HR Management US

Big Brother Japanese cell phone

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:34:00 +0000

Compulsive mobile phone users beware: Big Brother could be watching you! Researchers at the Japanese phone giant KDDI have created a controversial mobile phone that can survey employees' movements, down to the minutest detail.

The phone works by emitting the movements of the user, and beaming them back to HQ for assessment. The accelerometers used to detect movement are so sensitive within the handset that researchers can even identify when the user is climbing stairs or cleaning.

Mobile phone monitoring is not a totally new concept, as motion sensors can currently be used to detect simple movements, like walking or running. However, the new mobile has taken this a step further, and can pinpoint exact movements, like a cleaner scrubbing or sweeping.

"We are now at a stage where we can offer managers a chance to analyse[...]the behaviour of staff." Mr Yokoyama told BBC News, "But this is not about curtailing employees' rights to privacy. We'd rather [...] think our creation more of a caring, mothering system rather than a Big Brother approach to watching over citizens."

Such extreme employee monitoring has risen red flags amongst many people in Japan. "It beggars belief that a prominent company such as KDDI could come up with such a surveillance system. It's totally irresponsible." Said Human Right's lawyer, Kazuo Hizumi, "This is treating people like machines, like so many cattle to be monitored and watched over."

The argument will continue between the investment of cash toward worthwhile or invasive technology.

The next step for distance learning

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0000

While most people tend to envisage distance learning as simply being made up of internet-based classes, new research suggests that more and more employers are now implementing satellite networks to help train their employees.

In particular, statistics show that the Government Education and Training Network (GETN) is being used by agencies to continue the education of their workforces. Courses covered by the GETN include acquisition management, hazardous waste management, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, medical training, contract and environmental law, leadership development and many others.

Training network

Evidence also shows that 17 agencies primarily use GETN to train their own employees in specific areas, using their own courses.

According to Philip Westfall, president of the Federal Government Distance Learning Association, who contributed to the establishment of interactive television network, GETN now reaches 2300 sites in the US and around the world.

What's more, while educating via satellite is nothing new, the fact that 17 agencies are co-operating through the network and sharing equipment and facilities to make education more cost effective is of particular significance.

"The most significant advantage is the fact that we're saving a lot of money because we're acting as a single group to buy bandwidth," Westfall said. And once the technology is in place, satellite also saves over paying travel costs for employees to attend classes in person.

Same difference

Satellite courses, which are typically conducted live, also provide good interactivity between the instructor and students, according to Westfall. "For example," he explains, "one accrediting agency in the medical community will not allow credit for self-directed courses taken in an office environment. They have to be classroom- or satellite-taught, where there's more control - and satellite interactive television best emulates the classroom setting."

Studies also show that learning is about the same whether students are enrolled in residence or distance learning, and Westfall believes that as traditional classes can easily be converted into satellite courses, the interactivity of this style of teaching could be the future.

"It doesn't matter if you have 300 students in one auditorium or a few students in 100 places, except that students might feel more comfortable speaking up if they're in a smaller group," Westfall said.

"Interactive television is suitable both for training - teaching how to do something a certain way or to meet particular standards; and for more academic education - preparation to anticipate and deal with problems, and learning the laws behind subjects," he added.

Matthew Buttell

Matt Buttell graduated from Bath Spa University in 2006. Since then he has written for several publications, before moving to the web. He now writes solely for the internet, continuing to cover key business issues while managing his own personal blog.

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Is the US Postal Service on its last legs? | Google: a cultural success story? | e-Learning foundation warns children are ill-equipped

The Death of the US Postal Service?

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:36:00 +0000

With letters, bills and even junk mail coming into your inbox instead of your post box, the US Postal Service was always going to suffer.

It has been estimated that the US Postal Service (USPS) will undergo a 10 billion “piece” volume decrease this year, in part to increased e-mail use of 'snail mail' but primarily because of crippling debt and increasing competition in the private sector.

Competition from companies like FedEx and UPS have seen the USPS propose a drastic shake-up; they have, in order to cut costs, announces plans to stop Saturday delivery, raise delivery prices, reduce national workforce by 30,000 people, and reduce overtime opportunities.

The idea behind the plan to reduce to a five-day week has previously worked for the company in 2009, when it recorded a $3.8 billion deficit. However, the USPS is now saddled with $10 billion in debt and is only allowed to borrow a maximum of $15 billion to bail itself out.

However FedEx and UPS have not had the same woes, posting record profits (2009 saw FedEx make a total revenue of $35.5 billion and $98 million in profits while UPS made $45.3 billion in revenue and $2.2 billion in profits) and having no problem staying afloat, so why is USPS failing?

Rules and regulations

The USPS has never had it easy; rules and regulations have long dictated how the service can charge and handle everyday business. As such, this has crippled the company's ability to make a steady profit.

When the likes of UPS and FedEx can charge whatever they want, it immediately gives USPS a disadvantage. However, private companies are most likely going to feel the sting of USPS's new strategy.

USPS and private companies have a mutually beneficial arrangement with USPS frequently delivering more than 400 million pieces of mail for them each year. In return, USPS contracts private firms to deliver packages via air. However, by suspending Saturday services, FedEx and UPS will no doubt see their margins suffer as a result.

They won't be the only ones; companies that rely on USPS such as Amazon and eBay will no doubt suffer as a result, and is likely that they will be forced to form a partnership with a private company to resume services. If private firms do pick up these lucrative contracts, USPS's standing will become even weaker.

