Joyce Gioia-Herman - Future Workforce Trends

Telecommuting Growth Slows---What Does it Mean?

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Though many well-respected futurists and organizations, including Forrester Research (and us), had forecast that by now, we would see high percentages of people telecommuting. The numbers were clearly trending upward. All of us were wrong.

According the latest research from the Telework Research Network, telework (sometimes called ″workshifting″) trends over the past five years reflect some unexpected developments. Telework is growing. In actuality, despite the recession, based on United States Census data, 61 percent more employees considered home their primary place of work in 2009 than in 2005. Census data also show that only 2.9 million employees work from home more than half the time (not including the self-employed). Surprisingly, that number only represents 2.3 percent of the workforce.

For most organizations, the ability to work from home, sometimes called flex-place is still considered a perk rather than accepted business practice. A few enlightened employers, both private and public sector have built flex-space and flex-place into their culture with very positive consequences. They have been able to hold onto very talented employees, particularly mothers with professional degrees, who otherwise would have left.

More recently, private sector survey data just released by WorldatWork, suggest that while the overall number of teleworkers declined between 2008 and 2010, the frequency of telework increased. According to this respected source, most employees want to telework; almost 80 percent of employees would do so at least part of the time if allowed. Furthermore, 37 percent of non-teleworkers surveyed would even take a pay cut to be able to have more independence in where and how they work.

While the tools and technologies to support telecommuting are readily available, reasonably priced, and easy to use, currently, most companies simply don't have the culture of trust to support flexible work arrangements. It takes measuring performance and productivity, rather than when, where, or how employees work.

In the future, offering workshifting will not be optional. To attract the best and the brightest talent, employers will simply have to “get over it” and focus on desired results.

Download a copy of the full study at http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/downloads/Telework-Trends-US.pdf

********

BE YOUR COMPANY’S EMPLOYEE RETENTION SPECIALIST

As the economy recovers and skills shortages intensify, a growing number of employees will be looking for greener pastures. Organizations will need your expertise as an Employee Retention Specialist. We have scheduled our Certificate Program again for September 8 and 9 in Las Vegas. Space is limited, so please call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 to register. Of course, we still offer our “Welcome Back” program that allows you to attend again for expenses only.

********

CALCULATE THE HIGH COST OF YOUR EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

With our Bliss-Gately tool, you can calculate the many hard and soft costs, down to the last penny. Great for justifying your investments in retention! At only $249/computer or $999 for a 6-site license, it is a real bargain! Visit http://www.hermangroup.com/store/software.html to order yours today!

********

OPTIMIZING YOUR ONBOARDING OPPPORTUNITY?

For most organizations, there are untapped opportunities in their Onboarding process. If you think something's missing from your process and you'd like a phone consultation---at no charge---call Joyce Gioia (joy-yah) at 336-210-3548.

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Veteran Unemployment

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:05:27 -0600

Lately, there has been a lot of focus in the media on veteran unemployment; young men and woman returning from the Middle East who have found it impossible to find gainful employment. (While we usually look for topics with more global appeal, this issue deserves attention from people who can help now.)

Many recent veterans unable to find work

By Gregg Zoroya , USA TODAY June 17, 2011 Unemployment payments to servicemembers fresh out of the military have doubled since 2008, a sign that veterans are returning from war to an increasingly tough job market. The military paid $882 million in unemployment benefits last year, up from $450 million in fiscal 2008. The 2011 figures are trending even higher.

Veterans are having a particularly tough time finding jobs. The estimated jobless rate among male veterans ages 18-24 was more than 30 percent in May, compared with 18 percent among male civilians of the same age group, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics With some exceptions, troops honorably discharged are eligible for unemployment checks if actively looking for civilian work.
"We're currently spending that much for people who are sitting home becoming more and more depressed," says Sen. Patty Murray , D-Wash., chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee . She is pushing legislation that would help troops enter the civilian workforce.

Last year, more than 90,000 veterans recently out of the service were unemployed for months, some until benefits checks were exhausted, according to the Department of Labor .

State unemployment benefits now last up to 26 weeks, and the average period of unemployment compensation among these veterans last year was 21 weeks, the department says.

The weak economy is one reason for the increase in benefits, says Gay Gilbert, director of the department's office of unemployment insurance.

Each service branch reimburses states for checks written to former servicemembers struggling to find work, the department says.

The Army, the largest service, paid out $505 million in fiscal 2010, up from $226 million in 2008. Navy unemployment checks totaled $99 million in fiscal 2008 and $157 million last year. The Air Force paid $59 million in 2008 and $81 million in 2010. And the Marine Corps wrote $129 million in unemployment checks last year, compared with $63 million in 2008.

Even for former members of the Coast Guard, unemployment benefits rose from $4.6 million in 2008 to $9.5 million last year.
Active-duty troops and former members of the National Guard or Reserve who have been on active duty for 90 continuous days or longer are eligible for benefits.

Legislation that Murray introduced last month would require troops to attend courses in finding work, building careers and improving résumé and interviewing techniques. Currently, these programs are voluntary, except in the Marine Corps.
Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith says the military already plans to expand those programs to focus on information technology and help with licensing and certification so troops can use skills learned in the military — such as work as medics or truck drivers — in civilian employment.

