I have a weakness for future predictions of jobs, markets, trends, etc. This particular one is from the Job Market Weekly email (sorry, no link). Technology will create new jobs as well. Out-of-work “top gun” pilots may find jobs captaining dirigibles, says Joel Barker, author of Five Regions of the Future. A relic from the 1920s and 1930s, these rigid blimps will revolutionize travel in the developing world, he adds. Hollywood’s woes may be solved by holography. Since consumers are perfectly happy watching DVDs at home on big flat-screen televisions, box-office receipts have slipped and movie moguls are scrambling. But eventually, Barker says, film companies will start producing three-dimensional holographic… Read More
Continue ReadingRetention Strategy – Limit Rules
BusinessWeek.com’s playbook section offers a very short, but highly intriguing article title How Netflix nets and keeps talent. Here it is in it’s entirety: PAY LAVISHLY Higher-than-average salaries—and tying bonuses and raises to the market, not a pool—can make stars less likely to bolt. Money is no object in hiring. PROVIDE COMPENSATION CHOICE Employees are more likely to excel if they can pick how much of their compensation they get in stock rather than cash. FOSTER TALENT HUNTERS Encouraging everyone to hire the three people they’ve loved working with most during their careers creates an intense, fun workplace. LET THEM GO Don’t give B performers a middling raise. Give them… Read More
Continue ReadingBright Spots In A Bleak Economy
The economy is slow, but this is a different economy than we have encountered before now. I suppose this is always true since the economy is completely dynamic so no two points in time are ever the same. Nonetheless, abcnews.com offers us this story – Job Winners and Losers in Hard Times – which has an excellent bit of information regarding this economy: In an environment of a sluggish economy and rising unemployment, analysts said there will be some safe harbors where job demand will keep growing. First and foremost in this group will be health care, where the demographics of an aging population mean the demands for medical care… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Retention Through Compensation
Commission-only sales plans are risky in my opinion. I know they are the truest form of selling – you eat what you kill. I simply think that many salespeople view this structure as a lack of commitment from the company. I’m not saying that is accurate, but I have talked to many salespeople under these plans and this is their perception. Fortune Small Business discusses this topic in their article Why to be wary of commission-only sales staff: “If you hire someone and you’re not really willing to invest time and resources in them – and that’s really what a commission-only sales person suggests – then you’re missing an opportunity,”… Read More
Continue ReadingWho Needs Validated Assessments?
Especially when you can simply look at someone’s shoes. This Yahoo News story has to be an April Fool’s joke: Mindset Media, a media company that examines personality traits of different consumers, found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader. These qualities were defined as having ideas and vision, and a style with others that is both inclusive and decisive. The survey of 7,500 people, using market research group Nielsen’s online panel, found multi-sneaker buyers were 50 percent more likely to be very assertive and 47 percent more likely to be spontaneous.… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging The Rant
Bob Rosner has a unique perspective on managing employees in his latest Working Wounded post – Stop Workplace Whining. The setup: A study by In Touch asked employees, “Why don’t you speak up at work?” More than 1 in 4 said they remain quiet because “there isn’t a good way to speak up” or “management doesn’t care.” I’ve outlined below three dos to reduce pressure at work and have everyone engaged in the problem-solving process. For more, check out Rant, Repair, Rave on workplace911.com. I’ll leave the whale example at the beginning of his post for you to read on your own (it is funny and disgusting all at once).… Read More
Continue ReadingReturn To Thoughtful Communication
Here is an interesting article from Selling Power regarding predicting trends of the future. Specifically, this one caught my eye: We’ll return to real, thoughtful communications. In this era of text messaging, blogging, and email, we’ve become lazy in our communications. We tend to dash off notes without proofreading them. We tend to use generic catch phrases like “seamless solution” and “superior service” that sound good but don’t really mean anything. Why do we do it? Because it’s easier and quicker than taking the time to think, write, edit, and edit again until our message is clear, compelling, and precise. There’s going to be a backlash against today’s generic, rushed… Read More
Continue ReadingRecareering Baby Boomers
The retiring Boomers and the lack of X’ers to replace them is a well-documented problem in the labor force. The Herman Trend Alert speaks to this problem, and more importantly to a solution, in their latest newsletter: Many Baby Boomers retirements are, in fact, often “recareering” instead. See our previous Herman Trend Alert http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_5-23-2007.html. All of the major players: Adecco, Manpower, Kelly, and Spherion now offer their clients the options of rehiring their retired employees as “consultants”, thus protecting them from certain legal liabilities. Many recareering Boomers are looking for project-based work, giving their employers the advantage of not hiring them as full-time, permanent employees on the payroll. The bottom… Read More
Continue ReadingWords To Avoid
JustSell.com offers a list of words to avoid in your qualifying activities (both written and spoken). This is a pet peeve of mine so I was elated to see such a comprehensive list. A few of my favorites, or should I say least favorite? a lot better cheap close early expensive in a minute / second / while occasionally probably soon sort of very I would add “really” to the list. Ok, why is this important? I’ll let the JustSell guys explain: Asked, “When can you have that for me?” in a business setting, a specific date and time is your best answer. Anyone in a leadership role will tell… Read More
Continue ReadingA Different View Of The Video Game Generation
Last week I posted on an article that discussed generational trends and specifically Gen Y and the effect of video game playing on their work habits. Steven Rothberg from CollegeRecruiter.com added a comment to that post that I wanted to share. Steven provides the most insightful commentary on Gen Y that I have read so I always consider his expert-level commentary. I thought his comment on my post was as good or better than the original article: Some may argue that video games are ruining the minds of this generation, but I feel that they’re not ruining the minds but instead changing them. The mind of someone of Gen Y… Read More
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