hi,
Some of the articles that i studied when i was doing my PG. Can be of some use to u. If possible do reply me back what exactly do u need in HR. Also if you subscribe to Harvard Business Reviews in each subscribtion there are lots of articles in HR.
Column by Allan Schweyer
As of the first quarter of 2006, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for knowledge workers (defined as anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher) was hovering just above 2% and on the decline throughout the US. In addition, 76 million baby boomers will retire in the next five years. We are on the verge of a more acute and protracted "War for Talent" than we faced in the late 1990s. However, this time the talent war will be much more cross-cultural, multi-generational and global.
Recruitment and human resources leaders can no longer afford to be parochial in their outlook on talent. Ageism, non merit-based discrimination of any sort and myopic attitudes toward the sources of talent will spell disaster for organizations where those biases are allowed to prevail. The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
In a 2006 survey of vice presidents of human resources conducted by the Human Capital Institute and Ernst & Young, human resources leaders demonstrated a clear appreciation of the talent shortages likely to come as retirements increase. The report notes: "While more than half... agreed that the aging workforce is an issue that must be dealt with because it will lead to a workforce shortage, and almost two-thirds said that retirements in their organization will lead to a 'brain drain,' less than one-quarter of those surveyed said that the aging of their workforce is an issue that is strategically very important to them." This is a strange paradox given the widespread shortages of talent that are already occurring across the country.
As for diversity, the US Census Bureau projects that the percentage of whites in the workforce will drop to just 62% by 2020 (from 82% in 1980) and that of minorities will rise to 37% (from 18% in 1980). These numbers will also be reflected among the consumer population making a diverse workforce an imperative for many organizations that need to reflect their customer base. Strategic human resources and recruiting executives must make their workplaces more attractive and friendly to diverse and older workers. And when this is done, they must recalibrate their branding initiatives in order to appeal to both groups.
The winners also will master the challenges of assembling and deploying a virtual global workforce. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that more than 98% of global workforce growth will occur outside of North America and Europe over the next three to five decades--and top talent, whether it be in India, China or Brazil, is far less inclined to emigrate for work than in the past.
But developing a global mindset is easier said than done. As the world shrinks with greater advancements in technology, it expands as new business locations and talent pools become viable. The global labor pool has virtually doubled in size in the last 15 years, and according to Harvard University's Richard Freeman, "... the entry of India, China and the former Soviet Bloc to the global capitalist economy is a turning point in economic history."
It is imperative that executives and senior managers, from small, mid-size and large firms, understand the implications of our aging and diversifying domestic talent pools as well as the dynamics of a global workforce that is expanding at lightning speed. For human resources leaders, knowledge of best practices in retaining older workers is key. For recruiters, knowledge of top sources for recruiting the diverse workforce and of the factors that appeal to diverse recruits is critical.
In the end, tapping into the global, remote workforce may prove the most challenging. Recruiting leaders should ask themselves who they know in talent "hot spots" around the world and how well they know those regions--their cultures and values--themselves. What partnerships have they made with global services firms who can provide on-demand skilled workers? Would they know where to start if they had to quickly build a team of software engineers, or accountants and actuaries, or build a call center for customer care and management? As the supply of skilled and semi-skilled workers dries up in the developed world, these connections and partnerships will be invaluable.
A Fun Read
Note: This article contains links to PDF files of the Zingerman's Staff Guide . To download the PDF files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Reader, click here to download the latest version.
An entertaining employee manual. It sounds like an oxymoron, but Zingerman's has made communicating corporate policy and rules fun.
Actually, having fun is a key benefit to working at the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based deli and its community of businesses, as Bo Burlingham points out in his January 2003 Inc article, " The Coolest Small Company in America." It's a place where even the driest corporate communications get spruced up with the founders', Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, sense of humor and wit, including the company's Staff Guide, which communicates the company's vision, culture, and expectations of employees through an entertaining blend of words, graphics, and games.
But, it wasn't always this way. "For a long time, we had a staff manual with much of the same content," says Maggie Bayless, the cofounder and original managing partner of Zingtrain, a Zingerman's company that trains Zingerman's managers, staff, and other companies interested in learning the Zingerman's way of life. "But one time, when we were teaching a merchandising seminar, we advised that 'the look and feel of the organization should be carried through everything,' " she says. "We realized we weren't doing a very good job at that." While the company's promotional materials were visually appealing and entertaining, the staff manual was all text. "We thought, 'Maybe people would read it more if it was a little more graphically appealing,' " Bayless says.
The result was a staff guide that employees actually read -- and use. Weinzweig teaches a welcome to the Zingerman's Community of Businesses seminar in which the manual is a teaching tool. Todd Wickstrom, who runs the deli, conducts a Deli Day One class and uses the guide as its basis. And you'll find more than one employee who carries it around as a resource. "I've been in meetings and somebody will say, 'it's in the staff guide,' and three of use will have copies we can refer to," Bayless says. "I feel very confident in saying it gets referred to a lot more than the average staff manual," she adds. Bayless admits that's partly because of its size -- it fits neatly into a briefcase -- but another part of it is that it's an entertaining and quite empowering tool for the employees at Zingerman's.