Murray warns that current jobless trends among new veterans could leave more of them homeless. "They're young. They're brave. They're enthusiastic. The world's their oyster," Murray says. "They come home and it's a shock to them that six months later they don't have a job."

Copied below is the USA Today article about young veteran unemployment in today’s issue. For what it covered, it is a good article. I have had several calls wanting to know where the 30 percent number came from. Here is what I have been sending out:
The article by Gregg Zoroya regarding veteran unemployment is an excellent article, but what is missing is (1) the composition of those military members claiming unemployment and (2) why the younger veterans are having problems getting jobs. For over 25 years the overall veteran unemployment rate has ALWAYS been lower than the national unemployment rate. BLS reports the current unemployment rate in the 18 to 24 age group comprised of 60,000 veterans for May 2011 is 31.9 percent, nearly double their civilian counterparts. And the unemployment for the 25 to 29 veteran age group is 14.4 percent with the civilian counterparts is 9.5 percent.

That number comes from the BLS CPR (Household Survey) report. More and more reporters and economists are using the BLS CPS report rather than the BLS CES (employer report) due to the way DOL is playing politics with the CES report. I have attached the May BLS CPS report for you. The information is on page 2.

As you know, economic theory says to drop unemployment 1 percent, you have to have 3.5 percent or more GDP growth for 12 months. But unemployment fell form 10 percent to 9 percent in two months with 2.3 percent GDP growth. How did that happen? DOL decided that @ 1.4 million people dropped out of the workforce. That changed the denominator, and the unemployment rate fell 1 percent for political purposes. Most analysts understand what happened. If you put the numbers back in, then the US unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, not 9.1 percent.

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Drive Employee “Ownership” with Online Feedback

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Employers everywhere want to engage workers. When you can build business at the same time that you drive employee engagement, then you have a win-win.

Facebook boasts some 640 million users worldwide; Twitter receives over 95 million Tweets every day, and Yelp, a website featuring feedback on service providers, has surpassed 50 million unique monthly users. Social media, in one form or another, is undoubtedly here to stay. In fact, 90 percent of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know and 70 percent trust opinions of unknown users.

In the recent past, brands---especially those in the hospitality industry--- had to rely on “small sample size” shopper reports, dated surveys, and/or inconsistent comments cards to evaluate customer perspectives. Now, with all of the websites devoted to reviews and comments from customers, everyone is a critic. Furthermore, the reach and influence of these consumer critics is skyrocketing---through social media. Capitalizing on all of that instant information by presenting it in a way that is understandable and actionable is critical.

At the same time stories of the effects of employee motivation, engagement, and overall attitude on customer service abound. However, one company found, linking employees directly to what customers are saying online has dramatically increased staff ownership of the employee/customer relationship. Enter Minnesota-based Parasole Restaurant Holdings, founders of eclectic, leading-edge concept restaurants, including Buca Di Beppo.

Partnering with newBrandAnaltyics, Parasole effectively captures a complete, real-time view of their customer feedback online, synthesizes it, and generates actionable insights that can immediately improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue.

“Many companies like Parasole are also seeing that sharing online customer feedback from social media channels with their employees gives them a renewed and sustained sense of motivation for and ownership of customer service and the overall customer experience,” explains Ashish Gambhir, Co-Founder of newBrandAnalytics.

Armed with this type of customer feedback data, Parasole employees now understand every customer experience counts, because they read about it on the Internet.

Wise employers especially in the service industries will harness the power of online customer feedback to engage their employees in making things better, adding the incentive of cash reward.

********

NEED HELP IN EMPLOYEE RETENTION? COME TO THE EXPERTS

If you’ve been putting off arranging help for your employee turnover problem, we’ll give you lots of reasons why waiting will be more expensive for everybody. We know you’ll be impressed by her ability to diagnose situations and make recommendations. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 to arrange your no-obligation phone interview today!

********

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL

Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html.

********

CALCULATE THE HIGH COST OF YOUR EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

With our Bliss-Gately tool, you can calculate the many hard and soft costs, down to the last penny. Great for justifying your investments in retention! At only $249/computer or $999 for a 6-site license, it is a real bargain! Works with all versions of Excel. Visit http://www.hermangroup.com/store/software.html to order yours today!

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Vacationing and Living Afloat

Tue, 31 May 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Just in time for summer vacations, Forever Resorts, a worldwide collection of destinations providing hospitality services, introduced its new ″floatels″ on Lake Mead in Nevada. Though they are calling it a ″brand-new accommodation experience″, the company itself has offered luxury houseboats for rental in selected recreational areas for years. The difference is that these houseboats feature multiple, separate living spaces and will stay moored at the National Recreation Area’s Echo Bay Marina.

Advertised as an ideal choice for families, multi-generational groups, gatherings of friends or couples seeking lake accommodations, Floatels, provide travelers with an inexpensive introduction to the houseboating experience.

