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Preparing for the Coming Labor Pool Crisis |
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 Baby Boomers, those 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, make up a third or more of America's work force. Boomers fill many of the most skilled and senior jobs. And thanks to near-workaholic habits, they are among the most aggressive, creative and demanding workers on the market. "Baby boomers are going to be retiring in droves starting with the end of this decade," says Arlene Dohm, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. "There are certain industries and professions that are going to be hit very hard." Many employers are unprepared to lose the baby boomers from their workforce. We recommend developing a well-defined strategy comprising the following key areas:
Succession Planning / Talent Management
- Evaluate your current employees - where are your weak links?
- Analyze turnover trends for patterns. Is turnover higher in certain departments or job positions?
- Analyze the generational mix of your current workforce. CLICK HERE for a Generational Characteristics Table.
- Determine the number of employees by age group. Predict (estimate) the rate of retirement for the next five years. Recognize the sensitivity of this issue. You may NOT discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm You may, however, evaluate your workforce to develop sound strategies.
- Identify potential successors.
Effective Recruitment and Staff Development
- Conduct a comprehensive review of your systems and processes. Identify opportunities to streamline and simplify processes to shorten the learning curve for new employees.
- Identify your critical job positions. Include special job requirements, skills, educational requirements, etc. Develop learning curves for each position.
- Develop a staffing backup plan for each job position (where possible). Initiate a program to cross-train employees.
Employee Satisfaction
- Conduct an employee satisfaction survey.
- Identify patterns, trends, and critical issues.
- Take action to improve morale.
Competitive Compensation
- Conduct a compensation survey.
- Establish benchmark job positions for local and regional comparison.
- Develop an action plan to remain competitive in your employee market.
- Annually review and update your compensation plan.
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for more information and organizational development strategies. |
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Getting out of your comfort zone |
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Author: john joe mcginley
Have you ever wondered why…
- New Year's resolutions rarely last beyond the middle of January?
- it's so hard to break a habit?
- your good intentions always seem to get lost in the general rush of everyday life?
The reasons are usually lack of time and lack of focus.
When you run a business, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day challenges and lose sight of the bigger picture. Setting clear goals can help you stay focused on what you want to achieve — both in business and in your personal life — and use your time and resources more effectively.
Why are goals so important?
In 1921 Dr Lewis Terman of Stanford University began a landmark study of over 1,500 gifted children, all with an IQ of 'genius'. The objective was to better understand the relationship between human intelligence and achievement.
After studying the children for decades, Terman found that IQ is not the most important ingredient for success. Three other factors are far more important than pure intelligence:
- self-confidence
- perseverance
- a tendency to set goals
Here we look at the third and most important point (even for geniuses), and suggest ways for you to start setting effective goals.
Where do I start?
The following broad guidelines will help you to set meaningful goals.
- Make each goal a positive statement — it's better to say 'respond to emails promptly' than 'don't ignore emails'.
- Be precise — include dates, times and amounts so that you can measure your achievement.
- Set priorities — this helps to direct your attention to the goals most important to you, and stops you feeling overwhelmed.
- Write your goals down — this makes them more real and helps you stick to them.
- Keep low-level goals small — by setting yourself small goals each day, you'll be more likely to achieve them and feel that you're making progress.
- Focus on performance, not outcome — make sure your goals depend on personal performance, rather than external factors you have no control over.
- Be realistic — think about what's really involved in each goal so you don't set yourself impossible targets, and don't let other people set unrealistic goals for you.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/getting-out-of-your-comfort-zone-1768322.html |
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Build your confidence to empower others |
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All of us have a need to achieve goals in our lives and to feel a sense of purpose. Inherently, we are also endowed with the ability to achieve goals and develop purpose. This ability or potential often goes untapped because we aren't challenged to operate at maximum potential. Behavioral scientists agree that few people ever use more than a fraction of their potential. People possess more internal ability than they will ever use. As a leader, your challenge is getting people to use more of the potential they already possess. The biggest obstacle you face is the limitation that most people place upon themselves. Next, is the limitation that you place upon them.
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Understanding Human Potential |
We may not be able to change what has happened to us thus far in life; our biological parents, nor other factors which have influenced us. We can't control many of the things which happen to us in life. We can however, control how we respond to what happens to us. Personal skills, competencies, and worth can be improved regardless of age or position. Far too often, failure is blamed on external circumstances: other people or things beyond our control. But that is rarely the case. There are just too many people who continue to overcome "circumstances". An old adage still remains true: If you think you can or if you think you can't, you're probably right!
Ray Kroc was considered to be an aging high school dropout who failed at almost everything he ever did. At age 52, he decided to try again, and developed what is now the international McDonald's empire.
Sam Walton opened his first store (a Ben Franklin variety store) in a small town of about 7,000 people. It was losing money, and he bought it with $5,000 of his own money and $20,000 which he borrowed. Within five years, he had reached his goal of turning a profit, only to be refused renewal on his lease and forced to sell. His next venture was to open another store, Walton's Five and Dime. This was the beginning of the greatest retail success story in history. Sam Walton created the largest chain of discount stores in America.
There are many other examples of individuals who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve worldwide acclaim, of leaders who took their companies to positions of global dominance in the face of fierce competition. There are even more examples of those who gave up threw in the towel and failed. It's easy to blame others, or the environment, or the economy, or to rationalize "why" it wasn't their fault. If circumstances are not the determining factor, what is?