To help better illustrate the Zingerman's approach, Inc.com has swiped a few pages from the Zingerman's Staff Guide. From fun to learning, the manual is an inspirational representation of what the company is all about.
The Funny Pages
The fun starts with the Staff Guide cover and includes entertaining entries such as The Zing Happy Fun Pages, where a word search game and Paul and Ari puppets provide some workday relief. A sandwich also adorns the upper-right-hand corner of each right-hand page, so when you flip through the pages, the sandwich, decked out with hat and cane, dances.
Getting Down to Business
Though flipping through the manual might suggest more comic book than employee manual, the book deftly combines fun with communicating Zingerman's guiding principles and vision. Bayless is quick to note, however, that the Staff Guide is not the only way the company communicates its strong beliefs in great food and great service.
"There's really nothing in the staff guide that we're not also communicating in other ways," Bayless says. "We try to reinforce it in more ways than 'here's this cool-looking, fun-to-read book.' " For instance, when a new guide comes out, the company might give employees a quiz to take and reward the first employee to complete it with a T-shirt. Or, the annual plan kickoff meeting might include a trivia contest that includes information from the guide.
However the information comes across, it's communicated with enthusiasm. For instance, while the Zingerman's Guiding Principles are straight text, the wastebusting pages include text, graphics and bullet points to emphasize ways to reduce waste. Employee testimonials, like the Xtra Mile Files, also share ways employees have gone the extra mile for their customers. From getting along with others to a guide for great finance to answering the phone, Zingerman's clearly -- and playfully-- presents what's most important in running the Zingerman Community of Businesses.
Published January 2003
What Can We Expect in 2007?
"I never think of the future," Albert Einstein reportedly said. "It comes soon enough." Unfortunately, businesspeople can't share this philosophy. Companies setting budgets at the end of one year must always go through the exercise of predicting the future, even if it's only in the short term and even if they reassess and adjust spending throughout the year.
The consensus among economists is that the economy will continue to grow in 2007, although at a lower annualized rate of about 3 percent. Few people are predicting wild swings in inflation (thanks to lower fuel and auto prices), which suggests that interest rates will hold steady. Unemployment is expected to rise, although the labor market will remain tight.
It's not hard to find entrepreneurs who are optimistic. Many businesses are in serious hiring mode, a sign that they feel confident that their companies will expand enough to support the increase in overhead. What other trends are entrepreneurs seeing in their industries and regions? Here are predictions from some of the smartest business owners we know.
Hiring's on the rise, which will drive wages up
Martin Babinec, CEO and president of TriNet, a provider of human resources services, based in San Leandro, California, says that his customers' payroll data suggests cause for optimism.
"We're seeing an increased rate of head count expansion among our customers. In 2006, for every 100 employees in our system, six more were added over the course of the year. In 2007, we're projecting the growth rate to be higher still. The market is shifting in favor of the candidate and away from the employer. We haven't yet seen much wage pressure reflected in customer data, but my gut tells me that wages will be going up, too.
"Another metric we keep an eye on is the total value of bonus payments made in December. Because we process payroll, we see what people get paid. The final numbers aren't in yet, but I think we may see a 50 percent increase in bonuses in 2006 over 2005.
"In terms of my own business, our wages are going up and we are planning on adding positions. We also have 27 existing positions that are open out of 300 total jobs, and we have faced more difficulty filling vacancies. Our revenue was a little ahead of last year's, but on an income basis we did much better because we had so many open positions."
Even more employees will work from home
Mary Naylor is the founder and CEO of VIPdesk, a company based in Alexandria, Virginia, that provides outsourced customer care services and will surpass $20 million in revenue this year.
"The pendulum is definitely swinging back in favor of the candidate over the recruiter. As the market tightens, I think you'll see an explosion in home-based employment. Hiring home-based workers allows a business to radically expand its recruiting pool to go after highly skilled workers anywhere in the country. Suburbs are especially good for this. We find that we're having a lot of luck recruiting people in the younger suburbs of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and in Florida, where people are fed up with commuting. Home-based employment will also grow as more companies realize it's a way to lower overhead costs and to enhance business continuity. After seeing what happened with Katrina, a lot of companies think it makes sense to have a work force that's dispersed."
A cooling housing market will lower supply chain costs
Dan Sanker is the CEO and president of CaseStack, a $70 million logistics company based in Santa Monica, California.
"Normally the fourth quarter is the busy season, but this year, the trucking companies are saying that the busy season never came. The drop-off in business has been particularly noticeable in shipments of houseware products. Some of it may be due to a cooling off in the housing market. Homeowners spend less on their homes when they think they're worth less. As we move into January, February, and March, retail slows down, so this trend will probably continue, which will present some opportunities to businesses. Additional capacity will translate into lower trucking costs, and I'd also look for fewer increases in fuel costs in the short term, which is good for just about everybody."
