Fake talk

Have you ever used the chat function while shopping online?

You may be surprised to know that some companies are now using fake chat assistants to talk to you online.

A small startup company called UpSellit recently developed a virtual chat assistant with enough artificial intelligence to hold an unscripted conversation. Online consumers wouldn't have a clue they're talking to a machine.

The tool is meant to solve the problem of customers abandoning their online shopping carts when they run into trouble or have questions that can't be answered online. The virtual salesperson intervenes to close the deal by providing help or giving discount incentives.

UpSellit has closed 500,000 sales valued at about $38 million with 100 customers in the past year.

Click here to see an example of a conversation with a virtual chat assistant.

Other companies have also adopted similar innovations.

Continental Airlines detects when its customers are "stuck" in the process of booking flights. A message pops up on the customer's screen asking if he/she would like a call centre agent to reach them at home. If the customer clicks "yes", they receive a call from a live agent within 30 seconds. The customer's name, booking information and itinerary is already loaded on the agent's computer screen so they can pick up from where the customer got stuck.

The airline says it closes 35% of "stuck" customer's sales.

It's interesting to see how some companies have adopted creative solutions to make the most out of their call centre human resources... even going as far as creating virtual employees in the sales process where real humans cannot intervene.

Citi's new leader

A few weeks ago we posted about Citibank's lack of succession planning. Former CEO Chuck Prince just resigned and the financial service company didn't have anyone in line to replace him.

It took a few weeks, but they finally found somebody...

Vikram Pandit.

CNBC's Jim Cramer described the choice as the "least imaginative move imaginable". Any way you look at it, Vikram has a plain vanilla resume. Nothing out of the ordinary. He also has a reputation as a careful investor. Perhaps that's what Citi's board was looking for. After all risk management, or lack thereof, is what got them where they are.

But there's a lingering concern... It's an awkward personality for the quick and tough turnaround needed at the ailing bank.

We're talking about substantial cost-cutting initiatives in the pipeline, employee layoffs, restructuring and selling off divisions. It's going to take a lot of imagination and charisma to get Citi's employees to buy into a clear vision for the future and get them to bare some of the pain today.

Let's see how it plays out.

Facebook recruiting

With all the talk about facebook lately, have you ever thought of using the social network as a recruiting tool?

It's not for every company out there. But, if you're interested Jobs in Pods Blog is offering a few tips...

Tip #1: Once you've created your facebook group make sure you duplicate as much content from your corporate career website as possible. Also add some unique content to target younger applicants. Continuously update your group by posting news broadcasts to update those who have joined the group.

Tip #2: Target "boomerang" employees. Those are your ex-employees or alumni. Start a second group to get these people together. Encourage them to tell others about the group as well as share pictures and stories on the discussion boards. Hopefully their group will generate some traffic back to the official recruiting group.

Tip #3: Facebook is separated into four kinds of networks - Regions, workplaces, colleges and high schools. The regional network is open to anyone, while the other three are only accessible by those who are within those respective organizations. Employers should assign a recruiter to each region where you intend to do significant hiring and have the recruiter participate in network discussions, add events and jobs to the "marketplace". This is the perfect way to target local audiences.

Tips 4 through 6 will be available on Jobs in Pods shortly. Check them out...

Free market for talent

A free market in brainpower.

This could be what some countries and companies fear the most.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently broke ground on a 12.5 billion graduate-level university facility. He'll endow the university, built on the Red Sea shore, with $10 billion. That's more than MIT has accumulated in 142 years.

Can we imagine how many students and researchers will be attracted by this investment?

How many people from India, UAE, Pakistan... Perhaps citizens from other countries not in the region.

Companies have been fighting for talent in the workplace for some time now. Are countries like Saudi Arabia discovering the same reality?

How can countries help companies attract more talent? Is they answer education investment? Looser immigration rules? Is this even an issue of national economy anymore?

From Geoff Colvin's article in FORTUNE magazine on the global fight for talent:

What, ultimately, is a national economy? Is it good for a country if its companies prosper by offshoring high-value intellectual work? What if a nation's high-value employees are working in that nation for other nations' companies? Or if highly skilled immigrants perform high-value work and send their earnings home? The answers aren't obvious, but they are important.

How will companies deal with this new reality?

Resolve to Resolve...

Meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, talk, plan, meet, stop.

This is the year to change this cycle.

In 2008 resolve to bring resolution.

Resolve to act.

Resolve to be effective.

Resolve to change, once and for all..

Meet, talk, plan, ACT!

Stop letting this happen to you...

These Time-Management Issues Will Be Easily Resolved With A Series Of Streamlined Meetings

Step Back, To Go Forward

Looking to get ahead?

In this video from MIT and The Wall Street Journal's Business Insight, Northwestern University Professor Bill White explains how it's up to people realize that they can actually get ahead in their career by taking a step back.