Joyce Gioia-Herman - Future Workforce Trends

Herman Trend Alert: Access to Healthcare Information Saves Lives

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0600

SHPS, a leading, independent provider of integrated health solutions that improve personal health and reduce spending, recently released a white paper that establishes the value of nurse line services (after-hours telephonic access to credible answers for health-related questions). The bottom line, according to the study, is that this enhanced access "increases patient safety, reduces cost".

Authored by clinical director Todd Prewitt, M.D., the document discusses the challenges that arise during after-hours medical emergencies and reviews issues confronting both patients and employers. Moreover, it validates the role of these telephonic services in providing effective and reliable solutions.

The absence of this after-hours clinical expertise and advice can be devastating for both patients and their employers, causing unnecessary emergency room visits, costly medical interventions, or even serious physical harm. The additional effect on employers is intense, stimulating many organizations to establish nurse line services.

Herman Trend Alert: CSR Meets Meetings

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Over the last couple of years, we have written about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its importance to the younger generations. Not surprisingly, we now find CSR has a rising importance in the meetings industry.

At its annual meeting last January, the Convention Industry Council (CIC) Task Force on Sustainability and Accountability for the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) held its first meeting to determine how CIC organizations can serve as resources on environmental and social responsibility issues. A short time thereafter, MPI, the Meeting Professionals International association, convened its own group of CSR experts to develop resources for its members. Meeting Planners worldwide recognize that there is a strong trend toward the importance of CSR and green everything (www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_6-27-2007.html).

Not only are there more programs presented that focus on this vital topic, but hotel chains have developed attractive programs and meeting planners are buying. Throughout North America, Kimpton Hotels has responded with a program called "Great Meetings Great Causes" which offers options from a menu that might include donations to favorite charities and/or help organizing volunteer efforts scheduled during meeting times.

Herman Trend Alert: The Near-Term Future of Air Travel

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0600

United States citizens are beginning to avoid air travel in significant numbers. This fact is in part responsible for the airlines announcing substantial cutbacks in service to a wide variety of US cities. Across the globe, airlines that expected to earn sizeable profits this year will instead have gigantic losses. . . in the billions.

The secretary general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Giovanni Bisignani recently said, "The industry is in crisis, perhaps the biggest crisis we have ever faced." (IATA members account for over 90 percent of air travel worldwide.) According to a survey commissioned by the Travel Industry Association (TIA), US citizens are looking for ways to stay away from air travel because of higher fares, security hassles, and chronic schedule and service disruptions. Ask frequent flyers and they will tell you that not only is air travel not "fun" anymore, but it is a downright chore.

Herman Trend Alert: Unemployment---the Numbers Behind the Numbers

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0600

The latest jump in the United States unemployment statistics has finally prompted us to speak out about what is really happening in the US labor marketplace and what effects these changes will have on our trading partners around the globe.

Last Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the unemployment rate is the highest since October 2004; this 10 percent boost was the biggest percentage point gain in 33 years. The Payroll Survey of employers is the basis for this increase. To its credit, the BLS does include in its notes: "in the establishment (payroll) survey, estimates for the most recent 2 months are based on substantially incomplete returns".

This increase in unemployment continues to mask the real situation. Looking at the BLS' Household Survey, in the month of May, the national unemployment percentages among adult men and women were 4.9 and 4.8. At the same time, the rate for teenagers, ages 16 to 19 jumped from 15.4 in April to 18.7 in May, an increase of 21.4 percent. While part of this increase is due to high school and community college graduations, these new job seekers do not account for this huge increase. Rather, we believe that something else is happening.

Herman Trend Alert: Mobile Web Gaining Momentum

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Recently the organization Rareplay conducted its Mobile Web Presence Survey 2008. The study found that 14 percent (141) of the "Top 1000 U.S. Brands" have mobile Web sites. To calculate the percentage, Rareplay randomly selected 1000 brands from Brandweek's 2007 list of Superbrands.. This statistic represents a 75 percent increase over similar research conducted last year which found only 8 percent of the brands had a mobile presence.

The introduction of the iPhone last year, the influx of other smartphones with larger screen sizes, higher bandwidth capacity and wireless carriers opening up their networks to greater access, have all made surfing the mobile Web closer to reality. We expect, by the end of 2008, there will be over three billion cell phones users globally. Currently, over 83 percent of the United States population or roughly 250 million people are connected through various types of mobile devices. As we have discussed in a previous email http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_3-19-2008.html , mobile web services may well be the next big thing.

