect their managers and feel valued and supported?
• Are your leaders trusted and respected?
• Are employees treated fairly?
• Are employees regularly rewarded and recognized for good performance?
• Are there opportunities for growth and development?
• Are employees encouraged to contribute and make a difference?
• Are employees proud to work for your organization?
• Would your employees recommend your company to their friends as a good place to work?

How does your organization fare in each of these areas?  If you aren't sure, this book may be a good one in which to invest...

Can The Four Day Work Week Help America (And Improve Your Life)? [repost]

The notion that the majority of the workforce should work the eight hour work day and the 40 hour work week is based on nothing more than an idea put forth but the Federal government almost 70 years ago.  This column has a few examples on why the 4 day work week could be better.

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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 kind of workplace environment are you creating?

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

• We cannot behave or act in a manner that is inconsistent with our expectations and beliefs (of others or ourselves).
• Our behaviors and actions toward others influence their expectations, behaviors, and performance either positively or negatively.
• Thus, our expectations will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, partly because we will act in a manner that is consistent with that “prophecy” and cause it to “be fulfilled.”

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:

• Verbally criticize workers competence or potential
• Send negative non-verbal cues through voice, face and body posture or movements
• Appear distracted, in a hurry, or otherwise not giving an employee your full attention

In contrast, we can create a positive climate that encourages good behaviors that communicate high expectations to workers when we

• Are verbally supportive and encouraging
• Provide positive non-verbal cues through tone of voice, eye contact, facial expressions, and body posture or movements
• Help employees set challenging goals

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.

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.

The role that "Career Blockage" plays in International Assignments

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?

Engaged Employees = Whistleblowers?

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

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

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Are growth-oriented cities like Houston, Phoenix and Atlanta reflective of the future of global commerce?

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.

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.

A Basic Question - WHY Do You Learn?

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:

• Bring interests and talents into sharper focus
• Direct you toward your goals, keying into the demands of business and industry
• Help build the confidence, competence and business acumen that lead to a rewarding career

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

Myths about Gen X in the Workforce - They don't want to put in the hours to get ahead

The Reality:

They are willing to put in the time to do the job, however they are uninterested in "face time."

Gen Xers and Millenials view time as a currency. While Baby Boomers tend to see time as something to invest, the younger generations view it as a valuable currency not to be wasted. These are the generations that demand work-life balance and paid time off. They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life.

Boomer managers have a tendency to lose the interest of their Millenial employees by looking too far into the future. Millenials live in timeframe based on right now. Their world has proven that nothing is a guarantee—from nationwide layoffs to war to soaring divorce rates—and have decided that there's not a lot you can count on.

As a result they are not interested in promotion plans for five years from now. They don't even want to know what will happen at the end of the summer. Life is uncertain. To reach the Millenial employee and reduce turnover, make it certain.

Tell your employee that you have a plan. Take pains to ensure it is in a timeframe short enough for them to envision. Be prepared to fulfill your promise—once fooled, forever jaded. This approach feeds into their reality, while simultaneously building trust and buying you more time. Reward small successes along the way, string these milestones together and you will soon realize longer tenures among your staff.

Thanks to Cam Marsten for research cited in this article

Myths about Gen X in the Workforce - Younger generations have no work ethic

The Reality:

Younger generations have a self-centered work ethic. This is not necessarily the negative that it may seem at first. Millenials are dedicated to completing their task well. They have not been raised in a way that demands them to look around and see what should be done next. Instead they ask "what is my job" and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done. This is a key differentiator between your employees and yourself.

The younger they are, the more your employees view their jobs as "something to do between the weekends." For most, early employment has nothing to do with a career path; it is a way to earn money to have fun in their free time. And that is okay.

When you understand what motivates your employees you are better able to set mutual expectations for success. Instead of being frustrated that your youngest employees are not interested in climbing your corporate ladder, embrace their true motivation—reliable spending money—and use it to your advantage. When you tell an employee, "I understand this is not your lifelong career, but to earn the paycheck every week, here is what I expect…" they are much more likely to respond than if you try to motivate with promises of promotions and titles down the road.

Understanding that being at the job isn't as important to Millenials as completing the assigned task also opens up new opportunities for motivation and reward. Younger employees are very likely to respond to offers of paid time off.

A leading retail organization has recognized this new way of thinking with its "Working Hard Card." When managers witness an employee rising to a challenge, exceeding expectations or otherwise giving 110 percent, they can hand the employee a "Working Hard Card" on the spot. Each card is worth a set amount of paid time off to be used at the employee's discretion. It is a simple strategy that rewards employees in the currency they value most—their time.

Thanks to Cam Marsten for research cited in this article

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?

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?

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.

Interesting Info on Starting Salaries in South Florida

Being a Floridian, I often get asked what salaries are like down here. 

Doesn't seem to matter what discipline, folks are always interested in learning more about the wages paid "south of Dixie"

Recently came across an interesting article in the "Judged" blog, which is a pretty cool source of information about what's happening in the legal profession.  They wrote an article entitled "Info on Starting Salaries in South Florida" that sheds some light on what the larger firms down here are offering new folks joining their firms.

Ever wonder how that associates salary compares to what you see on your monthly bill for legal services?  Check out the article, I think it'll be insightful.

The Organizations That Continue To Win The “War For Talent” Will Be Based On Many Factors…

The demographics of the global workforce aren’t going to stand still while businesses try to catch up.

This makes having a transparent, consistent and strong employer "brand" essential, because it allows employers to align their talent acquisition and retention strategies to their corporate values. It also allows companies to project into the market a clear image of themselves, which a potential employee can buy-in to.

Whether its encouraging the aging workforce to remain motivated and continue working, whether its making the differentiation between themselves and the competition clearer to the smaller pool of Human Capital that do have the skills and abilities needed, or whether its continuing to drive a volume of employees into specific market sectors - strong recruitment campaigns, imaginative retention strategies, employee engagement initiatives, flexible benefits and work/life balance can be key ingredients in attracting and retaining talent now and into the future.

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

Is CEO pay an issue for the workforce?

I'd like to begin this post with an article on CEO compensation that came out in late August

Americans Pay a Staggering Cost for Corporate Leadership

(Washington, D.C.) With leading Presidential candidates turning up the heat on overpaid CEOs, a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy documents for the first time the extreme pay gaps that have opened up not just between U.S. business leaders and American workers, but between U.S. business leaders and leaders elsewhere in American — and European — society.

Download the complete report “Executive Excess 2007” at www.faireconomy.org/reports/2007/ExecutiveExcess2007.pdf (PDF, 1 MB).

KEY FINDINGS:

CEO-WORKER PAY GAP: CEOs of large U.S. companies last year averaged $10.8 million in total compensation, over 364 times the pay of the average U.S. worker, a calculation based on data from an Associated Press survey of 386 Fortune 500 companies.

The top 20 private equity and hedge fund managers, pocketed an average $657.5 million, Forbes magazine estimates. That’s 22,255 times the pay of an average U.S. worker.

Workers on the bottom rung of the economy have just received their first federal minimum wage increase in a decade. But the inflation-adjusted value of the new minimum, despite the hike, stands 7 percent below the minimum wage level a decade ago. CEO pay, in that decade, has increased over inflation by roughly 45 percent.

“The CEO-worker pay gap is finally getting some high-profile attention from Presidential candidates,” says report co-author Sarah Anderson of the Institute for Policy Studies. “But lawmakers still aren’t doing nearly enough to tackle the gap.”

PENSION AND PERK GAPS: CEOs at major U.S. corporations enjoyed, on average, $1.3 million in pension gains last year. By contrast, only 58.5 percent of American households led by a 45-to-54-year-old even had a retirement account in 2004. Between 2001 and 2004, the retirement accounts of these households gained an average of only $3,775 in value per year.

CEOs of S&P 500 companies retire with an average $10.1 million in their special Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans, accounts not open to average workers. By contrast, only 36.3 percent of American households headed by an individual 65 or older held any type of retirement account in 2004. The accounts that did exist averaged only $173,552 per household.

The top 386 CEOs took in perks worth an average of $438,342 in 2006. A minimum wage worker would need to work 36 years to earn as much as CEOs obtained just in perks last year.

THE LEADERSHIP PAY GAP: Compensation for American business leaders now wildly dwarfs the pay that goes to leaders in other sectors of American society. The 20 highest-paid individuals at publicly traded corporations last year took home, on average, $36.4 million. That’s 38 times more than the 20 highest-paid leaders in the nonprofit sector and 204 times more than the 20 highest-paid generals in the U.S. military.

The 20 highest-paid figures in the private equity and hedge fund industry collected 3,315 times more in average annual compensation in 2006 than the top 20 officials of the federal government’s executive branch, a group that includes the President of the United States.

“Today’s soaring pay gap between business executives and elected leaders in government essentially makes corruption inevitable,” notes Sam Pizzigati, an Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow. “With such huge windfalls at stake, business leaders have a powerful incentive to manipulate the political decisions that affect corporate earnings.”

IS CEO PAY REALLY THE ISSUE?

Before we tackle the answer to this question, I'd like to share with you comments from reader Rex Stormont, a former employee of Coca-Cola.

For 17 years the world’s most recognisable brand, Coca-Cola, was lead by CEO Roberto Goizueta. During his period in this role he managed to increase share price growth on average by 20% year on year compounded. He was arguably the most successful large corporate CEO of all time.

There are many Coca-Cola millionaires who have Mr Goizueta to thank for their financial stability which very often was achieved with their minimum investment.

