|
One More Thing
Immersion Groups
West Embraces Generation Yers
Other
Helpful Information
Immersion Groups
Did You Know that Focus Groups May Not Be As Effective In Gaining Views as
Most Thought? Business Week, in the November 14 electronic issue suggests that
there are alternative methods to focus groups that are as effective. These
groups are called "Immersion Groups." West believes that whatever method a
company chooses to evaluate a product or service that it is imperative to obtain
opinions from customers or potential customers on a continuing basis. (Source:
BusinessWeek 11/14) Top
West Embraces Generation Yers
They’re young, smart, and brash. They want to work, but they don’t want work
to be their life. This is Generation Y, a force of as many as 70 million, and
the first wave is just now embarking on their careers, Bruce Tulgan says who is
a researcher, author, and founder of Rainmaker Thinking, a New Haven,
Connecticut based company.
Generation Y’s are also known as echo boomers and millennials who are born
between 1977 and 2002. Narrower definitions put Generation Yers as those ages 16
to 27, born from 1978 to 1989. This age group is moving into the labor force
during a time of major demographic change, as companies around the USA face an
aging workplace. Freshly minted college graduates are overseeing employees old
enough to be their parents. New job entrants are changing careers faster than
college students change their majors, creating frustration for employers
struggling to retain and recruit talented high-performers.
What is known about Generation Yers?
 |
They have financial smarts: After witnessing the financial insecurity
that beset earlier generations stung by layoffs and dot-com bust,
today’s newest entrants into the workforce are generally savvy when it
comes to money and savings. |
|
|
Work-life balance isn’t just a buzz word: Unlike boomers who tend to put
a high priority on careers, today’s youngest workers are more interested
in making their jobs accommodate their family and personal lives. |
|
|
Change, change, change: Generation Yers don’t expect to stay in a job,
or even a career, for too long-they’ve seen the scandals that imploded
Enron and Arthur Anderson, and they’re skeptical when it comes to such
concepts as employee loyalty. |
|
|
High expectations of self: They aim to work faster and better than other
workers. |
|
|
High expectations of employers: They want fair and direct managers who
are highly engaged in their professional development. |
|
|
Ongoing learning: They seek out creative challenges and view colleagues
as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge. |
|
|
Immediate responsibility: They want to make an important impact on Day
1. |
|
|
Goal -Oriented: They want small goals with tight deadlines so they can
build up ownership of tasks. |
(Refer to USA TODAY, 11/6/2005 for detail) Top
Other Helpful
Information
Julian S. House participated in Teleconference titled
“The Art of Being the Boss: Manage, Motivate, & Inspire”. on November 15,
2005. This seminar was sponsored by the Principal Financial Group. The
speaker for this seminar was Diana Poley who is the CEO and Founder of Poley
Enterprises.
Key Points and Lessons Learned from this Educational Session are:
Poley’s Personal Leadership Skills
-
Independent
-
Goal- oriented
-
Direct
-
Fair & Honest
-
Passionate
3 Strengths that Make the “Best Boss”
-
A Clear Dedicated Leader
-
Having Honest and Open Communication (The boss must
communicate the direction of the company well.)
-
Having a Good Sense of Fun ( People want to look
forward to going into work each day)
Challenges that Small Businesses Face
-
Managing growth
-
Lack of growth
|
|
Turnover Issues
|
|
|
No Outlook on Growth
|
|
|
Have recruiting and delegating capabilities
available |
-
Having a clear goal
-
Having open communication ( A simple method that
everyone in the company goes by)
-
Making sure everyone knows what their
responsibilities are as well as what the company does as well.
-
Bosses being completely honest with their employees
-
Having a good partnership with your staff
How Do You Handle Breaking Bad Bews to Employees?
-
Set the stage well in advance of bad news
-
Having open and honest communication
What Do You Do When Your Company is Facing a Difficult Financial
Situation?
-
Analyze why you are having a financial difficulty.
-
When financial situations are good, prepare well in
advance for a rainy day.
Employee Recruitment & Retention
-
Success Profiles
|
|
Knowledge Requirements
|
|
|
Behavioral Characteristics ( example: creativity,
ability to work multiple tasks)
|
-
Employee Evaluations (Happy employees are more
productive)
-
Leadership skills to Inspire & Motivate
|
|
Hard Tools such as tracking (example: Billable
hours) |
|
|
Capacity Analysis ( what capacity do we have as a
company to take on multiple projects)
|
“As Taken From Other Organizations in the Know”
-
U.S. Department Of Labor Announces $1.1 Million
Grant To Assist Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Kentucky
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a National
Emergency Grant (NEG) of $1.1 million to the state of Kentucky to
provide employment assistance and training to evacuees of Hurricane
Katrina. The funds, awarded to the Kentucky Cabinet for Workforce
Development, will assist approximately 447 evacuees statewide. "My home
state of Kentucky has welcomed Hurricane Katrina survivors with open
arms and generous hearts," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This
$1.1 million grant to Kentucky will provide Katrina survivors with job
training and placement services they need to get started in new jobs so
that they can rebuild their lives."