Each 67-foot Floatel is climate controlled and includes a spacious living area, fully equipped kitchen, four bedrooms and a sleeper sofa (sleeps 10), TV/DVD player, outdoor barbecue grill and a top-level sun deck featuring a wet bar and hot tub. Introductory prices for Floatel rentals start at USD$190 per night for the first four passengers. When you tour the inside, the interior appears to be similar to a recreational vehicle (RV) on the water, only without the constraint of 108″ wide. (RVs are about 108″ wide because that is about the limit for fitting in a traffic lane to travel most roads in the United States.) Find more at http://foreverresorts.com/

Vacations afloat have been available in locations throughout the world for a while, including the Ambassador Floating Hotel in Tucumcari and the floating eco lodge in Uakari, both in the Amazon region of Brazil. Brazil is also building floating hotels to accommodate its visitors for the World Cup in 2014. In addition, we found floating hotels in Sweden, Thailand, Canada, and India.

The Norwegian company Floatel International Ltd. builds housing for workers on offshore oilrigs. Their two models are Floatel Reliance and the Floatel Superior and both are described as ″semi-submersible accommodation vessels″ and have been purchased by major oil companies.

Responding to the burgeoning voluntourism (combining volunteerism and tourism) market*, the leading edge concept we found in our research came from our friends at the top destination design and engineering firm WATG. Their award-winning design for convertible modular living space may be built anywhere and is amazing. Watch their video at http://vimeo.com/14381252

* Half of affluent travelers are interested in voluntourism.

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Global Talent Shortages Intensify

Wed, 25 May 2011 09:00:00 -0600

In spite of persistently high unemployment levels, employers around the world are having increasing difficulty recruiting the people they need. Just last week, ManpowerGroup released the results of its sixth-annual Talent Shortage Survey.

The survey included almost 40,000 employers across 39 countries and territories. Globally, 34 percent of employers say they are having difficulty filling positions. The three most challenging occupations are Technicians, Sales Representatives, and Skilled Trades. The reasons most often cited are lack of experience, lack of available applicants and lack of technical skills. In the US, there is the added reason that candidates looking for more pay than is offered.

Employers are having the most difficulty finding the right people to fill jobs in Japan (80 percent), India (67 percent), and Brazil (57 percent). In the US, 52 percent of employers are experiencing difficulty filling mission-critical positions within their organizations.

In India, the percentage of employers indicating difficulty filling positions jumped a whopping 51 percentage points; the second most significant increase was a 38 percent increase in the US.

A frightening 57 percent of employers report the talent shortage has an impact on key stakeholders”. Moreover, about three-quarters of employers globally cite a lack of experience, skills, or knowledge as the primary reason for their difficulty recruiting. However, only one in five employers is concentrating on training and development to fill the gap.

A mere 6 percent of employers is working more closely with educational institutions to create curriculums that close knowledge gaps. This small percentage represents a major missed opportunity for employers, especially now when many colleges and universities are seeking this partnership.

Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup’s president of the Americas said it best: “It is imperative that these stakeholders work together to address the supply-and-demand imbalance in the labor market in a systematic, agile, and sustainable way.

We are already seeing a renewed focus on employee engagement and retention. Another development: more employers will broaden their people searches to include talented people in other locales, both domestic and foreign. Finally, we will see more employers augmenting their training departments in their tardy attempts to respond to these shortages. Better late than never.

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Herman Trend Alert: Costly Unscheduled Absences Will Accelerate

Mon, 23 May 2011 11:53:00 -0600

Unscheduled absences cost employers a lot of money. There are many causes for those absences, including the employees’ being ill themselves, needing to take care of a sick child or parent, or even their inability to face their commutes. According to Mercer and Kronos, these unscheduled absences (including extended absences) cost organizations about 9.2 percent of payroll each year.
In their recent study, titled “The Total Financial Impact of Employee Absences”, the two consulting firms outlined the direct and indirect costs involved. “Direct Costs” include the cost to pay the salary/wages or benefit provided to the absent employee, and “Indirect Costs”, include the costs of replacement labor expenses and “net lost productivity value”, Mercer’s way of saying “the cost of the productivity lost due to the absence”. Moreover, let us not forget the additional administrative costs to keep track of the additional absences. The total cost to employers is staggering. For an employer with 1,000 employees whose annual salaries average $50,000, 9.2 percent of payroll equals over $4,500,000 per year.

However, when we dig into other figures, there is much more information. According to a new survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Interactive, more than 5 million employed American adults have called into work sick because they could not face their commute. From still another study we learn that the average elder caregiver costs his/her employer over $20,000 per year in unscheduled departures, not to mention the percentage of parents who are forced to stay home, due to their children’s illnesses.

We believe these high costs will accelerate, mostly due to the increasing problems that are the underlying causes, including lack of sick-child- and elder-care assistance, and the inability of employees to telecommute. Finally, there are the general (increasing) stress levels on today’s workers who have been stretched thin for years. After thoroughly examining companies’ policies and procedures, Mercer suggests tackling the underlying issues. We believe their process is backwards. Wise employers will address these critical issues right away, but unfortunately, many others will wait until their costs are even higher than they are today.

********

CALCULATE THE HIGH COST OF YOUR EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

********

REDUCE COSTS BY LOWERING EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND INCREASING ENGAGEMENT: BECOME AN EMPLOYEE RETENTION SPECIALIST!