For the last 10 years of his tenure, he was shadowed by Mr Douglas Ivestor who was the corporation’s COO. Mr Goizueta was grooming him to become the next CEO upon his own retirement. The stock markets, who universally loved the company and its CEO, were very comfortable with with the heir apparent and Mr Ivestor had their full backing.

Mr Goizueta achieved his tremendous success with his exceptional character, people skills, incredibly shrewd business acumen, ability to build strong teams and develop a strong corporate cultural identity. Everyone who worked for the company (it seemed) loved this man.

There was an almost tactile relationship with him for most employees, most of whom had never even met him. Belief in his vision and objectives was wholeheartedly embraced en masse by them. They felt they had a very real and personal connection with him.

Then suddenly, in 1997, Mr Goizueta was diagnosed with cancer and very sadly succumbed to the condition 2 weeks later.

On the day his death was announced, Coke’s share price grew, a clear indication of the stock markets’ faith in Mr Ivestor. This was a totally unexpected response for the corporation, who thoroughly expected the share price to remain static (if not slightly decline) until his protegee had proven himself.

The honeymoon period continued, until after a relatively short period, product quality issues were discovered in Europe resulting in certain markets totally withdrawing Coca-Cola products from the supermarket shelves.

Mr Ivestor made no public announcements for 2 weeks. The share price halved overnight. He was subsequently sacked by Mr Warren Buffet, Coke’s largest shareholder.

Today, Coca-Cola has still not recovered its share value, some 10 years on….. But what was the impact on the corporation?

From being ‘THE’ FMCG corporation to work for, they quickly became 2nd division players. Morale within plummetted. And worse huge numbers of employees at all levels of seniority were made redundant across the globe.

How do I know this? I was one of the many employees who lost his job as a consequence of an incompetent CEO.

The CEO’s of sucessful corporations are a very rare breed. They have something about them that the vast majority of good businessmen do not possess. It is rather like drawing a comparison between the Peles of this world and an average Premier League soccer player.

Are CEO’s salaries very high? Have they mushroomed as the chart shows above? Yes.

But rather like the big clubs building teams of professional soccer players at the top of their game, the boards of executive directors who appoint the CEOs know full well that they recruit in a competitive job market, where good performers are rewarded with astonishing packages.

Ultimately, the CEO can quite easily make or break these giant corporations. The CEO knows he and his performance as well as that of the people under him are answerable to the stock market.

Whether a company’s stock growth is 1% or 100% frankly it is irrelevant. What counts is if the city analysts and shareholders are content with it.

In other words, in a competitive CEO recruitment market, provided the CEO ensures his company meets performance expectations, he is worth what the market is prepared to pay him.

Rex makes a great point folks - really good CEOs create stability, growth and equity creation that benefit everyone - employees, vendors, shareholders.  What's that worth?  Well, what % of the equity created did the CEO end up pocketing as compensation?  Is that excessive or reasonable?  What do you think?

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!

Interested in eLearning 2.0? Here it is...

Our colleague B.J. Schone over at eLearning Weekly can always be counted on to provide good insight and perspective.

Never to disappoint, B.J.'s recent article on eLearning 2.0 tools provides a much-needed introduction into the exciting area of  the different tools and technologies that can be used to reach this next level of learning.

He introduces Dr Tony Karrer, considered one of the top technologists in e-Learning and Performance Support, who operates 2 great blogs that you'll want to check out as well:  eLearning Technology and the Learning Circuits blog

Lots is happening in the eLearning world, and as a learner, author, or provider you need to stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies.  I think you'll find these sources helpful to you.

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?

On Temporary Jobs and Long-Term Labor Market Performance

One of the sites I frequent for it's great international discussion of "cause and effect" economic issues is the "Economist View", published and managed by Mark Thoma

Mark has published a very well done article entitled "Do Temporary Jobs Improve Workers Long-Term Labour Market Performance?" where he discusses a new study that contradicts previous thinking that on the job training increases skill levels and allows better employment outcomes.  His article argues that it is mainly better matching, not enhanced skills, that explains why temporary workers tend to do better in the labor market. This implies that there are informational or other problems preventing fully efficient labor market outcomes.

As usual, Mark does his usual "over the top" job of reporting, providing a rich collection of supporting materials and references.  Read this fascinating report - I believe it will change your point of view on this important topic.

Could Mom and Dad help keep young workers in the workplace?

Economists predict that a glut of job openings will wreak havoc on the economy, not to mention happy hour.
There have been plenty of blue-ribbon panels, forums and focus groups to address this issue, but none has answered the basic question: How do we persuade the best and brightest to stick around and help solve this looming worker shortage?

read more | digg story

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!

Women to overtake men by 2012

Citing better exam results that will catapult them to top at work , writer John Walsh of the Irish Independent wrote that women are well poised to take over the majority of top jobs in business, law, finance and the sciences within the next five years. And it's all because they are staying in education longer and getting better results than men.

The projections are made in a joint report from FÁS and the Economic and Social Research Institute which looks at the likely share-out of jobs by 2012. Just over a quarter of females will have degrees by then compared with only a fifth of men. A further 15.4 percent of females are expected to have attained diploma/certificate level compared with only 9.5 percent of men.

By contrast, nearly a fifth of men (18.9 percent) will drop out of school with only a Junior Certificate. Just 11.4 percent of women, however, will drop out at Junior Certificate level. Women tend to concentrate in clusters of occupations while men are in a greater range of jobs, some of which face uncertainty. The most obvious is construction where most workers are male. And the report, written by Dr Pete Lunn, Prof Gerry Hughes and Ms Nicola Doyle, suggests males workers would be more exposed if there were negative shocks to the housing market and the construction sector in general.

It predicts that, in the medium-term, overall jobs growth will be greatest in occupations that require third-level qualifications and high skill levels. Professional, associate professional and managerial occupations are expected to grow by more than 20 percent relative to 2005 figures. Outside of these high-skill occupations, some personal services occupations, including caring occupations such as childcare, are likely to experience similar expansion. Highest growth is expected in business, financial and the legal professions, where numbers are predicted to rise by nearly 50 percent.

Other occupations forecast to expand are managers and highly qualified workers in health, education and science. The report expects that two thirds of the health and education professions will be populated by female workers in 2012 - in fact 8.5 percent of all female workers will be in one or other of these areas. At present, around half of business, legal and other professionals such as psychologists, actors and information officers are women but the report predicts that their share will increase to 55 percent in the next five years.

In the case of science professionals, the report expects that women will account for 58.5 percent by 2012 compared with 41.5 percent in 1998. The category includes chemists, physicists and pharmacists. However, the proportion of women engineers, including software engineers, is expected to drop. This reflects the recent decline in numbers of females entering related courses. An area where women seem to be heading towards equality with men is management. In 1998, a third of managers were women but this is expected to reach 46.9 percent in five years.

However, Dr Lunn stressed this did not necessarily mean women were breaking through the 'glass ceiling' to the board room - it could simply be that more were being appointed to middle management and supervisory levels.

The employee retention audit - where it fits

Seldom does a day go by where I am not asked "What can I do to keep good people from leaving?"

Employee retention is essential in "winning the war for talent", so if you are losing good people, you need to understand WHY.

One method that can work is to conduct an assessment of your employee retention practices.  Such an assessment should enable you to :

1. Identify areas and activities that have the greatest potential benefits in retaining employees.
2. Allow you to create measurements and metrics to track your progress over time.
3. Discover what is of most concern to your employees, and therefore the greatest risks to losing them.
4. Learn the reasons your employees stay to continue and improve in these areas.
5. Improve your organization with the specific feedback from the tools, and become more attractive to current and potential employees.

Conducting exit interviews often will not get you the type of information that is useful to you.  These folks are already one step out the door.  You must swim upstream to discover WHY they were motivated to look in the first place.

I also caution you to carefully consider the consequences of simply doing a "standard" employee satisfaction survey.  Not that these surveys are bad, but more often than not, such surveys set an expectation that management is intending upon doing something, based upon the survey results.  If you don't develop (and publish) a plan of action shortly after the survey is completed the staff will see this as a meaningless exercise, and your efforts to elicit their input in the future will suffer.

Frequently, feedback is not acted upon in a timely manner, or used as a basis for terminations or discipline.  Using the survey data for this purpose can lead to a belief in the workforce that surveys are a management weapon, and the staff will respond accordingly.

To summarize, employee retention is about making sure you have a good job to do, finding the right people to do that job, making sure that people are feeling empowered and supported, and that they are being recognized for their accomplishments.

If you suspect, but don't know for sure, the temperature of the workforce, this might be a great time to start to figure it out.

Mentoring the Young Workforce

At some time in your life, you've likely been guided by a senior mentor.  Think of one or more important mentors in your life.  What story or stories can you remember about the experience?

Mentoring is advising, teaching, counseling and role modeling.  Formal mentoring matches a senior or more experienced person—the mentor—to a junior or less experienced person—the mentee.  Mentors focus on a mentee’s achievements, success in school and preparation for the workforce through a one-to-one relationship that is non-threatening and non-judgmental to both parties.  It is a relationship that changes over time as each grows, learns, and gains experiences in the relationship.

There are numerous "formats" of mentoring:

• Peer Mentoring where the Mentor/mentee are of similar ages, and where the Mentor experience greater than the mentee experience.
• Group Mentoring is used where there are multiple mentees
• Professional Mentoring where there is a major difference in life experience

Are you a good mentor?  Strong mentors share the following common attributes:

• Strong performances and continuous improvement on each performance that they mentor
• Ability to grow the performance abilities of mentees
• Professional behavior and attitudes
• Commitment to improving the enriched learning environment project—both the team and the overall environment

Mentoring is highly valuable, and becoming a "business essential" for the employer as well as the employee.  I'll share more on how to setup a mentoring program in a future post.

