Archive

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next this week.

Employee engagement and participation in learning and development programs has always been a challenge. With the rapid development and deployment of new tools and technology in the workplace, though, there's more to be learned and mastered than ever. Leaders are now looking for methods to tackle this issue head-on, and driving demand for changes in learning managemen. Enter gamification.

Despite improvements in the U.S. economy, the hangover effect from the 2008-09 recession and slow economic growth continue to erode employees’ retirement confidence and overall financial wellness, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2012 Financial Wellness Survey.

Employees’ financial stress remains high: Overall, 61 percent of employees find dealing with their financial situation stressful, and more than half (56 percent) reported that their stress level related to financial issues had increased over the past 12 months.

As the 2012 National Study of Employers (NSE) suggests, workplace flexibility is replacing the one-size-fits-all, 9-to-5 way of working in a growing number of organizations.  What’s motivating companies to consider new ways of making work “work?” And what impact does giving employees more choice over how, when and where work gets done have on workplaces and the bottom-line?

This survey commissioned by and conducted in collaboration with Globoforce examines employee recognition programs and their return on investment (ROI). Findings revealed that nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) agree that employee engagement is a “very important” challenge that their organization is currently facing. Organizations that have employee recognition programs in place were more likely to indicate that employees are rewarded according to their job performance (64%) and that managers effectively acknowledge and appreciate employees (55%).

According to experts, candidates with the right skills are being overlooked by employers more interested in "cultural fit" and alignment of core values with their company. In fact, cultural fit has become so important to hiring managers that it now often rates above a 100 percent match to the necessary technical skills.

Some U.S. companies are offering additional paid time off for special circumstances, which might help employees maintain their work/life balance, according to Compdata Surveys' Benefits USA 2011/2012 report.

The overall median salary in the U.S. for Class of 2012 college graduates is up 4.5 percent over the median posted by the Class of 2011, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about talent management in terms of the new workforce.  We’re starting to see the signs that the economy is going to rebound.  When that happens, the speculation centers around whether companies will go back to their old ways and just start hiring people or will the new workforce be a blend of freelancers and consultants along with employees.

The writing’s been on the wall for a number of years, but only now are people starting to read it: Corporate America must reinvest in its workforce and come up with creative ways to retain that massive amount of knowledge that will walk out the door as millions of Baby Boomers retire.

Oregon has enacted a new law that prohibits overt unemployment discrimination in job advertisements, becoming only the second state—after New Jersey—to prohibit this practice.

The new ban, signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber on March 27, 2012, is limited in scope. It prohibits employers from publishing job advertisements that include language indicating that unemployed individuals should not apply for the job or that they will not be considered for the position.

“We know caregiving is associated with loss of retention, reduced productivity and higher stress,” said Drew Holzapfel, director of global commercial development at Pfizer Inc. This impacts caregivers’ wages, Social Security and pension benefits over the course of their career at a time when they need to be saving for their own retirement, he explained. Additionally, it impacts organizations as they experience a loss of talent.

One of the most popular trends in the IT world right now is the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) approach, where employees use their own mobile device at work. Its another case of new technology creating new problems. Before implementing a BYOD policy, you need to weigh the risks against the cost benefits.

There is an explosion happening all around us.  We are getting grayer as a society - much grayer.   As a result, organizations are faced with a diversity-related challenge.   Younger managers, on a much broader level than ever before, are finding themselves in the position of having to supervise older subordinates. 

The brains of young people growing up “hyperconnected” to the Internet might be wired differently from those of their elders, suggests a recent survey of technology experts, who were split on whether the newfangled wiring is desirable.

17 Rules for Developing and Keeping Devoted Employees is a must read on how to foster commitment, respect, trust, honesty, fun and above all performance.

Joe,
 
Great question: How do we avoid jobs and companies that suck?
  
It is heart breaking to me when I see talented people trudging away in jobs that either they don’t love or at companies where they don’t fit.  And, as you hint at, in almost every situation when you talk to someone who is in this kind of predicament, they almost always say something like “This isn’t at all what I thought it was going to be.”  They were toast before they even showed up to new hire orientation.
 

Sheila from the Radisson Indianapolis Airport Hotel

It was 3 a.m. when I called the front desk at the Radisson Indianapolis Hotel to beg for ointment for a wound. Sheila answered the phone but had nothing to offer, “I’m sorry sweetie. We only have Band-Aids down here.” Petulantly, I declared that I would have to find a 24-hour pharmacy.

Quickly recognizing my excruciating pain, Sheila said, “Let me call the hotel across the street and see if they have anything.” She phoned me right back and said, “Good news! They have ointment. I’m going to get it for you.”

Growing but still rare. That’s the way Laura Friedel, an attorney with Levenfeld Pearlstein in Chicago, would characterize private-sector employer requests for applicants’ or employees’ Facebook e-mail addresses and passwords.

“Our clients are asking about it more, but few have implemented policies requiring applicants or employees to provide Facebook log-in information, log in to Facebook in front of or ‘friend’ company representatives,” she told SHRM Online.

According to the SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) Report for April 2012, the rate of job growth will fall short of levels reached last year, yet hiring in the manufacturing and service sectors will continue in April.  

The time has come for HR to occupy a seat at the C-Suite table. Who better to advise and influence the CEO on corporate culture? Who better to recommend solutions regarding organizational health and workforce issues? Who better to identify talent from both a functional and cultural perspective? Who better to promote the CEO's vision and credo?

But is HR ready?

The construction, mining, oil and gas industries appear to be stabilizing following the recession and have begun hiring again, according to continuing research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). But skill deficiencies might be making it harder to re-staff, particularly for positions that traditionally have been hard to fill, SHRM’s polling results show.