In another piece from Inc. Magazine’s Stephanie Clifford, entrepreneurs give their two cents about specific economic indicators, and how they think they will affect their companies in 2007.

Among the factors that entrepreneurs ought to consider:

1. Logistics – “The Shipping News” – Consider opening more warehouses and other methods of lowering costs related to long-term transportation logistics
2. Communications – “Get Hip to Blogs” – Consider blogging to be a “huge, free focus group,” and utilize such for demographic research
3. Energy – “Go Green” – Consider budgeting for higher gas and fuel costs, but also consider implementing sources of renewable energyConsumer Products – “The Wal-Mart Backlash Continues” – Consider competing on quality and service rather than on price as many retailers tend to do
4. Consumer Products - "The Wal-Mart Backlash Continues" - Consider competing on quality and service rather than on price as many retailers tend to do
5. Real Estate – “Blowing Bubbles” – Consider budgeting for higher commercial rents and rising interest rates
   

Which of these indicators is Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich tracking? “None.” And why? “They’ve never proven to correlate materially with our business.” Also agreeing with that line of thinking of Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy who said “We don’t really look at economic trends of whatever.” Ditto for Xpress Source CEO Mike Pierce: “We see things happening much quicker than the analysts.”

However, the fourth factor raises some good points, specifically that not all consumers prefer quantity to quality. Relating that to your workforce, for the same amount of money, would you rather have four workers that are “OK” or two workers that are “Excellent?” If you are indeed looking for those two excellent candidates, then you ought to consider where it is that you’re looking for these new recruits. Are you putting an ad in the local Pennysaver, or are you recruiting on-campus at top-notch universities? The logistics, communications, energy, and real estate can all be worked around in today’s ultra-hip and rapidly-changing environment, but a loyal, qualified, and productive workforce cannot.

So what are your company’s goals and hopes for 2007? We’re all ears…feel free to post ‘em!

In the meantime, BRANDEMiX wishes you and those around you a Happy New Year. See you in 2007!

Labels: Forecasting, Recruiting, Trends

According to a piece in Inc. Magazine titled "Cracks In The Melting Pot," reverse outsourcing isn't as far-fetched as it seems. Says author Stephanie Clifford: "Visa restrictions are keeping entrepreneurial immigrants away, and they're finding new opportunities overseas."

The initial focus of this particular article is on 31-year old Praveen Suthrum. Suthrum came immigrated to the U.S. from India in 1999 to work as a software consultant. While holding down that position, he earned an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, while doing freelance work and setting up NextServices, his own company in Ann Arbor. However, earlier this year, after returning to India for a short business-minded trip, he found himself in the midst of visa-related complications. Thus, he still remains in India, unable to communicate with his employees or clients in-person.

Ultimately, Clifford goes on to discuss how the U.S. has adjusted the cap on H-1B work visas over the years, also increasing the necessary standards to be granted such. Clifford also notes that "while the U.S. dithers, other nations are recruiting entrepreneurs." Government-supported programs in Canada and Australia have "changed their policies to favor immigrants with university degrees and business expertise" while the U.S. "continues to favor relatives over skilled workers." Following Canada and Australia are Singapore, Israel, and Ireland. Meanwhile, the Taiwan-based technology incubator Hsinchu Science Park is specifically recruiting "Taiwanese-born U.S. residents to come back home"; at least one-third of its staff is said to meet this criteria.

Author David Heenan sums up the international scenario, stating that "on a 10-point scale, in terms of national incentives," the U.S. is "at about a one." Agile Software CEO Bryan Stolle agrees, citing experience in having more than 100 of his employees move on to posts overseas: "And a lot of people who used to come here saying that this was the place to be, are stating to say, 'You know what? Home's not so bad.'"

Is the U.S. losing promising talent to other countries which are able to promise more? Yes, clearly. How does this apply to your company? Well, look around. How are you finding your talent? What sort of background is your average new recruit bringing to the table? What sort of path is your average new recruit to looking to follow? If your company is offering less than an overseas competitor is, with more government-related policy to consider, then maybe things should be done differently.

Labels: Human Resources, Outsourcing, Recruiting, Visas

Remember an earlier BRANDEblog posting about a company that recruits its workers from colleges, places them into training, and then drafts them NFL-style? Well, that's a whole lot nicer than what Mindbridge Software has in mind.

According to a recent piece from Inc. Magazine, the Philadelphia-based Mindbridge earns its keep by making intranet software. But many of the people inside of the company making that software didn't come on-board in the most traditional ways. A common means in which almost half of the company's 80 employees were recruited? Gathering "outside the office of a struggling rival" and offering "to buy lunch for staffers leaving the building." If that doesn't work, Mindbridge has follow-up tactics up its sleeve, in one instance waiting for a particular prospect next to their car at the end of the workday.