The economy is picking up; jobs are being created. We will soon see churning in the labor marketplace as we have not seen in years. There are skilled labor shortages all over the world. In two-fast-paced and fun days, we will teach you everything you need to know to create an effective program for your company to engage and retain the talent it needs. We have scheduled it for June 15 and 16 in San Diego, California. Space is limited, so for more information and to register, please call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548. Or check out www.retentionconnection.com/erscp.html

********

EMPLOYEE RETENTION = EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT? NOT ALWAYS!

Just because employees are not leaving does not necessarily mean that they are engaged. In fact, studies tell us over 45% of today's workers are disengaged, costing their employers millions. Help your supervisors, managers, and executives to know what works and what doesn't to keep your good people. For a wealth of information and product offerings, visit our retention website at http://www.retentionconnection.com. Or better yet, engage Joyce or one of the other Herman Group consultants to help you keep people engaged and productive. Consulting and training to meet your needs. For a no-obligation, phone conference, all Joyce at 336-210-3548.

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Corporate Cocooning Revisited

Wed, 11 May 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Remember back in the late 1990s, when some employees were “corporate cocooning”, staying in their jobs, because they were scared. They feared that if they left their jobs and didn’t like the new position that they would be stuck. As the economy improved, we saw an “unprecedented churning” in the labor marketplace.

According to a brand new study from Deloitte, history is repeating itself. Recognizing the improving economy, almost two out of three (65 percent) employees surveyed are “actively testing the job market”.

Titled "Talent Edge 2020: Building the Recovery Together—What Talent Expects and How Leaders Are Responding", the study reveals some insights into the drivers of retention. When asked to list their top three retention incentives, 53 percent of the respondents ranked promotion/job advancement first, followed by increased compensation at 39 percent, and additional bonuses or other financial incentives at 34 percent. Also ranked as an effective retention tactic by a strong 30 percent of surveyed employees was “boosting employee support/recognition from their managers”.

The other highlights of the study are fascinating: the least happy of the generations is the Baby Boomers. They expressed the strongest discontent with their employers and the greatest frustration that their loyalty and hard work have been neither recognized nor rewarded. “Almost one-third (32 percent) of Baby Boomers surveyed say a lack of trust in leadership is a top turnover trigger---the highest ranking by any workforce generation.”

Employers are most vulnerable to lose their Generation X workers. Lack of career progress is their top exit trigger (65 percent). Only 28 percent of Gen X employees surveyed expect to stay. This intention to leave is a clear signal to employers to expect a significant exodus by employees viewed as future leaders.

For the Millennials, their employers' commitment to "corporate responsibility/volunteerism" was very important. Millennials are also nearly three times more likely to say a "fun work environment" is important than their Baby Boomers counterparts.

On the other hand, “employees who plan to stay with their current employers (35 percent) say their companies have strong talent programs, characterized by clear career paths, leadership development initiatives, trust and confidence in corporate leadership, superior programs to retain top talent, and effective communication.”

Employers who begin to take action now will find themselves in a significantly better competitive position than those who are reactive.

NB: This Herman Trend Alert is deliberately longer than most, due to the value of the material covered. Thanks, Deloitte!

*******

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

The Future of Tourism

Wed, 04 May 2011 17:26:39 -0600

As the economies of the world recover, we will see a return to people buying experiences. Whether it is a Windjammer cruise to remote spots or a Linblad Expedition to the Galapagos Islands, whether people want to visit space for 5 minutes on Virgin Galactic or stay at an understated hotel beneath the sea, travelers, particularly aging Boomers, are looking to spend money on being inspired, being educated, and building memories.

Destinations are becoming more remote. As people who have seen many countries of the world seek out destinations not yet visited, we will see an increasing focus on the remote rainforests of Brazil, recently discovered islands, the vast oceans, and selected other places on the planet not yet spoiled by conventional tourism.

We have already seen an uptick in Sustainable Tourism with travelers looking for LEED-qualified* hotels to minimize their carbon footprints. We’re even now witnessing increases in adventure travel, eco- , art, and historical tourism, not to mention safaris to see the wildlife, before the poachers eliminate it altogether.

Moreover, recently consumers enjoyed their first peeks inside Virgin Galactic's passenger spaceship. Visit this URL for a tour: http://laughingsquid.com/a-video-tour-inside-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo/ . For $200,000 for five minutes of weightless, Virgin Galactic may offer the most expensive on the planet! Always looking for new opportunities, Sir Richard Branson will be ready to take you on your undersea adventure as well with Virgin Oceanic. http://laughingsquid.com/sir-richard-branson-takes-on-ocean-exploration-with-virgin-oceanic/

One consumer-driven huge trend we are seeing is the increasingly research of destinations, hotels, cruises, and side trips before people book. Web sites like TripAdvisor.com, CruiseCritic.com, Travelpost.com, and FrugalTraveler.com fill the need for information and reviews.

Finally, for those who can afford it, they will travel in smaller groups, paying higher fees for more personalized experiences.
According to the World Tourism Council, the big winners with increasing tourism between 2008 and 2018 will be the US and China. The Council expects the US to increase one Trillion dollars and China to increase by even more.

The bottom line is that more and more people are seeking “life-changing experiences”, and tour operators, cruise lines, and others will be there to supply the experiences.

