By: Victoria McGrane November 6, 2009 08:40 AM EST
Democrats – headed into an historic health care vote this weekend — got smacked in the face with a 10.2 percent unemployment rate in October, the government reported Friday.
The jobless rate is well above the 9.9 percent that economists expected and breaks the psychological barrier of 10 percent, topping double digits for the first time in 26 years. It's the last headline the Obama administration wanted to see going into the House healthcare vote, and White House officials were already heading to the airwaves Friday morning to talk up the economy.
In all, employers shed 190,000 non-farm jobs last month.
The tough numbers arm House Republicans with fresh political ammo against the trillion-dollar House health care bill, which could come to a vote as early as Saturday. The GOP has been relentlessly pushing the narrative that Democrats are obsessed with creating ever-bigger government at the expense of the economy, and Democratic response to the bad employment news was thin on Friday morning while Republicans pounced.
“Democrats Job-Killing Agenda Must Cease,” declared a press release from Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.).
"As unemployment tops 10 percent this holiday season, Republicans have put jobs and the economy first, and are focused on developing real solutions that will put Americans back to work," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said. "Increasing taxes on small business, as Democrats will do to pay for government run health care, is the wrong approach."
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele slammed the Obama for pushing a “phony” message on economic recovery that GOP election wins Tuesday prove voters aren’t buying anyway.
“With so many families looking for work, it is time the Obama administration stop spreading their phony ‘saved or created' talking points and start creating the dependable jobs America needs,” Steele said in a statement. “President Obama promised jobs during his campaign for president, and the elections in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday were a clear referendum on his failure to deliver on this promise.”
Democrats are in a defensive crouch on the unemployment figures, and still blame Republicans for blocking critical economic measures.
“These are crocodile tears from politicians who had to be dragged kicking and screaming just to extend unemployment benefits to the long-term unemployed,” Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, told POLITICO, referring to Senate Republicans’ repeated objections to passing legislation extending jobless benefits. “Only Washington Republicans would argue that the way to create jobs is to allow insurance companies to fix prices and deny insurance to sick people.”
Even though it was higher than expected, the upward trend in unemployment comes as no surprise to economists and administration officials alike. Nonetheless, the increase is an uncomfortable reminder for the Obama administration that they’re facing a long string of bad headlines on the economy, despite other evidence that the economy is shaking off the recession.
Anticipating the numbers heading upward, the White House had scheduled Obama to sign legislation extending jobless benefits Friday – a bill Congress cleared just under the wire Thursday and which would also expand and extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit.
The signing ceremony was to be closed to the press, but the president is now expected to appear on camera in late morning.
Obama aides nevertheless were dismayed by the worse-than-expected figure. The White House activated a plan calling for the president’s economic advisers to hit the cable channels at 9:30 a.m. A written presidential statement is also planned.
Congressional Democrats also seemed caught flat-footed, lagging well behind their Republican critics in responding to the exceptionally bad jobs numbers. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the joint economic committee, beat out leadership in both chambers, sending out a statement at 9:14 a.m.
“Today’s unemployment report puts a harsh number on the suffering felt by Americans nationwide. While the economy has shown signs of life in recent weeks – durable goods orders are rising and initial unemployment claims are at their lowest point in nearly a year – the problem of joblessness is still pervasive; and it will not be solved overnight,” she said.
There’s wide consensus that the jobless rate hovers above10 percent before it starts to head back down, and it could remain above that figure well into 2010. Hiring typically lags behind other signs of economic recovery in a recession, and this recession has seen deeper job cuts than previous recessions.
The unemployment figures are also sure to up the pressure on Democrats to take steps to boost job creation – all while being careful not to do anything large enough to earn the label of “stimulus,” which would suggest that the first one they did this year didn’t work.
Mike Allen contributed to this story.
© 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
140 Google Interview Questions
Lewis Lin, an Interview Coach in the Seattle area, recently posted these 140 Google Interview Questions on his blog at http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/02/140-google-interview-questions.html.
20 More Weeks of Unemployment Aid
The Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that would extend unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks in states with rates of joblessness above 8.5 percent, which means the jobless in those areas could get up to 99 weeks of benefits. (States with lower rates would get 14 weeks.) This is the "second stimulus" some have buzzed about (though Democratic leadership has avoided the term); it contains other measures to boost the economy as well, all of which were in the original $787 billion stimulus package but were set to expire. This includes an extension of a first-time homebuyer tax credits, credits for homeowners who lived in the same place for at least five years, and would allow businesses who suffered operating losses in 2008-2009 to seek refunds on taxes paid over the past five years. The legislation will likely pass the House Thursday and be quickly signed by President Obama.
(Source: The Daily Beast, November 5, 2009)
(Source: The Daily Beast, November 5, 2009)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Moms Increasingly Going Back to Work in Recession
Thursday , October 29, 2009
By Julie Banderas/Fox News
With men accounting for 72 percent of the nation's job losses since the beginning of the recession, many American families are looking to mom to bring home the bacon. Recent studies found that 40 percent of American women are now the primary earners for their families, and that means more and more moms are going back to work — or at least trying to.