Is this stalking? Harassment? Or just a creative means of recruiting talent? Says Mindbridge COO Scott Testa, in regards to criticism of Mindbridge and related lawsuits: "Generally, if you're not getting sued, you're not doing business. Show me a high-tech company not involved and I'll show you a company that is not aggressive enough." Lawler Kang, a business consultant and author, directly disagrees stating: "If you're too aggressive, it can give the company being poached a good call to arms to fire up their employees." Yet Chris Forman, the CEO of a consulting and training firm in Vermont, comes in between the standpoints of Testa and Kang acknowledging that "It's not good to enough to come to work, go to the meetings, and do your job well. You need to be looking for talent." Although Testa did admit that tactics like this sometimes do backfire.

Article author Scott Westcott poses a good point in the piece: "Who doesn't love to be courted?" Testa agrees with the concept, concluding: "Who doesn't like to be flattered?"

What's to be learned from the writing or Mr. Westcott? Keep a close eye on your competitors...and your employees. You never know what the closest "Mindbridge" has in mind -- or what you can learn from them.

Labels: Human Resources, Recruiting, Talent

According to an article from Associated Press Internet Writer: "Bloggers Must Disclose Sponsored Posts."

If you're writing about something in your blog that is related to a financial exchange for your blog, like advertising or product placement, then it may be legally necessary to report such. So says the Federal Trade Commission, as that could otherwise violate consumer-protection laws on deception. Keyword: "could."

However, according to the policy of PayPerPost Inc. -- the first major company to enact this change in policy -- if you are giving a negative or neutral review related to that advertising money, no disclaimer is necessary. While not clear as to what "neutral" is, among those advertising with PayPerPost are OfficeMax and News Corp.

Ted Murphy from PayPerPost spoke publicly about his company's new policy noting that some advertisers -- and their advertising -- may be lost, but the "transparency" will be better for the long-term, as the clients they "really want to go after, the Fortune 500, the Fortune 1000" had disclosure obligations as it was.

David Sifry of Technorati also applauds such, saying: "I think that people have learned that without trust, all posts become suspect."

And the relevance of this post to you readers of BRANDEblog? Besides this being a blog, yesterday's post was about the expected surge in online advertising in the near-future. But if bloggers have to be clear about their affiliations, which some may argue to be a violate of Freedom Of Speech, then content may change. If content changes, will readership change? All remains to be seen, people...

Labels: Blogging, Blogs, FTC, Online Advertising, Technorati

It's finally happened-- online job postings have surpassed newspaper advertising as the leading venue for recruitment advertising. And while many people have seen the sea-change coming, it happened ahead of schedule-- 8 months sooner than Borrell Associates, the firm that tracks online spending, has predicted.

What's more incredible, is that total spending in the recruitment category is almost $12 billion-- and $5.9 billion is spent online. But while the average newspaper ad is $1,200+ , the average job posting hovers at approximately $300. That's a whole lot of jobs! And that doesn't even include Craigslist, which is still free for job postings in most of the country. (sorry, not New York!)

CareerBuilder is slowly creeping up on Monster, with 12% market share vs Monster's 14%.

The big news is that the niche sites, industry specific or job specific categories like retail, or engineering are surging in popularity-- 66% of market share.

Some bright news for the rags-- Local newspapers will be less effected than their major metro dailies because people still search for jobs near their homes.

There's no place like .... online?

Labels: Monster, online job postings, recruitment advertising

According to a piece from Employee Benefit News by Leah Carlson Shepherd: "small businesses can benefit from wellness initiatives."

Normally associated with larger companies, wellness programs aim to keep workers healthy and active, as personal wellness is believed to be linked with productivity. However, Brian Passon disagrees with that general association saying that small businesses "typically get higher rates of participation" and generally do not "have to work as hard in implementing the programs."

Instead of creating an onsite fitness center, gym and/or track, small businesses can partake in these programs with customized components. For example, sharing a fitness company or consultant with another small business. Beyond on-site health screenings or educational classes, programs can focus on healthy cooking, smoking cessation, or even fitness incentive contests.

Ultimately these sorts of programs encourage that long-term commitment is key to personal wellness, as it is with employment-related productivity. Quick fixes, nor unmotivated workers, need not apply.

Labels: Health, Human Resources, Small Businesses

In an article from Red Herring titled "Advertising Beyond Search," the rise of online communities and user-generated content is leading to new avenues for advertisers to explore.

Forrester Research estimates that spending for online advertising will reach $26 billion by the year 2010. However, the advertising outlets might not be what you were expecting, as RSS aggregators, podcasts, and blogs are expected to evolve into a lot share of that revenue; 2006's total advertising for RSS, blogs, and podcasts is reported as close to $50 million, while PQ Media declares the numbers for these outlets as only in the $5 million range just 2 years earlier.

