Reveille and Hyperbole

Until recently, a company gym, a matching 401k plan, and an employee-of-the-month preferred parking stall were the best tools available for companies seeking to cultivate worker loyalty. But now some forward-thinking businesses in the San Joaquin Valley are looking at a new, non-traditional way to care for their employees' personal needs—hiring a workplace chaplain to make regular onsite visits to mingle and meet with their employees. Launched in August by Paul Gendron, a former pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Visalia, Workforce Chaplaincy was created to address the emotional and spiritual needs of employees at Valley businesses. The organization offers support to individuals facing a variety of common workplace issues as well as personal, marital or family related matters through its staff chaplains who provide confidential listening and guidance, crisis intervention and prayer when requested.

BostonWorks kicked off Big Help Week today, with a week of online events, job listings and resources all designed to offer the local job seeker the best information for finding a job in Greater Boston. The 2006 January Big Help appeared in the January 8 issue of the Boston Sunday Globe and online at www.bostonworks.com. This edition of the Big Help featured more than 23,000 jobs across a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, hospitality, finance, technology, biotechnology and many more. In anticipation of the Big Help, more than 5,000 new job seekers posted resumes on the site in the past seven days.

Recent studies have published alarming statistics: Half of employees are disengaged at work. Top enterprises are redefining the war for talent and preparing for the talent needs of tomorrow--helping widespread disengagement. Appropriately, the Engagement feature in the January issue of Workforce Performance Solutions magazine examines how to re-engage the workforce through a growth strategy, along with three types of change: transformational, return and incremental. 

ARINSO International, a provider of HR Technology Consulting & Outsourcing Services, has acquired  OpenHR, a leading provider of pre-packaged eHR templates & solutions and a highly respected SAP NetWeaver partner.

Deck Chairs

Hot Topic, Inc. (HOTT) announced today that Robin Elledge has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Robin will be responsible for recruiting, employee relations, training, compensation, culture and organizational development.





You Should Know
Global:

• Baby boomers find it hard to walk away from the job Many plan to work after peers retire Jim Wolf has had a long career in measuring things. Just out of the University of Minnesota in 1973, with double master's degrees in physics and business, Wolf invented a satellite instrument to measure particles in the Earth's radiation belts. Switching gears, he applied his analytical acumen to business matters as varied as Dayton Hudson's corporate performance standards and the sale of automobile tires. At 58, Wolf finds that some of his friends are retiring. But he wants to keep working until he's 65, and probably beyond. He's motivated partly by the paycheck and partly by the sense that he still has contributions to make. (Seattle PI)
  
• Outsourcing heads for home 'Home-shoring' is the next big thing The use of customer service agents working from home will continue to gain momentum until at least 2010, analysts have predicted. A newly published IDC study noted that the practice of employing home-based agents, which the analyst firm calls "home-shoring", is being driven by the need for more productive agents. However, the study also reported that 'home-shoring' can deliver higher agent retention rates and the ability to respond more flexibly to peaks and troughs in voice traffic. (VNUNet)
  
• Other Regions Chip Away at Asia's Contact-Center Outsourcing Lead Japanese companies are leading the way in near-shoring their contact-center activities, with Japan-to-China the dominant pattern, Bruce Rutherford, international director and head of Jones Lang LaSalle's contact center group, told CRM Buyer. But the greatest flow overall is still from the United States to Asia. (CRMNews)

• Indian legal eagles join BPO boom They are among the more recent entrants to the outsourcing party. They are the Indian lawyers. If industry reports are any indication, the country's legal eagles could well give much muscle to India's knowledge process outsourcing growth story. The legal services sector is tipped to be the next big offshore destination and corporate lawyers are increasingly hopping on to the outsourcing bandwagon and are handling prestigious international clients. Recent industry reports peg the annual value of legal outsourcing at $80 mn and predict that it will rise up to $4 bn by 2015 - that translates to almost 80,000 more jobs for lawyers in India. (IBNLive)
  