While the latest series of cutbacks is hoping to reduce USPS's deficit, it is simply the latest in a long, long line of cost saving measures. Since 2002, the company has cut costs by $43 billion by reducing overtime limitations, shrinking workforce, and renegotiating contracts, but the debt keeps mounting.

To the outsider, it looks like USPS is fighting a losing battle. Will the latest measures be enough to keep the company afloat or is the US Postal Service destined to sink?

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Google: a cultural success story?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:47:00 +0000

Currently ranked as fourth on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list, search engine king Google is just one of those companies that people are itching to work for. But while Google's culture is often steeped in praise, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has controversially said that the real reason Google is successful is simply this: "It got there first."

A look at Google's quirky perks might seem like an indication as to why the firm is riding so high: Last year, Google increased 401(k) matching and added a stock-option exchange program to help employees with underwater options. What's more - and perhaps most famously - Google engineers still get 20 percent of their time to develop their own projects.

In essence, Google seems to understand the future better than any of its competitors, right? Well, according to Ballmer: wrong. Speaking at the SMX West conference in California earlier this week, Ballmer - the man behind rival search engine Bing - said that Google's success was not tangibly linked to the company's culture, in fact, argued the Microsoft executive, it had instead spun out of the fact that it became successful in web search before its rivals.

"The number one thing that Google benefits from in search is that they did it right, first," he said. "There's a value to incumbency. You can ascribe these things to things like culture, but it's never clear which came first - incumbency or culture."

"Long-term optimism"

Of course, Ballmer also used the opportunity to lament about Microsoft's own culture. He admitted that the software giant had been late to produce a mature, usable search engine technology, but believed that - with Bing - was growing market share in the US, and believed that, eventually, Microsoft could become the dominant search engine

"We've got great long-term optimism," he said. "Tomorrow's goal is to gain a few points, a tenth here, a tenth there - just keep working and working."

But his comments about culture will be seen as a sideswipe at Google, say analysts - a company that has built a reputation based in part on its attempt to build a culture diametrically opposed to Microsoft's.

In fact, for HR managers, Google offers something unmatched to its workers that continues to keep the search engine giant at the for front of leaders' minds when it comes to "the perfect place to work."

Google's perks, which have admittedly seen some cuts in recent years, remain legendary, and Google's success has to be linked to that instilled sense of culture.

In 2008, when Google were ranked as Number 1 on Fortune's list of Best Place to Work, HR Management spoke exclusively with Lazlo Bock, Vice President of People Operations who told us: "If you think about Google, we are a tremendously innovative company with a huge amount of freedom across just about everything we do. We are also a company that operationally executes extremely well.

"It takes a tremendous amount of process and structure, balanced with with a tremendous amount of creativity and insight to be able to constantly improve."

Matthew Buttell

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The great bullying debate

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:43:00 +0000

The allegations made against UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week have pulled the issue of workplace bullying into the limelight. But the problem, analysts suggest, is nothing new.

The concern has been highlighted in the UK in a report undertaken by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and public service trade union Unison in January of this year, which identified that one in 10 employees are likely to experience workplace bullying and harassment.

The report also found that more than one third of workers have said they were bullied in the past six months, which is double the number a decade ago.

Stress

According to Dr. Linka Alker, a principal lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, who writes on Reuters today, workplace bullying is one of the greatest sources of stress that you can put upon your employees.

Alker, who specializes in organisational change, leadership and workplace stress, writes that "organizations and managers are often slow to react to cases of bullying because bullying is not always accepted as a credible label for the kind of abuse that many employees face in the workplace."

The concern is that the word "bullying" carries with it strong connotations with childhood or playground bullying, and the difficulties victims experience at school, suggesting that they don't want to label what is happening to them at work as "bullying" out of fear of sounding childish or unable to cope.

However, evidence - such as the report conducted by ACAS and Unison - highlights that workplace bullying is increasing.

Allegations

The issue of workplace bullying has come to the fore in the last fortnight after serious allegations were made against Britain's leader Gordon Brown. Last week Christine Pratt, spokeswoman for the National Bullying Helpline service, came forward to say that members of staff who work within Gordon Brown's office had contacted the service.

She said that while she was not insinuating that the British Prime Minister was actually a bully, "staff in his office working directly with him [do] have issues."

The biggest concern surrounding the issue of workplace bullying is that it can often be hard for workers to know where to draw the line between a gruff management style and intimidation of a more personal nature.

Ultimately though the messages coming out of the industry are clear: HR managers should have zero tolerance for intimidation or bullying.

And the advice if you do think you are being bullied? Put simply you should try to establish whether the behaviour you are being subjected to really does constitute as bullying. From there, psychologist suggest that employees should try to find out if anyone else they work with is suffering from or has witnessed bullying behaviour from the person concerned; keep a diary of incidents, including dates, witnesses and your feelings at the time and keep copies of emails you think form a wider pattern of bullying; make the person aware of his or her behaviour and ask them to stop - or, if you can't confront the person, consider putting your objections to him or her in writing, keeping copies of any correspondence and maintaining an unemotive tone that only states the facts.

Complaints can also be made if think you are being bullied on the grounds of age, sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or any personal characteristic.

Matthew Buttell

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US Navy closer to having females

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:24:00 +0000

Officials have today announced that the US defence department has decided to allow women to serve aboard submarines. According to reports, the recommendation has been approved by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and letters have now been sent to Congress informing them of the plan.

