Reveille
From The Labor Department:
September 2005 is the 16th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month celebration, and businesses across the country are encouraged to participate. This month-long campaign educates that achieving recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction is a collective effort
requiring the participation of all sectors of society, including the workplace. Learn more about ways employers can contribute.
Watson Wyatt & Company Holdings (WW) announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005. Revenues were $198.6 million for the quarter, up 10% from $180.0 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. Fourth-quarter
income from continuing operations was $12.3 million, down from $12.7 million for the prior-year fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter results for fiscal 2005 included a non-operating charge of $6.2 million, or $0.12 per fully diluted share after tax, due to a loss on a foreign currency forward contract related to
the acquisition of Watson Wyatt LLP.
Bernard Hodes Global Network, a centralized worldwide Network providing integrated talent solutions to companies on five continents, has just launched a survey on employer branding across all of
its global markets. The survey, offered in four languages, will gather data over the next quarter in an effort to define the language, tactics, and employer branding best practices among HR leaders worldwide. The anticipated results are expected to offer important insights for global companies seeking to
bolster their recruitment and retention strategies through the use of consistent employer branding.
Useless skills
iCIMS announced a strategic alliance with Employment Background Investigations (EBI) that will allow users of iCIMS' iRecruiter to perform full background checks of job candidates online.
Syzygy Consulting Group's 2005 Pre-IPO and Private Company Total Compensation Survey shows that private
companies offer more stock compensation to more of their employees than their public company counterparts, despite pending expensing requirements and investor dilution concerns.
Resume Mirror announced the latest release of its resume extraction component product. With REX 3.3, Resume Mirror's current high-profile customers and prospects will enjoy a number of key performance and user interface enhancements including increased
resume processing accuracy, additional support for PDF format resumes and improved capabilities for system configuration by the user.
Paychex introduced Paychex Premier Human Resources. This comprehensive human resource outsourcing solution offers full payroll and human resources administration services, along with the expert support of an on-site human resource representative.
Deck Chairs
The Pentagon has tapped a new commander to head the struggling Army Recruiting Command. Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick...Westaff (WSTF), a leading provider of staffing services, today announced the appointment of Jay Pochini and Dina Overholt
as Regional Vice Presidents... Dorable Harry Dangerfield, a 1987 honor graduate of Bogalusa High School, was recently appointed as Supervisor of Human Resources for the St. Tammany Parish School System. Even though she will have numerous job tasks,
her primary responsibility will be the recruitment and retention of teachers in critical shortage areas....Commonwealth Business Media announced today the appointment of Kenneth P. Slivken to the position of Vice President of Human Resources...Ducommun Incorporated (DCO)
today announced that Gary Parkinson has joined the company as corporate vice president, human resources...Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), a Cleveland-based real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced the appointment of Nan Zieleniec to Senior
Vice President of Human Resources...Christian & Timbers has named Peter Metzger as its vice-chairman, based in the firm's DC office....
Survey Sez
Organizations with superior recruiting practices - such as filling jobs quickly, hiring their first-choice candidate and using employee referrals - financially outperform those with less effective programs, according to a new study by Watson Wyatt.
Watson Wyatt's Human Capital Index (HCI) study found that successful recruiting is a strong indicator of higher shareholder value. Companies that fill positions within two weeks provided total return to shareholders (TRS) of 59 percent between 2002 and 2004 versus 11 percent at companies that required
at least seven weeks to fill positions. Additionally, companies that typically fill a position after just one offer is made had a three-year TRS of 44 percent versus 32 percent for companies that typically have to make two or more offers to fill an opening.
"An organization's first opportunity to increase value is effective recruiting," said Paul Platten, global director of human capital consulting at Watson Wyatt. "Companies that minimize the disruption and lost productivity caused by turnover create a significant advantage that allows them to outperform
their competition financially."