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

*LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; a Green Building Rating System that is internationally recognized as a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

India and its Potential

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:12:07 -0600

Not long ago, the Indian government announced the results of its USD$490 million investment to conduct a census. At 1.21 billion, India’s people now represent 17 percent of the world’s population. That is more than the populations of the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh combined. The increase between 2001 and 2011 was 181 million, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Brazil.

In fact, by 2030, experts had expected India to overtake China as the world's most populous nation, however figures show its growth rate is falling (slower than at any time since 1947) and China has 1.3 billion people.

The census also revealed a most disturbing societal issue---a continuing preference for boys. Actually, India's sex ratio (female to male) is at its worst level since its independence in 1947. Although sex-selective abortion based on ultrasound scans is illegal, female feticide and infanticide remain common in India; with limited resources to feed children, families think of sons as future wage earners. Statistics show fewer girls than boys are being born or surviving.

According to the 2011 census, 914 girls were born for every 1,000 boys under the age of six, compared with 927 for every 1,000 boys in the census ten years earlier. This gender imbalance has had far-reaching consequences for China, where the gap is even greater. There, wealthier families are ″buying″ brides from other countries for their young men.

Though India’s Census Commissioner C Chandramauli cited this issue as “a matter of grave concern”, it is doubtful that policy enforcement will change soon. On the education front, the census shared good news: the literacy rate went up to 74 percent from about 65 percent in the last count. (According to the CIA World Factbook, the US literacy rate is now 85.4 percent---on par with Brazil, Libya and Iran!)

India’s growing population and its dedication to education have already made it a force to be reckoned with on the world stage. With increasing numbers of middle class and millionaires, India will have the resources and the will to give the US and other countries “a run for their money”.

********

ARE YOU IN HUMAN RESOURCES?

One of our colleagues, Rohit Talwar with Fast Future is conducting a strategic foresight study on behalf of a client on the future of the HR function in medium to large organizations. They are launching a survey to test the ideas and challenges emerging from their research. They are interested in the views of those who work in HR and those who are served by the HR function. Please take some time to complete the survey and share the link with your colleagues. Please visit http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C9G47NE4U/ to participate. The survey closes on May 4, 2011. They will be grateful for your help and will donate $1 to the Save the Children Fund for each completed response.

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Startling Trends in Media

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Most of us take our media for granted, newspapers, television, online, and more. We expect these sources of news and entertainment to be there, when we want them. However, a new study from Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, "The State of the News Media 2011" offers some fascinating insights into the near-term future of media.

There are two major trends emerging. One, which we have reported on before, is the continuing migration to mobile as an increasingly important source for news and entertainment. Almost half of all Americans (47 percent) now seek some form of local news on a mobile device. Blackberries, Androids, iPhones, iPads, and new hybrid mobile devices provide the hardware for delivery.

The second and related development is that more people are moving away from television, cable, and newspapers, looking instead, for their news online. With increasing audiences and revenues, online news sources hired their own reporters in record numbers in 2010, and some expect to hire more. These increases, in the face of newspaper and broadcast and cable networks losses, are significant. In fact, every news channel is losing audience with the exception of online.

One would think that therefore, the Internet sites like AOL, Bloomberg, and HuffingtonPost would be in a fantastic position. However, due to the nature of the new distribution systems, a portion of the revenue belongs to the channel delivering a substantial percentage of their audience, e.g., Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. Moreover, news organizations rely increasingly on outside providers to sell their ads, combine their readers, and develop the software that lets them deliver their content digitally.

Also worth mentioning is that seven of the top 25 newspapers in the United States are now owned by hedge funds. Very interesting!

Driven by profit, other news networks will soon adopt France 24's model. Reporting in French, English, and Arabic, the network uses thousands of "observers", throughout the world, including professional journalists, as well as enthusiastic amateurs. Once registered, anyone may contribute a piece---and enjoy onscreen credit with his/her picture. This model has tremendous appeal to providers and consumers alike.

********

OPTIMIZING YOUR ONBOARDING OPPPORTUNITY?

********

GET THE“EMPLOYER OF CHOICE” BOOK ON YOUR DESKTOP TODAY

The business bestseller, “How to Become an Employer of Choice” is available in an electronic version for only $17.80.Visit http://hermangroup.com/store/books_all.html#2 to order.

********

LOOKING FOR A DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER?

You need look no farther. Joyce Gioia (joy-yah) is a sought-after speaker for corporate and association audiences. Joyce shares her knowledge and expertise about talent engagement and retention with business executives around the globe. Her understandings and insights will inform and fascinate you. For more information, call Carol McKinney at 336-282-9370 or visit the web site at http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html for more information on Joyce's topics.

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Far-Reaching Effects of Video Gaming

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Empathy is one of those character traits parents hope they foster in their children. That’s why a new study published in the "Journal of Children and Media" is so troubling. Simmons College communications professor Edward Vieira, Jr., PhD has confirmed, what many parents have long suspected---that children's prolonged exposure to violent video games can affect their ability to develop empathy and sympathy.

Vieira's is the first study to examine how violent video games have an impact on the development of moral reasoning in children ages 7 to 15. Considering many variables, including age, gender, and the ability to sympathize, the research suggests that children who frequently play these violent games are receiving the negative messages. These messages tell them there are "no consequences for violence". The concern arises when there is a convergence between the receipt of these messages and other negative environmental factors, like poor parental communication and unhealthy peer relationships.