If you've been mentored, who are YOU mentoring today?

If you've never been mentored, who can you identify that can mentor YOU?

Critical Worker Shortage Issue - Current Warzones

Despite the much publicized effects of the "surge" in Iraq, our combat troops are having a tough time in the middle east warzones.  And it is affecting warfighter recruitment and retention in a significant way.

Reuters June 4 headlines reported: “U.S.-led soldiers control only about a third of Baghdad, the military said on Monday.  The troubling article cites ”After five years of war the US controls one-third of one city and nothing else".  This serious situation, according to a host of US commanding generals is depleting the resourses of the US military. A year ago Colin Powell said that the US Army is “about broken.” Gen. Barry McCafrey testified to the US Senate that without a change in strategy, “the Army will unravel.”

Col. Andy Bacevich, a renowned writer on military affairs, highlights the severity of how this protracted multi-theater war has depleted and exhausted the US Army and Marine Corps:

“Only a third of the regular Army’s brigades qualify as combat-ready. In the reserve components, none meet that standard. When the last of the units reaches Baghdad as part of the president’s strategy of escalation, the US will be left without a ready-to-deploy land force reserve.”

“The stress of repeated combat tours is sapping the Army’s lifeblood. Especially worrying is the accelerating exodus of experienced leaders. The service is currently short 3,000 commissioned officers. By next year, the number is projected to grow to 3,500. The Guard and reserves are in even worse shape. There the shortage amounts to 7,500 officers. Young West Pointers are bailing out of the Army at a rate not seen in three decades. In an effort to staunch the losses, that service has begun offering a $20,000 bonus to newly promoted captains who agree to stay on for an additional three years. Meanwhile, as more and more officers want out, fewer and fewer want in: ROTC scholarships go unfilled for a lack of qualified applicants.”

Without getting into the snare of political assessment, it becomes clear that fighting this war is having a significant effect on our warfighters in combat, the legions of military and civilian professionals working on retention and recruitment.  And in many cases without significant result.

This is not an academic exercise, as we're talking about real lives, and affects us in the battlefield, as well as our communities at home.  The "war for talent" in this case, is an actual war, the consequences of not winning are not ones we want to consider.

Women in Engineering - still a "Boys Club"

From "The Herman Trend Alert," by the Herman Group, a new alert, discussing Women in Engineering.  Like all of the excellent work The Herman Group does, it is an exceptional piece addressing a critical issue in the skilled workforce.

A recent study demonstrates clearly that the field of engineering is still primarily a "Boys Club". Only 20 percent of engineering degrees in the United States are earned by women; only 9% of American engineers are women.

Though a study by the Families and Work Institute showed that young men are taking a much more active role in their children’s lives, in the US and Europe, the majority of people still expect that most of the burden of housekeeping, childcare, school interface, looking after aging parents, and similar family duties are handled by the woman.

In many industries, an engineering career frequently demands long hours and lots of travel---difficult for a man, even harder for a woman. It is challenging to take care of a family when the job sometimes requires an emergency plant visit at 2am, or worse, weeks or months on assignment overseas.

When it comes to advancing in the corporate hierarchy, women engineers experience the most problems. There is a "systemic pressure," far more difficult than any "overt discrimination," that makes matters even more challenging for women engineers.

Nancy Bartels, Managing Editor for "Control" Magazine, interviewed a number of women engineers. Here’s what they want:

• Treated with respect, as professionals, just like other engineers
• Given the chance to prove themselves—just like other engineers.
• Respected for their ideas and have their thinking processes accepted.
• Included---in all conversations, casual and otherwise and to be treated as peers and valued team members
• Mentored and encouraged by experienced seniors.
• Considered for promotion.

There is no doubt that engineering will benefit from having more women who bring their unique perspectives and innovative ideas to the industry. They also possess intuitive skills and can provide different ways to solve many complex problems, problems that may be approached better through their distinctive points of view. Hundreds of colleges, organizations, and businesses have created programs, workshops, and conferences to increase the number of women in engineering. And if your organization is looking for engineers, don’t overlook The National GEM Consortium, a non-profit headquartered in Washington, DC.

JIM's NOTE: Also, check out the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

Effective E-learning - how it happens

Over time providers of e-learning solutions have learned that successful outcomes are based on several principles which guarantee the acquisition of the knowledge needed.

Making learning pleasurable
Without pleasure, there is no motivation. Without motivation, there is no learning. e-learning modules need to be mind stimulating : the learner plays an active role, the methods and solutions are not revealed immediately but discovered progressively, quizzes and exercises hold user’s attention and check their understanding, videos enhance pedagogical effectiveness by illustrating good and bad practices.

Making learning user friendly
Navigation must be extremely simple. This apparent simplicity does not prevent users from adapting the tool to their way of learning. Users need the ability to run through the whole module or take any section of particular interest to them ; some may wish to print out the screens, so that they can take notes on them, while following the module ; and others systematically use the links towards complementary resources.  Some providers, like RedVector provide the feature of printing off the lesson as a PDF document so the material can be reviewed off-line.

Proposing the correct time frame
Opinions vary on the ideal module length but it appears that the typical adult learner beyond 30-45 minutes minutes, encountered difficulty with retention, ans training regardless of form becomes increasingly difficult to fit into the day of busy professionals. Concentration is also difficult to hold beyond this timeframe. To adopt progressive learning approach, bringing together discovery, knowledge appropriation and application exercises is hardly possible in less than 20 minutes. Thus, a one hour learner paced online learning session will usually consist of a 25 – 35 minutes lesson, a 5-10 minute break, and a assessment or test.

Offering content from the best sources
Content is King!  The top e-learning providers join forces with subject matter partners as well as well-known authors, professors of leading universities, unquestionable authorities in their particular fields. Custom  made modules can also be developed if your company wants to implant company-specific corporate values, techniques, know-how into an e-learning format.

Strong and effective educational content is as important as adapting it to the different learning styles.

Before you give orders, you need experience taking orders

Many years ago, when I was aspiring my first supervisory role, my mentor asked me what experience I had in "taking orders", by which he meant, did I have any experience being directed what to do, and being held accountable for the result?

As it happens I had multiple such experiences - by directive parents, teachers, and early employment situations, and time served in the armed forces - all of which gave me perspective about examples of leadership - some were great leaders - some were awful.

This is a critical skillset to master, even if you're only a crew chief of a two person crew.

From these experiences however, I learned a couple of important things:

• giving orders is not as easy as it seems - properly done, there is a good deal of work that precedes the order.  It is not just "passing the buck" for someone to do something that the supervisor doesn't want to (or won't) do themselves.
• taking orders and getting them done requires good listening, and attention to detail, and especially important - finishing the assigned task
• It is not just about "assignment of work" and intimidation ("because I'm telling you to"), as much as it is facilitating the completion of the work to be done.  The "baby boomer" generation would take orders without question - increasingly, people want to know "why" and "why is this important" - you need to be prepared as a leader to answer these questions directly.

When I encounter someone who has not experienced first hand "taking orders", who wants to accede to supervision or management, it makes me wonder what kind of orders they will give, and what kinds of results they will see.

Seems like the "veterans" who have been the most successful, can relate to their own personal experiences and draw upon not just theory of management, but actual emotions that help them give orders that important, are appropriate to the person and address the situation at hand.

How do you acquire the ability to direct others if you've never had to do it yourself?

You Are Not Your Job: Part II

A good chunk of early education is really to prepare most people to just follow the rules once they enter the workforce. In many ways, the educational system is just an initiation to the workplace environment – with it's authority figures, their expectations and their reward system – and not truly about learning anything practical.

read more | digg story

How to Get Employees to Meet Their Jobs Head On

Internal communications, planned and executed correctly, can have a profound impact on transforming a workforce from disengaged and lethargic clockwatchers into engaged and motivated coworkers, who view “their” company as an employer of choice. By following some simple principles, employers can get their employees to meet their jobs 'head on.'

read more | digg story

What do these employers do right?

According to Family Business magazine, there are a number of really old family businesses in existence.  One might ask, "what is it that keeps these firms going - generation after generation"?

The quality and consistency of the workforce has been a factor in all of these successful businesses.  many have employee ownership programs in place, all respect the people who have helped maintain the business over time

* Denotes new addition.

1. Kongo Gumi
Construction/Osaka, Japan
Founded: 578
40th generation
www.kongogumi.co.jp
Prince Shotoku brought Kongo family members to Japan from Korea more than 1,400 years ago to build the Buddhist Shitennoji Temple, which still stands. Over the centuries, Kongo Gumi has participated in the construction of many famous buildings, including the 16th-century Osaka castle. Today the family continues to build and repair religious temples and manage general contracting from its Osaka headquarters. Current president is Toshitaka Kongo; his 51-year-old son, Masakazu Kongo, is waiting in the wings.

2. Hoshi Ryokan
Innkeeping/Komatsu, Japan
Founded: 718
46th generation
www.ho-shi.co.jp/jiten/Houshi_E/
According to legend, the god of Mount Hakusan visited a Buddhist priest, telling him to uncover an underground hot spring in a nearby village. The hot spring was found, and the priest requested that his disciple, a woodcutter’s son named Garyo Saskiri, build and run a spa on the site. His family, known as Hoshi, have run a hotel in Komatsu ever since; the current structure houses 450 people in 100 rooms. Zengoro Hoshi is the current patriarch.