"If you had told me five years ago I would be doing what I'm doing now, I might have said no way," said Liz Morgan, a full-time mom who hopes to return to the workforce.
Morgan, 44, worked for 13 years as a legal publisher before taking on the role of a stay-at-home mom. She left her job four years ago to spend more time with her kids, as her husband's small business provided for their family of five.
But being a stay-at-home mom is a luxury the Morgans can no longer afford.
"I thought, well, it shouldn't be too hard to find a part-time job, and that proved to be more difficult too. I'm not only competing with people my own age — there are a lot of younger people who have more flexible hours," she said. "I basically want to work between 8 and 3."
"They face a motherhood penalty which will make it harder for them," said Pam Stone, a professor of sociology at Hunter College in New York. "It would be hard enough because they have interrupted their careers and their skills are getting rusty."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that an increasing number of married women with a college education between the ages of 25 and 44 are working. Some see the predominantly "male'" recession as an opportunity for women to make a new start.
"The sectors that men have traditionally found good jobs in — finance and technology — aren't going to be doing well going forward," said Sylvia Hewlett, founder of the Center for Work Life Policy.
"So I think a lot of couples are understanding that over the long haul it's the wife and the mother that has the better prospects in the job market."
Times have definitely changed, but not completely: despite women making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women continue to be paid 23 cents less than men for every dollar earned, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
By Julie Banderas/Fox News
With men accounting for 72 percent of the nation's job losses since the beginning of the recession, many American families are looking to mom to bring home the bacon. Recent studies found that 40 percent of American women are now the primary earners for their families, and that means more and more moms are going back to work — or at least trying to.
"If you had told me five years ago I would be doing what I'm doing now, I might have said no way," said Liz Morgan, a full-time mom who hopes to return to the workforce.
Morgan, 44, worked for 13 years as a legal publisher before taking on the role of a stay-at-home mom. She left her job four years ago to spend more time with her kids, as her husband's small business provided for their family of five.
But being a stay-at-home mom is a luxury the Morgans can no longer afford.
"I thought, well, it shouldn't be too hard to find a part-time job, and that proved to be more difficult too. I'm not only competing with people my own age — there are a lot of younger people who have more flexible hours," she said. "I basically want to work between 8 and 3."
"They face a motherhood penalty which will make it harder for them," said Pam Stone, a professor of sociology at Hunter College in New York. "It would be hard enough because they have interrupted their careers and their skills are getting rusty."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that an increasing number of married women with a college education between the ages of 25 and 44 are working. Some see the predominantly "male'" recession as an opportunity for women to make a new start.
"The sectors that men have traditionally found good jobs in — finance and technology — aren't going to be doing well going forward," said Sylvia Hewlett, founder of the Center for Work Life Policy.
"So I think a lot of couples are understanding that over the long haul it's the wife and the mother that has the better prospects in the job market."
Times have definitely changed, but not completely: despite women making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women continue to be paid 23 cents less than men for every dollar earned, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Is Your Career Site Making A Good Impression?
A career site can be an effective part of an overall Talent Management System. Or, it could be one of the main reasons why that Talent Management System isn’t doing what you need it to do on a consistent basis. We sat down with interactive design expert Maarten-Jan Waasdorp, COO at Six Foot LLC, and asked him questions that non-interactive experts might want to ask about their own career sites:
1. What are some most common mistakes you see employers making with their career sites?
Companies tend to stick to their current look and branding and make recruitment a part of the corporate site. This often leads to the Career Area on the site being overlooked. If it doesn’t stand out and engage potential candidates, then the candidates will not be motivated to apply for a position with the employer.
2. What are some general suggestions you might have for employers to help them make their career sites more effective?
Some of the suggestions I would make are:
· Start to think like your potential applicants think. Ask “How can I “entertain” the candidate while they are on my site? Are they tech savvy? Are they into Social Media?
· With the current available technology it is very important to be leading-edge so you will get the best people for your jobs.
· Make your recruitment site interactive, attract with visuals like video’s or animations. Engage the potential hire in a game or quiz.
· Make optimal use of all available media; on-line, print, TV and radio and be combined into one powerful recruitment tool.
· Also think of separating recruitment from your main site and set up a separate (mini) site. You can be more efficient and use more SEO/SEM (Search Engine Optimization/Marketing) tools aimed at recruitment.
3. What is the best way to measure traffic coming to your site?
First you have to make sure that anyone looking for a job in your industry/geographic area will find your career site/mini-site. I can’t stress enough the importance of making the search process fast and easy. It all starts with the way your site is initially set up. Once set up, it’s a good idea to ask the company that built your site to also track the traffic coming to the site. There are free options available, but for a small fee it’s worth the peace of mind you get by having experts handle the process on a monthly basis. And it’s quite possible they will notice “Red Flag” indicators you might miss and be able to trouble-shoot on the spot so that your site continues to enjoy a robust flow of traffic.