Too many people hold themselves in lower self-esteem than the actual facts warrant. Bad moments and past mistakes tend to make a deeper impression on our memories than our past successes. Many people tend to think more often of where and how they've failed, rather than where and how they have succeeded. Thus, many people tend to view themselves as less capable than they actually are. Another problem is that many have never learned the importance of self-love. The awkwardness with which some people accept compliments illustrates this fact. They often allow minor imperfections to color their view of themselves, resulting in a low self-image. To build a self-image on anything less than self-love, is to build on a hopelessly weak foundation.
With these thoughts in mind, begin to imagine the difference you could make in enhancing the self-image of others if you thought more frequently in terms of their strengths and implemented systems and recognition programs focused on their achievements, rather than on mistakes and failures. How much easier would it be to implement a change process if everyone viewed themselves in a positive light? What would happen to productivity if everyone thought more in terms of the unlimited potential of people rather than their limitations? You could have a powerful influence on the growth and achievement of everyone with whom you work.
One of the things you can do is to focus on positive recognition. Look for opportunities to recognize achievement and effort. Make a point of encouraging improvements and viewing mistakes as a positive and necessary part of growth. Often, when given a chance, an individual will surpass his or her own expectations and those of others. When this occurs, it is important to recognize and praise such behavior. Positive reinforcement is a powerful development tool. Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated. Create an environment which will help others to get excited about growth and innovation. Be an inspiration to others as they begin to step out of their comfort zones more often. Lead by example, and create the pace that you want others to follow. In addition to relying on published vision and value statements, act and behave in a manner consistent with them. Walk the talk.
Leaders who have learned how to motivate themselves and create the circumstances and environment in which others are motivated, are those who reap the rewards of success. How effective you become at developing and motivating yourself will determine how successful you will be at leading and motivating others to higher levels of achievement.
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Management Classes - Beneficial For All |
by George Purdy
Anyone involved in the world of business can benefit from management classes. Those that deal with human resources and personnel can especially gain from these classes. Management classes are essential in order for supervisors to learn the best way to handle problems and ensure that their workplace runs as smoothly as possible.
You will need to rely in part on management consultancy to make sure that you have the most current skill set and business knowledge. A well prepared employee should be informed about distribution, product lines, warehousing, human resources, and upcoming technology in order to manage properly the day to day aspects of running their company.
Combined with the right training, many tools can help your company develop the kind of solid management team that can effectively handle the company's day to day operations. Management classes are important because they can help your company's managers handle the legal issues and concepts that every company will encounter at some point or another.
A manager should have more inter-personnel skills from fiscal to operations, from IT to finances, from updating software to hiring. A manager should be capable of taking a wise decision when things are going wrong and also to take the next step decision when things are going good at the same time. The management skills are never ending tasks.
Because business is so complex, it must be understood as second nature by the people who practice it. Teachers of business management know this, and constantly reinforce the essential ideas to their students. From the very first course to the highest level classes, the business student's skills must be honed and polished so that they are useful in any situation. Will the student become a low-level employee, a manager, or a corporate officer? He or she must be ready for any situation.
There are many choices open to someone who has decided they want to attend school to earn a management degree. Careful research of any school or facility you are considering attending is very important. Check into the programs they offer, their credibility and ranking as a school, prices, and available financial aid. Remember that the most expensive school isn't necessarily the best one for you. You need to find a school where you can see yourself being comfortable and fitting in.
Anyone can benefit from management classes, human resources supervisors and personnel specially. You will need to rely in part on management consultancy to make sure that you have the most current skill set and business knowledge. A well-prepared employee should be informed about distribution, product lines, warehousing and upcoming technology in order to manage properly the day-to-day aspects of running their company. There are many different tools that can be used along with the proper training in order to have a good, solid management team and ensure the smooth running day in and day out of the organization.
George Purdy is an acknowledged expert on management classes. He wrote many articles on this subject and is a well-known public speaker. Looking for other great resources on management classes, then the following site on (http://www.wandelendecoach.com/management-classes/) management classes might be interesting for you.
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7 Tips to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions Going Strong |
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By Phyllis Goldberg
The idea of New Year's resolutions is not really new. Janus, the god of doorways, beginnings and endings, was usually shown with two heads facing in opposite directions. According to legend, one of his heads was looking backwards into the old year and the other was looking forwards into the new one. Two thousand years ago the Romans ended the year by reviewing it.
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Leadership Responsibility |
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In any discussion of leadership, it is almost inevitable that we find ourselves thinking in terms of formal leadership. We tend to think of leadership in terms of rank or position. However, formal leadership is the outgrowth of your ability to master the art of self-leadership; that is, "the ability to establish a specific direction for your own life, and to proceed in that direction with the self-confidence that comes only to one who knows where he or she is going". Becoming a leader means becoming you. It is that simple... and that difficult. It begins with figuring out who you are and what gives your life value and meaning.
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Determining the future involves choices. Some choices are not going to be pleasant or easy, and some are not going to be popular. Most will affect the future of your organization. Choosing the right direction involves evaluating alternatives and ideas and deciding which are in alignment with the values and vision of your organization. A choice that does not satisfy these conditions is ineffectual and inappropriate.
Choosing the right direction involves opening your mind to new thoughts and ideas and deciding which to include in your strategic plan. Knowing where you go from here is up to you. Whether you follow the path to mediocrity or personal success is a matter of your own free choice.
Warren Bennis, in his book On Becoming a Leader said "... leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully...they know who they are...what their strengths and weaknesses are, how to deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others in order to gain their cooperation and support."
Who you are today is the result of choices you have made over many years. Your future is the result of the choices you make today. Choose carefully, and choose the best.
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