Employee referrals can be a much more efficient way to find new workers, according to the study. Companies that hire more than one-third of new employees through employee referrals generated more than twice the total return to shareholders (48 percent) of employers that hired less than 10percent of
employees through referrals (23 percent). "While it is possible to find good candidates from any source, there are several advantages to hiring new employees using referrals from existing employees," said Ilene Gochman, national practice leader for organization effectiveness at Watson Wyatt. "Since new
employees already know someone at the organization, they tend to be familiar with their new employer and are
likely to develop a greater level of commitment."
Additional findings:
-
The best firms take a more balanced approach to hiring non-entry-level positions, filling roughly half of these positions internally, which resulted in a three-year TRS of 56 percent. Firms that fill fewer positions (12 percent) tend to have the lowest returns (negative 2 percent), while those that fill
the most non-entry-level positions internally (80 percent or more) also have lower performance (32 percent).
-
Too much and too little turnover is unhealthy for an organization. Firms with more moderate turnover (around 15 percent on average) had a three-year TRS of 43 percent, outperforming those with higher and lower turnover by at least 9 percentage points.
About Watson Wyatt's Human Capital Index (HCI) Study
Initially launched in 1999, the Watson Wyatt HCI study identifies human resource policies and practices that are associated with superior financial performance. The 2005 HCI study is based on a comprehensive survey of human
resource practices at 147 large North American companies with a track record of at least three years of total return to shareholders (TRS), 1,000 or more employees and a minimum of $100 million in revenues or market value. The
survey data are matched to objective financial measures of a company's worth, including its market value, three- and five-year TRS, and its Tobin's Q, which measures a company's ability to create economic value beyond its physical
assets.
You Should Know
Global:
-
For HR executives to help companies launch comebacks, it is critical to ask your internal customers, "What are we doing to help or hinder progress?" Once you know that, you eliminate every HR constraint you possibly can, and you are on the road to greater effectiveness. To the extent
you can target the 20 percent of your efforts that will yield 80 percent of results, we suggest focusing your attention on effectiveness practices to maximize human capital contributions. Consider shedding services that view personnel as a liability and an expense, and refocus your attention on
viewing people as assets that appreciate over time. (WorkIndex)
-
Perri Capell explains the fixes that enabled a senior-level job hunter to transcend issues about his age or his one-company career. (CareerJournal)
-
At a recent presentation to a group of 130 recruiters from one of the world's largest media and entertainment companies, I was pleasantly surprised by their interest in recruiting metrics. Surprised because the usual response is a combination of disinterest and rolling eyes.
This group, though, had a different perspective than most, and it was refreshing as it quickly became clear that these recruiters were well- informed about the connection between measurement and performance. That made me wonder: Was this a fluke, or is the message about the value of HR metrics in
enhancing business performance finally getting through? (WorkforceInsights)
-
About 11% of Weblog readers, blog site visitors who claim to read blogs regularly or occasionally, use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to sort through the increasing number of blogs available, according to a new study by
Nielsen//NetRatings. The firm said that 5% of blog readers use feed aggregation software and more than 6% percent
use a feed aggregating web site to monitor RSS feeds from blogs. "While RSS is an established technology, the growing popularity of blogs has catapulted RSS into the spotlight as a content personalization tool," said
Jon Gibs, a senior research manager for Nielsen//NetRatings. The majority of respondents to the survey were less familiar with RSS feeds. Among the other respondents, 23% understood RSS but did not use it, while two-thirds either did not understand the technology or had never heard of
it. (Nielsen//NetRatings)
Ireland:
New Zealand:
-
Surgery waiting times and health workforce shortages are the biggest challenges facing the health sector, and United Future revealed strategies to address both in launching its health policy today. (Scoop)
-