According to statistics from Nielsen's NetRatings, the largest social networking site is still MySpace, with 38.4 million registered users. In a very distant second is Blogger -- host of the BRANDEblog -- with 18.5 million, while Classmates Online, YouTube, and MSN Groups round out the Top 5, each in the 10 to 15 million range. But MySpace also holds a unianimous lead in advertising revenue for 2006 with $180 million expected, which eMarketer says is more than the expected 2006 ad-income of Facebook, Friendster, Orkut, and Yahoo 360 combined.

What conclusions can be drawn from this data? Of course that advertising is no longer just print and Internet pop-ups. Advertising, in other words, is and will be everywhere. There will be no escape, as every new media eventually succumbs to available ad-space. But what will be especially attention-worthy, on our end at the very least, is to see where this will take the field of Human Resources.

Will job openings be auto-added into your friend Jim's 3am blog posting? Will you find out about your next freelance assignment in the middle of your sister Rachel's online profile? Things are about to get interesting, methinks.

Labels: Human Resources, MySpace, Online Advertising, RSS

In a recent article from Entrepreneur Magazine titled "How Low Can You Go?" -- please ignore the pun-nyness of the title -- there is an attention-grabbing blurb that reads "With these 97 franchises costing less than $25,000, you'd be surprised." Well, color me surprised.

Listing the total cost of nearly 100 franchises, readers will find that these particular ventures run the gamut from food and pets to fitness and child-care. As an example, one could start their own branch of Jazzercise for as little as $3,000; at present time there are reported to be 6,514 franchises of Jazzercise out there. Others recognizable names on the list were Merry Maids, Hot Stuff Foods, Jani King, Christmas Decor, and Aerowest.

Sometimes an entrepreneur may worry about whether or not their services are something that consumers will need. Or how they'll be able to explain their services without a long-winded pitch. But in this situation, you're buying the rights to the brand name, along with the start-up materials. There's little to stop you from being the regional distributor or provider of a sought-after service.

But as with any business decision that you make, this blogger urges those interested to proceed with caution. You may have acquired a brand without knowing exactly what to do what it, or who to sell it to. Without a solid "Who-What-Where-Why-When-How" plan in place, one may find themselves with limited options and even more limited cashflow.

Labels: Branding, Entrepreneurship, Franchising

According to a piece from the Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal: "The 70-hour week is no sweat for a new breed of executive."

"World-class workaholics," as titled by economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett from the Center For Work-Life Policy, have been unleashed. Based on a study pool of 2 million high-salaried employees in the U.S., many of them are showing signs of "extreme" behavior:
- More than 50% were working over 70 hours per week
- More than 65% were available to serve clients day or night
- More than 40% take 10 or fewer vacation days per year

However, these are not silent victims. More than 65% acknowledged that their health would improve with less work, 58% believed that their lack of leisure was hurting their relationships with their children, 50% felt that their sex lives have been taken a toll on, and 46% altogether blame their overextended employment for getting in the way of a healthy relationship.

Showing that some of Corporate America doesn't facilitate work-extremist behavior as mentioned above, 34 major companies have joined together to form the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force. Amongst those participating are Johnson & Johnson, Time Warner, and American Express, looking to figure out ways to reduce the pressures on managers to "perform and produce."

To be continued...

Labels: Corporate America, Crisis Management, Human Resources, Overtime Pay, Overworked Employees

It is common knowledge that many of America's corporate jobs are being outsourced to India, but apparently, Americans are starting to consider following those jobs to India.

As stated in a recent piece in Red Herring: "Many 20-something Europeans are heading to India to give their careers a kickstart, and U.S. and Asian expats may soon follows."

The Indian economy, according to the article, has been growing at an average rate of 8 percent per year over the past 5 years, which 10 percent growth expected for 2006. However, there is a struggle to meet this demand as there is an estimated shortage of 500,000 technology professionals anticipated for 2010; this according to NASSCOM, India's National Association of Software and Services Companies.

Will this also mean further population growth in India? According to another projection from NASSCOM, the Indian population is expected to grow to 1.2 billion in 2010, 200 million more than it was in the year 2000. In turn, at that rate the middle class of India will include more than 300 million people while software exports are value around $60 billion.

What does this mean for the HR industry in India? Stay tuned.

The Aleksey Vayner CV Video

One of the most watched YouTube videos out there was actually intended to be a serious job application video. Perhaps he came on a bit strong. But as it turns out, Aleksey Vayner is not the only person turning to video-technology to land a dream job.

According to an article in CareerJournal, many others are doing so, albeit with varied results. Baker Tee wound up with 4 job offers, while weatherman James Wieland has yet to pull in an offer. As they say: "different strokes for different folks."