4. What are a few of these “Red Flags?”
One of the biggest issues is always the question of are you using the right key words to reach your target audience? You may think you know what is driving people to your site, but sometimes perception is not the reality. That’s why traffic metrics are so important. Most employers realize that SEO is not a miracle tool. You have to do intelligent research to ensure your SEO strategy is targeted and will reach the audience that possesses your desired levels of skill-sets and experience. Wrong input will result in wrong output.
5. What steps can an employer take if they need to build or improve their site but don’t have an in-house web department?
The obvious answer is to look for a partner like Six Foot! Aside from that, even if you have an in-house web department, it’s worthwhile to look outside the company and find a vendor who can help you realize the goals you’re trying to accomplish. Take Six Foot for example. We have a large team that does nothing but design and develop solutions exactly like this, using the latest technologies. An experienced design team will come up with ideas you haven’t even thought about yet simply because you were unaware of all the possibilities available at your fingertips.
In Six Foot’s case, we combine these skills with more than 20 years of experience in the Talent Acquisition & Retention business to help you come up with the customized strategies for your specific situation. We also use our vast network of industry partners to combine (web) technology solutions with a wide variety of related consulting services.
6. How do you prevent getting "ripped off" by an outside vendor?
There are a lot of suppliers out there who will provide a lot of different solutions with a lot of different price tags. The outcomes, of course, will be different, too. In most instances you will find that you can’t expect the same result from a smaller “start-up shop” versus a well seasoned, very experienced, award winning company.
In today’s economy it’s tempting to underestimate the importance of quality and focus rather on the cheapest price. Well, a quality product doesn’t always have the highest price. Hopefully you are developing your website so that it becomes an important, strategic and cost-efficient part of your Talent Management process.
For example by attracting higher quality candidates, an effective career site can often help reduce the amount of fees you find yourself having to pay staffing agencies. A good site will also increase your brand identity and value. Paying more does not automatically guarantee good service so I do advise you shop around before making any decisions. Ask friends and colleagues if they are happy with their website provider. Be sure to sit down with the potential design team and engage them in a comprehensive “discovery phase” before you kick-off the project. The discovery will give you an exact scope and plan of the project and will confirm whether or not you are dealing with the right supplier.
SIX FOOT: Six Foot is an interactive agency and consultancy that specializes in ORGINEERING (process mapping, usability and information architecture), INTERACTIVE (websites, portals, animations and applications), ONLINE MARKETING (brand marketing, SEO/SEM, social media and metrics), and EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN (touch screen, digital / interactive retail experiences, kiosks and trade show support). Six Foot has emerged as a leader, specializing in the development and execution of combined online and in-store brand experiences, e-marketing programs, creative design, 2D and 3D animation, and database and back-end infrastructure development.
Maarten-Jan Waasdorp: COO at Six Foot LLC; Maarten-Jan (M-J for short and definitely easy) has over 20 years of global experience in finance, operations, company strategies and general management for Fortune 100 companies. M-J combines all his skills and experience to develop and execute plans for any kind of challenge. M-J was born in the Netherlands and moved to the US in 2007. He is a member of the national COO Forum and the World Affairs Council of Houston.
1. What are some most common mistakes you see employers making with their career sites?
Companies tend to stick to their current look and branding and make recruitment a part of the corporate site. This often leads to the Career Area on the site being overlooked. If it doesn’t stand out and engage potential candidates, then the candidates will not be motivated to apply for a position with the employer.
2. What are some general suggestions you might have for employers to help them make their career sites more effective?
Some of the suggestions I would make are:
· Start to think like your potential applicants think. Ask “How can I “entertain” the candidate while they are on my site? Are they tech savvy? Are they into Social Media?
· With the current available technology it is very important to be leading-edge so you will get the best people for your jobs.
· Make your recruitment site interactive, attract with visuals like video’s or animations. Engage the potential hire in a game or quiz.
· Make optimal use of all available media; on-line, print, TV and radio and be combined into one powerful recruitment tool.
· Also think of separating recruitment from your main site and set up a separate (mini) site. You can be more efficient and use more SEO/SEM (Search Engine Optimization/Marketing) tools aimed at recruitment.
3. What is the best way to measure traffic coming to your site?
First you have to make sure that anyone looking for a job in your industry/geographic area will find your career site/mini-site. I can’t stress enough the importance of making the search process fast and easy. It all starts with the way your site is initially set up. Once set up, it’s a good idea to ask the company that built your site to also track the traffic coming to the site. There are free options available, but for a small fee it’s worth the peace of mind you get by having experts handle the process on a monthly basis. And it’s quite possible they will notice “Red Flag” indicators you might miss and be able to trouble-shoot on the spot so that your site continues to enjoy a robust flow of traffic.