• CVs now commoditising people The recruitment process today is missing the wood for the trees. It is so marketing driven that the human resources (HR) aspect is getting overshadowed. The person and his individuality do not come into the picture until very late in the recruitment process. This is leading to a commoditisation of the individual and prospective employee. In the process the chance of incorrect recruitments is raising and many job seekers are finding themselves disappointed at the end. This process is driven foremost by the `curriculum vitae (CV) making industry? that has emerged and grown over the last few years. All jobsites on the Internet offer their services for a price. The websites promise you a CV that will land you where you want to. There are also many job consultants who offer their services for this. (Management and Marketing)
  
• Booming semiconductor industry begins talent hunt The Indian semiconductor industry is ready to boom, believe industry representatives. While the number of semiconductor companies setting up shop in India is on the rise, so is the demand for human resources. However, doubts are being raised on whether the supply can equal the burgeoning demand at this point in time. Companies are, therefore, initiating campus programmes to create more awareness, train students and thereby recruit the best of the available few. (Business Standard)

• IT Executives Marvel At City's Outsourcing Scope High-level executives from the US and European Fortune 500 and 1000 listed companies were left marvelling at Russia's IT outsourcing industry after being brought together with the country's leading software outsourcers at ExecutEVE – the First Exclusive IT Outsourcing Event that took place in St. Petersburg last month. Aimed at international executives in Russia, the event was organized by RUSSOFT, the largest association of software companies in Russia and the CIS. (St. PetersburgTimes)

• The role of online recruitment in the African travel and hospitality industry Worldwide, the Internet Recruiting Industry has grown from $250 Million in 1999 to almost $8 Billion in 2005*. Local research shows that Africa is following international trends in the success of online recruitment as both job seekers and recruiters adopt this method of recruitment. In South Africa alone, over a quarter of all Internet users look for jobs online. (bizcommunity)

• Elementary School Teacher Launches New Small Business Job Search Engine Small business job search engine ready for deployment As a recent graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in Information Systems, Natea Wallace, 26, had hopes of being a prized teacher. As an undergraduate, I received financial support from the National Science Foundation to teach within the Newark Public Schools. I really enjoyed this opportunity and looked forward to continuing full-time after college. After graduation, I applied for the New York City Teaching Fellows Program and was accepted in July 2004. (
  
• There may be an alcohol problem brewing in American offices, shops and factories. An estimated 15 percent of the U.S. workforce consumes alcohol on the job, has a drink before going to work or otherwise is under the influence of alcohol, according to a study by the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions. That equates to some 19.2 million workers impaired during the workday via intoxication, withdrawal or hangover."Clear policies should be in place regarding alcohol impairment and impairment at work," wrote Doctor Michael Frone, principal investigator of the study. (Reuters)

70 Percent of HR Managers Concerned about Workforce Retention, According to Monster Study; Related Aberdeen Group Report Further Explores Worker Turnover

Monster(R), the leading global online careers and recruitment resource and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (MNST), released a study, "Retention Strategies for 2006 and Beyond." The research examines HR managers' attitudes toward turnover and workforce retention, and identifies actionable strategies for retaining and motivating top employees. A separate report released today by Aberdeen Group and sponsored by Monster, "Retaining Talent: Retention and Succession in the Corporate Workforce," further explores retention and succession issues.

Key Takeaways
-- Recruiters and hiring managers are not only cognizant of retention issues, but are concerned about their current and future impact on organizational growth

Of the HR managers surveyed:
-- 70 percent feel worker retention is already a primary concern
-- 40 percent state that turnover has increased in the past 12 months
-- 55 percent expect workforce retention will be a high to very high challenge for their organization in the next five years
-- Employee satisfaction surveys are used by 69 percent of respondents yet most are conducted as an ad-hoc process and only 32 percent report making personnel and workplace changes as a result of the findings