Women are playing their part in New Zealand's low unemployment rate. The latest figures show the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.7 percent, which is the lowest in the OECD. (NZCity)
USA:
-
From rocking chairs to council chambers. That's the transition Dennis Rykken, Joe Heinen and Rose Ann Inderrieden have made in the past several months. All three were
enjoying retirement (not necessarily in rocking chairs) when civic duty came calling, and each is helping keep the city of Sauk Centre running smoothly until long-term solutions are in place. (SaukHerald)
-
South Florida companies are starting to recognize that employees providing care ultimately affects workforce productivity. According to Olga Brunner, President of A Good Daughter, who cared for her mother with Alzheimer's disease, "While caring for elders can be a rewarding
experience, it can also be stressful. Caregivers need to juggle these responsibilities with family, work and personal life. A great deal of time can be spent tracking down resources, responding to an elder's changing needs, setting up and managing multiple services, or checking on the care an older
relative is receiving." (A Good Daughter)
-
The Honolulu Police Department is recruiting a growing number of officers from the mainland. (KPUA)
-
With Clark County's unemployment rate hovering at around 4 percent, Kathy Caudell knows her company will face a tough job market when it begins searching for some 2,400 employees to staff the upcoming South Coast resort in southwest Las
Vegas. (Las Vegas Sun)
-
A rebounding economy and corporate America's focus on accounting compliance have helped lift the fortunes of executives of Robert Half International, a recruiting and temporary employment firm based in Menlo Park. In late July, CEO Harold Messmer exercised more than 300,000 stock
options and sold almost 400,000 shares, for a net gain of $11.65 million. Others at the company also sold shares at a time when the company's stock price was nearing a five-year high. (Merc)
-
The US government is taking the fight against Internet crime to Las Vegas. Officials were much in evidence at the city's Defcon gathering of security experts, hackers and crackers on the look out for potential employees. Speaking at the conference, Assistant Secretary of Defense
Linton Wells defied skepticism and downright hostility from some of the assembled. 'Join us,' he said, 'if you want to work on cutting-edge problems, if you want to be part of the truly great issues of our time.' (PCPro)
-
Instead of handing out a sheaf of written material to prospective teachers, Midland Independent School District will have CDs available on its next recruiting trip, Executive Director of Human Resources Melva Cardenas said. The district worked with Admarc Southwest, a Midland
advertising agency, to put the CD together. The process took about a year and cost about $17,000 in federal funds targeted at teacher recruitment. (MyWestTexas)
Coming Soon
Blog Business Summit.
August
17th-19th. 2005
Palace Hotel
San Francisco, CA
$795
Register |
Workforce Systems Summit
August 28 - 31
Las Vegas, NV
$895
More Info
Register |
The 8th Annual Recruiting & Staffing Summit
September 19-21, 2005
Intercontinental Buckhead
Atlanta GA
$1,999 to $4,573
More Info
Brochure |
Staffing.org's
Philadelphia Performance Summit
September 21 - 23, 2005
Radisson Plaza - Warwick Hotel
Philadelphia, PA
$725
Register |
Employers of Excellence Conference 2005
September 25-27
Pointe South Mountain Resort
Phoenix, Ariz.
More Info |
Leadership Summit
Network of Executive Women
Success Strategies
September 26-27 , 2005
Renaissance Concourse Hotel,
Atlanta, GA.
Contact Executive Director Joan Toth at
(312) 373-5682
www.newonline.org
|
Webinar: How to Select a Search Marketing Partner
September 29, 2005
2:00pm EDT, 11:00am PDT
Free
Register
Speaker:
Chris Sherman, Associate Editor, SearchEngineWatch.com and President, Searchwise |
OnRec Online Recruitment Conference
October 6, 2005
Brussels Marriott Brussels, Belgium
£265.00 +VAT (370.00 Euros)
More Info
Register: +44 (1702) 382330, or
email wendy@OnRec.com
|
Talent Management, Leadership Development & Succession Planning in the 21st Century
October
5-7 2005
Phoenix Marriott Mesa, Phoenix, AZ, USA
$2418
Learn More
Register |
International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM) Global Forum
Oct. 6-7, 2005
Boston, MA
$710
More Information
Register |
8th Annual
HR Technology Conference & Exposition
October 19 - 21, 2005
Chicago's McCormick Place
Learn More
Request Brochure |
HRO World Europe
November14-16, 2005
Conrad Hotel Brussels, Belgium
EUR1,700
Register
More Info |
Got News?
Send us
your company news, personnel changes, placements, and other tidbits of interest. News you'd like to see covered that we haven't? Let us know.
Home 