3. Château de Goulaine
Vineyard, museum, butterfly collection/Haute Goulaine, France
Founded: 1000
http://chateau.goulaine.online.fr
The castle, owned by the Goulaine family, houses a rare butterfly collection in addition to a museum. It hosts various functions, including weddings. Wine is available for sale at the castle’s vineyards.

*4. Fonderia Pontificia Marinelli
Bell foundry/Agnone, Italy
Founded: c. 1000
Bell foundry founded in the small central Italian town of Agnone, high in the Appenine hills. Still uses the original wax techniques of its founders (a wax “false bell” is overlaid with the real thing); its bells toll in New York, Beijing, Jerusalem, South America and Korea, among other locations. Firm has 20 employees, including five members of the founding Marinelli family. Pasquale Marinelli is current managing director. A museum, opened in 1997, features the work of Pasquale’s brother, sculptor Ettore Marinelli.

5. Barone Ricasoli
Wine and olive oil/Siena, Italy
Founded: 1141
www.ricasoli.it
The Ricasoli barons were first given their land by the Republic of Florence; today their Brolio Estate covers about 3,600 acres. The family’s main focus is its wine production, although 26 acres of the estate are used for olive cultivation.

6. Barovier & Toso
Glass making/Murano Venezia, Italy
Founded: 1295
20th generation
www.barovier.com
The Barovier family produces crystalline glass, mother-of-pearl glass and gold-free cornelian red on Murano Island, about a ten-minute ferry ride from Venice. The Baroviers merged with the Toso family, who were also glassmakers on Murano Island, in 1936.

7. Hotel Pilgrim Haus
Innkeeping/Soest, Germany
Founded: 1304
www.pilgrimhaus.de
The Hotel Pilgrim Haus is operated by the Andernach family in the town of Soest, about 110 miles north of Frankfurt.

8. Richard de Bas
Paper/Ambert d’Auvergne, France
Founded: 1326
www.richarddebas.fr
Richard de Bas has a longstanding reputation for high-quality papers, which has led to many high-profile jobs. The company has supplied paper for limited-edition works by Braque and Picasso. It also operates a museum.

9. Torrini Firenze
Goldsmiths/Florence, Italy
Founded: 1369
www.torrini.com
Jacopus Torrini moved to Florence from his native village of Scarperia to forge armor for Florentine knights. His workshop later evolved into a goldsmith, creating jewels and other precious objects. Perhaps the family’s most valued possession is its secretive and exclusive “Oro Nativo” manufacturing process, a method of working with gold while retaining its most natural color.

10. Antinori
Wine/Florence, Italy
Founded: 1385
19th generation
www.antinori.it
The Antinori family has been in the wine business since Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Guild of Vintners more than 600 years ago. Marchese (or “Count”) Piero Antinori, and his three daughters currently oversee a system of vineyards in Italy, the U.S., Hungary, Malta and Chile that continue to be recognized by consumers and wine critics for their superior-quality Chiantis and other vintages. He sold 49% to British beer brewer Whitbred in 1983, later bought it back. The company has been housed in a Florentine palazzo since 1506.

11. Camuffo
Shipbuilding/Portogruaro, Italy
Founded: 1438
18th generation
The business began in Khanià, a Venetian port on the island of Crete. It was founded by a man locals called “Camuffi” but whose real name was El Ham Muftì. The family has supplied boats to Mohammed the Second, the Venetian Republic, Napoleon, the Asburg Imperial and the Royal Italian navies. Experts refer to a Camuffo boat as “the Stradivarius of the sea.”

12. Baronnie de Coussergues
Wine/Montblanc, France
Founded: 1495
16th generation
www.henokiens.com/index_baronnie_gb.php
When King Charles VIII began selling royal property in France to pay off some of his expenses, Pierre Raymond de Sarret bought the estate known as Coussergues. Today the vineyard produces a wide variety of wines, including Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, Viogniers, Cabernet Francs, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons. The Sarret family sells 1.5 million bottles a year and has won numerous gold medals for its wines.

13. Grazia Deruta
Ceramics/Turin, Italy
Founded: 1500
The company produces majolica, a special type of ceramic that pre-dates the 13th century. Current CEO Ubaldo Grazia has expanded the company’s business into the U.S. market and has produced three exclusive designs for Henri Bendel. Grazia has also done work for other major department stores and labels, such as Neiman-Marcus and Tiffany.

14. Fabbrica D’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A.
Firearms/Gardone, Italy
Founded: 1526
14th generation
www.beretta.it
Bartolomeo Beretta’s world-class gun-maker is now a Hollywood favorite; its guns appear in the James Bond series, among other films. Beretta’s reputation for quality craftsmanship enabled the company to wrest a $56 million U.S. armed forces contract away from competitor Colt Industries. Beretta is the weapon of choice of other law-enforcement agencies around the world, such as the Italian Carabinieri, French Gendarmes and Texas Rangers. The company also has earned distinction for its line of hunting weapons. Ugo Gussalli Beretta is the company’s current president.

*15. William Prym GmbH & Co.
Copper, brass, haberdashery/Stolberg, Germany
Founded: 1530
www.prym.com
Goldsmith Wilhelm Prym started a brass and copper manufacturing business in Aachen in 1530. In 1642, the Protestant Prym family lost its guild rights in the Catholic city of Aachen and moved to Stolberg. In the 19th century, Prym developed the first finished products made of brass, iron and steel and later manufactured the first metal haberdashery products to be made mechanically. Michael Prym (born 1943) and Axel Prym (born 1950) are among the current company managers.

16. John Brooke & Sons
Woolens/Huddersfield, United Kingdom
Founded: 1541
15th generation
www.yorkspark.co.uk
The company, founded by John Brooke, has provided fabrics for British troops (Battle of Trafalgar, World War II), French troops and Russian military personnel. In the 19th century it had 220 looms and 900 employees, down to 280 by 1969. Today it’s headed by Mark Brooke and his brother Massimo Brooke. Mark has changed the company’s focus within the past decade, abandoning manufacturing and instead creating an entrepreneurial development park in the firm’s old mill buildings.

17. Codorniu
Wine/Saint Sadurní d’Anoia, Spain
Founded: 1551
www.codorniu.es
Jaime Codorniu acquired the company in 1551, beginning centuries of family ownership. In 1976 King Juan Carlos I declared the Codorniu estate a national historic and artistic monument. The estate is visited by 200,000 people every year and produces about 60 million bottles of wine annually.

18. Fonjallaz
Wine/Lavaux, Switzerland
Founded: 1552
13th generation
www.fonjallaz-vins.ch
Pierre Fonjallaz began the family business when he “devoted himself to the growing of the vine,” as the label on a bottle of Fonjallaz wine will tell you. The company is now headed by Patrick Fonjallaz.

19. von Poschinger Manufaktur
Glassmaking/Frauenau, Germany
Founded: 1568
13th generation
www.poschinger.de
The von Poschinger glassworks in Germany began in 1568 when Joachim Poschinger took ownership of a glass factory near Frauenau, near the Czech border. Today the business is divided into three areas—farming, forestry and glass works—though glassmaking is still the focal point of family business affairs.

20. Hacienda Los Lingues
Ranch/San Fernando, Chile
Founded: c. 1575
15th generation
www.loslingues.cl
The Angostura Estate, located in Chile’s Central Valley 78 miles south of Santiago, was originally granted by royal decree of Spanish King Felipe II to Don Melchor Jufré del Aguila for merit in the arts of war and fine writing. Currently dedicated to the hotel business. Named best wine valley in the world by Wine Enthusiast magazine; has a strategic agreement with Viña Los Vascos (Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite]) under which Viña Los Vascos produces, bottles and labels a selection of five wines under the trademarks Hacienda Los Lingues and Los Lingues. It’s also the home of one of the most prestigious horse stables in the Americas: the Aculeo Stable, which features horses brought to Spain by the Moors in 711 and later brought to the New World by the Spanish Conquistadors. Family member Germán Claro Lyon is the general manager.

21. Wachsendustrie Fulda Adam Gies
Candles, wax figures/Fulda, Germany
Founded: 1589
Maker of candles and wax figures still operated by the founding Gies family.

22. Berenberg Bank
Banking/Hamburg, Germany
Founded: 1590
www.berenberg.de
One of the few remaining independently owned banks in Germany.

23. R. Durtnell & Sons
Construction/Kent, United Kingdom
Founded: 1591
12th generation
www.durtnell.co.uk
Founder John Durtnell and his brother Brian built their first house in 1593. It still stands and is occupied to this day. The company, based in Kent, is extremely versatile; its projects have included the Royal Military Academy, Chartwell House (Winston Churchill’s home) and Buckingham Palace.

24. J.P. Epping of Pippsvadr
Grocers/Germany
Founded: 1595

25. Eduard Meier
Shoes/Munich, Germany
Founded: 1596
13th generation
www.edmeier.de
The company today is run by Peter Eduard Meier and his sister Brigitte. Its product line consists of about 4,500 items.

*26. Toraya
Confectioners/Tokyo, Japan
Founded: pre-1600
17th generation
www.toraya-group.co.jp
Japan’s oldest traditional confectionery has been making the sweet delicacy known as wagashi since its founding in Kyoto by Enchu Kurokawa. After his son Kichiemon Kurokawa cultivated relationships with Japan’s nobility, the firm became purveyor to Japan’s Imperial Court in the 17th and 18th centuries. The firm moved to Tokyo in 1879 and opened its first branch retail outlet in 1962. Today, under Mitsuhiro Kurokawa, a former banker, the firm operates 79 shops with revenues of about $150 million.

27. Tissiman & Sons Ltd.
Tailors and outfitters/Bishop’s Stortford, United Kingdom
Founded: 1601
www.tissimans.co.uk
Established as a tailor, draper and undertaker; now offers formal and casual clothes and shoes. The original building in Bishop’s Stortford (which dates from about 1360) is still in use.