4. What are a few of these “Red Flags?”
One of the biggest issues is always the question of are you using the right key words to reach your target audience? You may think you know what is driving people to your site, but sometimes perception is not the reality. That’s why traffic metrics are so important. Most employers realize that SEO is not a miracle tool. You have to do intelligent research to ensure your SEO strategy is targeted and will reach the audience that possesses your desired levels of skill-sets and experience. Wrong input will result in wrong output.
5. What steps can an employer take if they need to build or improve their site but don’t have an in-house web department?
The obvious answer is to look for a partner like Six Foot! Aside from that, even if you have an in-house web department, it’s worthwhile to look outside the company and find a vendor who can help you realize the goals you’re trying to accomplish. Take Six Foot for example. We have a large team that does nothing but design and develop solutions exactly like this, using the latest technologies. An experienced design team will come up with ideas you haven’t even thought about yet simply because you were unaware of all the possibilities available at your fingertips.
In Six Foot’s case, we combine these skills with more than 20 years of experience in the Talent Acquisition & Retention business to help you come up with the customized strategies for your specific situation. We also use our vast network of industry partners to combine (web) technology solutions with a wide variety of related consulting services.
6. How do you prevent getting "ripped off" by an outside vendor?
There are a lot of suppliers out there who will provide a lot of different solutions with a lot of different price tags. The outcomes, of course, will be different, too. In most instances you will find that you can’t expect the same result from a smaller “start-up shop” versus a well seasoned, very experienced, award winning company.
In today’s economy it’s tempting to underestimate the importance of quality and focus rather on the cheapest price. Well, a quality product doesn’t always have the highest price. Hopefully you are developing your website so that it becomes an important, strategic and cost-efficient part of your Talent Management process.
For example by attracting higher quality candidates, an effective career site can often help reduce the amount of fees you find yourself having to pay staffing agencies. A good site will also increase your brand identity and value. Paying more does not automatically guarantee good service so I do advise you shop around before making any decisions. Ask friends and colleagues if they are happy with their website provider. Be sure to sit down with the potential design team and engage them in a comprehensive “discovery phase” before you kick-off the project. The discovery will give you an exact scope and plan of the project and will confirm whether or not you are dealing with the right supplier.
SIX FOOT: Six Foot is an interactive agency and consultancy that specializes in ORGINEERING (process mapping, usability and information architecture), INTERACTIVE (websites, portals, animations and applications), ONLINE MARKETING (brand marketing, SEO/SEM, social media and metrics), and EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN (touch screen, digital / interactive retail experiences, kiosks and trade show support). Six Foot has emerged as a leader, specializing in the development and execution of combined online and in-store brand experiences, e-marketing programs, creative design, 2D and 3D animation, and database and back-end infrastructure development.
Maarten-Jan Waasdorp: COO at Six Foot LLC; Maarten-Jan (M-J for short and definitely easy) has over 20 years of global experience in finance, operations, company strategies and general management for Fortune 100 companies. M-J combines all his skills and experience to develop and execute plans for any kind of challenge. M-J was born in the Netherlands and moved to the US in 2007. He is a member of the national COO Forum and the World Affairs Council of Houston.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
US in need of Tech reboot
From John Mitton:
Much has been made about the shortage of workers, in the USA, who have the skill-sets needed for jobs of the future, including jobs which haven't been invented yet. I have recently given a series of keynote speeches to a variety of professional groups in different industries which all share the same dilemma: How do we starting producing tomorrow's workforce today? During the keynote sessions we explore answers to questions like: What changes need to be made in what and how we teach our children?; How do we strengthen our childrens "soft skills?"; With only 28% of 9th graders headed to a four-year university, how do we prepare the other 72% to survive in today's workplace?; What happens if we don't act now?
The article by Kendra Marr, "US In Need of Tech Reboot," illustrates that many in corporate America have begun to put realistic training programs and mandates for innovation back on the front-burner. It will be a process involving parents, teachers, Board of Educations, state legislatures, institutions of higher learning at the 2-year and 4-year levels, and finally the workplace itself.
Enjoy the article:
(Source: Politico.com; By: Kendra Marr October 28, 2009 05:01 AM EST)
For years, the U.S. was a pioneer, the renowned home of Yankee ingenuity. The United States put the first man on the moon and invented the light bulb. The country gave the world the daring Wright brothers, billionaire computer genius Bill Gates, Google and the iPod.
But lately, experts say, the U.S.’s creative streak has sputtered. Today, it has gone from being the No. 1 innovative country in the world to No. 6 and has made less progress in international competiveness and innovation than 40 other nations and regions measured in the past decade.
Concerned about the failure to innovate — and convinced that it is the key to a vibrant economy — officials at Intel, the world’s largest maker of semiconductor chips, are convening a high-level conference in Washington next month. There, Obama administration officials, high-tech gurus, NGOs, corporate titans and academics will share ideas on how to spur economic recovery through innovation.
