Nordson Corporation is one of the world's leading producers of precision dispensing equipment that apply adhesives, sealants and coatings to a broad range of consumer and industrial products.

In a piece from Incentive Magazine, CEO Bruce Fields discusses how they maintains its average employee for 15 years. This, while nearly half of its workforce of 3,600 employees is spread outside of the U.S. in more than two-dozen countries. And also as the company has increased shareholder dividends for 43 consecutive years, in addition to giving 5 percent of pre-tax domestic profits to charity.

"We believe the keys to leadership are vision, communication and trust. Without trust, it is difficult to impossible to effectively manage people, and ethics and integrity are two central components for trust." Believing in creativity as a key to their "solve the customers' problems business," Fields continually aims to foster such: "We invest time and other resources to recruit motivated and creative people who can deliver solutions to meet customers' needs. When you combine this with interesting work, and then surround that with a culture that supports learning, career opportunity and development--the result is an attractive package that not only enables people to provide technologically advanced and creative solutions to customers, but also [to] enjoy the process."

About a work/life balance, Fields believes: "Norton's leadership, since the company's inception, has held the belief that giving back to our communities is just the right thing to do. A benefit is that by being a visible community partner, Nordson has a good reputation as an employer of choice, which assists us in attracting and retaining talented people...We clearly define community involvement in terms of time as well as money." In regards to human resources, Fields noted: "We are continually testing the best ways to measure and evaluate people performance. Our human resources staff works with Nordson's business leaders each year to identify--based on the performance of their people--what they would like to emphasize in training. However, I am not challenged when we invest in leadership development, for example, to write up a report that says we'll see a six-month payback on that investment. In fact, we tend to ask if we are investing as much as we would like, rather than justifying the investments we're making."

In many ways, Nordson is describing a cutting-edge company in that it thinks locally and acts globally, yet simultaneously pleases its workers, clients, shareholders, and community. The message enforced by Fields appears to be that there are many people necessary to keep a company creative, active and profitable, and while working with a team focus, individual needs should also be considered. Even if many of those individuals are overseas.

How does these viewpoints from Nordson compare to your company? And how well do you communicate the vision?

Labels: Community, Human Resources, Leadership, Staffing

According to a piece by Darren Dahl in Inc. Magazine: "Consulting firm Point B has 223 employees--and no phones, desks, computers, or cubicles."

While there is often much to be skeptical about when talking about a 21st century that doesn't believe in office space, Point B has $46 million in annual revenue. And 223 employees spread out in the Pacific region between Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, and Portland; Seattle being home to 187 of the batch. And only a 4% hiring rate.

Mike Benson, Senior VP of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, the owning company of Denver's Pepsi Center and five professional sports teams, was skeptical of Point B at first but was happy he gave them a chance: "They were always here because they lived right up the street."

Although not a client, Charles Ehin of Westminster College's Gore School of Business disagrees with this approach, saying "There are certain chemical reactions between individuals when we go face to face. That can't happen at a virtual organization."

But as a philosophy, Point B co-founder Tim Jenkins believes that: "Rather than building our lives around the business, we're building the business around our lives."

Where do you stand? Would it be possible for your company to stay profitable and on the edge of what's happening if it were not in a centralized location? Is telecommuting a viable means of employing a loyal staff?

Labels: Consulting, Philosophy, Telecommuting

According to an article by David H. Freedman in Inc. Magazine: "Computers will be able to react based on the sum total of all available data--in other words, on the same information that informs a human being's decisions today." In turn, today's new executives may be "every bit as clever as your old ones," even if "they may not be human."

Thanks to new software, computer systems are "on the verge of making a quantum leap in brainpower" that enables them to "take action" based on years of data compiled. One company leading for this to happen is the California-based iSpheres, which specializes in "complex event processing systems." Presently this technology carries a pricetag around $100,000, although that price is anticipated to "drop over time."

Says iSpheres CEO Deepak Gupta: "People think real-time decision making is only important in transaction-oriented environments like the stock market, but you might want to know when more than four customers haven't had their calls returned. Or if the humidity inside one of our trucks is rising. If you wait until a problem has escalated, then you may already be dealing with actual losses instead of potential losses."

Less costly are "text-mining engines," which Spanlink CEO Brett Shockley encourages the use of: "Most information today is not in any kind of structured database." Of their specific model, Shockley notes: "Our technology can crawl all that information, parse sentences down to words, and compare the words with a lexicon of the English language."

The Massachusetts-based Cymfony has an engine of their own in development called Orchestra. It "not only finds answers to users' queries, such as 'What do people think of blue soda?' but also points out patterns or trends within the results--for example, that people who live in big cities are more likely to want blue soda, or that people who want blue soda tend to hate pink soda." Cymfony CEO Andrew Bernstein explains: "We can do market segmentation to show who the new users of a product are."