It is not surprising that the study found that frequent exposure to this viciousness contributes to children's perceptions that some types of violence are "acceptable" or "right". Moreover, the study found that children who spend a lot of time playing violent video games (defined by the Entertainment Software Rating Board) have an increased likelihood of accepting all types of violence. Twenty-five percent of the video games played contained "intense violence, blood, and gore".

The study confirmed that boys spend twice as much time playing violent video games as girls do; it also highlighted the increased risk boys face of becoming desensitized. Additionally, the study found that although a high percentage of children polled ranged in ages from 7 to 12, many reported playing games rated "M" for "Mature content"*, games designated for ages 17 and older.

The temptation for parents to share video activities with their children or use violent video games as babysitters may have serious consequences for both the family and society. With the Columbine Shootings a fading memory, more studies will highlight this correlation between violent video gaming and increased aggression. This understanding will lead to increased attention by parents and government to this critical societal issue.

* Mature content games contain intense violence, blood, gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.

********

GET CONNECTED WITH JOYCE ON LINKEDIN

If you enjoy the Herman Trend Alert, you will surely want to connect with Joyce on LinkedIn. Find her @Joyce L. Gioia.

********

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL

Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more @: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html

********

HELP MY FUTURIST COLLEAGUE?

One of my colleagues Rohit Talwar of Fast Future Research is conducting research for their Convention 2020 Survey about innovation and future strategy for meeting venues. They are looking for the views of event attendees, those who work in the events industry, and those who work in venues---so everyone's views are of interest. Please visit http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C7KMFHGTJ to participate. The closing date for completing the survey is midnight GMT on May 1st 2011. For each completed entry, they will donate $1 to the Save the Children Fund.

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Leadership Predicament: Promotion by Anointment

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 -0600

A recently released study from CareerBuilder confirms what we have been saying for years---that most companies are not training their people before moving them into leadership. In fact, in this CareerBuilder study, 58 percent of managers said they had “not received any management training”, when they began managing others.

Given these numbers, it is not surprising that 41 percent of workers did not rate their direct supervisors as doing a “good or great job”. While only 20 percent described their direct supervisor's performance as “poor or very poor”, workers expressed a number of troubling concerns:

• “[played] favorites” (23 percent)

• “[didn't] follow through on what he/she promised” (21 percent)

• “[didn't] listen to concerns” (21 percent)

• “[didn't] provide regular feedback” (20 percent)

• “[didn't] keep me motivated” (17 percent)

• “[didn't] help me develop” (17 percent)

• “Only [provided] negative feedback” (14 percent)

Workers rated the performance of their corporate leaders more severely. Only 50 percent felt their leadership teams were doing a “good or great job”. Simultaneously, 23 percent described their performance as “poor or very poor”. While the problems cited with corporate leaders included insufficient communication, unrealistic workloads, and a lack of training and employee development, significant numbers of workers had concerns that are more serious:

• 40 percent said top leaders didn't “make an effort to listen to employees or address employee morale”

• 33 percent said there was “not enough transparency, [didn't] communicate openly and honestly”

• 30 percent said “major changes [were] made without warning”

• 27 percent said “workloads and productivity demands [were] unreasonable” (we are surprised this number was not higher)

• 21 percent said “[didn’t] motivate me”

• 20 percent said that corporate leaders “stopped investing in the development of employees”

Though this study was United States-centric, based on our research, we believe a similar study conducted with workers in other countries would have yielded similar results.

We expect to see more corporate leaders making the critical investment in management training programs to develop their current and future leaders. Those that do not will suffer the consequences both today and tomorrow.

********

FREE INSIGHTS FOR THE CLICKING

Do you appreciate Joyce's insights in the Herman Trend Alert? Then you will surely want to follow her insightful tweets on Twitter. Search for JoyceGioia on Twitter.com and start receiving her interesting insights on the future and social networking right away!

********

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL

********

ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS WITH ASSOCIATES IN SE ASIA

Are your friends challenged to deal with their Gen Y employees or their contingent workers? Then you will certainly want them to attend one of our effective 2-day workshops called "Decoding Gen Y” or “Winning with your Contingent Workforce”. Great bonuses, including two hours of consulting included. For more information, email Betty Sun at betty@ipa-group.com

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Addressing Global Nursing Shortages

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Some years ago, the multidisciplinary Global Advisory Group of the World Health Organization acknowledged a worldwide shortage of nurses. The shortage was caused by an increased demand for nurses, while fewer people were choosing the nursing profession and the nurses worldwide were aging. The shortage applied to nurses in practice as well as the nurse faculty who taught students. The lack of nurse faculty meant that we could not train as many nurses.

That’s why we were pleased to see the news from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) that enrollment in doctoral nursing programs increased significantly last year. In fact, enrollments in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral nursing programs all continued to increase.

In October 2010, the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a landmark report on ″The Future of Nursing″. The report recommended a doubling of the number of nurses in the United States workforce with doctoral degrees. With widespread growth in the number of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs, nursing is well on its way to achieving this recommendation. In just five years, the number of schools offering the DNP has increased from 20 programs in 2006 to 153 programs in 2010. Last year, enrollment in these programs grew by 35.3 percent with 7,034 students now enrolled in DNP programs.