“You need to create circumstances that encourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship,” said Peter Cleveland, Intel’s vice president of government relations. He said the conference will explore what skills U.S. workers need to compete in industries of the future, including green technologies, and will tackle how to foster creativity, make scientific investments a priority and encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Industry’s focus on innovation as a key to the future dovetails with White House thinking, and several senior administration officials will participate in the conference, including top economic adviser Larry Summers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Austan Goolsbee, staff director and chief economist on the president’s economic recovery board. Other scheduled participants include America Online founder Steve Case; Jeff Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric; D.C. Public Schools chief Michelle Rhee; and Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.
In February, when consultants at McKinsey & Co. asked executives how the government should spend federal stimulus funds, 59 percent answered, “fostering innovation and potential new industries.” Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg echoed that sentiment last week when he proclaimed “investment and innovation has never been more important than it is right now.” “In the face of a global recession, economies all over the world are looking for ways to become smarter, more productive and more competitive,” he said at a broadband industry conference in Chicago. “The key to a smart economy is smart technology that can change business models and change society.”
President Barack Obama embraced the same message last month when he outlined the “groundwork and the ground rules to best tap our innovative potential.” Building on more than $100 billion in stimulus funding, he promised to invest more in research, promote policies that foster entrepreneurship and provide federal backing for clean energy, advanced vehicles and health care technology. “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said. “We used to be No. 1. We should be No. 1 again.”
That, however, is a formidable challenge. Tight credit markets have driven companies to stash away cash, cut wages and lay off workers. Companies in Standard & Poor’s 500 index chopped 5 percent of their research and development costs and 25 percent of capital expenditures between the end of the third quarter last year and the second quarter of this year, according to the index.
To match Finland’s investment in technology programs on a per capita basis, the U.S. would need to invest $33 billion each year, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Today, the U.S. spends about $2 billion. “In reality, innovation is not manna from heaven,” he said. “It’s human made and influenced by policy.”
Many experts believe that policy imperative begins with investing more in education. Over the past decade, numerous studies show, the United States has failed to raise math and science test scores, and students in several Asian countries consistently score higher in both subjects.
Economic turmoil often breeds technological breakthroughs. During the Depression, DuPont invented nylon, which paved the way for parachutes and toothbrushes. The dot-com bubble burst in 2001, but that same year, Apple introduced the iPod. The hope is that history will repeat itself. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has been repeating the company’s mantra: “You can’t save your way out of a recession.”
In February, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced plans to spend $7 billion to build advanced manufacturing plants in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. The company funded mini-documentaries produced by PBS’s “NewsHour With Jim Lehrer” that examined the role of innovation in the economy.
Intel and the Aspen Institute also hosted dinner discussions featuring Summers, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra. The Aspen Institute, the journal “Democracy” and PBS are co-hosting the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 Intel Conference. Lehrer and PBS correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will be among the moderators.
“It was definitely not hard to get people to participate in the conversation, because it’s on everyone’s mind,” said Jamie Miller, Aspen’s vice president for public programs. “You look at the auto industry and places like Detroit, and there’s a fear that if America’s not at the cusp of innovation, we will not be able to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off,” she said. Said Atkinson: “We were ahead so long — really since the ’50s — that we were kind of blind to the threat going on.”
Much has been made about the shortage of workers, in the USA, who have the skill-sets needed for jobs of the future, including jobs which haven't been invented yet. I have recently given a series of keynote speeches to a variety of professional groups in different industries which all share the same dilemma: How do we starting producing tomorrow's workforce today? During the keynote sessions we explore answers to questions like: What changes need to be made in what and how we teach our children?; How do we strengthen our childrens "soft skills?"; With only 28% of 9th graders headed to a four-year university, how do we prepare the other 72% to survive in today's workplace?; What happens if we don't act now?
The article by Kendra Marr, "US In Need of Tech Reboot," illustrates that many in corporate America have begun to put realistic training programs and mandates for innovation back on the front-burner. It will be a process involving parents, teachers, Board of Educations, state legislatures, institutions of higher learning at the 2-year and 4-year levels, and finally the workplace itself.
Enjoy the article:
(Source: Politico.com; By: Kendra Marr October 28, 2009 05:01 AM EST)
For years, the U.S. was a pioneer, the renowned home of Yankee ingenuity. The United States put the first man on the moon and invented the light bulb. The country gave the world the daring Wright brothers, billionaire computer genius Bill Gates, Google and the iPod.
But lately, experts say, the U.S.’s creative streak has sputtered. Today, it has gone from being the No. 1 innovative country in the world to No. 6 and has made less progress in international competiveness and innovation than 40 other nations and regions measured in the past decade.