*28. Enshu Sado School
Ceremonial tea school/Tokyo, Japan
Founded: c. 1602
13th generation
www.enshuryu.com
The school has thrived for 400 years, imparting the traditional Sado tea ceremony and its culture to Japanese. Founded by Lord Enshu Kobori (1579-1647), who served as official tea instructor for Japan’s second and third shogun and built the famous Nagoya and Osaka castles. Current grand master Sojitsu Kobori succeeded his father in 2001 at age 44 and now oversees a staff of 20 with 30,000 practitioners, 53 local chapters in Japan, international chapters in Holland and Korea, and a school in Singapore. He goes to the school’s ancestor room each morning to pay his respects to his forebears.

29. Takenaka
Construction/Osaka, Japan
Founded: 1610
www.takenaka.co.jp
Takenaka has built office buildings for some of Japan’s major corporations, such as Mitsui Bank and Nippon Life Insurance. The family company has won many awards for design, technique and quality.

30. Mellerio dits Meller
Jewelry/Paris, France
Founded: 1613
15th generation
www.mellerio.fr
Members of the Mellerio family from Lombardy, Italy, became seasonal workers in France in the 16th century as purveyors of handcrafted jewelry. The family became royal favorites when it helped foil an attempted assassination of King Louis XIII. Located today near the Place Vendôme in Paris, Mellerio is known for fine jewelry and as designers and creators of the French Open tennis championship trophies.

31. Cartiera Mantovana Corp.
Paper/Mantua, Italy
Founded: 1615
www.cartieramantovana.it
The Marenghi family, descendants of Riccio da Parma (a knight famous for his battles in the early 1500s), owns the company. On July 1, 1615, the Duke of Mantua granted the family the privilege to make and and sell paper; production began that year. The company is currently run by Cristina Marenghi and her sons Marcofabio, Alberto and Vittorio.

32. Zildjian Cymbal Co.
Cymbals/Norwell, Mass.
Founded: 1623
14th generation
www.zildjian.com
Founded in Constantinople by an alchemist named Avedis I, who discovered an extremely musical metal alloy to create powerful, durable cymbals. The sultan named him “Zildjian,” Armenian for “cymbalsmith.” The family arrived in the U.S. in 1909, in time for Avedis Zildjian III to establish ties with the hot new jazz drummers of the day. His son Armand (1921-2002) created modern factory. Today his daughters Craigie (CEO) and Debbie (VP/human resources) run the company, the first women chiefs in the firm’s long history.

33. Kikkoman
Soy sauce/Noda, Japan
Founded: 1630
www.kikkoman.com
On the run after her husband’s military defeat and death at the Osaka castle in the 16th century, widow Shige Maki escaped to Noda, Japan, and established a small business making what was to become soy sauce. The family business became a unified company in 1917 when eight branches of the Mogi family merged their companies together. The company has grown into the world’s largest producer of soy sauce products.

34. Sumitomo Corp.
Conglomerate/Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 1630
www.sumitomocorp.co.jp
Masatomo Sumitomo opened a medicine and book shop in Kyoto in the 17th century. As time went on, various members of the family added to the conglomerate, making it what it is today. Sumitomo Group’s current core consists of 20 companies focusing on banking, shipbuilding, mining, glass production, electronics, cement, lumber and chemicals.

35. Akerblads
Hotel/Tällberg, Sweden
Founded: 1630
21st generation
www.akerblads-tallberg.se
This charming hotel in Tällberg is currently run by members of the 19th through 21st generations of the Akerblads family. The property has been remodeled and expanded over the years but still conveys a 17th-century atmosphere while offering excellent cuisine and warm Swedish hospitality.

36. Tuttle Farm
Agriculture/Dover, N.H.
Founded: 1635-38?
11th generation
Founder John Tuttle left England in 1635, survived a shipwreck off the Maine coast and arrived in Dover with his wife and four-year-old daughter. His 240-acre farm grows vegetables and strawberries and operates retail shop on site. Twelfth-generation member Evan Hourihan, who is in his 20s, has expressed interest in the family farm.

37. Gekkeikan
Sake/Fushimi, Japan
Founded: 1637
13th generation
www.gekkeikan.co.jp
The Gekkeikan brewery was established by Jiemon Okura in the town of Fushimi. The quality of its sake has led to the company’s appointment as the official supplier of the Japanese Imperial household. Currently, the business makes more than 170 different products and exports to more than 60 countries.

38. Shirley Plantation
Historical site/Charles City, Va.
Founded: 1638
11th generation
www.shirleyplantation.com
Virginia’s oldest plantation was settled in 1613 on the James River between Richmond and Williamsburg (near the present Charles City) by Sir Thomas West. Operated as a tobacco and grain farm, 1613-1952. Acquired in 1638 by Edward Hill and managed by his descendants ever since. His great-granddaughter Elizabeth Hill married John Carter in 1723; site has been owned since then by their descendants. Under tenth-generation owner Charles Hill Carter Jr. and his wife, it was converted to a tourist attraction in 1952; since 1998, it has hosted weddings and corporate events as well under the Carters’ children.

39. Hugel et Fils
Wine/Riquewihr, France
Founded: 1639
12th generation
www.hugel.com
The Hugel family’s roots in the war-torn Alsace-Lorraine region of France reach back to the 15th century. In 1639 the family began to make wine in the town of Riquewihr. Today its vintages have an outstanding international reputation and are exported to more than 100 countries.

40. James Lock & Co.
Hatters/London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1642
www.lockhatters.co.uk
The company was founded by James Lock and now makes men’s and women’s hats. One of its most recognized creations is the bowler.

41. Barker’s Farm
Dairy and apples/North Andover, Mass.
Founded: 1642
11th generation
Family farm now run the Barker family. Visitors can pick produce.

42. G.C. Fox & Co.
Shipping agent/Falmouth, United Kingdom
Founded: 1646
Shipping agent (now travel agency as well) founded by George Croker Fox.

43. R.H. Levey & Son
Funeral services/Stansted Mountfitchet, United Kingdom
Founded: 1649

44. William Adams & Sons
Potters/Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
Founded: 1650
12th generation
www.thepotteries.org/potters/adams.htm
The family has been producing pottery since at least 1448. In 1650, brothers William and Thomas established their pottery business in Burslem, about 35 miles south of Liverpool. It’s currently run by members of the 11th and 12th generations.

45. Ulefos Jernvaerk
Metals, milling, forestry/Telemark, Norway
Founded: 1657
On Aug, 8, 1657, King Fredrik III gave a royal decree allowing the Cappelen family to begin the company’s operations. The family has become involved in many different businesses over the years: owning ships, trading and producing stoves and manhole covers. The company is currently Norway’s market leader in manhole covers, which accounts for 70% of the family’s business.

46. Van Eeghen
Trading company/Amsterdam, Netherlands
Founded: 1662
14th generation
www.vaneeghen.com
Christiaen Van Eeghen established himself circa 1633 in Aardenburg (in the present Flanders, Belgium) as a cloth merchant. His son Jacob van Eeghen founded Van Eeghen & Co. in 1662 in Amsterdam, where the business remains. Subsequent generations launched sailing ships to spread their markets along historic spice routes to British colonies and the Far East. Today Van Eeghen continues its involvement with world trade but specializes in food products.

47. Schwarze & Schlichte
Distillery/Oelde, Germany
Founded: 1664
12th generation
www.schwarze-schlichte.de
Jan Swarte (the surname was later changed to Schwarze) began the family business in Westphalia, where he was a farmer and a distiller. Four generations later, Hermann Josef Schwarze bought a house at Herrenstrasse, where the family still lives. This house serves as the company’s headquarters. The Schwarze Group acquired the Schlichte brands in the 1990s.

*48. The Seaside Inn and Cottages
Innkeeping/Kennebunkport, Maine
Founded: 1667
12th generation
Mason family
www.kennebunkbeach.com
At the request of Fernando Gorges, agent for King Charles II, John Gooch was asked to reside on this oceanfront peninsula at the mouth of the Kennebunk River to ferry travelers across in the 1640s. He provided rooms and operated a tavern for travelers who stayed in the area. The family’s first dated record is Gooch’s will, dated 1667. The property was passed down for generations to the first-born son. Four generations ago the Gooches had only daughters, and the name “Severance” was introduced. The current 12th-generation innkeeper, Patricia Mason—daughter of Mike and Sandy Severance—now operates the inn with her husband, Ken.

49. Early’s of Witney
Blankets/Witney, United Kingdom
Founded: 1669
Richard Early established a blanket factory in Witney in 1669, mostly contracting to spinners who worked in their homes. Family’s first weaver was his son Thomas. Brian Crawfford of the eighth generation (his mother was an Early) was with the firm from 1949 to 1986.

50. C. Hoare & Co.
Banking/London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1672
11th generation
www.hoaresbank.co.uk
The Hoare bank in London is the last survivor of the English private deposit banks that were originally established in the 17th and 18th centuries. The bank was founded by Richard Hoare and is now run by members of the tenth and 11th generations. The family’s pride in close customer relationships and meticulous service has attracted famous customers, including Samuel Pepys, Queen Charlotte, furniture makers Thomas Chippendale & Son, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and various prime ministers.

*51. Firmin & Sons Ltd.
Uniforms and insignia/Birmingham, United Kingdom
Founded: 1677
www.firmin.co.uk
Britain’s leading manufacturer of military and civil regalia (uniforms, badges, buttons, medals, swords, etc.) has served the British monarchy since about 1750. Past customers include Lord Nelson and his men at the Battle of Trafalgar, the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo and the armies of both North and South in the U.S. Civil War.

