Money doesn't cut it

With prices rising, the job market wobbling and money increasingly tight, you'd have thought hanging on to your best and brightest workers would be simply a case of throwing more money at them. Think again.

A CEO poll conducted by Vantage Research determined that executives were most worried about talent shortage among other business issues.

This latest survey shows that the number one business practice - open communication between management and employees - was mentioned nearly twice as frequently as receiving raises

Among employees, personal growth turned out to be a major motivator to stay with an organization. Employees were looking specifically for clear steps of advancement in their careers. Clearly communicating corporate values and vision also turned out to be a major factor in making employees feel like they belong to an organization.

Link to article here.

Workplace environment improving, say employees

North Americans were happier at work this past year than they've been in more than half a decade.

Employees across the continent feel they have greater control over their future, more support in carrying out their tasks and a better compensation overall.

Over 31,000 employees participated in a survey conducted since 2002 by The Beacon Group. They were evaluated on 12 key workplace issues, including sense of belonging, teamwork, communication, leadership and compensation.

68% of employees said they were satisfied with their workplace in 2007 up from 61% in 2002.

"Workplace satisfaction is becoming an important issue with management at many companies" said Shannon Couch, Vice-President of Product Planning & Development at The Beacon Group. "As retirements soar, companies are understanding that satisfaction equals retention of talent, and that has a direct impact on the bottom line".

2007 also marked a year when North American workers felt they had more control over their careers than ever before. 70% of respondents said they were able to shape their future at work up from 60% in 2002.

Workplace support satisfaction in the form of leadership, training, feedback and recognition also increased steadily with an 9% increase in satisfied respondents up from 70% in 2002 to 61% in 2007.

"Employers are realizing the importance of developing their leaders, providing feedback and most of all recognition in the workplace" said Shannon Couch.

Basic workplace satisfaction also improved significantly in 2007 with 75% of employees saying they were satisfied with teamwork, collaboration and communication, up from 68% in 2002.

Even compensation and career development improved considerably in workplaces across the continent. 62% of employees were satisfied with their compensation and career development at their companies in 2007 compared to 53% in 2002.

"Overall workplace trends are looking healthy," said Shannon Couch. "But there's no guarantee things will stay where they are with looming financial pressures and increased retirement".

The Beacon Group on Workopolis TV

Although the episode originally aired on Business News Network (BNN) on March 5th, it was just uploaded to the web over the weekend.

Here is the video of an interview I gave on Emotional Intelligence for Workopolis TV, hosted by Bruce Sellery.

To watch the full episode, click here.

Reaching out to Gamers

We've seen many companies turn to computer games to train employees in many different areas. It's seemingly the new trend to get the attention of the gamer generation.

Deloitte & Touche is reaching even younger to high school students with its Virtual Team Challenge for High Schools (VTCHS) business simulation tool designed by BrandGames.



About 5,500 students from 100 high schools in the U.S. are participating in the program which runs for a month until March 24th. Students work in groups of 4 to plan mock fundraising events for a company. The teams compete to see who can raise the most money, which will result in their high school receiving a grant and a donation to the United Way.

The goal: To train employees on basic business, ethics, financial and decision-making skills.



Students spend about 45-90 minutes at a time in the virtual environment where they take on virtual characters and tackle various business issues. Teachers introduce new themes at the beginning of each week to train students with different challenges. The class is briefed with a lesson prior to each virtual session.



You don't necessarily need computer games to speak to the gamer generation. But ask yourself what is your company doing differently to speak to them?

What's it worth?

Last week Starbucks closed 7,100 company-owned locations in the US to conduct a three and half hour training session for its baristas.

A memo went out to 135,000 baristas, indicating that "Transformation Agenda Communication #8" is to "teach, educate and share our love for coffee". The baristas were retrained on how to deliver their product in a timely manner. They also brushed up on their beverage-making skills. The training session is a response to many observers, including CEO Howard Schultz himself, who have pointed out that Starbucks is losing its "soul" by letting quality standards slide.

Now that people have recovered from their 12,601 seconds without a cup of coffee, Starbucks is getting ready to do the same with all their Canadian locations.

The point here is that few companies would completely close down their operations for any significant period of training. There's a mentality at many corporations that short-term revenue is always more important than proper training or organizational development, even though both are complementary.

Starbucks handles 44 million transactions a week in the US alone. While the exact magnitude of impact on their sales is still up in the air, it's clear where Starbucks stands on the issue of training and organizational development.