The U.S. workforce continued to grow and added 79 million workers between 1950 and 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In contrast, over the next 50 years (2000 - 2050) American businesses are expected to face a decrease in the available workforce. This decrease is due, in part, to a proportionately smaller generation of talent replacing Baby Boomers who are retiring or transitioning to part-time roles
.
"Our study reveals that recruiters and hiring managers are not only cognizant of the retention issue, but are concerned about its current and future impact on organizational growth," said Dr. Jesse Harriott, VP of Research at Monster. "Businesses of all sizes and across all industries must develop - and implement - creative programs and strategies to attract and hire top candidates while retaining and motivating current employees. As the talent pool shrinks, it is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure businesses are properly prepared and staffed for the future."

Workforce Retention: A Growing Concern

More than two-thirds (70 percent) of HR managers surveyed feel that worker retention is already a primary concern, in part due to a slowly improving economy, higher demand for workers, and a workforce that has become confident in their ability to seek and obtain alternative employment. Forty percent state that turnover has increased in the past 12 months, while more than half (55 percent) expect workforce retention will be a high to very high challenge for their organization in the next five years.

Constant Monitoring of Worker Sentiment

Understanding employee attitudes throughout the employment lifecycle is increasingly critical to successfully managing retention. Employee satisfaction surveys are used by 69 percent of respondents, yet most are conducted as an ad-hoc process and 32 percent report making personnel and workplace changes as a result of the findings. It is vital for HR managers to not only seek employee satisfaction information but to implement, where appropriate, this feedback into the working environment.

According to the Aberdeen Group study, 41 percent of respondents report retention begins with hiring and onboarding. This finding compliments Monster's research, which found that only 27 percent of firms always use onboard interviews as a technique to gauge new hire satisfaction while 48 percent of firms always use exit interviews. Firms have an opportunity to place a greater emphasis on monitoring the satisfaction of new hires and continuing these assessments throughout the employee lifecycle, rather than focusing on departing employees.

"In anticipation of a worker shortage, it is critical for HR managers to find, attract and hire today's top talent," said Jesse Harriott. "Extensive pre-screening and applicant assessment, as well as consistent onboarding interviews, can help identify optimal candidates to fill open positions."

Making Retention a Business Objective

Prioritizing retention among other key business objectives will be of crucial importance moving forward. Monster's survey showed that more than 75 percent of HR managers believe compensation is one of the top three reasons why employees leave. While compensation is an important consideration, not all companies can deliver this competitive advantage. Companies must also create a comprehensive plan that will inspire worker loyalty and commitment.

Select strategies recommended by surveyed companies include:
-- Make supervisors more accountable for worker retention by tying compensation to turnover metrics.
-- Create an environment that promotes work/life balance by instituting policies that encourage and support a satisfying personal life.
-- Pursue succession planning to enable a workplace where employee expectations are clearly articulated. Additionally, offer learning and development programs that groom employees for future management roles, not just one specific job.
-- Build performance-based HR systems to identify and proactively manage top percentile employees. When possible, promote from within.
-- Develop a mentoring program that matches new employees with seasoned veterans.
-- Use tools to continuously and frequently monitor sentiment throughout the employee lifecycle. Exit interview information should be distributed to senior management in an effort to drive organizational change.
-- Create an employment brand "experience" that not only motivates and energizes employees, but can be used to attract new talent.

PDF files of Monster's "Retention Strategies for 2006 and Beyond" research study and Aberdeen Group's "Retaining Talent: Retention and Succession in the Corporate Workforce," report are available to view in their entirety at http://info.monster.com/intelligence/8652_en-US_p1.asp.

Survey Methodology

The findings presented in this report are the results of telephone interviews and a nationwide online survey conducted by Monster between August and October 2005. The research sample consisted of 600 HR managers whose responsibilities gave them intimate knowledge of the retention practices and strategies within their respective company. The HR managers were selected from a list of diverse industries and ranged in size from companies with fewer than 25 employees to firms with more than 2,000 employees.