In spite of all of this good news, the number of students turned away reached a new high. Though interest in nursing programs is strong, thousands of qualified applicants are turned away from four-year colleges and universities. In fact, AACN's survey found that 67,563 qualified applications were not accepted at schools of nursing last year, due primarily to a shortage of faculty and resource constraints. The top reasons reported by nursing schools for not accepting all qualified students into entry-level baccalaureate programs, include insufficient clinical teaching sites (65.1percent), a lack of faculty (62.2percent), limited classroom space (48.2percent), insufficient preceptors (30.1percent), and budget cuts (29.3percent).

With Baby Boomers worldwide aging, expect the demand for nurses to row and to see more nurse migration across borders, as these valuable healthcare professionals look for the best opportunities.

********

WORLD TOUR EXPANDED TO SIX CITIES

Joyce's Singaporean sponsors have decided to expand her World Tour to include Shanghai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Dubai, and now, Brunei in late April and early May. If you live in Asia or the Middle East and would like to schedule customized corporate training for one day or half day presentations, please contact Betty Sun at International Platform Allianz Group. Joyce's 2-day workshops will be focused on "Decoding Gen-Y" and "Winning with your Contingent Workforce". Drop Betty an email at betty@ipa-group.com and begin a dialogue.

********

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL

********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

Economic Significance of Meetings and Events

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Building on its previous research, The Convention Industry Council recently released a new study, "The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy". This landmark study revealed that the United States of the face-to-face meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs and provides a $106 billion contribution to GDP. Moreover, it is responsible for $263 billion in spending, $60 billion in labor revenue, $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue, and $11.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.

Sponsored by an alliance of 14 organizations and conducted by PwC US, the study is the first‐ever study of the size and scope of its kind. Though somewhat self-serving, the research quantified the economic contributions made by the 1.8 million meetings, trade shows, conventions, congresses, incentive events and other meetings that take place across the country.

In 2009, a similar study demonstrated the return on investment and the value of face‐to‐face meetings. The meetings industry can play a critical role in supporting jobs in communities and helping bring the US out of its economic slowdown. Meetings can create environments that foster innovation, consensus, and business success.

This new research quantifies the economic significance of the sector for legislators, regulators, and economists. Conducting this research was a very important move to eliminate the possibility of what happened in 2008, when the current administration came down hard on financial institutions that had planned large expensive meetings.

The 1.7 million jobs generated by the meetings industry are larger than many other US industries. Those jobs generate $60 billion in labor income and support another 4.6 million workers, including industry suppliers and others. All told, the Total Economic Output provided is $907 billion to the US economy, about 16 percent of the GDP, and kept a total of 6.3 million people employed in full- and part-time jobs.

In spite of the popularity of new electronic media, we expect the face-to-face meetings industry to continue to grow and to continue to contribute more to the US GDP. We also believe that were the studies available for other parts of the world, we would see similar, if not greater, increases.

********

OPTIMIZING YOUR ONBOARDING OPPPORTUNITY?

For most organizations, there are untapped opportunities in their Onboarding process. If you think something could improved in your process and you'd like a phone consultation ---at no charge---call Joyce Gioia (joy-yah) at 336-210-3548.

********

LOOKING FOR A DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER?

********

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL

*********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia

2011 Trends in Learning Delivery

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0600

Kiosk Learning,

Caroline Avey - 2/9/11

The way people, technology and learning meet is continually changing, moving toward increases in fidelity, convenience, collaboration, specificity and confluence.

This is a year of opportunity for chief learning officers to assess their learning strategy in the context of a constantly evolving and changing business environment. The challenges for today’s CLOs are more complex than ever: They are required not only to demonstrate clear value and business relevance for their learning strategy on a global stage, but also their ability to link learning and performance programs directly to the goals of their organization, despite constraints in time, budget and talent. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary skills on the part of our CLOs as they creatively balance the demand for knowledge and information against the realities of changing content and instructional design, disappearing content expertise, disruptive technologies, demand for on-the-job proficiency and an increasingly dispersed workforce with less tolerance for off-the-job formal learning.

Last year saw the introduction of new technologies that could increase access to information but blurred the lines between learning content, learners and expertise. Organizations embraced experimentation with mobile or tablet devices for learning, immersive 3-D or collaborative environments, and the incorporation of wikis, micro-blogging or podcasts as learning tools. So what is on the horizon for 2011? Let’s take a look.

Increased Fidelity of Experience

As access to learners becomes increasingly precious, managers are demanding that learning be as relevant to the job as possible. This means an increased demand for highly relevant experience, immediate transfer of content to on-the-job proficiency, and the ability to provide a holistic learning experience that models job requirements, such as the ability to demonstrate multiple skills and decision-making in a robust learning exercise. The ability for learning to apply to real life is termed “fidelity” by the industry. We’ve seen an increase in complex gaming, immersive simulations and the use of technology as a business modeling engine. Examples of complex gaming include a group of engineers who compete in an online game to design the best solution or a group of sales executives who participate in a sales conference game to test and challenge their ability to gather information about a prospective client in order to present a proposal. While most organizations have courseware to support competencies for particular roles, some are looking at learning activities that challenge cross-functional groups of learners to work together for an improved business result. Fidelity can be a highly desirable design element where online learning looks exactly like the Web page of the firm or dynamically renders images of a tool for technology training.