Brett Hatton is the founder and CEO of Four Hands, an Austin company that imports low-cost furniture from Asia. "I guess some would say that we are the enemy," he admits.
"One thing we anticipate in 2007 is a higher level of bankruptcy than in previous years among high profile retailers. Just recently, our second-biggest customer went under suddenly. It was a chain called Storehouse that had 71 locations across the country, $150 million in revenue, and $25 million in inventory--and it was ultimately sold to a liquidator for $17 million. That was a wake-up call to us that, in terms of credit and accounts receivable, we have to make sure that we are tight there. Right now, the average age of our accounts receivable is about 31 days, and it's holding steady. But we're watching that number closely."
Your mobile phone will be running your business
Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs is the founder and chairman of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), the $ billion company based in San Diego.
"The whole communications area will continue to grow very rapidly, with the trend toward wireless continuing as the capabilities and the investment go up. There are now more than 2.5 billion mobile phone subscribers in the world, and the result is that there are very interesting businesses springing up to support them with software that can be downloaded. And wireless devices and phones are becoming more able to do core business functions. I can't imagine anyone traveling without e-mail wireless access anymore. Every city I go to, I don't bother connecting to a wired connection. As you see this technology developed for business users, you'll also see it adapted by programs that bring communication to the remote areas of the world for things such as education, medicine, and microfinance."
Vista and Office 2007: Microsoft's last hurrah?
Joel Spolsky is the founder and CEO of Fog Creek Software, a New York City-based maker of tools for software developers. He also hosts the popular Joel on Software blog.
"The big story in the software world--which will have implications for all sorts of companies--is going to be how well Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) manages the transition to Vista and Office 2007. It seems like the last hurrah for the desktop software market as almost everything interesting is now happening on the Web. Obviously, things like Google's Web-based calendar, e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets mark a huge shift in software. It's looking like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is doing to Microsoft what Microsoft did to Lotus and WordPerfect: changing the platform and then winning big on the new platform."
Brave New Policy: Babies In the Office
The Idea
Francine Gemperle, a product designer at Maya Design in Pittsburgh, wanted to return to work soon after giving birth. Could she bring her six-week-old baby, Milo, to the office with her regularly?
What Other Employers Do
A Maya executive researched babies-at-work policies and found none. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that just 6 percent of employers offer on-site child care, let alone infant care.
The Pros
Retaining a key staffer; bolstering the company's worker-friendly, pro-mom reputation
The Cons
Maya's lawyers were apoplectic over liability concerns; fears of a crying baby interrupting meetings and irritating co-workers
The Decision
CEO Mick McManus allowed Milo to come to work until he reached 6 months, when he would be mobile enough to cause trouble. Maya's lawyers insisted that Gemperle sign a release saying that she wouldn't sue the firm in the event Milo was hurt.
The Outcome: Good.
Gemperle brought Milo to work three or four days a week. She hired a sitter when she had client meetings, and took Milo to a break room when he fussed. Other staffers are now expecting and plan to bring their kids to work too.
A New Kind Of Perk: Online Gambling
Most employee incentive programs are based on the presumed power of delayed gratification. Dangle a big prize or bonus in front of employees, the thinking goes, and they'll work hard for months to earn it.
A new kind of incentive program built around online gaming aims to change all that. Using Web-based software, the program allows employees to earn tokens for small accomplishments--coming back early from lunch, say, or shaving time off a sales call--and gamble for prizes, from iPods to prime parking spots. With its emphasis on immediate, rather than delayed, gratification, the system allows managers to skip the pep talks in favor of a kind of Pavlovian conditioning, says Brooks Mitchell, a management professor at the University of Wyoming and the founder of Snowfly, a software company in Laramie that designs such systems. "If you want your kid to get an A, don't give him 50 bucks at the end of the year," Mitchell says. "Instead, play soccer with him every day after he does his homework."
That argument makes sense to Fred Weiner, CEO of the Connection, a call-center operator based in Burnsville, Minnesota. For 25 years, Weiner has been searching for a way to motivate the customer service representatives at his five call centers, doling out incentive prizes such as cash and gift cards almost every month. But nothing seemed to work.
Last January, Weiner noticed a Snowfly brochure in an office trash can, fished it out, and gave Mitchell a call. Intrigued with what he heard, he decided to try the program. Now each time call center reps convert a sale, for example, they log on to their accounts, record their accomplishments, and receive a virtual token, which they can use as a wager in one of several games--such as a horse racing derby--that take seconds to complete. Employees can win up to 5,000 points at a time and redeem them for prizes, such as a 15-minute break (250 points) or a day off (7,600 points). And since they can't lose points, everyone's a winner.
Weiner has seen an improvement in measurable metrics, such as sales conversion, talk time, and attendance. "They are absolutely performing better," he says. The program has gotten a thumbs-up from staffers, as well. Mary Fournier, a supervisor in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, call center, works hard to earn tokens and plays games during downtime. She recently hoarded tokens for four months and used 11,000 points to buy a $100 Cuisinart, an item on the Connection's incentive list. "I enjoy the gambling aspect of it," she says. "It's a little bit of a rush."
