Happy New Year

There is growing optimism that we have passed the economic hurdles that have affected us the past years since 9/11. 2004 is beginning to shape up to be
a great year with new growth and success. We hope that all of you will experience this resurgence and, whether you are an owner, a manager or an employee,
that you will discover a new world of success

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May this year be the best ever for you and yours!
Deb, Bill & Shari

2004 Workforce and Workplace Forecasts

1. Employment Market Turbulence. More secure employees will stimulate unprecedented churning in the labor marketplace. This turbulence will threaten corporate stability and capacity to serve customers, particularly for employers who took employees for granted in recent years.

2. Shift to Sellers' Market in Labor. Employers will face the most severe shortage of skilled labor in history. Corporations will become more aggressive to attract and hold top talent. People will change jobs to find their personal Employer of Choice®.

3. Fluid International Job Movement. Economic issues and skilled labor shortages in the United States will move even more jobs to other countries. However, employers will discover that some situations are unsatisfactory and jobs will be returned.

4. Retirement will Evaporate. Traditional retirement will continue its metamorphosis. Retirees will move into jobs in other fields, start their own businesses, and engage in other activities to remain active and productive.

5. Training and Education will Accelerate. Corporate development programs will reach out to new employees and existing staff. Demand for vocational
education will grow. Educators will be challenged to make major changes to produce graduates ready to be productive in a faster-moving world.

6. Leadership Deficit will be Crippling. As employers discover serious inadequacies, leadership development will take on new importance. Up and coming managers will be expected to learn and practice leadership skills before assuming new positions.

7. Flexible Employment will gain Popularity. As more people work flexible hours, work from home, and use technology to work for employers in distant locations, traditional work arrangements will further erode.

8. Casual is Here to Stay. Despite some movement to return to more formality in the workplace, informality will dominate in clothing, culture, office décor, and workplace structural design.

9. Advantage of Agility. Companies will re-create themselves to be more agile, nimble, and responsive to customers and employees. Relationships, resources, knowledge, and speed will become strategic weapons.

10. Workers Becoming Independent. More people will become independent contractors, selling their services on a project, contract, or set-term basis. This movement will stimulate emergence of specialized staffing firms and electronic communities to connect workers with employers.

- From "Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or www.hermangroup.com.

 

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in.
A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Community Outreach Can Work for You, Too

For several years I have been encouraging business owners to get involved in the community to help develop applicants with the necessary expertise to fill critical jobs in their business. Recent studies have shown that the number of young people seeking technical education is not increasing at the growth rate needed to cope with the expected increase in technical jobs.

Recently, our local newspaper reported on a program in Tucson in which Raytheon, one of the major employers in Tucson, the University of Arizona and Pima Community College announced a joint collaboration to grow engineers. Raytheon employs well over 6000 engineers in the Tucson facility and has to recruit throughout the entire country to maintain the level of expertise and staffing that is required. In a program which could potentially be a model for other companies who want to promote their own particularly important career fields, Raytheon provides scholarships for students who spend two years at the Community College and then complete their final two years at the University. In addition, the students become Raytheon employees as summer interns with the promise of full-time employment once they complete the entire program.

If your business is struggling to find the technical skills that are needed, look into a more proactive relationship with the local schools. For small businesses, this could mean providing part-time employment while providing training in a particular set of skills and working with the schools to give students academic credit for the work they are accomplishing while at the same time creating a positive outlook about working in your business. Many young people don't pursue specific kinds of jobs because they have no understanding of what the business involves and what a great career is possible. It is going to be necessary for owners and managers to take this kind of approach if they hope to counter the shortfall in technical training.

Easy to Make, Easier to Break

Every year we promise ourselves we'll lose weight, exercise more, or give up some bad habits. Whether we succeed, though, is often another story. Here are a few things to consider when mapping out your goals and resolutions for the year ahead:

- Bits & Pieces - January 2004

Back to Top

Recommended Reading:
Play to your Strengths
By Haig R. Nalbantian, Richard Guzzo, Dave Kieffer and Jay Doherty

This book takes a look at the cost of people and identifies that, on average, companies spend 36% of the bottom line on the workforce and yet they have no measures in place to determine the return on their investment. The authors present an approach for managing your internal labor market and introduce some tools for measuring the value of your people investments. It is often said that people are critical to success but in reality owners and managers do not really act as if that is true.

In addition to helping to analyze your existing workforce, the authors also present an interesting discussion on the issues associated with another business acquisition and the potential for problems because of each business's internal labor market and the human capital strategies that they employed. Of particular interest were the results of surveys which pointed out that the acquisition managers discounted the importance of evaluating the employee costs when they planned the acquisition, but recognized too late the impact of the people on the acquisition cost and value.

I strongly believe that the importance of your people in maintaining your competitive advantage is the paramount consideration in business and I certainly appreciate books which support that view. This book is different than most because it provides more analytical tools to demonstrate that philosophy.

Note: Our Recommended Reading list is available online and now has links to Amazon.com to allow you easy access to purchasing them for your own use.

Customized Staffing Solutions

Are You Ready for Recovery?

I have already talked about the optimism that 2004 will bring a strong business recovery. The issue that should concern us is whether we are ready to handle it when it comes. A recent article by Ken Romano, CEO of Leading Edge Organizational Development, focused on that question and addressed three aspects of being ready.

First, do you really understand your operational processes? Understanding and documenting the core processes of your business is key to efficient execution and reducing crisis management.

Second, do you really understand your workforce? Remember, employees make it happen. Without them there is no business. Taking care of your employees results in reduced turnover, improved decision making and allows managers to work on the business and not in the business. Make sure that your employees are trained and ready in the latest skills. Rewrite job descriptions so that they can clearly understand their roles in the company. Move from managing tasks to leading your employees. If you learn to develop them and trust them, it will reduce your stress levels and improve operations.

Third, do you understand your customers? Do you understand what value means to them? Do you know when you have met their needs and do you know what will bring them back again and again? Do you know how to find more customers and build market share for your business?

Prepare now for the recovery. Be proactive in gaining the competitive advantage and ready to grow with the recovery. If you just wait for the recovery to start and gain momentum, you will watch as your market share falters and the world passes you by.

Additional Resources: Business Consulting Services - Customized Staffing Solutions - Job Descriptions - Free Tip Sheets