Concerned about the failure to innovate — and convinced that it is the key to a vibrant economy — officials at Intel, the world’s largest maker of semiconductor chips, are convening a high-level conference in Washington next month. There, Obama administration officials, high-tech gurus, NGOs, corporate titans and academics will share ideas on how to spur economic recovery through innovation.
“You need to create circumstances that encourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship,” said Peter Cleveland, Intel’s vice president of government relations. He said the conference will explore what skills U.S. workers need to compete in industries of the future, including green technologies, and will tackle how to foster creativity, make scientific investments a priority and encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Industry’s focus on innovation as a key to the future dovetails with White House thinking, and several senior administration officials will participate in the conference, including top economic adviser Larry Summers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Austan Goolsbee, staff director and chief economist on the president’s economic recovery board. Other scheduled participants include America Online founder Steve Case; Jeff Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric; D.C. Public Schools chief Michelle Rhee; and Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.
In February, when consultants at McKinsey & Co. asked executives how the government should spend federal stimulus funds, 59 percent answered, “fostering innovation and potential new industries.” Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg echoed that sentiment last week when he proclaimed “investment and innovation has never been more important than it is right now.” “In the face of a global recession, economies all over the world are looking for ways to become smarter, more productive and more competitive,” he said at a broadband industry conference in Chicago. “The key to a smart economy is smart technology that can change business models and change society.”
President Barack Obama embraced the same message last month when he outlined the “groundwork and the ground rules to best tap our innovative potential.” Building on more than $100 billion in stimulus funding, he promised to invest more in research, promote policies that foster entrepreneurship and provide federal backing for clean energy, advanced vehicles and health care technology. “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said. “We used to be No. 1. We should be No. 1 again.”
That, however, is a formidable challenge. Tight credit markets have driven companies to stash away cash, cut wages and lay off workers. Companies in Standard & Poor’s 500 index chopped 5 percent of their research and development costs and 25 percent of capital expenditures between the end of the third quarter last year and the second quarter of this year, according to the index.
To match Finland’s investment in technology programs on a per capita basis, the U.S. would need to invest $33 billion each year, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Today, the U.S. spends about $2 billion. “In reality, innovation is not manna from heaven,” he said. “It’s human made and influenced by policy.”
Many experts believe that policy imperative begins with investing more in education. Over the past decade, numerous studies show, the United States has failed to raise math and science test scores, and students in several Asian countries consistently score higher in both subjects.
Economic turmoil often breeds technological breakthroughs. During the Depression, DuPont invented nylon, which paved the way for parachutes and toothbrushes. The dot-com bubble burst in 2001, but that same year, Apple introduced the iPod. The hope is that history will repeat itself. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has been repeating the company’s mantra: “You can’t save your way out of a recession.”
In February, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced plans to spend $7 billion to build advanced manufacturing plants in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. The company funded mini-documentaries produced by PBS’s “NewsHour With Jim Lehrer” that examined the role of innovation in the economy.
Intel and the Aspen Institute also hosted dinner discussions featuring Summers, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra. The Aspen Institute, the journal “Democracy” and PBS are co-hosting the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 Intel Conference. Lehrer and PBS correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will be among the moderators.
“It was definitely not hard to get people to participate in the conversation, because it’s on everyone’s mind,” said Jamie Miller, Aspen’s vice president for public programs. “You look at the auto industry and places like Detroit, and there’s a fear that if America’s not at the cusp of innovation, we will not be able to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off,” she said. Said Atkinson: “We were ahead so long — really since the ’50s — that we were kind of blind to the threat going on.”
Monday, September 28, 2009
Understanding Available Retention Strategies: Are You Prepared for Turnover Rates to Double?
(Part 1 of a 2-Part Series) by Dr. John Sullivan on ERE.net, September 28th, 2009:
As the economic turnaround picks up steam, turnover rates in many organizations are likely to skyrocket and recruiting replacement workers of the same caliber will be extremely challenging.
Study after study has confirmed the notion that many employees would have left their employers months/years ago had the option to do so been viable. The economic downturn, combined with the mortgage crisis, has forced many frustrated, disappointed, and unmotivated employees to stay put. The trend is not a new one and is consistent with past downturns.
While turnover rates are at an all-time low, they most certainly cannot be taken as an indication of a firm’s status as a desirable place to work.
Just as in years past, when job opportunities become more prevalent, employees will exercise their right to demonstrate just how much they appreciated the treatment they received throughout reductions in force, furloughs, clumsy mergers, travel freezes, and budget cuts. The level of animosity among many will render most traditional retention [1] approaches ineffective.
Some studies indicate that as many as two-thirds of employees are ready to go. Unfortunately, few corporations are preparing today to handle the dramatic increase in voluntary terminations that will come tomorrow.
While few organizations completely decimated their staffing functions, the majority have cut back to the point where capability has been negatively impacted. Strategic programs that deliver retention have been cut, and in most cases, no one is held accountable for retention solutions. It might seem outrageous, but unless you consider the phrase “let’s keep them all” to be a retention strategy, it’s a fact that most HR and recruiting executives can not even list common retention strategies, let along devise their own.