Business modeling is another tool that can be used to create a high fidelity experience for the learner. Unlike branched solutions — where a learner selects from a given set of options and then continues on that path, choosing from a fixed set of options — business modeling allows the learner to make multiple discreet decisions. The modeling engine provides each learner with unique feedback and allows the learner to see both the relationship and the magnitude of decisions. An example is financial training for managers of a business unit. The learner is challenged to respond to the loss of a major customer, in which he or she looks at aspects of the business and decides whether to increase, decrease or not change new sales efforts. Similar decisions are made for managing inventory, employee morale, etc. The model then shows the impact of the multiple decisions.

Kiosk Learning

Retail and customer service counter industries are moving into using devices, such as the iPod Touch — and, more recently, the iPad — as tools to access learning. Many organizations have groups of employees who are remote from computers, or their computers may be point-of-sale devices or call center workstations that have limited capacity to run engaging learning that includes multimedia. An iPad allows multiple users to learn on a single device, so iPads posted at remote locations become digital learning kiosks. Additionally, iPads allow for multiple user log-ons, so that learning can be tracked by user through distance-learning applications.

Such learning kiosks enhance on-the-job accessibility to learning: The learner avoids travel to a learning location and can make use of any downtime. A key advantage of the learning kiosk concept is putting the learning at the point of need – not only for traditional courseware, but also on-the-job support. Examples of the use of kiosk learning in retail range from skills enhancement training for customer serving counter agents at an international airline to new product training for retail store counter clerks that can be updated as customer sales and data evolve.

Crowdsourcing for Learning Assignments

Web 2.0 tools and platforms continue to provide a collaborative environment for knowledge workers and learners. Although the most popular tools in use are still simple solutions, such as e-mail, instant messaging, Web conferencing and file sharing, users are becoming more sophisticated in combining various tools to meet their particular need. Skype is making inroads in the corporate world for connecting learners to tutors or subject matter experts. There’s also a trend toward embedding wikis and blogs into learning programs or instant messaging into other collaboration events in an effort to improve e-learning effectiveness.

Organizations are investing in external tools, such as NewsGator or Q2 Learning to provide robust collaboration environments, whereas lighter tools such as Ning and Moodle are still popular for blogging and discussions. Google is focusing on collaboration tools, and Google Apps are being used in education and are crossing over to the corporate sector for document creation with real-time editing, sharing controls and seamless compatibility for learners.

Examples of crowdsourcing as a learning strategy range from the capture of best practices during planning process training for a military group to capturing cadres of learners’ assignments posted for technical training on SharePoint for an energy company.

Data Mining

Micro-learning and user-generated content in blogs, wikis and YouTube-like video servers can become information overload to learners. While access to thousands of knowledge objects may initially be appealing to learners, they can quickly become discouraged and disinterested if their search results are not relevant. The key for learners is to access knowledge sites and get exactly what they need and only what they need. First and foremost, knowledge systems must have robust search and tagging systems to accommodate data inquiry. Additionally, users must either be trained to use the system or, more preferably, the system should be a highly intuitive one that guides the user and recognizes his or her preferences. Intelligent systems search for relevant words, such as the Google search engine does; these systems look at the affinity of a learner’s search pattern and then make intelligent recommendations. While CLOs may or may not manage knowledge management systems, it will be important to contribute input into how these systems will support access for learners.

The LMS Adds Informal Learning

Learning encompasses both performance readiness through formal learning and performance proficiency as well as support through informal learning and social networking. The traditional LMS hosting a catalog of courseware may not be robust enough to support a learner’s need to search for specific formal learning support objects and provide ready access to knowledge objects and collaboration sites. Many of the LMS providers are responding by adding their version of wikis, blogs and communities of interest.

There is strong interest in overlaying the traditional LMS interface with a “front door” portal that not only provides links to traditional courseware on the LMS, but also provides access to informal learning, such as wikis and blogs. This type of portal is more demand-ready so that the user can easily browse for topics or take an assessment to identify a gap in knowledge, with the gap report providing links to both formal courseware and informal learning content that addresses the identified need.

So What Does The Future Hold?

Technology will continue to push our comfort zone, with avatar experiences in 3-D on mobile devices; use of cloud computing to enable access to software; holographic imaging to increase the fidelity of a learning environment; personal LMS sites for users to track firm, academic and other professional experiences; and increased capability for augmented reality solutions with cheaper broadband access through a wide range of devices.

What about traditional instructor-led courseware? It won’t go away, but firms will continue to be more selective on when to use traditional face-to-face group learning. The experiences will be richer, simulating on-the-job experiences for immediate job transfer. Firms will look to tools and templates for rapid authoring of instructor-led courseware.

Caroline Avey is a learning strategist and director of innovative learning solutions at ACS Learning Services, a Xerox company and learning and development service provider. She can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.

*********

Looking Forward. . .

Joyce L. Gioia