The BBC reports that the move comes as the US Army's Chief of Staff, General George Casey, said it was time to revisit rules restricting women from working in combat roles. Congress will now have 30 days to approve the measure.

Raise the bar

Currently, female employees are barred from traditional "frontline" roles in the armed forces, but General Casey yesterday told Congress that he strongly supported a reconsideration of this ruling. Speaking before Congress, he said, "I strongly believe that it is time that we look at what women are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and then review our policies."

The reconsideration makes for interesting reading, considering that 15 percent of all US Navy personnel are now female. In fact, women have worked alongside men on surface ships and aircraft since 1993.

Cramped conditions

Until now, the biggest argument against female workers being aboard submarines has been that the cramped conditions would make living aboard the ship difficult for both sexes - but in an age where sexual discrimination and equality for all are both hot topics for HR managers, it seems that the US Navy are changing tact.

Ultimately though, whatever decision is reached, it is expected to be a year before the first females can be trained for US submarine duties. It is also anticipated that the great vessels will need to be modified along with entry policies so that the ships can accommodate both male and female quarters.

Matthew Buttell

e-Learning foundation warns children are ill-equipped

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:09:00 +0000

An e-Learning foundation in the UK has warned that children living in the poorest households in the country may never fully engage with the digital economy unless action is taken. With digital mediums becoming more and more crucial to business success, the issue highlights a potential future problem for HR leaders.

While the issue highlighted in today's news is UK-centric, it is easily applied to the US economy also. In fact, while statistics from Internet World Stats shows that 74.2 percent of Northern Americans are now online, the figures show that a number of Americans remain unconnected to the world wide web and are therefore not engaging with the digital economy.

"Severe poverty"

The warning, which has been made by the e-Learning Foundation - the UK's only national charity dedicated to eradicating the digital divide for schoolchildren in the UK - comes in light of a recent Save the Children report that found four million children are living in poverty in the UK and 1.7 million are in "severe poverty". According to the report, 19 percent of all children in London fall into this category. The report coincides with the release of the latest National Statistics Office’s Family Spending Survey figures.

Valerie Thompson, Chief Executive of the e-Learning Foundation, explained that "in an age when technology is all pervasive, it beggars belief that we still have to monitor the extent to which young learners have access to the internet and a computer at home for their education.

"Time is fast running out to bridge the digital divide in this country, engage parents in their children's learning and develop the whole family's IT skills to broaden their horizons and help them out of the poverty trap," concluded Thompson.

Next generation of workers

The concerns for HR leaders are obvious. Given that these children will one day become the next generation of workers, the chance that these people will be lacking in knowledge about technology and the internet - how critical components of global businesses operate - means that a refocusing of e-Learning is likely.

In the UK, for instance, the e-Learning Foundation is now playing a key role in the government's Home Access program. Launched in January the scheme aims to support schools keen to help their families to successfully apply for their Home Access grant and purchase a computer and one year of internet access. The program is set to help as many as 270,000 families in England.

Matthew Buttell

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Female leaders at an advantage

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Continuing HRM's exploration of what leadership really means, a new report released today has suggested that female leaders could be placed at an advantage as traditionally "feminine" qualities become highly sort after in the workplace.

The study, conducted by worldwide executive development firm ASPIRE, is based on the responses of more than 300 global leaders, and found that so-called "transformational" behaviors - which include things such as long-term vision, teamwork, empowerment and effective communication skills - now form an essential part of the leadership skills that are critical for the future of the global economy.

Traditionally this is the domain of women and was once considered as a hindrance to their effectiveness in the workplace, now though these skills are now to be so critical to successful leadership that analysts believe female leaders may be put an advantage in the workplace.

Highly-valued

The research suggests that these behaviors, combined with new transformational traits such as ethical decision making and parenting skills, once labelled as "feminine" and "soft", are now highly-valued. According to a new measure, Leadership Intelligence, behavior like making that high risk/high reward deal in record time and never mind the consequences is out.

So do women make better leaders? Well, according to the research women tend to be better leaders because they tend to improve their skills with age and business or parenting experience. The study suggests that those who are seen to have the most leadership ability take jobs to make a difference and have a challenge in a company they believe in. They are frustrated by hierarchies, work-life balance and lack of opportunities to do what they came for.

Integrity

Results also show that survey participants cited Barack Obama for his "inspiring vision, courage, intelligence and integrity", Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, for her "courage and pragmatic approach", and a host of other political, business and sports leaders who they believe have a vision, stand for something and have made a difference.

It seems, then, that is hope for an influx of female leaders. "The old school style of many politicians and corporate CEOs is on the way out," says Dr. Samantha Collins, Founder and Director of ASPIRE. "Despite significant advancements, women are still underrepresented in today’s boardrooms—something that needs to be rectified.

"This is not just a female issue, this is a leadership issue that needs to be solved by both men and women," she adds. “The time is now. Ask yourself what your company will do to develop the new generation of leaders?"

Matthew Buttell

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The great dating at work debate

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:08:00 +0000

A new report suggests that while office relationships can help kick-star a career, relationships can also turn out to be repressive and hinder careers from flourishing.

According to researchers at Carnegie Training, while a large proportion of workers have had amorous relations with colleagues, the involvement of office rivals or a boss can be detrimental, and see the relationship turning sour.

Peter Handel, one of the researchers behind the study, explained to the BBC that "there is always a danger of exploitation." He says the real problem comes in when one person has power over another.