Retention Is One of the Most Poorly Managed Goals in HR
It’s hard to argue that retaining key employees isn’t a high-value activity, and I can’t say that I have ever visited an organization that would argue otherwise. In fact, most HR leaders and recruiters talk a lot about the importance of retaining the very best employees that the organization has invested so much time, money, and development resources in. Unfortunately, talk is where most HR organizations end when it comes to formalizing retention efforts.
Among organizations that force-rank satisfaction with HR deliverables, retention often ranks high in importance but extremely low in execution. In fact, it’s often lower than compensation and benefits, if you can imagine that!
Its perennial position at the bottom of the list qualifies it as the most poorly managed staffing activity. However, its position at the bottom should come as no surprise, since few organizations can identify who’s in charge of it, what is the strategy, and how retention efforts are measured and evaluated.
These three factors are the reason behind most organizations’ poor retention performance:
Reason #1 — Who is in charge of retention?
In many organizations the answer to this very basic question is no one! Rarely does the organization’s design for the HR function include a role(s) charged with designing, developing, and executing retention programs. When such a role does exist, rarely is it positioned at level with enough resources and power to make a difference (i.e., Senior Director or VP).
When it comes to organizational design, nothing says “low importance” more than lack of budget or executive-level leadership at the helm. Some might argue that all are responsible for retention, but merely listing it as one among many responsibilities essentially guarantees a mediocre enterprise-scale effort.
While great managers may assume ownership of retention activities in their group, because there is no clear support organization, their approaches will largely be ad hoc in nature and inconsistently leveraged, opening the door for anyone disgruntled to scream discrimination!
Reason #2 — The real costs of key employee turnover are not reported.
Retention metrics in most organizations begin and end with overall turnover by period. Absent are metrics that measure the business impact of turnover and specific goals to mitigate predicted impact. If your retention function doesn’t measure and report these five key metrics, chances are your efforts are under-managed:
The cost of turnover. Reporting a percentage turnover rate seldom excites executives, but converting that turnover rate to a dollar impact on business performance can establish the visibility on talent issues needed to transform a good recruiting function into a great one.
Top performer/key employee turnover. Often called regrettable turnover, this measure prioritizes the jobs and individuals based on the degree to which their leaving hurts the firm.
Competitor win/loss ratio. This metric is simply the ratio of the number of top performers you have successfully recruited away from a competitor compared to the number of top performers who voluntarily terminated to join a competitor. If a top performer quitting goes directly to a competing firm (vs. retiring), it raises the costs because it hurts the firm while aiding a competitor.
Preventable turnover. If turnover is occurring for silly or preventable reasons, the percentage of cases where that is true needs to be reported and fixed.
Percentage of “at risk” employees. The best firms proactively identify high-priority individuals who present a high risk of leaving during the next one or two years. Reporting the percentage of target individuals at risk alerts managers helping them put into place proactive programs attacking retention issues before they get out of hand.
Reason #3 — What is the name of your retention strategy?
The economic impact of losing 10% of the workforce each year in a major corporation amounts to tens of millions of dollars. With that amount of money and disruption involved, retention is clearly a strategic issue. To develop a competitive advantage around a strategic issue requires a strategy that is measurably superior to that of your competitors.
Unfortunately, it’s rare for organizations to develop a formal retention strategy. To make matters worse, most HR executives don’t even know the common retention strategies in use that they could adopt.
Before launching into a comprehensive list of common retention strategies, note that all retention strategies fall into one of three categories and usually contain five common elements.
The Five Common Elements of a Retention Strategy
As the economic turnaround picks up steam, turnover rates in many organizations are likely to skyrocket and recruiting replacement workers of the same caliber will be extremely challenging.
Study after study has confirmed the notion that many employees would have left their employers months/years ago had the option to do so been viable. The economic downturn, combined with the mortgage crisis, has forced many frustrated, disappointed, and unmotivated employees to stay put. The trend is not a new one and is consistent with past downturns.
While turnover rates are at an all-time low, they most certainly cannot be taken as an indication of a firm’s status as a desirable place to work.
Just as in years past, when job opportunities become more prevalent, employees will exercise their right to demonstrate just how much they appreciated the treatment they received throughout reductions in force, furloughs, clumsy mergers, travel freezes, and budget cuts. The level of animosity among many will render most traditional retention [1] approaches ineffective.
Some studies indicate that as many as two-thirds of employees are ready to go. Unfortunately, few corporations are preparing today to handle the dramatic increase in voluntary terminations that will come tomorrow.
While few organizations completely decimated their staffing functions, the majority have cut back to the point where capability has been negatively impacted. Strategic programs that deliver retention have been cut, and in most cases, no one is held accountable for retention solutions. It might seem outrageous, but unless you consider the phrase “let’s keep them all” to be a retention strategy, it’s a fact that most HR and recruiting executives can not even list common retention strategies, let along devise their own.
