Herman Trend Alert: Employers Intensify Recruiting
As the global economy becomes stronger, employers around the world will invest more resources in recruiting. Very few employers have full staffs, even though most have tightened their organizational charts. When companies reduce the number of positions to operate in a lean mode, every unfilled position affects the achievement of corporate objectives. Mission-critical vacancies must be filled by competent employees, a difficult challenge in a tight labor market with a shortage of skilled workers.
Herman Trend Alert: International Cultural Influence
For many years, American culture has been followed and adopted by people in countries all over the world. Young people particularly pick up eating habits (McDonald’s), clothing preferences (Nike) and much more. They watch American television shows — in English and in translations — and become great fans of singers, actors and sports figures. We see evidence of international cultural influence on television news when we see citizens of other countries wearing American clothing and hear them using American jargon.
Herman Trend Alert: Shortage of Skilled Labor Spreading
We have focused quite a bit of attention on the growing shortage of qualified workers in the United States. Based on our interpretation of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we anticipated a shortage of 10 million in skilled labor by 2010. We presented our case in our book, “Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People.” While there have been some challenges to our forecast, many others now use our projections. Whether the actual shortfall will be 8, 10, or 14 million, it is clear that employers find it increasingly difficult to hire and retain the people they need.
Herman Trend Alert: Small is Big: Workforce Focus
Economic development professionals know that job growth comes from small business, not large employers. While attracting a new facility from a well-known corporation is good for community morale and certainly has positive economic impact, nurturing small and mid-sized business can generate more jobs with greater stability.
Herman Trend Alert: Where are the People?
As we warn of the growing shortage of skilled workers — the most severe in history — we are often asked if the problem is caused by the retirement of the 76.4 million people in the Baby Boom generation. Our answer has to be a guarded “no.” Certainly, some Boomers will retire over the next few years; however, many more will not. The problem is more complicated.
Herman Trend Alert: Focus on the Individual
As employers move through the next 10 to 15 years, they will discover that concentrating on individuals will be considerably more productive than pushing any one-size-fits-all concept. Employees seek, expect, even demand personal attention. Their attitudes will drive employers, and then others, to correct their deficiencies. We will see this shift from groups, teams and classes of people in practically all aspects of corporate life.
Herman Trend Alert: Meaning and Values Slipping into First Seat
For many years, money was the primary motivator to a substantial majority of employees. Employers did not demonstrate that they really wanted anything more than do-what-you-are-told-labor in return for money paid in wages and salaries. And workers were satisfied to do the work, then periodically demand more money. Gradually we moved from money to money and benefits. Employees were lured, placated and retained with money … plus health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance-then childcare, pet care, and concierge services. Eventually, faced with rising costs, employers asked employees to share in the rising costs.
Herman Trend Alert: Meaning and Values Slipping into First Seat
For many years, money was the primary motivator to a substantial majority of employees. Employers did not demonstrate that they really wanted anything more than do-what-you-are-told-labor in return for money paid in wages and salaries. And workers were satisfied to do the work, then periodically demand more money. Gradually we moved from money to money and benefits. Employees were lured, placated and retained with money … plus health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance-then childcare, pet care, and concierge services. Eventually, faced with rising costs, employers asked employees to share in the rising costs.
Herman Trend Alert: Purse Strings Loosening
People who were being very careful with their discretionary funds are beginning to change their attitudes and behaviors. The tight-fisted trend is shifting to more risk-taking and more comfort using extra money for personal happiness instead of security.
Herman Trend Alert: Housing Shortages Hinder Economic Development
Small and mid-sized communities strive to improve their economic strengths by attracting new employers. Those companies bring jobs that need people who are educated, trained and ready to work. If those workers are available, everybody wins. If people are available, but not qualified, the community and the company must find resources to train them to do the work. With our growing global economy, many communities are fortunate to have existing companies expanding. Existing employers also feel the same need for increasing numbers of qualified employees.
Herman Trend Alert: Quality and Quantity of Work
As we begin a new year, people around the world are making resolutions, setting goals for higher achievement. Traditionally, many promises we make, to ourselves and others, are forgotten as January 1 fades into memory. An interesting study was conducted by Sirota Intelligence in the U.K. Researchers surveyed 203,000 workers, a relatively large population group. The poll found that the most satisfied, perhaps unsurprisingly, said they had just the right amount of work. The least satisfied were those with too little, followed by those with too much work. What does this mean?
Herman Trend Alert: Private Clubs: A Changing Environment
Private clubs have long been an environment for corporate leaders to build relationships that generate greater business. Two types of clubs dominate the landscape. They are distinct in their attributes, yet often serve similar clientele and are frequently owned by the same companies. They are known as “city clubs” and “country clubs.”