Of course, the system could produce diminishing returns as the novelty wears off. Regular small rewards may be effective in the short term, but splashy prizes get better results over the long haul, argues Scott May, a senior vice president at Loyaltyworks, an Atlanta company that administers traditional incentive programs. "Whatever you're rewarding the employee with, it has to be compelling," he says.
On the other hand, online incentive games are particularly well suited for employees who grew up playing Nintendo, says John Beck, president of the Attention Company, a Phoenix consulting firm, and co-author of The Kids Are Alright: How the Gamer Generation Is Changing the Workplace. Younger workers are far more likely to crave performance monitoring, Beck says. "Immediate feedback manages people's attention in a way that nothing else could," he says.
Besides motivating employees, the program cuts down on paperwork and helps managers spot high achievers and laggards more easily. And unlike many incentive companies, which charge clients an administrative fee each time a point is rewarded and can bill hundreds of dollars per employee each year, Snowfly charges a flat monthly fee, which amounts to between $50 and $120 per employee each year. "It's a no-brainer from a cost standpoint," Weiner says.
In some ways, the program is priceless, according to Shelly Jameson, who supervises 250 employees at the Connection's Carlsbad call center. Before, Jameson was happy to hear a perfunctory "thank you" when she doled out year-end bonuses. Now, grateful employees approach her on a regular basis. "Some of those people never would have talked to me one-on-one," she says. "It's just a good opportunity to get to know them on a personal level."
Column by Allan Schweyer
Build Talent Pipelines Across Generations, Cultures and Borders
The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
As of the first quarter of 2006, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for knowledge workers (defined as anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher) was hovering just above 2% and on the decline throughout the US. In addition, 76 million baby boomers will retire in the next five years. We are on the verge of a more acute and protracted “War for Talent” than we faced in the late 1990s. However, this time the talent war will be much more cross-cultural, multi-generational and global.
Recruitment and human resources leaders can no longer afford to be parochial in their outlook on talent. Ageism, non merit-based discrimination of any sort and myopic attitudes toward the sources of talent will spell disaster for organizations where those biases are allowed to prevail. The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
In a 2006 survey of vice presidents of human resources conducted by the Human Capital Institute and Ernst & Young, human resources leaders demonstrated a clear appreciation of the talent shortages likely to come as retirements increase. The report notes: “While more than half … agreed that the aging workforce is an issue that must be dealt with because it will lead to a workforce shortage, and almost two-thirds said that retirements in their organization will lead to a 'brain drain,' less than one-quarter of those surveyed said that the aging of their workforce is an issue that is strategically very important to them.” This is a strange paradox given the widespread shortages of talent that are already occurring across the country.
As for diversity, the US Census Bureau projects that the percentage of whites in the workforce will drop to just 62% by 2020 (from 82% in 1980) and that of minorities will rise to 37% (from 18% in 1980). These numbers will also be reflected among the consumer population making a diverse workforce an imperative for many organizations that need to reflect their customer base. Strategic human resources and recruiting executives must make their workplaces more attractive and friendly to diverse and older workers. And when this is done, they must recalibrate their branding initiatives in order to appeal to both groups.
The winners also will master the challenges of assembling and deploying a virtual global workforce. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that more than 98% of global workforce growth will occur outside of North America and Europe over the next three to five decades--and top talent, whether it be in India, China or Brazil, is far less inclined to emigrate for work than in the past.
But developing a global mindset is easier said than done. As the world shrinks with greater advancements in technology, it expands as new business locations and talent pools become viable. The global labor pool has virtually doubled in size in the last 15 years, and according to Harvard University's Richard Freeman, “… the entry of India, China and the former Soviet Bloc to the global capitalist economy is a turning point in economic history."
It is imperative that executives and senior managers, from small, mid-size and large firms, understand the implications of our aging and diversifying domestic talent pools as well as the dynamics of a global workforce that is expanding at lightning speed. For human resources leaders, knowledge of best practices in retaining older workers is key. For recruiters, knowledge of top sources for recruiting the diverse workforce and of the factors that appeal to diverse recruits is critical.
In the end, tapping into the global, remote workforce may prove the most challenging. Recruiting leaders should ask themselves who they know in talent “hot spots” around the world and how well they know those regions--their cultures and values--themselves. What partnerships have they made with global services firms who can provide on-demand skilled workers? Would they know where to start if they had to quickly build a team of software engineers, or accountants and actuaries, or build a call center for customer care and management? As the supply of skilled and semi-skilled workers dries up in the developed world, these connections and partnerships will be invaluable.
For more information on the HCI/Ernst & Young research or to learn about HCI’s programs for building and managing the global workforce, please visit www.humancapitalinstitute.org or contact Allan Schweyer directly at
.
