Reveille
Net-Temps, the leading online job board for staffing companies, announced today it has launched its new website with an updated, fresh interface and a more intuitive navigation so visitors can quickly find their way around the site with fewer clicks.

Redmatch introduces a new HR cost-savings calculator developed in cooperation with the NASH Group, a  management consulting firm. 

Oracle (ORCL) announced that PeopleSoft and JD Edwards customer satisfaction has risen to more than 90 percent since the merger of the companies, according to research from Satmetrix. Since the integration with Oracle(R) Support, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards customers have experienced up to an 11 percent increase in satisfaction levels of technical and product problem response, resolution, and overall solution effectiveness.

The number of new online job ads rose to 2,130,000 in the month of August, according to The Conference Board Help- Wanted OnLine Data Series(TM). This latest monthly figure is up over 4 percent from early summer (June 2005), with gains in 8 of the 9 Census regions.

Subscriptions to Workforce Performance Solutions are free to persons residing in the United States or Canada. To receive your free subscription, simply fill out and submit the form.

A study released today as part of AeA's ongoing Competitiveness Series shows the U.S. tech sector added nearly 190,000 jobs, a 3.4 percent increase between January 2004 and June 2005, for a total of 5.72 million. This data, collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and compiled by AeA, indicate that the tech sector has generated a net increase in jobs over the last six, 12, and 18 month time spans. Details Include

• U.S. high-tech employment totaled 5.72 million in June 2005.
• Tech employment grew steadily from January 2004 to June 2005, adding nearly 190,000 jobs, a rise of 3.4%.
• As of June 2005 the tech sector has generated a net increase in jobs over the last six, 12, and 18 month time spans.
• High-tech manufacturing employment added 21,800 U.S. jobs in the last 18 months, a rise of 1.6 percent.
• High-tech services employment added 167,000 U.S. jobs in the last 18 months, a four percent rise.
• High-tech growth is led by the engineering and tech services sector, which added 100,800 jobs.
  (Press Release) (Full Report)

After a strict filtration process, and after strict deliberation, experts have agreed that Globehr.com is one of the ten most investment worthy projects in
China. Globehr.com is a Chinese job and talent search engine, which relies on gathering information from a number of external resources (vertical search). Results were announced at the 2005 China Summit Forum of Venture Capital and Circulate Capital Development.

Ensynch, an IT infrastructure services and staffing firm, announced that PatchLink(TM) has selected them to assist the organization's hiring of technology professionals. PatchLink is recognized as the leading provider of multi-platform, multi-vendor security patch, vulnerability and compliance management software, solutions and services with offices in the U.S., Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

DeckChairs

HomePortfolio, a consumer search site for home design has named Pete Steiner vice president of sales. Steiner built Monster.com's sales force to 73 people and increased revenues from $300,000 to $40 million. "I've joined HomePortfolio because it's as big an opportunity as Monster.com was back in 1996," said Steiner....The Executive Staffing Group has added Douglas H. Jacobs Jr. to their national sales team. Jacobs will be responsible for new business development and client relations on a national level...Accurate Background, Inc., a provider of international employment screening services, adds of Teresa Corso to the position of Implementation Manager and William Armstrong to the position of Product Manager...Yahoo! Europe has appointed Helen Russell as vice president, Human Resources, Europe with responsibility for HR operations and human capital. In her new role, Helen Russell is tasked with creating a high performance culture that attracts and retains talent within the business. She will report to Pranesh Anthapur, vice president, Human Resources International, Yahoo! She joinsYahoo! from Siebel Systems, where she was group director, Human Resources, EMEA....



Survey Sez:

The rapidly aging global workforce -- caused mainly by the number of retirement-eligible employees continuing to work -- is both a challenge and major opportunity for corporations, according to a report released today by The Conference Board.

The report is based on a "managing mature workers" working group comprising executives from a cross-section of industries, staff and line functions, and job titles. It includes such major companies as BP America, Ernst & Young LLP, Ford Motor Company, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, and Shell International. It's one of 10 current Research Working Groups designed by The Conference Board to examine major issues facing business.

Some 64 million baby boomers (over 40 percent of the U.S. labor force) are poised to retire in large numbers by the end of this decade. In industries already facing labor and skills shortages, forward-thinking companies are recruiting, retaining, and developing flexible work-time arrangements and/or phased retirement plans for these workers (55 years of age or older), many of whom have skills that are difficult to replace. Such actions are putting these companies ahead of competitors who view the aging workforce largely as a burden putting strains on pension plans and healthcare costs.

