On SHRM’s website (membership required) they have an article about a survey conducted by SnagAJob.com from August 9th to the 23rd asking more than 2,300 people who they would most like to take to work. SnagAJob.com thought it would be interesting with all the different “Take Your . . . to Work” to conduct a survey with respondents choosing from a list of 12 celebrities: Overall 1. Oprah with 26 percent 2. Angelina Jolie with 11 percent 3. Will Ferrell with 10 percent 4. Brad Pitt Age 17 and younger 1. Oprah with 18 percent 2. Jessica Alba with 15 percent 3. Paris Hilton with 14 percent Age 18 to… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Multitasking Myth
This CareerJournal.com article probably falls under the “interesting item that only interests me” category. The article basically debunks the theory that multitasking is effective and efficient. It isn’t, which is something I have often contended. Great paragraph at the beginning: Multitasking, a term cribbed from computers, is an information age creed that, while almost universally sworn by, is more rooted in blind faith than fact. It’s the wellspring of office gaffes, as well as the stock answer to how we do more with less when in fact we’re usually doing less with more. What now passes for multitasking was once called not paying attention. We assess candidates and employees every… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring Increases to Continue
No real surprises here from the Manpower quarterly survey of 16,000 U.S. companies regarding their hiring plans for the fourth quarter. From the report: Twenty percent of firms surveyed said they will be open to hiring in the upcoming fourth quarter, about flat with the 21% who said they intended to hire in the third quarter this year.For more than two years — 11 quarters, to be exact — the portion of firms who said they planned to hire has hovered around 20%. Interesting that it consistently stays at 20%. I’m no statistician (but I did take it twice in college for . . . nefarious reasons), but that consistency… Read More
Continue ReadingHP Fireworks Continue To Explode
Last week we posted on the fiasco involving a leaker on the HP board of directors in HP’s Internal Fireworks. In spite of her claims of support, chairwoman Patricia Dunn announced today that she will relinquish her chair position but remain on the board of directors. This scandal is going to blow up further as it should. “Pretexting” board members personal phones is beyond pathetic. I am surprised that she is allowed to retain her director position. Once the feds take a look into this fiasco, the other shoe may fall on that topic. What a cultural mess it must be inside of HP right now.
Continue ReadingEmployee Satisfaction
I always seem to get drawn into articles with lots of stats in them. I came across 2 short, but interesting articles in last week’s newsletter from Workforce Management. The first article was from a survey conducted by human resources firm Adecco North America. In the article, they cite increased stress stemming from putting in longer hours at work. It finds that about 29% of employees report logging longer hours than they did a year ago, with a reported 32% experiencing on-the-job stress. The second article was from Kronos Inc. and Harris Interactive. Their joint survey that employees who are satisfied with their employer are more apt to extend themselves… Read More
Continue ReadingOutsourcing Your Sales Dept.
Gerhard Gschwandtner of Selling Power released an editorial titled Should You Outsource Your Sales Force? He starts right off with a statistic I have not heard: A few years ago, outsourcing a sales force was a novelty. Today it has become a trend that enjoys a 20% annual growth rate. I’ve always been a skeptic of this approach mainly due to my sales background. I cannot wrap my simple mind around the idea of a person from another company owning the relationship with the customer. Leveraging a better ROI is one thing, placing a degree of separation from your customer (read: revenue) base seems like Russian roulette. What if you… Read More
Continue ReadingRemembering 9/11
We have caught up to the numerous 5 year anniversary (is that the right term?) items in the news today. We are located in Minneapolis-St. Paul and do not have a direct story of the attacks that happened that day. We have friends who work in Manhattan who were able to get out on the last subway that day. We also have friends who were there for a convention and ended up being trapped there for a couple days and eventually rented a car and drove it back to the Twin Cities. Beyond that, we do not know of anyone who died that day. I’m sure that is not true… Read More
Continue ReadingMaybe I’m Missing Something…
Inc.com posted this howler today – Fearing Economic Uncertainty, Companies Put Spending Plans on Hold. Obviously, this type of story sounds like it will have an impact on our business for the remainder of the year. The opening sentence: Gloomy economic reports in recent months have many small and midsize businesses rethinking spending plans, a pair of new surveys show. Most of the stories I have read have mentioned how strong the economy is right now so I was taken aback by this revelation. The rest of the article speaks to CEO’s slowing everything down this year. I went back and clicked on the link found in that first sentence… Read More
Continue ReadingA Repeatable Scenario
Diggings has a post that is a microcosm of the impending shortage in the hiring market: In the last 6 years, the number of welders has dropped 10% to 576,000 people and the American Welding Society predicts that by 2010, the demand for welders will outstrip supply by 200,000 workers. We are involved in some highly specific searches right now and are encountering similar supply-demand issues. One search I am working through has led to two different final candidates that parlayed an offer into a better package from their current employers. As demand increases and supply diminishes, I am certain we will see similar behaviors.
Continue ReadingAnecdote – Online Dating? Part Deux
Friday anecdotes and the saga continues. This week I thought I would bring you up to speed on this post – Anecdote – Online Dating? I have received the following 2 emails from him since the first post. Please take note of the very similar writing styles in all 6 of the emails. I received this email just a week after the first one. I have procen track record in sales to C-level, HR Managers, VP, etc Proven track record in extended sales cycles Please contact me! Travel is not a problem. Best Regards I then received this one over the Labor Day Weekend. Lee…I have proven experience in sales…and… Read More
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