Retention Is One of the Most Poorly Managed Goals in HR
It’s hard to argue that retaining key employees isn’t a high-value activity, and I can’t say that I have ever visited an organization that would argue otherwise. In fact, most HR leaders and recruiters talk a lot about the importance of retaining the very best employees that the organization has invested so much time, money, and development resources in. Unfortunately, talk is where most HR organizations end when it comes to formalizing retention efforts.
Among organizations that force-rank satisfaction with HR deliverables, retention often ranks high in importance but extremely low in execution. In fact, it’s often lower than compensation and benefits, if you can imagine that!
Its perennial position at the bottom of the list qualifies it as the most poorly managed staffing activity. However, its position at the bottom should come as no surprise, since few organizations can identify who’s in charge of it, what is the strategy, and how retention efforts are measured and evaluated.
These three factors are the reason behind most organizations’ poor retention performance:
Reason #1 — Who is in charge of retention?
In many organizations the answer to this very basic question is no one! Rarely does the organization’s design for the HR function include a role(s) charged with designing, developing, and executing retention programs. When such a role does exist, rarely is it positioned at level with enough resources and power to make a difference (i.e., Senior Director or VP).
When it comes to organizational design, nothing says “low importance” more than lack of budget or executive-level leadership at the helm. Some might argue that all are responsible for retention, but merely listing it as one among many responsibilities essentially guarantees a mediocre enterprise-scale effort.
While great managers may assume ownership of retention activities in their group, because there is no clear support organization, their approaches will largely be ad hoc in nature and inconsistently leveraged, opening the door for anyone disgruntled to scream discrimination!
Reason #2 — The real costs of key employee turnover are not reported.
Retention metrics in most organizations begin and end with overall turnover by period. Absent are metrics that measure the business impact of turnover and specific goals to mitigate predicted impact. If your retention function doesn’t measure and report these five key metrics, chances are your efforts are under-managed:
The cost of turnover. Reporting a percentage turnover rate seldom excites executives, but converting that turnover rate to a dollar impact on business performance can establish the visibility on talent issues needed to transform a good recruiting function into a great one.
Top performer/key employee turnover. Often called regrettable turnover, this measure prioritizes the jobs and individuals based on the degree to which their leaving hurts the firm.
Competitor win/loss ratio. This metric is simply the ratio of the number of top performers you have successfully recruited away from a competitor compared to the number of top performers who voluntarily terminated to join a competitor. If a top performer quitting goes directly to a competing firm (vs. retiring), it raises the costs because it hurts the firm while aiding a competitor.
Preventable turnover. If turnover is occurring for silly or preventable reasons, the percentage of cases where that is true needs to be reported and fixed.
Percentage of “at risk” employees. The best firms proactively identify high-priority individuals who present a high risk of leaving during the next one or two years. Reporting the percentage of target individuals at risk alerts managers helping them put into place proactive programs attacking retention issues before they get out of hand.
Reason #3 — What is the name of your retention strategy?
The economic impact of losing 10% of the workforce each year in a major corporation amounts to tens of millions of dollars. With that amount of money and disruption involved, retention is clearly a strategic issue. To develop a competitive advantage around a strategic issue requires a strategy that is measurably superior to that of your competitors.
Unfortunately, it’s rare for organizations to develop a formal retention strategy. To make matters worse, most HR executives don’t even know the common retention strategies in use that they could adopt.
Before launching into a comprehensive list of common retention strategies, note that all retention strategies fall into one of three categories and usually contain five common elements.
The Five Common Elements of a Retention Strategy
- Goals of the strategy. This element identifies the goals and specific results the strategy should produce.
- Prioritization process. This element specifies the methodology that will be employed to determine which (if any) employees should receive priority treatment.
- Identifying turnover causes. This element specifies the methodology that will be employed to identify the primary factors that “cause” employees to leave.
- Retention solutions. This element contains a catalog of proven counter measures or solutions that can be employed by managers to halt or reverse a trend of turnover categorized by common cause.
- Success measures. This last element covers the process for selecting retention metrics and reporting the results.
The Three Categories of Common Recruiting Strategies
Retention strategies usually fall into one of three categories, but world-class organizations often employ a hybrid approach that uses different strategies for different groups within the organization based on their role in achieving wildly important organizational goals. The three common categories include:
- Laissez-faire approaches. This group contains decentralized retention strategies that rely almost exclusively on operating managers to solve the retention problem.
- Comprehensive approaches. These approaches attempt to retain all employees by improving the treatment, pay, or benefits of all employees. These approaches are also called “peanut butter” strategies because they attempt to spread the improved treatment evenly across all employees.
- Targeted or personalized approaches. This category concentrates retention efforts on high-priority individuals and jobs and then customizes the treatment as much as possible in order to fit the individual needs of the targeted employee.
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