From my standpoint, this sort of article raises many more questions than it answers. As some examples:

- Will experience matter to the hiring process when the needed answers may already be there?

- Is all of the information compiled and made available on this software useful and effective?

- Will most companies be receptive to the idea of asking help from a computer?

- Could this technological advancement become useful to other facets of work beyond Management and Marketing like Human Resources?

- When answers and advice are presented with immediacy, what will happen to needed worker assets like creativity and spontaneity?

All of that said, what do YOU think about the idea of a computer guiding your company's decisions?

Labels: Consulting, Management, technology

We attended a wonderful conference on Talent Management and Leadership Development last month.

One of the speakers was from Aflac and we heard all about the success from the Quacky mascot.

That's not all the company is doing right. Just check out this job posting.

Most of us are used to seeing the job description right from the Req. But Aflac is actually using the space to answer questions and sell sell sell.

The phrase that sticks in my mind from my weekend preparing a presentation on Branding is not new but it is still relevent.

It goes like this:

Labels: Aflac, Employer Branding, job postings

According to a piece by Kristi Essick in the Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com, retirement is only an option. Discussing websites like YourEncore.com and Senior Job Bank, the "55-plus crowd" is being specifically recruited by Fortune 500 companies. In fact, YourEncore.com was founded by Eli Lilly and Procter & Gamble.

Donna Wadleigh of YourEncore.com explained: "Companies realize they will soon be faced with a mass exodus of their most qualified people...companies can bring back highly skilled people that provide value immediately." The website's FAQ states: "Retirees will use their knowledge and expertise to solve well defined scientific and technical problems."

Another site, Seniors4Hire, practically began by accident after the California-based Forward Group started a less-successful site named Teens4Hire. Said founder Rene Ward: "Companies said they were worried young people didn't have the right attitude, but they'd be happy to hire people over 55." Bank of America, RadioShack, and Regal Entertainment being companies that have utilized the services of this particular site.

Started by Jay Zavala, a former federal employee who had retired, the Employment Network for Retired Government Experts matches retired gov't workers with companies in the private sector. Zavala explained: "I created Enrge because as soon as I retired, I had companies knocking on my door asking for help...The government is the largest employer in the U.S. and has experts in every possible field." Hundreds have already registered.

Other sites are out there, like Dinosaur Exchange, are internationally-focused.

But whatever the focus is, the key is that if you have the needed skills, you're never too old to be working. Competent employees will always be in demand.

Labels: Human Resources, Internet, Recruiting, Seniors

According to a piece by J. Nicholas Hoover in Information Week: "Fed up with rising health care costs, Intel, Wal-Mart, and others think giving employee digital records will help."

A "warehouse project" of sorts, big companies are working to create massive "data warehouses" that give employees online access to their personal health records. Ultimately, this plan carries a goal of letting employees compare costs and availability of services. It is an intended solution to those aforementioned rising costs, which HR consulting firm Towers Perrin estimates in 2007 as costing employers 58% more and employees 81% more than it did 5 years earlier in 2002.

Explaining this move-ahead, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said: "Health care is pricing itself out of business." Furthermore, he notes: "If we can use our purchasing power to drive massive adoption of technology and procedures and best known methods which provide better care at lower cost, we ought to get into that debate."

However, plans from Intel and other like-minded companies aren't aiming to stop hospitals and doctors from having their own electronic medical records. And that is not to say that all corporations are onboard for this concept, as Cisco opted to decline Intel's offer, with their VP of Health Care, Dr. Jeff Rideout, explaining: "The people most likely to use the personal health record are those with a chronic condition, so you've got to know your audience."

But Intel stands their ground, believing that information-sharing of consumer-directed health-care "will lead to better care and fewer mistakes." As does President Bush, who recently signed "an executive order forcing health care providers to be more transparent in terms of costs and information on quality of care."

While data privacy and security remain a potential obstacle, along with the ability to transfer records, the key is that healthcare is changing, and in turn, how employees are spending their hard-earnered money will change. Quality is being demanded by all parties involved, ensuring healthcare to become a hot topic for companies to look into for the sake of staff recruiting and maintenance.

So how does your company feel about this?

Labels: Benefits, Health, Recruiting

"Working with us doesn't suck"

















That's the home page from CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL'S employment website. They are looking to hire star employees to staff over 540 restaurants and the competition has never been more fierce. The National Restaurant Association is predicting flat growth for the population's 16 - 24 year old's over the next 10 years against industry workforce growth needs of 15%. That's where branding helps.

Employees are not a company's greatest asset because assets can't quit at any time and assets don't have families to feed or mortgages to pay. Companies that can stand out as a caring employer and deliver an honest message with meaning will be ahead of the curve when it comes to meeting the needs of their customers.