"The maturing workforce is often seen as an issue to be dealt with instead of a great opportunity to be leveraged," says Lorrie Foster, Director of
Research Working Groups at The Conference Board and co-author of the report with management consultant Lynne Morton and noted author Jeri Sedlar, Senior Advisor to The Conference Board on mature workforce issues. "The skills and knowledge mature workers possess can be utilized to great advantage by a company that knows itself well and can identify its weak areas that can be bolstered by the right mature workers."

Industries currently feeling the greatest pain in terms of skills shortages are oil, gas, energy, healthcare and government. Leading companies in these sectors are turning to mature workers to ensure future growth and productivity. These companies recognize that a maturing workforce can
positively impact customer satisfaction and profitability, but not without effective initiatives designed to make it easier for different generations of
workers to work better together.

Companies that haven't yet faced human capital shortages are not rushing to make institutional changes to accommodate workers nearing the traditional
retirement age who are still in the workforce. "But organizations that fail to understand the complexities or recognize the opportunities associated with an aging workforce may risk their ability to stay competitive," says Sedlar. "As more companies feel the pain of knowledge losses caused by retirements in key businesses or functions, those not planning ahead and leveraging their mature workforce will be scrambling."

PURSUING PASSIONS RATHER THAN PENSIONS
More older workers want to remain in their jobs for both personal fulfillment and financial reasons. In a related forthcoming study from The
Conference Board, more than half (55 percent) of older employees surveyed said they were not planning to retire because they find their jobs interesting.
Significantly, 74 percent also cited not having sufficient financial resources as a reason they were continuing to work, and 60 percent cited the need for
medical benefits. Working in retirement, once considered an oxymoron, is the new reality, according to The Conference Board report. Besides wanting to continue doing what they love, reasons economic in nature are also keeping older Americans in the workforce. As a result, the increasingly multiethnic workforce will also become more multigenerational as mature workers want or need to continue to work.

Boomers also indicate that the historical linear life plan -- where certain years are earmarked for education, work, and then leisure -- is
becoming obsolete. Boomers want to work on terms that are customized to their needs. The goal of many is to "ratchet back" and give up responsibility, yet stay involved and active in business. In addition, lifelong learning is not only desirable, but necessary to achieve their work goals. "New work arrangements that capitalize on this desired work/project orientation have to be developed to meet the needs of the mature worker and the headcount concerns of the corporation," says Sedlar. "The need to create a corporate culture as well as learning institutions welcoming to all generations is becoming more apparent."

KNOWLEDGE LOSS AND OLDER WORKERS
By 2010, the number of 35-44 year olds, those normally expected to move into senior management ranks, will actually decline by 10 percent. Also by 2010, the number of U.S. workers 45-54 will grow by 21 percent, while the number of 55-64 year-olds will expand by 52 percent. One-half of companies interviewed feel that the departure of mature workers presents potential knowledge vulnerabilities. About one-third have conducted workforce planning studies and identified potential knowledge areas where they could be vulnerable. One-half of those interviewed have some form of mentoring program in place to share and transfer knowledge.

Certain industries are more concerned with the impending "brain drain" stemming from the withdrawal of some mature workers from the workforce. The
technology and pharmaceuticals industries generally express worries about the development of new products and services and anticipate a drain in experienced engineers, key account sales representatives, and senior managers.

Flexible programs are generally present in industries that consider the maturing workforce to be a very significant issue. These companies have
sometimes had to struggle with legal or regulatory constraints that restrict flexible work arrangements for mature workers. The majority of survey participants perceive a Catch-22 - wanting to offer something special for mature workers but feeling unable to do so in a way that doesn't seem discriminatory.

TACTICS FOR STRATEGIC CHANGE
The report recommends a series of strategic ideas and actions to foster effective management of any "retirement risk" to the business posed by a
potential exit wave of mature workers. Among them:

• Identify potential gaps and knowledge transfer needs
• Broaden succession planning thinking
•  Check communications mechanisms and messages for intergenerational approach
•  Review training history
•  Capitalize on affinity groups
•  Become an "employer of choice" for all generations
•  Encourage better financial planning among employees
•  Build a retiree network
•  Offer benefits of interest to mature workers such as long-term care insurance, pre-retirement planning, health and wellness programs, comprehensive medical coverage, including prescription drugs, health coverage for retirees and part-time workers, prorated benefits for employees on flexible work schedules