RElated link: http://www.inc.com/magazine
Regards,
SKakkar
From India, Pune
4Some of the articles that i studied when i was doing my PG. Can be of some use to u. If possible do reply me back what exactly do u need in HR. Also if you subscribe to Harvard Business Reviews in each subscribtion there are lots of articles in HR.
Column by Allan Schweyer
As of the first quarter of 2006, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for knowledge workers (defined as anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher) was hovering just above 2% and on the decline throughout the US. In addition, 76 million baby boomers will retire in the next five years. We are on the verge of a more acute and protracted "War for Talent" than we faced in the late 1990s. However, this time the talent war will be much more cross-cultural, multi-generational and global.
Recruitment and human resources leaders can no longer afford to be parochial in their outlook on talent. Ageism, non merit-based discrimination of any sort and myopic attitudes toward the sources of talent will spell disaster for organizations where those biases are allowed to prevail. The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
In a 2006 survey of vice presidents of human resources conducted by the Human Capital Institute and Ernst & Young, human resources leaders demonstrated a clear appreciation of the talent shortages likely to come as retirements increase. The report notes: "While more than half... agreed that the aging workforce is an issue that must be dealt with because it will lead to a workforce shortage, and almost two-thirds said that retirements in their organization will lead to a 'brain drain,' less than one-quarter of those surveyed said that the aging of their workforce is an issue that is strategically very important to them." This is a strange paradox given the widespread shortages of talent that are already occurring across the country.
As for diversity, the US Census Bureau projects that the percentage of whites in the workforce will drop to just 62% by 2020 (from 82% in 1980) and that of minorities will rise to 37% (from 18% in 1980). These numbers will also be reflected among the consumer population making a diverse workforce an imperative for many organizations that need to reflect their customer base. Strategic human resources and recruiting executives must make their workplaces more attractive and friendly to diverse and older workers. And when this is done, they must recalibrate their branding initiatives in order to appeal to both groups.
The winners also will master the challenges of assembling and deploying a virtual global workforce. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that more than 98% of global workforce growth will occur outside of North America and Europe over the next three to five decades--and top talent, whether it be in India, China or Brazil, is far less inclined to emigrate for work than in the past.
But developing a global mindset is easier said than done. As the world shrinks with greater advancements in technology, it expands as new business locations and talent pools become viable. The global labor pool has virtually doubled in size in the last 15 years, and according to Harvard University's Richard Freeman, "... the entry of India, China and the former Soviet Bloc to the global capitalist economy is a turning point in economic history."
It is imperative that executives and senior managers, from small, mid-size and large firms, understand the implications of our aging and diversifying domestic talent pools as well as the dynamics of a global workforce that is expanding at lightning speed. For human resources leaders, knowledge of best practices in retaining older workers is key. For recruiters, knowledge of top sources for recruiting the diverse workforce and of the factors that appeal to diverse recruits is critical.
In the end, tapping into the global, remote workforce may prove the most challenging. Recruiting leaders should ask themselves who they know in talent "hot spots" around the world and how well they know those regions--their cultures and values--themselves. What partnerships have they made with global services firms who can provide on-demand skilled workers? Would they know where to start if they had to quickly build a team of software engineers, or accountants and actuaries, or build a call center for customer care and management? As the supply of skilled and semi-skilled workers dries up in the developed world, these connections and partnerships will be invaluable.
A Fun Read
Note: This article contains links to PDF files of the Zingerman's Staff Guide . To download the PDF files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Reader, click here to download the latest version.
An entertaining employee manual. It sounds like an oxymoron, but Zingerman's has made communicating corporate policy and rules fun.
Actually, having fun is a key benefit to working at the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based deli and its community of businesses, as Bo Burlingham points out in his January 2003 Inc article, " The Coolest Small Company in America." It's a place where even the driest corporate communications get spruced up with the founders', Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, sense of humor and wit, including the company's Staff Guide, which communicates the company's vision, culture, and expectations of employees through an entertaining blend of words, graphics, and games.
But, it wasn't always this way. "For a long time, we had a staff manual with much of the same content," says Maggie Bayless, the cofounder and original managing partner of Zingtrain, a Zingerman's company that trains Zingerman's managers, staff, and other companies interested in learning the Zingerman's way of life. "But one time, when we were teaching a merchandising seminar, we advised that 'the look and feel of the organization should be carried through everything,' " she says. "We realized we weren't doing a very good job at that." While the company's promotional materials were visually appealing and entertaining, the staff manual was all text. "We thought, 'Maybe people would read it more if it was a little more graphically appealing,' " Bayless says.
The result was a staff guide that employees actually read -- and use. Weinzweig teaches a welcome to the Zingerman's Community of Businesses seminar in which the manual is a teaching tool. Todd Wickstrom, who runs the deli, conducts a Deli Day One class and uses the guide as its basis. And you'll find more than one employee who carries it around as a resource. "I've been in meetings and somebody will say, 'it's in the staff guide,' and three of use will have copies we can refer to," Bayless says. "I feel very confident in saying it gets referred to a lot more than the average staff manual," she adds. Bayless admits that's partly because of its size -- it fits neatly into a briefcase -- but another part of it is that it's an entertaining and quite empowering tool for the employees at Zingerman's.
