This Week's Herman Trend Alert Purpose Emerging as Important Driver of Engagement

The Herman Trend Alert August 12, 1998 Service Technicians—An Endangered Species Back in the sixties, Ralph Nader and others tried to raise our consciousness about our throwaway society. Many of us listened. We bought more energy-efficient products and looked for products with quality that would last. That was then. Now we have technology that enables us to make electronics and other products more cheaply and we are living in a period of unprecedented prosperity. The cost of replacement is so relatively low and the cost of repair so relatively high that it rarely makes sense to repair an item. On small appliances and office machines, repair shops will charge you one-third to one-half of the cost of the item to simply examine the item and tell you what’s wrong. Then if you do decide to repair the item, who’s to say how much more use you’ll enjoy. The result, of course, is that for many items, more people are choosing replacement over repair. Thus, there has been a decreasing demand for service technicians in many fields, and when they are sought, they are very hard to find. Do we see this trend changing soon? No, not until Ralph or someone comparable returns to raise our consciousness once more. But electronic service technicians are not the only ones in short supply. Service technicians in the automotive field are becoming scarce as well. For some makes, especially the imports, dealerships are resorting bidding wars for experienced techs. What’s the answer? BMW is working with the technical schools and colleges to encourage young people to consider careers as service technicians—and it’s working. We’re not surprised. In a previous Trend Alert, we talked about college interns as a source for good labor. Car dealerships and others wanting to attract these young people would do well to offer paid internships to tech school students. The experienced techs feel good about teaching and the young people become bonded to the organization. © 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." WHO SENDS OUT YOUR NEWSLETTERS? We are convinced there is no better choice than ours! We have happily used DataBack Systems to deliver The Herman Trend Alert for over 10 years and. Visit their website (http://www.databack.com) or call Byron directly at 503.941.0427. You'll be glad you did. IS YOUR EMPLOYER AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE®? Our effective, onsite seminars, workshops, and consulting can help you get there. We offer 1-, 2-, 3-hour, and full-day programs to help you communicate what it takes to become an Employer of Choice® and inspire your folks to get it done. In the future, being an Employer of Choice® will not be optional. Call Carol at 336-210-3547 to arrange a no-obligation conference call. Or order the electronic version of the Employer of Choice book on your desktop for only $17.80 @ http://hermangroup.com/store/books_all.html#2. STRUGGLING TO FIND THE PEOPLE YOU NEED? VETJOBS CAN HELP! Recently, hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of capable people. If you are looking for qualified candidates, you need to hire a veteran using VFW-sponsored VetJobs, the largest military employment site on the Internet. Thousands of returning veterans are looking for good jobs now. Mention this ad in The Herman Trend Alert and receive a 10% discount on job postings. Call Ted Daywalt at 877-838-5627 or inquire at info@VetJobs.com. 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

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