Source: Managing the Mature Workforce,
Report #1369-05-RR, The Conference Board






You Should Know

•  Hewitt Associates could be a potential buyer for rival consulting firm Watson Wyatt, according to financial analysis website TheStreet.com. Watson Wyatt & Co.'s shares are "too cheap" according to analyst Lenny Dykstra – who reckons Watson's Illinois-based competitor could be in the frame. (Investment and Pensions)
   
• What Glenbrook's next generation web crawlers do is analyze the forms on a web page and use artificial intelligence to walk through complicated web forms, sometimes answering questions in order to locate the desired information. Edward and Julie Komissarchik, the father and daughter brains behind this technology, use the analogy of sending out an advanced scout to 'case' a joint in order to find the location of the safe and ultimately to crack the combination to get at the riches hidden within. The scout will go through various forms and try various combinations of options to determine what results will occur. The scout will then pass this information back to the master safecracker who will use the information to devise a way to open the forms and release the information locked within them. Once the forms are opened, a team of information harvesters will gather up as much information as they can find not only from that specific form but from all similar forms that exist on that specific database, or set of databases, at that site. (see the Glendor Jobs Showcase) (it-director.com)
   
• Kim would go to the H3 site to create the job requirement information, including the $2,000 reward Company XYZ is willing to pay for a successful referral. Kim clicks on a button that allows her to use her own company's E-mail system to create an message containing that job information. Kim can send the E-mail message to other employees or contacts, asking for candidate suggestions. Those E-mail addresses are not entered into the H3 system, so those recipients' identities are protected. If, for instance, Kim sent the E-mail to 60 people, and "Craig" was among 12 people who are either interested in the job or know someone who might be qualified, Craig clicks on a link in Kim's E-mail that directs him to the H3 site. Using the H3 system, Craig can now create an E-mail about the job opening that he can send to his acquaintances and friends using his company's own E-mail system. (InformationWeek)
   
• Workforce-management software has been in existence for more than 25 years. Originally developed to help automate and sharpen call-center forecasting and solve agent-scheduling challenges, early workforce-management products ran on computer mainframes. With the advent of personal computers, however, the workforce-management market really took root, although it didn't evolve much for the next 15 years. But in the 1990s, the contact-center industry began to embrace "skill routing" -- the process of directing customers to workers with specific capabilities -- to address growing transactional complexity issues. The requirement for workforce-management software to accommodate skill routing was the first truly significant evolution in the application's history. And that evolution continues today. (NewsFactor)
   
• Komissarchik and her father, Edward Komissarchik, say they have figured out how to analyze the forms on Web pages and understand the type of information the sites are looking for. Then, Glenbrook's Web crawlers use artificial intelligence to walk themselves through sometimes complex Web forms, answering questions, such as the location of their desired job, in the same way a human would....(Software Only)
   
• Managers who aspire to senior positions have less than six years to make their way up the greasy pole before being labelled as 'career' middle-managers, with managers in the UK given less time to make the grade than those in the US. By the sixth year at middle-management level, most companies in the United States have already decided whether a middle manager has senior-level potential or has become a "career" middle manager, according to a new study from search and recruitment firm Management Recruiters International. (Management Issues)
   
• The New York Times Co. announced Tuesday that advertising revenue for the month of August increased 1.7% compared with the same period last year. Total company revenue grew 0.6%. Excluding About.com, which was acquired in March 2005, advertising revenue declined 1% for the month and total company revenue decreased 1.2%....Advertising revenue at The New York Times Media Group decreased 0.8% in August. National advertising declined while retail and classified advertising grew. Year-to-date, ad revenue grew 1.6%....Internet ad revenue for the company rose 28.3% and circulation revenue dropped 1.9% in August....(Editor and Publisher)
   
• Monster Roars At Job Search Technology The online job search site will tweak some of its offerings to permit faster job applications and shielding résumés from current employers...(WebProNews)
   
• Former San Jose Mercury News exec Lou Alexander says if Knight Ridder, Gannett or Tribune announced they were going to cut margin expectation and plow big money into journalism, they'd set off a chain of events that would likely lead to the demise of the chains. "Unquestionably the immediate result of such an announcement would be that the value of the stock would fall, maybe as much as 30% to 50%. Such a move would surely cost the CEO his job. The board would have to fire him because they have a legal obligation to protect shareholder value. And if they did not fire the CEO and restore sanity to the boardroom they would likely face legal action by the shareholders." (GradeThe News)
   
• Microsoft Corp. is considering acquiring a stake in Time Warner Inc.'s America Online Inc. unit, one of a number of possible Internet joint ventures the two companies are discussing, people familiar with the talks said. (WashingtonPost)
   

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