But professionals are seeing a future for this 21st Century means of head-hunting. RecruitTV and JobBait.com are amongst the first sites to enable job-seekers to post video clips of themselves, with the L.A.-based Interactive Video Technologies appearing likely to jump on the bandwagon before the end of the year.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of all of this in the near-future, but while we're waiting to see what happens, why not watch a little bit of Mr. Vayner?

Following up on a recent BRANDEblog post, there are many opinions out there about how mobile technology is being used. According to a piece in a recent issue of Red Herring, consumers are using their mobile devices in a multitude of ways, but quite differently than professionals.

As of June 2006, Telephia quoted the number of unique monthly mobile web users as 34.6 million. The top 5 sites browsed amongst those surveyed were:
- Yahoo Mail (approximately 6.5 million)
- The Weather Channel (approximately 5.5 million)
- ESPN (approximately 5 million)
- Google Search (approximately 4.25 million)
- MSN Hotmail (approximately 3.5 million)

M:Metrics compiled the following usage statistics between April and August of this year:
- Text-Messaging: Less than 40%
- Photo-Messaging: Less than 15%
- News-Browsing: Less than 15%
- Personal E-Mail: Less than 10%
- Business E-Mail: Exactly 5%

However, Harris Interactive's study on messages sent to phone subscribers for new services seems to be falling upon deaf ears. In regards to consumer response rate:
- No responses: 68%
- 1 response: 22%
- 2 responses: 7%
- 3+ responses: 3%

The best conclusion I can gather from this piece in Red Herring is that mobile phones are widely being used, and are increasingly becoming part of people's personal and professional lives. However, the promises of the mobile technology have yet to be realized in the United States and it may take more than clever branding for U.S.-based companies to reach the current plateaus of Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

BOOMERANG EMPLOYEES

You've heard the name- they come, they stay, they leave and then they're baaaack!
Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

I have always subscribed to the notion that re-recruiting former "involuntary terms" (there's a sexy phrase) was a great idea since the evil you know is better than the evil you don't know. Given the time spent to recruit, test, hire, orient and assimilate a good worker, wouldn't it be great if they come back, renewed with a sense of appreciation for what they once left?

More than 50% of the HR people polled by Right Management said that they would rehire a former employee. They know the culture, they know the players and they know what is expected of them at work.

But I never realized that there might be a stigma associated with someone returning-- that is, until I read a letter written by someone to an HR forum wondering if it was a good idea for her to go back to her old company. It made me think of things from the other perspective.

There were presumably 2 weeks following her giving notice when she walked around smug, secure and superior knowing that she was getting out and the rest of her team was stuck and probably overworked trying to pick up the slack. She left, she got more money, it didn't work out and now she's back-- tail between her legs and perhaps even MORE money! Did everyone just hate her?

Most people agree that hiring back former employees is a great idea- its a cheap-- low risk effort to try and reconnect with past employees that left on good terms. On the agency side, we've put together postcards, eblasts and other win-back programs to reach out to people and invite them back. After all, you have a veritable database of people to reach out to. What technology has done is made it easy to find their resume through social networking sites or resume databases and see what they've been up to and what new knowledge they've amassed.

Conclusion? Go for it!

Celestial Seasonings thinks it's a good idea too.

In fact, they sent out a press release about it:

Celestial Seasonings® Celebrates 35 Flavorful Years!

Long-Term and 'Boomerang Employees' Bring Loyalty, Expertise to Tea Manufacturer

"---Much of the Company's success can be attributed to the knowledge and expertise provided by the many long-term employees and "boomerangs" -- those who left Celestial Seasonings to pursue other careers but later returned."

Sheesh- what does that say about the rest of the population that stayed for all 35 years!

As discussed by J. Nicholas Hoover and Elena Malykhina in a piece from Information Week, mobile phones are for far more more than phone calls. Citing a study of 527 business technology professionals, mobile devices are used by workers for the following functions:

- E-Mail: 93%
- Web Access: 71%
- Accessing Business Data: 64%
- Instant Messaging - 37%
- Photography - 33%
- GPS & Mapping - 24%
- Searching - 18%

While unspecified as to what "other" uses there are for mobile devices, approximately 5% of the 527 professionals surveyed mentioned using their devices for those purposes.

Even if this survey's results aren't up to academic standards -- for example, there's no mention about specific about which industries the workers represent, the average age of its participants, or where the majority of the professionals are located geographically-- it still speaks volumes. For one thing, it is telling us that many professionals prefer to use a multi-functional device that enables them to do business where and when needed. But furthermore, it gives a hint as to an on-the-rise medium in which branding can be established: in mobile technology.

It may be years before the majority of general population is using mobile devices. However, thought ought to be given as to how companies can get involved with these mobile devices, be it through pop-up advertising, direct mailings, or product tie-ins. After all, in analyzing your field of work, reaching technology-oriented people may be reaching your target demographics.