To help better illustrate the Zingerman's approach, Inc.com has swiped a few pages from the Zingerman's Staff Guide. From fun to learning, the manual is an inspirational representation of what the company is all about.
The Funny Pages
The fun starts with the Staff Guide cover and includes entertaining entries such as The Zing Happy Fun Pages, where a word search game and Paul and Ari puppets provide some workday relief. A sandwich also adorns the upper-right-hand corner of each right-hand page, so when you flip through the pages, the sandwich, decked out with hat and cane, dances.
Getting Down to Business
Though flipping through the manual might suggest more comic book than employee manual, the book deftly combines fun with communicating Zingerman's guiding principles and vision. Bayless is quick to note, however, that the Staff Guide is not the only way the company communicates its strong beliefs in great food and great service.
"There's really nothing in the staff guide that we're not also communicating in other ways," Bayless says. "We try to reinforce it in more ways than 'here's this cool-looking, fun-to-read book.' " For instance, when a new guide comes out, the company might give employees a quiz to take and reward the first employee to complete it with a T-shirt. Or, the annual plan kickoff meeting might include a trivia contest that includes information from the guide.
However the information comes across, it's communicated with enthusiasm. For instance, while the Zingerman's Guiding Principles are straight text, the wastebusting pages include text, graphics and bullet points to emphasize ways to reduce waste. Employee testimonials, like the Xtra Mile Files, also share ways employees have gone the extra mile for their customers. From getting along with others to a guide for great finance to answering the phone, Zingerman's clearly -- and playfully-- presents what's most important in running the Zingerman Community of Businesses.
Published January 2003
What Can We Expect in 2007?
"I never think of the future," Albert Einstein reportedly said. "It comes soon enough." Unfortunately, businesspeople can't share this philosophy. Companies setting budgets at the end of one year must always go through the exercise of predicting the future, even if it's only in the short term and even if they reassess and adjust spending throughout the year.
The consensus among economists is that the economy will continue to grow in 2007, although at a lower annualized rate of about 3 percent. Few people are predicting wild swings in inflation (thanks to lower fuel and auto prices), which suggests that interest rates will hold steady. Unemployment is expected to rise, although the labor market will remain tight.
It's not hard to find entrepreneurs who are optimistic. Many businesses are in serious hiring mode, a sign that they feel confident that their companies will expand enough to support the increase in overhead. What other trends are entrepreneurs seeing in their industries and regions? Here are predictions from some of the smartest business owners we know.
Hiring's on the rise, which will drive wages up
Martin Babinec, CEO and president of TriNet, a provider of human resources services, based in San Leandro, California, says that his customers' payroll data suggests cause for optimism.
"We're seeing an increased rate of head count expansion among our customers. In 2006, for every 100 employees in our system, six more were added over the course of the year. In 2007, we're projecting the growth rate to be higher still. The market is shifting in favor of the candidate and away from the employer. We haven't yet seen much wage pressure reflected in customer data, but my gut tells me that wages will be going up, too.
"Another metric we keep an eye on is the total value of bonus payments made in December. Because we process payroll, we see what people get paid. The final numbers aren't in yet, but I think we may see a 50 percent increase in bonuses in 2006 over 2005.
"In terms of my own business, our wages are going up and we are planning on adding positions. We also have 27 existing positions that are open out of 300 total jobs, and we have faced more difficulty filling vacancies. Our revenue was a little ahead of last year's, but on an income basis we did much better because we had so many open positions."
Even more employees will work from home
Mary Naylor is the founder and CEO of VIPdesk, a company based in Alexandria, Virginia, that provides outsourced customer care services and will surpass $20 million in revenue this year.
"The pendulum is definitely swinging back in favor of the candidate over the recruiter. As the market tightens, I think you'll see an explosion in home-based employment. Hiring home-based workers allows a business to radically expand its recruiting pool to go after highly skilled workers anywhere in the country. Suburbs are especially good for this. We find that we're having a lot of luck recruiting people in the younger suburbs of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and in Florida, where people are fed up with commuting. Home-based employment will also grow as more companies realize it's a way to lower overhead costs and to enhance business continuity. After seeing what happened with Katrina, a lot of companies think it makes sense to have a work force that's dispersed."
A cooling housing market will lower supply chain costs
Dan Sanker is the CEO and president of CaseStack, a $70 million logistics company based in Santa Monica, California.
"Normally the fourth quarter is the busy season, but this year, the trucking companies are saying that the busy season never came. The drop-off in business has been particularly noticeable in shipments of houseware products. Some of it may be due to a cooling off in the housing market. Homeowners spend less on their homes when they think they're worth less. As we move into January, February, and March, retail slows down, so this trend will probably continue, which will present some opportunities to businesses. Additional capacity will translate into lower trucking costs, and I'd also look for fewer increases in fuel costs in the short term, which is good for just about everybody."