Handel, trains personnel departments in 75 countries on how to deal with such a sensitive and difficult subject. "There are two real issues we have to contend with here," he explains. "How can one be sure that the relationship is consensual, without any subtle or direct coercion, and is there a conflict of interest."

A matter of politics

Of course, office politics are an issue that are mostly dealt with on an company-by-company basis, with no specific rules applying across the board. While some companies may impose a complete ban on liaisons between co-workers, for instance, other companies may choose to turn a blind eye.

Handel believes that a complete ban can be counter-productive, though he does admit that relationships can cause a problem that may interfere with the smooth running of an organization. As he explains, "If a co-worker is sleeping with the boss, how do you know if that person is not getting better pay rises and better assignments?"

Many companies will move one of the participants elsewhere, but that can create further problems of a different kind. For instance, if you move a junior partner, it may not be very fair, but if you move a senior partner, you may lose a good leader.

Handel's advice? Well, conventional wisdom suggest that relationships with colleagues should to be deplored - and if it is with the boss, then you should run a mile.

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401(k) plans help small businesses

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:09:00 +0000

As the economy shows signs of recovery, retirement savings are becoming a key issue for HR professionals in 2010. What's more, a new report out today explores how entrepreneurs are turning to 401(k)s to fund start-up businesses.

However, relying on retirement savings to fund a business venture remains a significant gamble. In fact, according to findings by the US Small Business Administration, only about half of small businesses survive at least five years and - as the recession hit two years ago - the number of small-business bankruptcy filings went up significantly (44 percent from the third quarter of 2008 to the same quarter in 2009) according to credit experts Equifax.

As Credit.com's Gerri Detweiler, puts it: "A small business is risky, and when you combine it with your retirement funds to launch the business, you are multiplying your risk. It's easy to get caught up in the immediate needs of your business, but the last thing you want is to have your business fail and have nothing for retirement."

Nonetheless, as a report on USA Today explains, 401(k)s are proving to be a lucrative option for start-ups. And according to the article, the reason retirement savings offer such a healthy option is because they could allow entrepreneurs the chance to start a business without getting hit by taxes and early-withdrawal penalties.

Crossroads

The advice, when looking to fund a new business with savings, is to take one of two routes. The simple option, according to analysts, is not all that different than a regular 401(k) loan and allows an entrepreneur to leave a corporate job and take the 401(k) savings from that company to the new business by establishing a plan in that business' name.

Analysts say that at that point, a traditional 401(k) loan can be taken from the new firm's 401(k) plan.

The other option is more complex, and is often referred to as a ROBS loan - Rollovers as Business Start-ups, so-named by the IRS.

And ultimately, while little reliable data exists about how many entrepreneurs use retirement nest eggs to start businesses, business analysts are pushing the idea as the ailing economy spoils many funding options.

Whether the trend will catch on remains to be seen: but the focus on 401(k) options looks set to continue. According to a report by the National Small Business Association, for instance, 39 percent of small-business owners said they were unable to get adequate financing last year, and more than the 22 percent said the same in August 2008, suggesting that - if there really is stability in the 401(k) funding model, analysts are likely to continue the push.

Matthew Buttell

Matt Buttell graduated from Bath Spa University in 2006. Since then he has written for several publications, before moving to the web. He now writes solely for the internet, continuing to cover key

business issues while managing his own personal blog.

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Leadership vs. Showmanship

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:30:00 +0000

Issues associated to leadership have long been a focal point for HR managers. And in recent years, with the human resources sector fuelling itself to become more and more integral to the mechanisms of a company's genetic make-up, leadership has taken on a whole new dynamic.

But what really makes a good leader? In a series of reports investigating what defines leadership - culminating in a week-long special report - HRM will explore the concepts behind being a leader, and ask questions as to whether leadership is something that can be taught or instead requires a predisposition to actually want to take control?

Today though, we begin by exploring the differences between "leadership" and "showmanship" and ask whether being a leader really requires you to "play a certain role?"

Playing the part

The first assault on the the showmanship versus leadership debate really comes courtesy of political opinion and research website The Daily Caller, on which columnist Benjamin Domenech explores whether President Barack Obama - undeniably the world's greatest leader, at least in a political sense - is really leading at all, or simply just putting on a spectacle to appease the US.

Not to over-simplify Domenech's fascinating argument, but he's some of what he writes: "The announcement over the weekend of Obama's latest gambit to restart his stalled health care legislation came in a live interview with Katie Couric before the Super Bowl [...] There was no shift in policy, no offer to begin from the beginning, no sign he had learned the lessons of Massachusetts. Obama merely offered the Republican minority a vague opportunity for a televised summit on health care and reiterated his commitment to get something - anything - passed."

Essentially, Domenech argues that Obama is relying more and more on spearing to lead, instead of actually leading "Obama and the Democrat leadership will once more troop before the cameras" he writes.

His argument is strictly political, but does correlate closely with the business world. Domenech writes, "Obama could have inserted himself into the decision-making process on health care policy at any time [...] Instead he chose to give speeches long on platitudes and short on details and leave the hard work to Congress."

True or not, the same problem stands for business leaders who may well lament about getting the job done but then kick back and let underlings and co-workers actually accomplish the task. And there is clearly a fine line between delegating and shirking all sense of responsibility.

Performance Innovation

The significance of workplace leadership can probably be best summed up by the recent study conducted by Psychometrics Canada, a leading assessment publisher and consultant for the development and selection of people in business, government and education.