*************

And, speaking of customer needs- D and I have been amused watching the latest Walmart media spin. It started with an article about Walmart using technology to track peak times for customers and then mapping it to work hours for hourly associates. "Foul play" cried the unions. "Walmart is only looking to decrease the number of full time employees to save on benefits."

Well, believe it or not, I felt for the big bad box store. Imagine implementing something as customer-focused as adding staff during peak customer shopping times and getting knocked down for it. Well, Walmart shot back and the next day released a press release about how more than 90% of Walmart employees receive benefits, including part time employees who are eligible after 12 months. And how Walmart benefits are ranked highest in the retail industry.

From the focus groups I've conducted nationally, I know that the rising cost to employees for benefits are a very hot issue. While Walmart may have had other motivation for mapping their employee work hours to their peak customer shopping hours, they would have been while served with a thought-out communication strategy to show them as service oriented retailer that doesn't compromise their employees for the sake of providing excellent customer service.

Guess who could have helped.

*************

And, lastly---

"I don't care if it's bad. Just give it to me now"

From an Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. report, "The Digital Consumer: Examining Trends in Digital Media": Customers are willing to accept lower quality on the Internet--just to capture the immediacy of content.

See you in BRANDEland!

Labels: Benefit Communications, Employer Branding, recruitment advertising, Walmart

According to a piece by Ronald Alsop from the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal, graduate schools may be in trouble.

A recruiter named Jean Wyer discusses her difficulty in finding accounting professors. She said: "What terrifies me as a practitioner is the possibility that some schools may decide to stop having accounting majors if they can't find enough qualified people to teach."

Dr. James Thomas, a business college dean, echoes the scenario, himself struggling to fill 11 vacant positions: "Professors are becoming more nomadic as they go where the money is; moving to another school may mean a 50% increase in compensation."

AACSB International, an accrediting organization discussed how there is a current shortage of 1,000 Ph.D's in the U.S., with that number expected to rise to 2,400 Ph.D's by 2012. Ultimately it is found that Ph.D programs are costly to operate and that enrollments have been limited due to there being fewer qualified applicants.

High cost of running Ph.D programs? Yes, that's correct: "According to AACSB, newly hired professors with doctorates commanded average salaries of $137,400 in 2006, up from $113,400 in 2000. But those are just the averages; some faculty stars may fetch salaries of $250,000 or more."

In response, programs like AACSB's Professionally Qualified Faculty Bridge Program and PricewaterhouseCoopers' PwC Teaches are recruiting for lower-cost, less-traditional faculty. Ditto for higher-tier business schools, Georgetown University being one of them.

But not so fast says the aforementioned Dr. Thomas, as he "receives at least one query a week from executives who are nearing retirement or itching for a career change. " He added: "But they forget that engaging a large group of students isn't something everyone can do. I advise them to try their hand at a local community college or even high school before they waltz into a top university."

Whatever the case may be, you may want to say goodbye to the post-undergrad world as we know it.

Labels: Education, Human Resource, MBA, Recruiting

Great piece in Trend Watching (www.trendwatching.com) called "Top 5 Consumer Trends For 2007," while we're still fresh in the New Year spirit. But 12 pages are a bit tough to re-print, so here are some highlights that stuck out:

1) Status Lifestyles

"Expect 2007 to be the year in which many brands realize (if not grudgingly accept) that the 'old,' mass-era status symbols...are no longer every consumers' wet dream...mature consumer socities are increasingly dominated by (physical) abundance, by saturation, by experiences, by virtual worlds, by individualism, by participation, by feelings of guilt and concern about the side effects of unbridled consumption"

"With the environment finally on the agenda of most powers that be, and millions of consumers now actively trying to greenify their lives, status from leading an eco-responsible lifestyle is both more readily available, and increasing in value...Don't hesitate to point our your competitor's polluting alternatives."

"One thing you can't go wrong with in 2007 is to ask yourself how your current and new products and experiences will satisfy a plethora of very diverse status seekers."

2) Transparency Tyranny

"1+ billion consumers are now online, and the majority of them have been online for years. They're skilled bargain seekers and 'best of the best' hunters, they're avid online networkers and they're opinionated reviewers and advisors (tripadvisors.com now boasts 5,000,000+ travel reviews)."

"Everything brands do or don't do will end up on youtube.com, or on an undoubtedly soon to be launched youtube-clone dedicated to product reviews."

"Consumers reviews will increasingly become real time and on the spot, i.e. expect ever shorter gaps between a consumer experience (good or bad) and the rest of the world knowing about it...Smart 'participants' will want to get paid in 2007."

