This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert June 20, 2007 Global War for Talent Employers worldwide are stressed. They're challenged to find, engage, and retain the skilled workers they need to manufacture their products and serve their customers. Some companies have had mission-critical jobs open for more than a year. One hospital has been looking for a physician for three years. Consultant Ira Wolfe's "Perfect Labor Storm" is here. What's behind this "storm" is a combination of years of low birthrates in the developed countries with unprecedented global prosperity and shortages of trained workers. Complicating this difficult situation is the competency deficit and a lack of leadership. When the schools are not adequately preparing young people for work or college and employers haven't been training their next generation of workers, it is a set-up for disaster. In some countries, notably Mexico and China, the productivity simply isn't there. According to fellow futurist Edward Gordon, "the productivity of China's workers is only 14 percent of their United States counterparts." When Joyce spoke at the first Human Capital Conference in Japan, back in 2000, the VP HR for Intel Asia complained that his productivity was one-third that of their US operations. And the wages in both India and China are growing exponentially. According to a study by the World Bank, titled "Global Economic Prospects 2007", real wages in China appreciated a whopping 110 percent between 1989 and 2004. Advancing technologies address some of these deficits, but they only increase the demand for more highly skilled workers---in short supply. Offshore, though we find the schools in India, Germany, and elsewhere doing better at job-preparation, the training is insufficient to meet the increasing demand. Going forward, retaining and engaging top talent (being an Employer of Choice(R)) will be the global strategic competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, Singapore-based Universal Network Intelligence has engaged Joyce to deliver a two-day workshop on Advanced Talent Engagement in early August. Different from the domestic Employee Retention Specialist™ Certificate Program (http://www.employeeretentionspecialist.com), this customized learning experience will include numerous case studies of multinationals operating in Asia. Visit http://www.uninetintelligence.com/pdf/SGT128_TE_CoverPage.pdf or contact Ashley Koh at Ashley@uninetintelligence.com. This global tightening of the labor marketplace is only the beginning. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. 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. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

[ Home · About · Products · Resources · Media ]

Web site design by WebEditor Design Services, Inc.