Brett Hatton is the founder and CEO of Four Hands, an Austin company that imports low-cost furniture from Asia. "I guess some would say that we are the enemy," he admits.
"One thing we anticipate in 2007 is a higher level of bankruptcy than in previous years among high profile retailers. Just recently, our second-biggest customer went under suddenly. It was a chain called Storehouse that had 71 locations across the country, $150 million in revenue, and $25 million in inventory--and it was ultimately sold to a liquidator for $17 million. That was a wake-up call to us that, in terms of credit and accounts receivable, we have to make sure that we are tight there. Right now, the average age of our accounts receivable is about 31 days, and it's holding steady. But we're watching that number closely."
Your mobile phone will be running your business
Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs is the founder and chairman of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), the $ billion company based in San Diego.
"The whole communications area will continue to grow very rapidly, with the trend toward wireless continuing as the capabilities and the investment go up. There are now more than 2.5 billion mobile phone subscribers in the world, and the result is that there are very interesting businesses springing up to support them with software that can be downloaded. And wireless devices and phones are becoming more able to do core business functions. I can't imagine anyone traveling without e-mail wireless access anymore. Every city I go to, I don't bother connecting to a wired connection. As you see this technology developed for business users, you'll also see it adapted by programs that bring communication to the remote areas of the world for things such as education, medicine, and microfinance."
Vista and Office 2007: Microsoft's last hurrah?
Joel Spolsky is the founder and CEO of Fog Creek Software, a New York City-based maker of tools for software developers. He also hosts the popular Joel on Software blog.
"The big story in the software world--which will have implications for all sorts of companies--is going to be how well Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) manages the transition to Vista and Office 2007. It seems like the last hurrah for the desktop software market as almost everything interesting is now happening on the Web. Obviously, things like Google's Web-based calendar, e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets mark a huge shift in software. It's looking like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is doing to Microsoft what Microsoft did to Lotus and WordPerfect: changing the platform and then winning big on the new platform."
Brave New Policy: Babies In the Office
The Idea
Francine Gemperle, a product designer at Maya Design in Pittsburgh, wanted to return to work soon after giving birth. Could she bring her six-week-old baby, Milo, to the office with her regularly?
What Other Employers Do
A Maya executive researched babies-at-work policies and found none. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that just 6 percent of employers offer on-site child care, let alone infant care.
The Pros
Retaining a key staffer; bolstering the company's worker-friendly, pro-mom reputation
The Cons
Maya's lawyers were apoplectic over liability concerns; fears of a crying baby interrupting meetings and irritating co-workers
The Decision
CEO Mick McManus allowed Milo to come to work until he reached 6 months, when he would be mobile enough to cause trouble. Maya's lawyers insisted that Gemperle sign a release saying that she wouldn't sue the firm in the event Milo was hurt.
The Outcome: Good.
Gemperle brought Milo to work three or four days a week. She hired a sitter when she had client meetings, and took Milo to a break room when he fussed. Other staffers are now expecting and plan to bring their kids to work too.
A New Kind Of Perk: Online Gambling
Most employee incentive programs are based on the presumed power of delayed gratification. Dangle a big prize or bonus in front of employees, the thinking goes, and they'll work hard for months to earn it.
A new kind of incentive program built around online gaming aims to change all that. Using Web-based software, the program allows employees to earn tokens for small accomplishments--coming back early from lunch, say, or shaving time off a sales call--and gamble for prizes, from iPods to prime parking spots. With its emphasis on immediate, rather than delayed, gratification, the system allows managers to skip the pep talks in favor of a kind of Pavlovian conditioning, says Brooks Mitchell, a management professor at the University of Wyoming and the founder of Snowfly, a software company in Laramie that designs such systems. "If you want your kid to get an A, don't give him 50 bucks at the end of the year," Mitchell says. "Instead, play soccer with him every day after he does his homework."
That argument makes sense to Fred Weiner, CEO of the Connection, a call-center operator based in Burnsville, Minnesota. For 25 years, Weiner has been searching for a way to motivate the customer service representatives at his five call centers, doling out incentive prizes such as cash and gift cards almost every month. But nothing seemed to work.
Last January, Weiner noticed a Snowfly brochure in an office trash can, fished it out, and gave Mitchell a call. Intrigued with what he heard, he decided to try the program. Now each time call center reps convert a sale, for example, they log on to their accounts, record their accomplishments, and receive a virtual token, which they can use as a wager in one of several games--such as a horse racing derby--that take seconds to complete. Employees can win up to 5,000 points at a time and redeem them for prizes, such as a 15-minute break (250 points) or a day off (7,600 points). And since they can't lose points, everyone's a winner.
Weiner has seen an improvement in measurable metrics, such as sales conversion, talk time, and attendance. "They are absolutely performing better," he says. The program has gotten a thumbs-up from staffers, as well. Mary Fournier, a supervisor in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, call center, works hard to earn tokens and plays games during downtime. She recently hoarded tokens for four months and used 11,000 points to buy a $100 Cuisinart, an item on the Connection's incentive list. "I enjoy the gambling aspect of it," she says. "It's a little bit of a rush."