According to their recent study, which involved a poll of 517 HR professionals across Canada, leadership is seen as an important area of organizational functioning and development. In fact, the majority (63.2 percent) see leaders as having a lot of influence over their organizations' success, with only 2.5 percent reporting that leaders have very little influence.

The study also found that the most common effects of good leadership are increased motivation (85.5 percent), improved working relationships (85.1 percent), higher team performance (80.7 percent), better solutions to problems (68.9 percent), and major innovations (41.6 percent).

What's more, the study also explores the negative side to leadership, reporting that HR professionals have witnessed good people quitting and a lack of morale (91.7 percent), employees’ skills not being utilized (87.2 percent), feuding staff members (68.3 percent), and failed projects (60 percent).

While such findings don't necessarily hint at the showmanship/leadership debate, they do hint at the idea that without solid leadership, morale can slip and a workforce can be divided. The full Psychometrics Canada report can be viewed here.

More on leadership next week.

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Dressing for work

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:52:00 +0000

It's fair to assume that getting dressed in the mornings shouldn't pose much of a problem for most office workers, but interestingly, several recent studies into the area suggest otherwise.

According to Tulane University professor Arthur Brief, for instance, women who wear short skirts that display "a lot of leg" may be overlooked for promotion and pay increases.

Brief's warning was based on a recent study he conducted with a number of colleagues at the New Orleans University, which came about after the team searched several recent studies and literature and found little about the consequences of sexy dressing and sexual behavior at work, (most available research studied sexual harassment) and so decided to study the area themselves.

Negative consequences

The report, which was carried out roughly five years ago and was the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such behavior, suggested that women who send flirtatious emails, wear short skirts, or massage a man's shoulders at work win fewer pay raises and promotions.

According to the study, 49 percent of 164 female MBA graduates said that they had tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts.

Conversely, the other half (51 percent), who said they had never knowingly engaged in such activity, had earned an average of three promotions, versus two for the group that had employed sexuality.

In terms of salary that equates to those who said they never used sexuality on average earning between $75,000 to $100,000, while the others fell, on average, in the next-lowest income range, $50,000 to $75,000.

A fine line

Of course, its fair to point out that - given that the study was carried out almost half a decade ago - attitudes as to what is appropriate or inappropriate dress in the office have likely changed. As has the promotion gap.

After all, offices are now saturated with gifted, forward-thinking workers as the War for Talent era rumbles on. As such, one thing that remains crystal clear to HR managers is that there is a fine line between what clothes makes a co-worker stand out in the office and what makes them look outrageous and inappropriate.

The fact is that the way you are dressed is the first thing people see when you walk into a room. And, according to analysts, putting together a wardrobe of elegant, contemporary and individual clothing is a day-to-day challenge, especially in a work environment.

The advice? Create a capsule wardrobe. While this might sound like something from the world of the TV makeover show, it effectively allows you to ensure that you begin to build a really good working wardrobe which co-ordinates throughout and where you can put together several different outfits from just a few quality garments.

In short, your clothes reflect your personal brand identity and they should also consistently reflect the job you want - as well as the job you’ve got.

Evidence suggests that many women are familiar with this concept already, and subsequently no longer feel that they have to rely on sexuality to draw attention to themselves as viable candidates for promotions and progression; but for the men in the office, clever co-ordination seems to be the key to success.

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HR feels the value

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Finding a seat at the management table has long been an issue for HR professionals looking to migrate from being viewed as little more than an administrative role to become a strategic partner in the workplace.

Thankfully however, a new report suggests that - as a direct result of the recession and the impact it has had on workforces across the globe - HR managers now believe that their contribution to managing the workforce has been fully recognized by their employers.

Reliance

The opinion is based on the fact that, as businesses turned to HR during the recession to help make difficult decisions about job cuts, the reliance that emerged has enhanced the HR function's value in the eyes of executives and front-line managers.

Renowned HR writer Robert Levy is behind the thinking, covering the issue in a new review in Talent Management magazine. "There [HR managers] value to the company has been heightened, meaning they will be able to play a more central business role this year.

"These professionals are anticipating brighter days ahead," Levy added, suggesting that greater employer sentiment could potentially lead to further recruitment in HR.

"The best news may be that many believe performance during the recession has earned HR respect as a business partner," he commented, before highlighting the recent review by the Ashdown Group Jobs Index, which revealed there had been a 20.85 percent rise in the number of HR vacancies during January of this year.

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Kellogg's praised for wellness

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:10:00 +0000

Wellness has long been an issue of great importance to the HR managers of companies across America, and in many cases, companies selling foods and convenience goods, are those managers all the more focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Now, the American Heart Association has named the Battle Creek, Michigan-based Kellogg Company - the world's leading producer of cereal - a Platinum Level Start Fit-Friendly Company for helping its employees eat better.

Under the company's wellness program, Feeling Gr-r-eat, employees can receive health screening, take risk assessments, participate in coaching programs, exercise and weight-loss challenges, and recieve free flu shots for themselves and their spouses or domestic partners.

Positive Results

The news of the award was brought to attention following a statement from Kellogg's Vice President of Benefits and Human Resources shared services, Catherine Palin, who said: "We're committed to providing the best workplace environment possible to benefit our employees' health and produce even more positive results for our company."