-
Ali Honored at Opening of Hometown Center
Muhammad Ali can still draw a big crowd. The boxing great took center
stage in his hometown (Louisville, KY) Saturday night to celebrate the opening of the
Muhammad Ali Center, a six-story tribute to Ali's storied career and a
legacy to his ideals of peace and tolerance. The Hollywood-style event,
at a performing-arts center next door to the Ali Center, drew an adoring
cast of actors, singers, athletes and even a former president, Bill
Clinton—reflecting the champ's star appeal. "The world is a better place
because of you," Clinton said. "You thrilled us as a fighter and you
inspired us even more as a force for peace and reconciliation,
understanding and respect." Though frail, Ali still flashed his famous
playfulness. Diversity Inc. Newsletter, Monday, November 21, 2005.
-
Study: Growing pressure on hospital EDs threaten
access to care
Growing pressures on hospital emergency departments, from
persuading specialists to provide on-call coverage to dealing with a
growing number of patients with serious mental illness, could compromise
access to emergency care and add to rising health care costs, according
to a study released today by the Center for Studying Health System
Change based on site visits to 12 U.S. communities. The rising pressures
are a result of larger forces throughout the health care system,
including financial incentives that reward specialist physicians for
performing more procedures outside general hospitals, diminishing access
to primary care, and declining funding for community-based mental health
services, the study indicates. From AHA News NOW, November 18, 2005
-
Decaf Coffee Might Slightly Boost
Heart-Disease Risk
Decaffeinated coffee may boost certain risk factors for cardiovascular
disease. In a study reported Wednesday at the American Heart
Association's annual meeting in Dallas, decaffeinated coffee raised LDL
-- or "bad" -- cholesterol, possibly by increasing levels of a blood fat
called apolipoprotein B. Experts warned that it is not yet time to
substitute leaded for unleaded morning fuel, however.
November 16, 2005 08:42:01 PM PST
By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter HealthDay News
-
HR Weekly News of the American Society of Human
Resource Management in its November 7, 2005 electronic newsletter contains a
number of articles highlighting critical issues facing businesses. Among
these are “Overtime on Top of Double Time” and “Flu Season Takes Toll on
Bottom Line.” Go to shrm.org.
-
NAWBO SmartBrief provides news, tips and other information that is useful
for growing especially women-owned and small businesses. The November 8,
2005 issue indicates that the number of construction companies owned by
women increased by 30% from 1998 to 2004, whereas the number of women-owned
businesses in all fields grew 17.4% in the same period. The same issue has a
number of other articles of interest to include “Small Businesses Grapple
with Health Coverage Costs and Improved Software Making Business More
Intelligent.” This issue of NAWBO SmartBrief provides the following quote of
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric:
“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action
rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.” For more information, go to
smartbrief.com.
-
The Diversity Inc. newsletter keeps companies current on a wide range of
corporate-diversity initiatives, legal issues and national diversity trends.
Articles for the 11/10/2005 email newsletter includes “Honor Veterans
by Ensuring Career Opportunities Back Home” and “Would a Male Candidate
‘Bake a Mean Sweet Potato Pie.” Concerning Veterans and Soldiers returning
from the war, Secretary Chao of the U.S. Department of Labor kicked off a
new initiative. She indicates the following:
"The ‘Key To Career Success' cards and REALifelines Online advisor are part
of our outreach efforts to help veterans and returning soldiers access good
job opportunities and develop new career pathways, "said Labor Secretary
Elaine L. Chao. “Our servicemen and women have put themselves in harm's way
to protect our homeland and help other countries achieve freedom and
democracy. We want to do everything we can to welcome them home and
facilitate their reintegration into civilian life.” Go to the DOL website at
WWW.dol.gov to obtain more information about Secretary Chao’s outreach
efforts and www.Diversityinc.com for more information about its newsletter.
-
The Board Cafe Emporium offers good advice for non-profit boards
particularly. This month's main course article, “Board Chair: Making Your
Mark” offers a practical and simple approaches to promote positive
relationships with board members and to “get the job done.” Among the
suggestions are to “choose three objectives for the year that you want to
accomplish as board chair-one for the organization, one for the board and
one for yourself.” Another is to meet with board members individually. Go
to www.boardcafe.org for a copy of this month's featured article that you
can use. Back to Top
Main Page----Company Information-----Services & Programs----Publications
|