Of course, the system could produce diminishing returns as the novelty wears off. Regular small rewards may be effective in the short term, but splashy prizes get better results over the long haul, argues Scott May, a senior vice president at Loyaltyworks, an Atlanta company that administers traditional incentive programs. "Whatever you're rewarding the employee with, it has to be compelling," he says.
On the other hand, online incentive games are particularly well suited for employees who grew up playing Nintendo, says John Beck, president of the Attention Company, a Phoenix consulting firm, and co-author of The Kids Are Alright: How the Gamer Generation Is Changing the Workplace. Younger workers are far more likely to crave performance monitoring, Beck says. "Immediate feedback manages people's attention in a way that nothing else could," he says.
Besides motivating employees, the program cuts down on paperwork and helps managers spot high achievers and laggards more easily. And unlike many incentive companies, which charge clients an administrative fee each time a point is rewarded and can bill hundreds of dollars per employee each year, Snowfly charges a flat monthly fee, which amounts to between $50 and $120 per employee each year. "It's a no-brainer from a cost standpoint," Weiner says.
In some ways, the program is priceless, according to Shelly Jameson, who supervises 250 employees at the Connection's Carlsbad call center. Before, Jameson was happy to hear a perfunctory "thank you" when she doled out year-end bonuses. Now, grateful employees approach her on a regular basis. "Some of those people never would have talked to me one-on-one," she says. "It's just a good opportunity to get to know them on a personal level."
Column by Allan Schweyer
Build Talent Pipelines Across Generations, Cultures and Borders
The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
As of the first quarter of 2006, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for knowledge workers (defined as anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher) was hovering just above 2% and on the decline throughout the US. In addition, 76 million baby boomers will retire in the next five years. We are on the verge of a more acute and protracted “War for Talent” than we faced in the late 1990s. However, this time the talent war will be much more cross-cultural, multi-generational and global.
Recruitment and human resources leaders can no longer afford to be parochial in their outlook on talent. Ageism, non merit-based discrimination of any sort and myopic attitudes toward the sources of talent will spell disaster for organizations where those biases are allowed to prevail. The winners of the war on talent will welcome talent of all ages and varieties, and they will build their networks into the farthest reaches of the planet.
In a 2006 survey of vice presidents of human resources conducted by the Human Capital Institute and Ernst & Young, human resources leaders demonstrated a clear appreciation of the talent shortages likely to come as retirements increase. The report notes: “While more than half … agreed that the aging workforce is an issue that must be dealt with because it will lead to a workforce shortage, and almost two-thirds said that retirements in their organization will lead to a 'brain drain,' less than one-quarter of those surveyed said that the aging of their workforce is an issue that is strategically very important to them.” This is a strange paradox given the widespread shortages of talent that are already occurring across the country.
As for diversity, the US Census Bureau projects that the percentage of whites in the workforce will drop to just 62% by 2020 (from 82% in 1980) and that of minorities will rise to 37% (from 18% in 1980). These numbers will also be reflected among the consumer population making a diverse workforce an imperative for many organizations that need to reflect their customer base. Strategic human resources and recruiting executives must make their workplaces more attractive and friendly to diverse and older workers. And when this is done, they must recalibrate their branding initiatives in order to appeal to both groups.
The winners also will master the challenges of assembling and deploying a virtual global workforce. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that more than 98% of global workforce growth will occur outside of North America and Europe over the next three to five decades--and top talent, whether it be in India, China or Brazil, is far less inclined to emigrate for work than in the past.
But developing a global mindset is easier said than done. As the world shrinks with greater advancements in technology, it expands as new business locations and talent pools become viable. The global labor pool has virtually doubled in size in the last 15 years, and according to Harvard University's Richard Freeman, “… the entry of India, China and the former Soviet Bloc to the global capitalist economy is a turning point in economic history."
It is imperative that executives and senior managers, from small, mid-size and large firms, understand the implications of our aging and diversifying domestic talent pools as well as the dynamics of a global workforce that is expanding at lightning speed. For human resources leaders, knowledge of best practices in retaining older workers is key. For recruiters, knowledge of top sources for recruiting the diverse workforce and of the factors that appeal to diverse recruits is critical.
In the end, tapping into the global, remote workforce may prove the most challenging. Recruiting leaders should ask themselves who they know in talent “hot spots” around the world and how well they know those regions--their cultures and values--themselves. What partnerships have they made with global services firms who can provide on-demand skilled workers? Would they know where to start if they had to quickly build a team of software engineers, or accountants and actuaries, or build a call center for customer care and management? As the supply of skilled and semi-skilled workers dries up in the developed world, these connections and partnerships will be invaluable.
For more information on the HCI/Ernst & Young research or to learn about HCI’s programs for building and managing the global workforce, please visit www.humancapitalinstitute.org or contact Allan Schweyer directly at
RElated link: http://www.inc.com/magazine
Regards,
SKakkar
From India, Pune
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