52. Viellard Migeon & Cie.
Iron making/Forges de Morvillars, France
Founded: 1679
www.vmchooks.com
The business was started by an ironmaster named Nicolas Viellard and met with significant success after the French Revolution. During this time the business adopted a strategy of cultivating family alliances to consolidate the iron works in Belfort, about 35 miles north of Toulouse. It’s now one of the world’s leading makers of fishhooks.

53. Miller Farm
Agriculture, timber/Frederica, Del.
Founded: 1684
The farm has remained in the Miller family’s hands through nine generations. Its tillable land is currently leased to a local farmer.

54. Gradis Corp.
Wine trading/Bordeaux, France
Founded: 1685
The Gradis family, Jewish refugees from Portugal, settled in Bordeaux in the late 1500s. Diego Gradis later began the family wine trading business. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-63), family ships were used to re-supply troops in Canada. During World War I, the French government commissioned the family to ensure the supply of sugar for France. Today, the family has returned to its roots in wine trading.

55. Toye, Kenning & Spencer
Weavers/London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1685
www.toye.com
Toye, Kenning & Spencer holds a royal warrant and over the years has produced much of the U.K.’s regalia, medals and uniforms. Brian Toye is the current chairman.

56. Yamamotoyama
Tea/Japan
Founded: 1690
www.yamamotoyama.com
The Yamamotoyama family began producing premium teas in Japan more than three centuries ago. The company is now the oldest family-owned tea business in the world.

57. Delamare et Cie.
Packaging materials/Criquebeuf-sur-Seine, France
Founded: 1690
www.henokiens.com/index_delamare_fr.php
The company was founded by André Delamare and is now run by Franéois Delamare. Family members initially worked with wood, making carts and stagecoaches. Eventually they expanded into plastics and adhesives in the packaging market. The family has earned two top packaging awards, in 1986 and 1988. Today it conducts research on recycling and transformation of industrial waste.

*58. Nolet Distillery (Ketel One Vodka)
Distillery/Schiedam, Netherlands
Founded: 1691
Tenth generation
www.ketelone.com
Since its founding by Joannes Nolet (1638-1702), the Nolet family’s distillery in Schiedam has been passed from father to son, each zealously guarding the family’s secret vodka formula. The company name refers to the family’s first distilling kettle. Current proprietor Carolus Nolet, 63, maintains the family tradition of distillation by hand.

59. Folkes Group
Real estate and engineering/Lye, United Kingdom
Founded: 1697
Seventh generation
www.folkesholdings.com
The company began by making chain mail and swords and is now the oldest firm with a current stock market listing in the United Kingdom. In addition to making real estate investments, the company produces specialized cargo handling equipment, large crankshafts, roofing materials and other products.

60. Berry Brothers & Rudd Ltd.
Wine merchants/London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1698
www.bbr.com
Family of coffee, tea and spice merchants gravitated to wines and spirits later. They earned the right to supply the British royal family in 1760 and continue to do so—they currently hold royal warrants to the Queen and the Prince of Wales. The family operates out of the same shop where they began three centuries ago.

61. Shepherd Neame
Brewer/Faversham, United Kingdom
Founded: 1698
Fifth generation
www.shepherd-neame.co.uk
Britain’s oldest brewer, founded by Capt. Richard Marsh, who was the mayor of Faversham, in Kent. Samuel Shepherd and his sons Julius and John eventually bought the business. When Percy Beale Neame joined the partnership in 1864, the company’s beer began to gain widespread renown. The Neame family has remained in control ever since.

62. Allandale Farm
Fruit, produce, flowers/Brookline, Mass.
Founded: 1700?
www.allandalefarm.com
Last working farm within Boston-Brookline limits; only one of six farms left within Route 128 Beltway. Also operates summer outdoor program for children.

*63. Farina Gegenüber
Fragrances/Cologne, Germany
Founded: 1709
Eighth generation
www.farina1709.com
The world’s oldest perfume company was launched in Cologne by Johann Maria Farina (1685-1766), who made his city famous by calling his new fragrance Eau de Cologne. His namesake and eighth-generation descendant, Johann Maria Farina, runs the firm today.

64. William Dalton & Sons
Pest control/United Kingdom
Founded: 1710

65. Cooke Farm
Farm/Wallingford, Conn.
Founded: 1720?
Tenth generation
Founded 1720 or earlier, once a thriving 550-acre dairy operation. Tenth-generation proprietor George Cooke stopped milking cows in 1995, sold off most acreage and developed an industrial park. The business is now a general contractor and leases its remaining land to a tenant farmer.

66. Nourse Family Farm
Agriculture/Westborough, Mass.
Founded: 1722
www.noursefarm.com
Farm established in 1722 by the grandchildren of Rebecca Nurse, hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., in 1692. The family fled Salem and in 1722 purchased land on the frontier in Westborough, where descendants have farmed the 140-acre spread for more than 280 years. Jonathan Nourse, proprietor since 1971, has expanded into prepared foods (jams, jellies, pies, etc.).

67. Tissages Denantes
Cloth/Grenoble, France
Founded: 1723
Even with more than 400 employees, the company preserves its traditions, which began in the 18th-century French trade fairs. Michel Denantes and his wife, Barbe, established a reputation for fine cloth at these fairs.

68. Amarelli Fabbrica de Liquirizia
Licorice/Rossano Scalo, Italy
Founded: 1731
eng.liquirizia.it
The family’s roots in Italy’s southern Calabria region pre-date the year 1000. Fortunato Amarelli created the Amarelli company with his son in Rossano in 1731, harvesting licorice to sweeten his land when it lay fallow. In 1987 the company won the gold medal from the Italian Chemical Company for combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.

69. Fratelli Piacenza Corp.
Woolens/Pollone, Italy
Founded: 1733
11th generation
www.piacenza1733.it
Pietro Francesco Piacenza created the first woolen mill in Pollone, a small town nestled at the foot of the Alps, near the Swiss and French borders. The family prides itself on its strict quality standards—its method of producing wool takes up to six times longer than some more modern techniques. The company’s president today is Riccardo Piacenza.

70. Taittinger Champagne
Champagne/Reims, France
Founded: 1734
www.taittinger.com
The business was begun by Jacques Fourneaux. After World War I, the Taittinger family merged with Fourneaux-Forest (as the company was known at the time). The Taittingers ultimately took control of the operation. Claude Taittinger runs the business today.

71. William Clark & Sons
Linen/Upperlands, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Founded: 1739
Ninth generation
www.wmclark.co.uk
The family has operated for more than 250 years as a manufacturer of linens in Northern Ireland. Their international reputation for quality and value has made Irish linen perhaps more highly prized than any other cloth. Founded by Jackson Clark, the company was named for his great-great-grandson William; it’s now run by Bobby and Stephen Clark of the ninth generation.

72. Lyman Orchards
Agriculture/Middlefield, Conn.
Founded: 1741
Eighth generation
www.lymanorchards.com
The 1,100-acre farm today offers an ambitious variety of food products (cider, apple pies, etc.), events (golf tournaments, fund-raisers) and tours.

73. John Whitley Farm
Agriculture/Williamston, N.C.
Founded: 1742
Eighth generation
Oldest farm in North Carolina. Family mementos include the original deed with wax seal of the king of England and a note from Theodore Roosevelt thanking the Whitleys for lending him their binoculars. The land is now leased for tobacco, corn, wheat, peanuts, soybeans.

74. Boplaas
Agriculture, orchards/Koue Bokkeveld, Cape Town, South Africa
Founded: 1743
Ninth generation
The farm was founded by Isaak Wilhelm Van der Merwe and is now run by two brothers, Frans and Nicolaas Van der Merwe. The family also has built a literary legacy through poet Isaac Wilhelmus Van der Merwe, known nationally as “Boerneef,” and current author Carl Van der Merwe (eighth generation). The family farm was declared a national monument in 1973.

75. Aubanel Publishing Co.
Publishing/Avignon, France
Founded: 1744
The business was started by Antoine Aubanel in Avignon. Rome awarded Antoine the title of “master printer” in 1756, and in 1780 he was appointed the official printer to the Pope, an honor that was to be handed down from generation to generation. The family refused to publish Napoleon Bonaparte’s book Le Souper De Beaucaire.

76. Fonderia Daciano Colbachini & Figli
Bell maker/Padua, Italy
Founded: 1745
www.henokiens.com/index_colbachini_gb.php
The foundry was established by Giuseppe Colbachini when he joined with his three brothers to make bells. The Colbachini family’s talents earned them the prestigious title of ‰Pontifical Foundry” on Jan. 17, 1898. To this day, Fonderia Daciano Colbachini & Figli is the only maker of bells in the world that is able to stamp its products with the Papal coat of arms. The business is currently directed by Giovanni Aldinio-Colbachini.

77. J.D. Neuhaus Hebezeuge
Hoist manufacturers/Witten-Heven, Germany
Founded: 1745
Seventh generation
Johann Diederich Neuhaus began the business when he joined the Factory Register in Germany as a manufacturer. The company started by producing wooden jacks, which were in high demand by carters who would constantly break their wheels on the rough terrain of 18th-century roads. In 1952 the company invented the air hoist, which was much safer than the electrical hoists produced at the time. Today, the company’s products are sold in 90 countries. One product, the Gorilla V, is reportedly the world’s most powerful air hoist: It can lift 250 tons. Johann Diederich Neuhaus is the current chairman.