"Pleasant side-effect: mass postings will also unmask, outnumber, and neutralize any fake reviews posted by desparate brands trying to piggy back on the powers of transparency."

"What will make things easier this time around is that a) everybody is now online, and b) social software has taken care of the aggregation challenge. All this now needs is a crowd clout entreprenuer that will add a group-buying feature to existing networking sites."

3) Web N+1

"Quick tip: start by (re)reading everything by Kevin Kelly, who has been correct in predicting the Next Big Online Thing over and over again."

4) Trysumers

"Niche of course being the new mass, as consumer societies are now about standing out, not conformity, which in tun means an encouragement to explore one's often broader-than-assumed taste."

"Navigation is the new laissez faire."

"Since advertising is as trusted as a certain president with two more years to go, trying out and sampling is the new advertising."

"The auction culture is beginning to empower the consumer to reach because they can afford better items since they're not paying the whole ticket for them...they're willing to take more chances because they know there's an exit if they made a mistake."

5) The Global Brain

"This year, expect many opportunities, small and big, to aggressively court the 1% of most creative and experienced individuals roaming the globe."

Conclusion

"Take any of the five trends above, sit down with your colleagues or team, and figure out how they may impact your business, your brand, your job:

- Vision
- New business concepts
- New products, services, experiences
- Marketing, advertising, PR"

Well, folks, still a lot of gold that in there that isn't mentioned above. But TrendWatching.com is raising some great points about the times changing, and companies needing to change to meet consumer demands, rather than being the other way around -- "supply and demand" no longer means what it did for many years. And with changing companies, we have a changing workforce.

Stay tuned!

Labels: Online Advertising, Recruiting, Status, Trends

According to a piece by Saul Hansell in the New York Times, Google is even holding its own in the Human Resources department.

While the Internet giant previously aimed to hire those "with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs," the company is now in pursuit of well-rounded candidates. Receiving over 100,000 job applications per month, Google recently started presenting candidates with a list of questions online meant to foresee "how well a person will fit into its chaotic and competitive culture." For example, when applicants "first got excited about computers," whether they "have ever tutored," or "ever established a nonprofit organization." Ultimately this test is scored on a 100-point scale and is intended to measure "attitutes, behavior, personality and bibliographic details."

Says Laszlo Beck, Google Vice President for People Operations: "With traditional hiring methods, we were worried we will overlook some of the best candidates." Furthermore, Beck noted that: "As we get bigger, we find it harder and harder to find enough people." Presently,

Google has around 10,000 employees, anticipating that this number may double by the end of 2007, as the company's number of workers has done over the past few years.

Not everyone is a fan of these methods, however. According to Yahoo spokeswoman Jessie Wixon: "Yahoo does not use tests, puzzles or tricks, etc., when interviewing candidates." Michael Mumford, a psychology professor at University of Oklahoma, agreed somewhat, believing that "You have to know or at least have a hypothesis why having a dog makes a good computer programmer." Dr. Todd Carlisle was on a similar wave acknowledging: "It's like telling someone that you have the perfect data about who they should marry."

Time will tell whether this sticks with Google, and if other growth-minded Silicon Valley companies will follow a similar path. But it does show that Human Resources does not always have to be "by the books" when a company is in need of new and well-rounded talent.

See the Future As It Is Happening

This was the view from late 2006 as the ball dropped in the middle of Times Square.

It's a brand new year and promises to be a very excited one at BRANDEMiX as we work with wonderful new clients and create and implement exciting programs aligned with their goals.

Other goings on:

We've recently achieved moderate success with our PR efforts and I'm proud to say that I was featured in the NY Times job section last Sunday and will soon appear in Entrepreneur Magazine talking about Employee Referral Programs and their positive effect on business.

As readers know, we're also hard at work on the new website and should be unveiling it soon.

There are several speaking engagements coming up where we'll be discussing the newest technologies and how to put them to work for your company. Regular readers know this to be a Fav topic of mine and when I'm not hard at work, I'm usually surfing the internet for the next new thing.

Without giving away any secrets, I'll just give you one sample of how Domino's is using Ebay to generate some interest and sales.

They are auctioning off iPods, flat-screen TVs and other high-priced items as part of a new promotion for its $9.99 pizza deals.

For the promotion, set to start Monday, Domino's will place the items for sale for $9.99 on eBay. But people who wish to purchase one of the items will have first have to participate in an online scavenger hunt by visiting another Web site, www.anythinggoesdeal.com. There, they can obtain clues directing them to location of the eBay items by playing a short game or puzzle.

Now, in my mind, the possibilities to use variations on this are endless. If any brave soul would like to explore this for your own purposes, give me a shout out.

Otherwise, best wishes and may all your dreams for the year unfold.

Jody

Labels: employee referral, muse, PR, technology