Herman Trend Alert: The Economy and Job Creation, What's Really Happening?

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:00:00 -0600

On a number of occasions, we have decried the fact that "bad news sells". In spite of the fact that the press wants us to believe that the economy is in very bad shape to sell media, the United States Commerce Department reported the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) actually grew in the first quarter of 2008 at a rate of 0.6 percent.

While that level is not particularly impressive, the definition of recession is an economy with two consecutive quarters of decline in the GDP. Since the economy actually grew in the first quarter, the United States is NOT in a recession. America is certainly experiencing an economically stressed period associated with the theft, fraud, and corruption connected to the sub-prime debacle.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payroll employment decreased in April by 20,000. Job losses continued in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while employment in healthcare, professional and technical services increased.

Herman Trend Alert: Secondhand Smoke Injures Heart Cells

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Whether you live in the United States, Brazil, or China, study after study has documented the negative effects of smoking.

A just-published study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) documents the seemingly permanent adverse effects of secondhand smoke.

For a while, we have known that the children of smokers are one-third more likely to develop serious lung disease. (In high school, I was the victim of my mother's secondhand smoke.) However, this recent study confirms "brief exposure to secondhand smoking increases the risk of vascular (fluid carrying systems in the body) disease and should be a major public health concern". The increased risk of heart disease is significant.

The study followed a group of healthy nonsmokers (average age of 30.3 years) who were exposed to 30 minutes of secondhand smoke on two separate days. The levels of smoke were gauged at the same levels commonly observed in passive smokers. For the non-secondhand smoke environment, researchers simply used smoke-free air. Measurements were taken before exposure (baseline), immediately after (0 hour), and at one hour, 2.5 hours, and 24 hours after.

Social Responsibility is Good Strategy

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Many indicators point to the fact corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a wise business strategy. In our book, How to Become an Employer of Choice, we discussed that people want to work for companies that are good corporate citizens.

Moreover, one of the elements of being an Employer of Choice® is "Making a Difference". We know that when employers give their people opportunities to make a difference that the workers feel more "bonded" to the organization. In these times of a tight (and getting tighter) labor market, it is particularly important to press whichever buttons are effective in keeping people and keeping them engaged and productive.

From the scrolling list of CSR goals in the lobby of Marks and Spencer's headquarters to a handful of enlightened employers in Singapore reaching out to older workers to corporate entities like Coca-Cola working with Greenpeace to eliminate carbon emissions from its vending machines and coolers, employers around the world are expressing their support for social causes and the environment.

Job Growth at the Executive Level

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0600

The economic slowdown here in the United States is not having the expected effect on the demand for qualified executive talent.

ExecuNet's 2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report ; finds that increasing demand, along with a shortage of qualified talent and sustained economic growth overseas, are driving better than expected job growth at the executive level.

The sectors with the highest demand are High Tech, Healthcare, Business Services, Pharmaceuticals/Biotech, and Energy/Utilities. The factors credited with the continuing demand for executive talent are an aging workforce and global economic growth, despite the looming threat of recession.

The report also finds that despite evidence that the economy could continue to shed temporary and entry-level jobs, recruiting and retaining of executive-level talent will remain "a challenging priority" in 2008. More than 70 percent of search firms and corporate human resource professionals believe there is a shortage of executive talent, and two-thirds (67 percent) say the war for executive talent has intensified over the last year, amid increasing economic uncertainty. No longer is the United States economy the sole determinant executive demand.

US Losing its Tourism Lead to China April 23, 2008

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0600

For years, the United States has held the number one position as the world’s most popular travel destination. However, according to the World Tourism Organization, by 2015 China will be number one.

Some hotel chains, including Wyndham Worldwide, are already making moves to capitalize on this trend. The chain opened its first hotel in Beijing in 2004. Since then, it has grown to have 67 properties in China, including Howard Johnson and Days Inn locations.