The great news for the cereal producers coincides with additional plans to join a coalition of 40 retailers, non-governmental organizations and food and beverage manufacturers in the launch of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), a national, multi-year effort designed to help reduce obesity – especially childhood obesity – by 2015.

According to a statement on the Kellogg's websites, the HWCF will promote the concept of energy balance – balancing calories consumed as part of a healthy diet with calories expended by physical activity – to people in the places where they spend much of their time: to consumers in the marketplace, to employees through workplace programs and to children in schools.

Job creation efforts heat up

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:34:00 +0000

Following the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, one of HR's biggest issues has simply been keeping workers happy - despite the recession. Thankfully, much of news that tore up the HR space last week was seen to do just that, as a renewed focus on issues such as job creation and pay opportunities began to heat up.

The good news began on Wednesday, in Washington, when President Barack Obama - as part of his State of the Union address - announced that he would promote tax cuts for small businesses in an continued effort to drive job creation forward.

According to his speech last week, plans for a $5000 tax credit for each job created on a net basis in 2010 (up to $500,000 per company), will become the focus for Obama's ongoing mission.

However, while the idea behind the scheme is to encourage companies to hire more workers - small businesses can also raise wages or hours and be reimbursed for the Social Security payroll taxes - analysts are worried that the scheme is likely to fail on one important factor: it won't actually do much to boost hiring.

According to Bill Rys, for instance, tax counsel for the National Federation of Independent Business, "I really don't think it's going to be much of an incentive. Mostly it is going to be used by businesses that would have been hiring anyway."

Job creation

However, despite the sobering outlook on Obama's proposals, there is more good news for the job creation. For one, the National Association of Manufacturers are currently in the process of promoting its own job creation package.

It features a cut in corporate income tax rates and a more generous tax credit for research and development. And, according to reports, the group considers those changes more important than Obama's proposed $5000 tax credit.

"For those manufacturers who are looking to hire, this will help," explained group spokeswoman Erin Streeter last week. "We don't, however, anticipate this tax credit [Obama's] being a reason for them to hire. Our members are going to hire if there is a long-term need."

Meanwhile, in Florida the "creation" bug continues to flourish. There, Governor Charlie Crist, who recently unveiled Florida Back to Work - a new scheme that allows employers in Florida to use federal funds to help pay salary costs of newly hired, low-income workers - is expecting the program to create as many as 25,000 jobs in the state.

Under the terms of the scheme, employers that contract with regional workforce boards may receive funds, on a temporary basis, covering up to 95 percent of qualifying employees' salaries. Crist details that, "Nothing is more important than returning Floridians to the workforce and restoring their hope and economic security."

He hopes that these funds will provide businesses throughout the state with a "tremendous opportunity" to give someone in need a fresh start and a new direction for the future.

'Wait and see'

Meanwhile, reports also surfaced last week suggesting that nearly one-fourth of US organizations that froze pay last year plan to prolong that freeze into 2010, while more than 50 percent plan to resume normal pay levels.

The report, which comes courtesy of WorldatWork's latest salary budget survey update, suggests that many organizations plan to remain conservative in their approaches to their 2010 pay practices and are taking a "wait and see" stance when it comes to returning to any form of normal pay practices.

The issue is really two-fold. According to Jim Stoeckmann, CCP, WorldatWork compensation practice leader, "there are risks both ways. Moving too fast in restoring salaries and merit budgets leaves employers vulnerable if the [economic] recovery fails to materialize. Moving too slowly creates the risk of turnover as employees look for a better opportunity with another company. Even with jobs scarce, there are always opportunities for employees with the right skill set."

The good news, then? Well, while the findings suggest no major differences between regional data and overall findings, the encouraging fact that over half of the survey's respondents are at least thinking about returning to normal pay practices, suggests that the grip of the recession is loosening and HR trends such a recruitment and retention - and compensation, salary and benefits - remain at the forefront of industry leaders' minds.

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Now hiring: 'Unreliable' applicants required

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:44:00 +0000

While recruiting and retaining the best staff remain key issues for HR managers in 2010, the latest legality loophole to rock the HR space seems to push the boundaries in terms of what to look out for when hiring staff.

According to reports in the UK press, a recruitment agency manager has been told that she can't post a job advert for "reliable" staff on the basis that the ad discriminates against "unreliable" applicants.

Nicole Mamo, who lives in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, England, and runs Devonwood Recruitment, reportedly told the press that she was "well aware" of the legal pitfalls employers need to watch out for when looking to hire new staff.

As such, reports claim Mamo's advert - which was for a GBP£5.80 ($9.40) an hour domestic cleaner position at a local hospital - had been crafted with special care to ensure it was not offensive on the grounds of race, age or sexual orientation.

Ridiculous

However, when Mamo ran the ad past a job centre in Thetford, Norfolk, she was told that the advert was discriminatory, and that she couldn't ask for either "reliable" or "hard working" applicants because it could be offensive to unreliable jobseekers.

Mamo, who has been working in the recruitment space for over 15 years, yesterday told British newspaper the Daily Mail that she had "never heard anything so ridiculous."

She added: "If the matter wasn't so serious I would be laughing out loud."

In fact, Mamo believes that the strict policies being enforced on jobcentres in the UK could cause more damage than good. "Even the employee at the jobcentre agreed it was ridiculous," Mamo told reporters. "[The advisor] explained it was policy because they could get sued for being discriminatory against unreliable people.