78. Villeroy & Boch
Housewares/Mettlach, Germany
Founded: 1748
www.villeroy-boch.com
The family business began in Lorraine when François Boch, then an iron founder, started making ceramic tableware. In 1791, Nicolas Villeroy established a nearby ceramic factory. In 1836, these two families merged their factories to form Villeroy & Boch.

79. Zenith Pipe Company
Tobacco pipes/Gouda, Netherlands
Founded: 1749
Eighth generation
Aart van der Want currently runs the company.

80. Parlange Plantation
Farm/New Roads, La.
Founded: 1750
www.pcchamber.org/parlange.htm
One of the state’s oldest plantations; descendants of first owner Marquis Vincent de Ternant still live there. Originally grew indigo and cotton; now sugarcane, soybeans, corn and Brahmin cattle. The house, open for tours, contains original Louis XIV- and Louis XV-style furnishings and French objects handed down through generations. A basement museum displays antiques: blacksmith tools, cotton scales, sugar kettles (formerly used to boil indigo beans down to a dye), candle molds, and an 1842 inventory of the estate, which lists livestock by name and ranks the value of each slave by age and ability.

81. Marie Brizard & Roger International
Distiller/Bordeaux, France
Founded: 1755
Eighth generation
www.marie-brizard.com
The company traces its origins to 18th-century Bordeaux, where, as legend has it, Marie Brizard saved a sailor from death. To show his gratitude, the sailor told Marie about an elixir that supposedly could cure every type of ill. Marie joined with her nephew Jean-Baptiste Roger to start the family company by producing the “elixir” known as anisette. The business is still centered in Bordeaux and is currently run by Jean-Baptiste Roger. Today the company’s products can be found in 130 countries.

82. Joseph Drouhin
Wine/Beaune, France
Founded: 1756
www.drouhin.com
Parts of the family’s wine cellars date to the 13th century. One portion of their cellar was built in the 16th century for the king of France. The family’s cellars have been classified as historical treasures. Today the estate covers more than 162 acres. Family members Robert, Philippe, Véronique, Françoise and Frédéric currently run the winery.

*83. Franz Haniel
Conglomerate/Duisburg, Germany
Founded: 1756
www.haniel.de
Family-owned conglomerate based in Duisburg controls Gehe, Europe’s biggest drug wholesaler, and Lloyd Chemists, a household name in Britain. It also has large stakes in retailers, mail-order houses, steel recycling, concrete blocks and disaster recovery services. Sales exceeded $25 billion in 2002. The company was founded by Jan Willem Noot and later renamed for his grandson Franz Haniel. About 520 Haniel family members are shareholders (although an unwritten rule precludes them from working there full-time). Franz Haniel, 49, is chairman of the firm’s supervisory board.

*84. Riedel Glas GmbH
Glassmaking/Kufstein, Austria
Founded: 1756
11th generation
www.riedelcrystal.com
Johann Christoph Riedel (1678-1744) journeyed throughout Europe trading glass. His son Johann Carl Riedel (1701-1781), a guilder and glasscutter, operated his own workshop. Grandson Johann Leopold Riedel (1726-1800) founded glass factory in 1756, benefited from the need to rebuild windowpanes after the Seven Year War (1756-1763) between Austrians and Prussians. The company is now known for making wineglasses. Georg Riedel of the tenth generation is the president. Eleventh-generation member Maximilian Riedel (born 1977) is in charge of the North American market; Laetizia Riedel (born 1974), a lawyer, plans to become the firm’s legal adviser.

85. Lanificio Conte S.p.A.
Woolens/Schio, Italy
Founded: 1757
www.henokiens.com/index_lanificio_gb.php
The business was started when Antonio Di Giovan Battista bought a woolen mill in 1757. The current president is Gemma Boniver Conte. The firm has cultivated a reputation for fine women’s clothing.

86. Jose Cuervo
Tequila/Tequila, Mexico
Founded: 1758
www.cuervo.com
José Antonio de Cuervo acquired a land grant from the king of Spain in 1758. In 1795, José Maria Guadalupe Cuervo was granted the first license from the king to produce tequila. The family business is now Mexico’s oldest existing company. In Spanish, Cuervo means “crow,” the symbol the firm uses to identify its products.

87. Waterford Wedgwood
Crystal, china, & cookware/Dublin, Ireland
Founded: 1759
www.waterfordwedgwood.com
Waterford Wedgwood is perhaps the world’s leading maker of luxury crystal, china, ceramics and cookware. The company’s most visible product is the large crystal ball lowered every New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square. Chairman Tony O’Reilly and his brother-in-law control about 27%.

88. Creed Perfume
Perfumes/Paris, France
Founded: 1760
Seventh generation
www.parfumsraffy.com
The business was started in the U.K. in 1760 when James Creed received an appointment from King George III to make fragrances. The company moved its operations from London to Paris in 1854. Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, both commissioned the company to make scents for them. Today the company has 238 fragrances in its line and is run by Olivier Creed.

89. Griset
Foundry/Villers-St. Paul, France
Founded: 1760
www.griset.com
Antoine Griset established the family’s first metal foundry in Paris in 1760. The factory was moved to Rue Oberkampf in Paris in 1825. Here the platinum bar used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to denote the “standard meter” was first produced.

90. Faber-Castell
Writing instruments/Stein, Germany
Founded: 1761
Eighth generation
www.faber-castell.com
The company was founded in Stein, Germany (near Nuremberg), when Kaspar Faber, a carpenter, produced his own pencils. Count Anton Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell currently manages the company, which offers about 2,000 products with 2002 sales of $263 million.

91. Möller Group
Metal products/Bielefeld, Germany
Founded: 1762
Seventh generation
www.henokiens.com/index_moller_gb.php
The family can be traced back to 1575. The Möllers began working with copper in 1762. Successive generations expanded the family’s focus to include a tannery and leather goods factory (1827), an engineering division (1863) and a plastics division (1936). Dr. Peter von Möller, who represents the seventh generation, currently runs the company.

92. Bachman Funeral Home
Funerals/Strasburg, Pa.
Founded: 1769
Eighth generation
www.bachmanfuneral.com
Johannes Bachman, a Swiss Mennonite, began as cabinetmaker in Lancaster County, Pa., and evolved into coffins and funerals. His original business ledger (in German), dated April 1769, has been passed to the present eighth generation. John D. Bachman is the current director.

93. Silca
Keys & key cutting machines/Vittorio Veneto, Italy
Founded: 1770
Fifth generation
www.silca.it
Camillo Bianchi started the business when he invented the key-cutting service. The company serves more than 130,000 key-cutting centers, locksmiths and manufacturers in the security and automotive industries worldwide.

94. Osborne y Compania
Brandy and sherry/Cadiz, Spain
Founded: 1772
Sixth generation
The business was started by an Englishman, Thomas Osborne Mann, who in the late 1700s owned an export agency in Cadiz. He enjoyed early success through his friendship with a British consul, who allowed him to store his wines in the consulate’s personal cellar. Today the company has about 700 employees and is headed by Tomas and Ignacio Osborne.

95. Editions Henry Lemoine
Music publishing/Paris, France
Founded: 1772
www.editions-lemoine.fr
The family business was begun by Antoine-Marcel Lemoine in Paris. In 1810 he published the Messe Solennelle, composed for the coronation of Napoleon I. The company also published the works of Chopin, Berlioz, Donizetti, Halevy, Franck, Gounod, Messiaen and Piazzolla. Pierre Lemoine currently heads the company.

96. Stuart Land Co. of Virginia
Cattle/Rosedale, Va.
Founded: 1774
Eighth generation
Beef cattle operation still functioning. Henry Smith II started Clifton Farm. When his great-granddaughter Mary Taylor Carter married William Alexander Stuart, she brought a dowry of 80,000 acres, which Stuart added to his own large land holding. Current proprietor William (Zan) Stuart is eighth generation from founder; he has no children in the business, but his grandchildren may succeed him.

97. JB Fernandes & Sons
Tools & ironwares/Lisbon, Portugal
Founded: 1778
Sixth generation
www.redcube.org/JBF
In 1778 an earthquake ruined much of Lisbon, then one of Europe’s most brilliant capitals. This disaster prompted Ignacio Jose Fernandes to open a business selling tools and iron goods to help rebuild the city. Today the firm is an industry leader in Portugal.

98. St. John Milling Co.
Milling, farm products/Watauga, Tenn.
Founded: 1778
Sixth generation
Stone mason Jeremiah Dungan built the original foundation for the mill and stone manor (still standing) and ran the mill with his children Jeremiah and Mary D. Hendrix. The mill passed to his son Jeremiah’s daughter Mary and her husband, John Houston (brother of frontier hero Sam Houston), and then to their sons John Jr. and William Houston. They were succeeded in 1866 by George W. St. John (1837-1904), great-nephew of Jeremiah Dungan. His son James St. John (1874-1956) inherited the mill from his father in 1904. His son George St. John, an electrical engineer, succeeded him and converted the farm’s power source from water to electricity. Today the mill is owned by George’s daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Ron Dawson. The operation changed from general feed and milling to a feed and seed store. Owing to shifting boundaries, the company has paid taxes in three different states: North Carolina, Tennessee and the short-lived “State of Franklin.”

99. Ditta Bortolo Nardini
Distillery/Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Founded: 1779
www.nardini.it
Bortolo Nardini founded the distillery when he bought an inn next to the famous Bassano Bridge, about 45 miles northwest of Venice. The inn became known as the “Grapperia Nardini.” Grape pomace acquavite (known as grappa) had been made by peasants living in the area before the Nardinis arrived. Nardini introduced technology to the process of distilling the seeds, skins and stems left at the end of the winemaking process, making it more modern and scientific.