The chain Super 8 intends to double its mainland locations by the end of the year. According to Mitchell Presnick, Super 8 China's chief executive, "When economies experience this kind of growth, one of the first things that happens is people want to travel". (from BusinessWeek)

Returning Vets Make Great Workers

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0600

Sandy Westlund-Deenihan, CEO of Quality Float Works in Schaumberg, Illinois is a model employer. "Nobody is really addressing the issues of greater numbers of people (returning veterans) coming out of the war with disabilities", said Westlund-Deenihan. Advances in battleground medical science have kept more wounded soldiers alive.

Having lived through the ordeal with family members, Westlund-Deenihan is on a personal campaign to hire and fast-track returning vets. The technology used in the military translates well to advanced manufacturing. In addition to having technological skills, they get themselves to work on time and stay focused. Some returning veterans are told to "dummy down", because they make their supervisors look bad.

Westlund-Deenihan also laments the fact that many employers are "uneducated" about the costs of hiring people with disabilities, as well as compliance issues. "They have no idea what outstanding employees these veterans make", she adds. "They even make excellent mentors for younger employees."

Herman Trend Alert: Brazil's Bright Future April 9, 2008

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0600

When Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia traveled to Brazil in the 1990s to talk about the future of Brazil, they characterized the country as "a sleeping giant---just about to awaken".

The well-respected investment firm of Goldman Sachs has given the designation of "BRIC" to the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In fact, the investment leader even offers an index fund of BRIC investments. The fund was created to tap these countries' "tremendous growth potential".

Recently, a futurist colleague Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Director of Research for the renowned European Futures Observatory in the United Kingdom, highlighted the significant lack of western press attention to Brazil, compared to attention given to Russia, India, and China. He conducted his own informal research and discovered that since 1997, "The Economist" Magazine has featured 2,282 articles on Brazil, compared to 3,762 on India, 4,640 on Russia, and 6,845 on China.

Our Tolerance for Uncertainty

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:03:29 -0600

On the LONG flights (total over 20 hours in the air) to Southeast Asia earlier this week, I had the opportunity to reflect on the previous few weeks. I remembered that my actual flight arrangements for 3-April had not been booked until very late in March. . .and that I had been waiting for a prospective client in Kuala Lumpur (KL) to decide when/if they wanted to schedule the two-day workshop that had been in discussions for months.

Just after they had opted to postpone the engagement until my next visit--due to internal project challenges--another prospect woke up and emailed to ask if it was too late to get onto my crowded schedule. After not booking until the last minute, I still ended up changing my flight arrangements three times to accommodate the new client.

As my professional speaker colleagues will confirm, our clients have been booking us to speak with less and less notice. My engagements for 2-April and 23-April in the US were both booked within six weeks of the date of delivery.

I think it is valuable to look at what's happening, why, and what it means to organizations moving forward. First, as we have said so many times before: the world is changing at an ever-increasing rate. The future is here today; that future we thought would take years to arrive.

Herman Trend Alert: U.S. Employee Confidence Index Declines

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0600

The Spherion Employee Confidence Index, a monthly measure of workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation, fell for the seventh consecutive time last month. With this decline, it reached the lowest level since the survey's inception in 2004.

We see two reasons for this downturn: first, the United States has experienced negative job creation for the last two months, last month losing 63,000 jobs, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics; second, the media continues to beat the drum of doom and gloom, because "Bad news sells." We have written about the media's effect before. http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_8-15-2007.html

Herman Trend Alert: Making HR Metrics Serve the Bottom Line

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0600

In our 2008 Workforce/Workplace Forecast, we discussed the growing importance of metrics (measurement) in Human Resources to drive more money to the bottom line. http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_12-12-2007.html

Recently, we met Janet Walsh, President of Birchtree-HR, Llc, the person who coined the term "Human Capital Financial Management" (HCFM). "In HCFM, we evaluate investments in people for their returns and link them to business strategy," said Walsh. "Research studies conclusively prove organizations that link human capital programs with business strategy enjoy six to 38 percent higher return on total capital than those that don't," she added. The best systems are the ones where there is a "clear line of sight" between the people programs and the business strategy.

A global Human Resource consultant, focusing on HR strategy, compensation and performance management, Walsh is often asked, "How do I link the business strategy of the company to my programs?" Agreeing with our previous Herman Trend Alert, "the future of training will be gaming and simulation" http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_2-11-2004.html , Walsh and her colleagues created an HR simulation, called "At the Table".