"She told me they had already experienced lots of problems with people taking them to court for adverts stating that a job would 'suit a school leaver', which could be defined as discriminatory against other applicants."

Political correctness

Now, a spokesman for the Campaign Against Political Correctness has spoken out about the issue, saying: "Of course employers want reliable workers and job postings should be able to ask for them. If they can't advertise for what they want then the system is clearly misguided."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have also spoken out about the issue, noting that the move is "in no way in breach of any discrimination law." It warned that Mrs. Mamo should "consider any advice implying that this aspect of her advert was discriminatory as 'very unreliable'."

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Unions now government majority

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Evidence from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed at the end of last week that, for the first time in American history, the majority of union members are government workers rather than private-sector employees.

According to the bureau's annual report on union membership, the longstanding notion that union members are overwhelmingly blue-collar factory workers is now a thing of the past.

Public vs. Private

In fact, according to a report in the New York Times, membership fell so fast in the private sector last year that the 7.9 million unionized public-sector workers easily outnumbered those in the private sector.

Randel K. Johnson, Senior Vice President for Labor at the US Chamber of Commerce told the US paper, "There has been steady growth among union members in the public sector, but I'm a little bit shocked to see that the lines have actually crossed." Actually, according to BLS statistics, 7.2 percent of private-sector workers were union members last year, down from 7.6 percent the previous year. That, labor historians said, was the lowest percentage of private-sector workers in unions since 1900. Among government workers, union membership grew to 37.4 percent last year, from 36.8 percent in 2008.

Membership

The recession is largely to blame. After rising the two previous years, overall union membership had fallen by 771,000 in 2009 to 15.3 million, largely because employment declined over all. Analysts say the rate of private-sector unionization fell because two sectors where unions are especially strong - the manufacturing and construction industries - suffered especially large job losses because of the economic crisis.

However, according to the BLS, average weekly earnings for full-time unionized workers were $908 last year, compared with $710 for workers not represented by unions.

Fred Siegel, a visiting professor of history at St. Francis College in Brooklyn and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative research organization, told the New York Times that, "There were enormous political ramifications" to the fact that public-sector workers are now the majority in organized labor.

Several labor officials and scholars said private-sector workers could regain their majority in a year or two because of potential large-scale layoffs of government workers. But, when assessing the drop in private-sector unionization, Paula B. Voos, a labor relations professor at Rutgers, merely noted that it was a "sad commentary on the ability of private-sector workers to unionize."

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Proactivity linked to early risers

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:15:00 +0000

New research suggests that productivity could be linked to those who are "up with the lark", while those who define themselves as "evening people" are likely to be less proactive in the workplace.

The research, which surveyed 367 student participants, found a correlation between their self-reported 'morningness' (measured by their answers to questions about how easy they find it to get up in the morning and how alert they feel) and their self-reported proactivity (measure by their agreement to the questions), was statistically significant.

This is because, while it is fair to assume that those who are able to spring out of bed at the crack of dawn are likely to feel more proactive, there has long been an assumption that any source of early vitality could be short-lived once the day really gets going.

In addition, according to the research, there also exists a so-called 'social jetlag' - caused by the mismatch between people's biological time-keeping and the demands of social time, such as the difference between rise times on weekdays (workdays) and weekends (days off). In fact, the research, it seems, found that proactivity is inversely correlated with this jetlag.

Geared up

As such the findings suggest that morning people really are more productive in terms of getting things done, which should be interesting news for HR managers; however, it fails to reveal whether this is down to an inherent energy and drive or whether the trend is instead linked to the fact that the working world tends to be geared more towards rising early, rather than working late.

And according to lead researcher, Christoph Randler, "Whether evening people could be more proactive in their lifestyles if they had less restrictive schedules (i.e., if they could start work later in the day) is a question for future research."

Nonetheless, Randler's study is far from being the first to look for associations between people's sleep habits and other personality factors. Evidence shows that previous research has drawn correlations between evening people and more extroverted personalities, pessimism and creative outlets; while morning people tend to be more conscientious.

Randler's full research can be found here: Proactive People Are Morning People.

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Jobs without a future

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:22:00 +0000

Yesterday we explored the great and very probable likelihood that in as little as 20 years times, the landscape of the job market is likely to have changed beyond all recognition. But, as our story yesterday proved, while new jobs are likely to be created, some are likely to fall by the wayside; lost forever as a distant memory of years of employment gone by.

And, while advances in technology and mobility are likely to create roles that otherwise sound like something out of a science fiction movie, jobs that are - by their very definition - more "hands on" are reportedly at risk of become obsolete by, say, 2020, at least according to job market analysts.

That's because there is a belief that jobs that currently rely purely on "intellect and knowledge" are the ones that can be most easily replaced by machines.

In fact, the warning from analysts - and the thing that is most likely to appeal to HR leaders of the future - is, "It's the human side of your job that you still want to be able to add value to."

So just what are the jobs that are likely to swallowed up thanks to technological advancements, machines and a distinctly less human approach...?

Store assistant

The concern here is really two-fold. First is the fact that job security in this field is likely to decline as the online shopping arena goes stratospheric, and analysts believe that in-store assistants will become surplus to requirements as existing stores install self-service scanners and robotic shelf stackers.

What's more, analysts also believe that all jobs that center on dealing with cash handling and paper money - including bank tellers and toll booth operators - could easily become obsolete as consumers rely more and more on credit and digital forms of money.

Soldier

Analysts believe that, with time, the need to send army men and women to war will begin to wane as machines become more and more capable of going into battle alone.