100. Laird & Co.
Brandy Distiller/Scobeyville, N.J.
Founded: 1780
www.lairdandcompany.com
America’s first large-scale distiller produces AppleJack brandy, vodka, gin, scotch, bourbon, tequila, wines, etc. Robert Laird, Revolutionary War soldier, first distilled AppleJack in 1780 to serve at inn, provided brandy to George Washington.

Employers fail to sell work-life balance

While it seems many Canadians would prefer their kitchen table over the boardroom table any day, most don't feel their employer cares about work-life balance.  So says Holly Lake the gifted reporter who writes for Sun Media, entitled Employers fail to sell work-life balance.

A study published yesterday by Desjardins Financial Security found that while 25 per cent of Canadians are assured their organization "walks the talk" around work-life balance, only 29 per cent feel their employer truly cares about them having it in their lives.

Released in advance of the Canadian Mental Health Association's National Mental Health Week (May 7-13), the survey found while many companies are implementing programs to promote balance, 65 per cent of Canadians feel the values in their workplace and personal values are not in tune.

When asked what they valued, 54 per cent of respondents listed family first. Work topped the list for only 10 per cent.

In a release, Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Irvin Wolkoff called the gap in values a "warning sign" to employers.

"If employees do not feel that they can balance their work and their personal priorities such as their families, not only are we going to see the number of Canadians struggling with mental health issues increase, but we are also going to face an employee base who are resentful, disengaged and stressed," he said.

Glenn Thompson, chief executive officer of the Canadian Mental Health Association said often both partners in a family are working, raising kids and trying to care for an elderly loved one.

Combined with job stress, it can lead to depression, burnout and anxiety disorders.

With the war for talent escalating, employers can't afford to ignore employees' needs, said Alain Thauvette, Desjardins' senior vice-principal of group and business insurance.

More than half of US workers are slackers

More than half of US workers are slackers, but the slackers don't see themselves as slackers. Men more so than women.

read more | digg story

Training talent critical to workforce development

Global trends indicate that economies, and companies, are developing knowledge-based business cultures. It is therefore becoming increasingly important that organisations measure themselves – not only in terms of profitability and turnover, nor product diversification and market share – but in terms of the fundamental cornerstone of business: people.”

According to CRF’s HR Benchmark™, the scientific research survey used to determine the best employers in the eight countries in which CRF operates, the current global business environment is characterised by an increasing war for talent. CRF maintains that human resource management and strategy is fast becoming the key organisational differentiator in this ‘war’.

As such, companies need to continually look for new measures to interpret their effectiveness in attracting top talent in the market, and retaining and investing in their A-perfomers.

“One of the primary aspects highlighted in the HR Benchmark™ is how companies manage talent in terms of training. 

“Over 30 percent of the leading employers that participated in the 2006 survey view training as a highly important facet in maximising the talents of their employees, and ultimately the success of their business. 

“Traditional training is still in place, but the introduction of ‘soft’ training programmes such as mentoring, emotional intelligence and coaching is becoming increasingly popular to develop graduates and executives,” says Baalbergen.

“What we found particularly interesting is that a quarter of respondents prefer to outsource their training. This indicates to us that the corporate view on staff training is become increasingly focused as they prefer professional trainers to inject real muscle into traditional in-house training methods,” continues Baalbergen.

Sierk Baalbergen, CRF Country Manager says, “The war for talent is on – this is a statement that is heard time and again in boardrooms around the world. Global trends indicate that economies, and companies, are developing knowledge-based business cultures. It is therefore becoming increasingly important that organisations measure themselves – not only in terms of profitability and turnover, nor product diversification and market share – but in terms of the fundamental cornerstone of business: people.”

“We also found that less than 5 percent of all surveyed organisations see HR as a key driver of internal skills growth. That, of course, presents one explanation as to why 25 percent choose to outsource their training function.

“However, it also indicates an ongoing lack of confidence companies have in their internal ability to properly manage talent. On the positive side, this does reveal that companies recognise the value of training as a business driver and it is this that compels these companies to seek out professionals to assist them.

Mountain of Debt

Our newest workers coming into the workforce are coming in saddled with the largest debt load in US history.

Debt doesn’t “just happen”; it is consciously, carefully engineered by the debt industry to begin in childhood with the Saturday morning cartoon consumption-fest of products aimed at children, including “Credit Barbie Dolls” and “Shopping Barbie Dolls” that make the sounds of credit card transactions when they complete their imaginary purchases in “Barbie Land.”  A few years later, the same child, now in college, is deluged at freshman registration with a plethora of credit card offers which although they may begin with only a $500 limit, are soon increased if the student makes regular payments.  While as a college professor I have long been aware of the financially lethal consequences of college students holding three or four credit (or more) cards at a time, I was unaware that the average college student graduates today with approximately $20,000 in credit card debt.

I am well aware, however, that the same student is likely to graduate with an additional $30,000 + debt in student loans. Thus, it is not unusual for a college graduate to commence his/her career, in debt to the tune of $50,000 or more. Still more frightening is the reality that for that graduate, and indeed for most of the working and middle-class U.S. population, indebtedness never ends! As credit card customers get older, their diminished consumption needs must be replaced by younger customers whose “buy now, pay later” illusions are unchallenged by life experience.

A new documentary “In Debt We Trust” recently written and produced by Danny Schecter, sheds some extraordinary and timely light on the matter.  It starts from the standpoint that our society is set up to keep us struggling for our entire lives, saving almost nothing, and remaining in perpetual debt, the documentary proceeds to reveal the impossible shell game that is perpetrated on players in the debt game by a credit industrial complex which cannot exist or profit without debt, and specifically, losers in the game. 

Ask yourself what type of worker stress is caused by employees that are enslaved by crushing debt loads?  Does this scenario encourage "economic" decisions over "ethical" choices?  Do these individuals "follow their hearts" and experience the discovery that comes from learning at a normal pace, or are they feel  forced to change jobs just to stay ahead of the game.  Or worse yet, what potential does this situation create for doing dishonest deals, or "dipping into the till?"

How We Learn in the 21st Century

In what is argubly one of the most pressing issues in our society, our friends over at the Bamboo Project have taken on on why the U.S. is falling behind in preparing math and science workers for the future.

Entitled "How Do We Learn in the 21st Century?" the article tackles the real "root causes" that are defining how we're trying to deal with this issue.  It's a great article, with plenty of backup information.  Check it out.

Managers Don't Grow on Trees

An article by the same title recently appeared in Management-Issues, and discussed an insightful paper by Erika Andersen entitled Growing Great New Managers.  Andersen paints a picture that is unfortunately too representative of how managers get "developed" into their roles.

The article provides a metaphor:  Imagine, for a moment, that you've been put on an island and handed a sack of rice, some vegetable plants, and a chicken. "Good luck," says the person who brought you there. "You'll be responsible for growing your own food now; I know you've never done that before, but I have every faith in your ability." Then he gets in the boat and leaves, merrily waving goodbye.

If you're in management, does this sound familiar?  Check out the article and related material.  It's an excellent piece on what's messed up and right about management development today. 

When will we see the Worker Shortage called a crisis?

“This is not something that tomorrow, all of a sudden, will show up in the headlines. This is a slow effect of changing demographics that is absolutely predictable but with profound implications… "

Consider these comments by David Ellwood, Dean of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.  Citing an article by J. Barrett, “An impending work crisis.” that first appeared in Newsweek. September 20, 2002.

What becomes increasingly apparent is that there are not enough workers to backfill the expected number of baby-boomers that will be retiring over the next 5-10 years.

This affects all workers at every level of the US workforce.  For example - 19% of the entire American workforce holding executive, administrative and managerial positions will retire in the next five years.

It's not just the US - the aging workforce also affects the global workforce in major ways:

• In the year 2000, there were more people receiving pensions in Italy (22 million) than people working (21 million)
• Within the next seven  years, over 33 million individuals in Japan (26% of the population) are expected to be over 65 years old.
• In Autstrlia , by 2016, the number of individuals aged 60-64 in Australia is expected to almost double
• In the EU Over the next two decades the number of older workers (50-64 years) will increase by 25%, while the younger workers (20-29 years) will decrease by 20%
• While only 11 percent of the Chinese population today is over 60, the United Nations projects that this segment will increase to 28 percent by 2040.  At that time, China is expected to have 397 million people over 65, which is more than the total current population of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom combined.

Thus, we have a "perfect storm" developing.  If we pay attention to what's happening.  Accordingly, we can expect the "war for talent" to worsen, not get easier.

Here are some ideas that will help businesses survive thhe difficult period ahead:

1. Provide opportunities for workers to continually update their skills
2. Preserve critical knowledge before it walks out the door
3. Retain valued employees through developing alternative work arrangements
4. Facilitate the productive coexistence of a multi-generational workforce
5. Ensure that mature workers are able to use technology effectively in the workplace
6. Redirect recruiting and sourcing efforts to include mature workers

Because this is not something that tomorrow, all of a sudden, will show up in the headlines, but an ongoing threat that becomes more ominous over time, we must be prepared in advance. 
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Sources: Beazley, et. al, Continuity Management, Mackay, Alan. “Mature Age Workers: Sustaining Out Future Labor Force.” An Ageless Workforce - Opportunities for Business' Symposium Conference Paper. August 27, 2003. www.ageing.health.gov.au/ofoa/wllplan/aawpapers.htm, Time to act quickly on aging.” The Japan Times Online. August 23, 2002 www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?ed20020823a1.htm, A. Paulli, “Pension systems and gradual retirement in Italy”, September 2000, p.17

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