Already developments in the use of unmanned combat aircraft vehicles (ACAVs) suggest that the role of the fighter pilot may well be the first to fall foul of machinery.

Construction worker

According to futurist Joel Barker, while much construction work continues to be done by hand, 3D printing may change that.

Barker believes that, instead of printing one layer of ink on paper, stereo lithographic printers - capable of printing multiple layer of material to make three-dimensional structures - may become the norm. He believes that such structures could then be used to construct houses on a mass scale - in a matter of hours.

CD store manager

It's official: the music world is going digital. And while die-hard aficionados of the compact disc aren't likely to go down without a fight, for the average music fan, the days of trawling through Tower Records to find a limited edition Pink Floyd record are long gone.

The fact is that, over time, as music producers go digital, retailers have to do the same. What's more, for even the most hardened CD collector, compact discs simply don't have the same flair as vinyl records: as such CDs also miss out on laying claim to that classic "vintage" label as well.

Union manager

The concern here is that there already seems to be a growing trend of unions with depleting numbers. Analysts believe that unless unions address this trend over the next few years, union organizers will become obsolete.

According to futurist Alvin Toffler, union leaders have already been too slow and "may soon disappear" because they have failed to "show any sign of wanting to reverse their 20-year membership decline." Toffler also notes that the "labor movement has not come to terms with the knowledge economy at all," and instead warns that union leaders should adapt to the needs of workers in knowledge, science and technology sectors.

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Jobs of the future...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:37:00 +0000

Do you think you'll be in the same job you're in now in 20 years time? Do you think the job you're in now will even exist in two decades time?

The latter question is perhaps the one you should be more concerned about, and if you think back 15 to 20 years it's easy to see why. If you had had told your parents you wanted to be a web designer or SEO specialist back then, you would have been burnt as a witch. Harboring aspirations to be a political Spin Doctor would have seen you sectioned under the mental health act.

Yet today these are fully legitimate and well-paid occupations that play a significant role in shaping the online and political worlds alike.

In the same breath, try making a living as a Betamax manufacturer nowadays and you'll be soon be sat outside Wendy's begging for a Jr. Cheeseburger.

This highlights the frightening pace at which occupations can change form or even disappear completely.

"Enormous shift of occupations"

According to futurist Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock and Revolutionary Wealth, there's going to be an "enormous shift of occupations" during which most jobs are going to change.

And one has to say, Toffler has a point. It's hard to think of an industry that isn't experiencing upheaval.

The digital age is transforming the publication industry forever, with traditional journalism currently living a charmed life - and you can add to that movie-making and advertising business.

The presence of the global market place has put pressure on America's big three auto-manufacturers - GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler - to shape up or face extinction.

The rise of the computer is perhaps having the biggest influence on the job market, threatening to send a number of human jobs into the abyss.

But technology will also help to create new jobs, and here we will take a look at some of the jobs you or your kids might be applying for in the future...

Dirigible Pilot

And according to futurist Joel Barker, author of Five Regions of the Future, dirigibles will revolutionize life in the developing world. Relatively cheap to operate, these blimp-like crafts do not require expensive infrastructure like runways and can stop in midair to drop off passengers or deliver goods.

A company named Worldwide Aeros have developed the Aeroscraft ML866, and has received lots of applications in the Private, Executive and Commercial arenas. Outfitted as an airborne yacht, a floating business center or a cruise liner and cargo ship, the ML866 requires no runway and can travel up to 3100 miles.

Space Tour Guide

The digital revolution will lead to jobs for virtual lawyers, virtual clutter organizers and waste data handlers, while breakthroughs in space travel will lead to people swapping the office for the final frontier as space pilots, space architects and space tour guides, that's according to a report released by the UK government.

Virgin Galactic, a unit of Virgin Group, is already planning just such a space program. The trips, which cost $200,000, were originally scheduled to start in 2008. We're still waiting.

Teleport Specialist

Forbes magazine imagines a world where we simply walk to a teleport station at the end of the block, dematerializing and reappearing at work. This would mean no cars, no buses - no pollution.

But there would be teleport mechanics and specialists in charge of fixing the technology when it fails...far fetched, but exciting nonetheless.

Quarantine Enforcer

If a deadly virus starts spreading rapidly (like swine flu), few countries, and few people, will be prepared. Nurses will be in short supply. And as death rates rise, and neighborhoods are shut off from society, someone will have to make sure the infected don't escape.

All that practice on Resident Evil could actually become profitable!

Very bleak, very dangerous, but probably very well-paid.

Geo-engineer

As we fail to sufficiently cut our carbon emissions, more drastic (and far more expensive) methods must be developed to help cool our warming planet.

As a geo-engineer you could help construct a "space-based solar radiation obstructor" - basically hundreds of thousands of mirrors in the atmosphere to reflect the sun's radiation back into space.

Or maybe you could build the first fleet of "cloud-makers" that sail the seven seas pumping more clouds into the sky to help stop global warming.

Robots and Artificial Intelligence Engineer

How about being a personal bot mechanic? Domestic assistants will work 24/7, but will still need the occasional tune-up.

Or how about a Powered exoskeleton engineer? You will design wearable robots that assist and protect soldiers, construction and rescue workers or other people working in dangerous environments.

Come back tomorrow when HRM Report will take a closer look at the jobs how population growth, climate change and developments in science and technology will make some jobs obsolete.

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